Israel orders new land seizures across northern West Bank: Commission

Israel has issued four military orders to seize Palestinian land in the northern occupied West Bank, while Israeli occupiers have established an illegal settlement outpost near Hebron, Palestinian groups said Tuesday. The orders cover around 165 dunams (40.7 acres) in Qalqilya, Nablus, Tubas and the northern Jordan Valley, according to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission. They authorize new land seizures and expand areas covered by earlier orders, citing military purposes, the commission said.

It linked the measures to efforts to create buffer zones around illegal settlement outposts, expand roads serving illegal settlements and reinforce military positions. The commission warned that the impact could extend beyond the land directly targeted, restricting Palestinian access to surrounding areas. Further south, Israeli occupiers established an illegal settlement outpost in the Humsa area near Dura, south of Hebron, the Palestinian rights group Al-Baidar said.

The group warned that the move would allow further encroachment on Palestinian land and threaten residents’ ability to remain in the area. The commission recorded attempts by Israeli occupiers to establish 28 illegal settlement outposts across the West Bank in October, including nine in Hebron governorate. It also estimated that Israel had seized or brought under its control around 64,000 dunams (15,814 acres) through 231 military orders and measures over the three years since October 2023.

Around 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 194 illegal settlements and 400 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to official Palestinian figures.