Israeli authorities have confiscated approximately 192 acres of Palestinian private and municipal land in the occupied West Bank during the month of May, according to reports. The land was taken for security, military, and settlement purposes, as stated by the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, a monitoring group linked to the Palestinian Authority.
Details of Land Seizures
The commission reported that 97 acres of private land were seized to establish military sites in the Jabriyat neighborhood of Jenin, the town of Qabatiya, and the village of Zububa. Additional confiscations occurred near Yatta town in Hebron to create a buffer zone around a settler outpost, and in Kafr Ad-Dik, west of Salfit, to benefit the Leshem settlement. These details were reported by the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
Municipal Land Affected
Approximately 95 acres of municipal territory belonging to Al-Bireh city and Beitin village, near Ramallah, were also seized to construct a road to the Givat Assaf settler outpost. Other locations impacted by the land-grab orders include the village of Nabi Samwil and the town of Kafr Qaddum.
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission described these actions as part of Israel's systematic policy aimed at expanding colonization and consolidating control over additional Palestinian land across the occupied West Bank.
International Context
The majority of United Nations member states condemn Israel's settlement-building and expansionist policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories occupied by Israel since June 1967. Currently, there are 279 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including 14 in East Jerusalem. These settlements are built either on private land taken from Palestinians or on public land formerly owned by the Jordanian government, which once ruled the area. Nearly 737,000 settlers live in these settlements, among a Palestinian population of 3.43 million.
