ALBAWABA- Israel has approved the largest land confiscation in the occupied West Bank in over thirty years, a settlement tracking group reported to the Associated Press.
The appropriation of 12.7 square kilometers (nearly 5 square miles) in the Jordan Valley was recently authorized, marking the most significant land seizure since the 1993 Oslo Accords.
The decision, publicized Wednesday, follows earlier seizures this year, including 8 square kilometers in March and 2.6 square kilometers in February, making 2024 a peak year for land confiscations, according to Peace Now.
These parcels, located northeast of Ramallah, have been declared state lands, opening them up for Israeli leases and barring private Palestinian ownership.
This move exacerbates tensions in the West Bank, already inflamed by near-daily Israeli military raids and Palestinian attacks since Hamas' October 7 assault ignited the ongoing Gaza conflict.
The Palestinians and most of the international community view these settlements as illegal and a significant barrier to peace.
Israel's current government, considering the West Bank as the Jewish people's historical and religious heartland, opposes Palestinian statehood.
Since the 1967 Mideast war, Israel has illegally built over 100 settlements in the West Bank, housing over 500,000 Israeli settlers, while 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule.
Prominent human rights organizations accuse Israel of apartheid, claims Israel rejects. The far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has accelerated land seizures and settlement expansions, promising to appropriate at least 15 square kilometers of land this year and crack down on Palestinian construction.
The latest land declaration was signed by Hillel Roth, a deputy appointed by Smotrich to boost settlement expansion. It came a day after reports that Israeli authorities were set to approve or advance the construction of over 6,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank.
