Israeli authorities have taken control of approximately 464,400 square meters of Palestinian land in Sinjil, north of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, according to Arab News.
“State Land”
The seized land has been declared “state land,” paving the way for allocating it for the expansion of the Givat Haroeh outpost, established in 1998, as well as the nearby settlements of Shilo and Maale Levona, which lie near Sinjil.
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission warned that the step represents an integral part of an Israeli plan to establish a contiguous territorial corridor linking the area’s settlements and isolating neighboring Palestinian communities.
Sinjil and the nearby Israeli settlements are situated along Road 60, a key route running the length of the occupied West Bank from north to south.
Settlement Expansion
Most UN member states have denounced Israel’s settlement expansion and land seizure plans in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories it has occupied since the 1967 war.
In April, Israel reportedly approved the establishment of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media and the watchdog group Peace Now.
The approval of 34 additional settlements adds to 68 others that have already been authorized since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government assumed office in 2022.
Ten of the 34 settlements are existing outposts and considered illegal under Israeli law. However, they are now set to be retroactively legalized under the decision. The remaining 24 settlements have yet to be constructed.
Burying Palestinian State
In August, an Israeli minister announced that Israel would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state by dividing the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem.
A recent report by the United Nations Chief showed that Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank has reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the UN began systematically tracking such activity, according to AFP.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the “relentless” expansion, describing it as a catalyst for fueling tensions, restricting access by Palestinians to their land and undermining “the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State.”
Israel advanced, approved, or tendered plans for nearly 47,390 housing units in 2015, compared to 26,170 in 2024.
Excluding East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and later annexed in 1967, the West Bank is home to approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers, alongside around three million Palestinians.
Since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, violence in the West Bank has seen unprecedented levels.
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