Israel has issued 49 military orders targeting 2,093 dunams (517 acres) of privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank since January, the Palestinian Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission said Saturday. The orders are issued under what Israel calls “security measures” and do not formally confiscate the land or transfer ownership, but they impose sweeping legal and physical restrictions.
Restrictions on Land Use
The military orders allow the removal or trimming of trees, restrict access to the land, and prevent its cultivation. According to the commission, these measures are mainly concentrated around Israeli settlements, settlement roads, the separation barrier, and military sites. This effectively expands Israeli control over Palestinian land without formally changing ownership.
Comparison with Previous Years
The commission reported that Israel issued 47 orders covering 1,613 dunams during 2025, compared with 49 orders affecting 2,093 dunams in the first half of 2026. The increase reflects growing use of such military orders to expand settlement-related infrastructure and tighten restrictions on Palestinian access to their land.
Attacks and Violence in the West Bank
The commission’s semiannual report also stated that Israeli occupiers carried out 3,488 attacks in the occupied West Bank during the first half of 2026. These include assaults on Palestinian communities, arson attacks, shootings, land seizures, and the establishment of settlement outposts.
Demographics and Impact of Conflict
Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement watchdog, estimates that 500,000 Israeli occupiers live in the occupied West Bank, in addition to 250,000 in occupied East Jerusalem. Since the genocide in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023, the West Bank has witnessed intensified Israeli military offensives and occupier violence. According to official Palestinian figures, these have killed at least 1,175 Palestinians, injured 12,919, displaced 33,000, and led to the arrest of nearly 24,000 people.
