Ramallah - Saba:
The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission stated that since October 7, 2023, Israeli enemy authorities have seized more than 52,000 dunams of Palestinian land, issued 13 military orders establishing buffer zones around settlements, and established 60 new settlement outposts.
This came in a report issued by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission today, Saturday, to mark the 49th anniversary of Land Day.
In its report, the Commission focused on the most prominent measures taken by the Israeli occupation forces aimed at seizing Palestinian land, exploiting the aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip for more than sixteen months to encroach on Palestinian territory through seizure, imposition of fait accompli, and closure.
The Commission's head, Mu'ayyad Shaaban, stated in the statement that the Israeli occupation authorities have seized more than 52,000 dunams of Palestinian land since the beginning of the aggression, including 46,000 dunams in 2024, under various pretexts, including declarations of nature reserves, state lands, military orders, and others.
Over the past period, they have also issued 13 military orders requiring the establishment of buffer zones around settlements, in an attempt to prevent Palestinian citizens from accessing thousands of dunams, paving the way for the process of seizing and dispossessing them.
He added that the area seized by Israeli forces under the pretext of state land amounted to more than 24,000 dunams, the largest such seizure in more than three decades. The total area of land seized, and subject to numerous occupation measures, amounts to 2,382 square kilometers, equivalent to 42% of the total West Bank land and 70% of the total area classified as "Area C," the areas under Israeli security control.
Shaaban explained that Zionist settlers established 60 new settlement outposts after the start of the aggression, 51 of which were established last year, eight of which were established in Area B. This move coincided with the Zionist enemy forces' stripping of the State of Palestine's planning authority from the nature reserve east of Bethlehem Governorate, which has a total area of 167 square kilometers, in the middle of last year. This threatens hundreds of Palestinian buildings and facilities in the area.
He pointed out that since October 7, Israeli planning authorities have studied a total of 268 master plans for settlements in the West Bank, including occupied Quds. These include 173 master plans for last year, and 68 that have been studied since the beginning of this year.
This indicates a premeditated intent to carry out the largest settlement expansion operations.
This is in addition to unprecedented decisions to regularize the status of 13 settlement outposts since the beginning of 2024, and to separate 13 neighborhoods and consider them full settlements, enjoying full privileges at the expense of Palestinian lands.
Shaaban said that Israeli occupation forces continue to issue demolition notices, which they follow with ongoing demolitions of Palestinian construction. The total number of demolition notices distributed last year reached 939, including demolition and construction suspension notices.
He explained that 60% of these notices were concentrated in the governorates of Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Quds, in addition to (684) demolition operations, most of which were concentrated in Area C in the governorates of Quds, Hebron, Nablus, and Jericho.
He pointed out that the number of permanent and temporary military checkpoints and gates has so far reached a total of 898, through which Israeli occupation forces are attempting to impose a parallel geographical area that constitutes a boundary between the cantons and enclaves, as an ugly manifestation of the apartheid and racial segregation system.
Shaaban continued: The Annexation and Expansion Wall, which was erected by Israeli occupation forces in 2002, still isolates more than 295 square kilometers of Palestinian land.
He emphasized that if the planned sections are completed, it will completely isolate 560 square kilometers. He noted the ongoing economic and social impacts of the wall, which significantly impact the lives of citizens and their lands.
Shaaban explained that the number of settlements in the West Bank has reached a total of 770,000, concentrated in 180 settlements and 356 outposts, including 136 agricultural and pastoral outposts that seize more than 480,000 dunams (mostly located in the Jordan Valley and the eastern slopes), equivalent to three times the built-up area of the existing settlements.
Shaaban emphasized the need to consider Land Day a national occasion to rally around popular resistance and protect the national resources of the Palestinian people wherever they reside against the dangers and plans of the occupation and settlements. He added that this is the most effective means of disrupting these plans aimed at seizing land, besieging the Palestinian presence, and forcibly displacing them.
Shaaban called for the activation of more night protection committees, particularly in areas subject to ongoing attacks by Zionist settlers, to repel these attacks and protect the innocent Palestinian people.
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