In 1977, 11,000 Israelis lived in settlements in occupied territories. Today more than 700,000 settlers – 10 percent of Israel’s 7 million Jewish population – now live in 150 illegal settlements and 128 outposts dotting the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Activists and legal specialists have argued that settlements are a major obstacle to the peace process, fragmenting the occupied West Bank and causing profound hardship in Palestinian life.  And yet settlements, backed by the Israeli government, continue to expand. So what exactly are they?