The Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said on Tuesday that Israel had issued a new order to seize about 1,152 dunams of land from the towns of Sinjil, Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya and Qaryut, under the label of “state land,” in order to expand the Karmi Tzur settlement and strengthen geographic links between settlements and outposts in the area.
The commission said the move is part of a continuing policy of land seizures in the occupied West Bank, amid escalating settlement expansion and pressure on Palestinian villages and towns.
Details of the targeted land
The commission said the targeted land lies in natural basin No. 6 in Sinjil, at the site of al-Mughirat, and in natural basins 1, 2 and 3 of Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya, at the sites of Khirbet Ayad, Wadi Ali and al-Rahawat. It also includes natural basins 1, 4, 5 and 6 of Qaryut, in the areas of al-Batin, al-Sarara, al-Marhan, Ain al-Mirah plain and Ain al-Mirah fires.
According to the statement, landowners have 45 days to file objections before the military objections committee at Ofer camp, a system the commission said does not provide Palestinians with independent judicial guarantees.
Expanding settlements and territorial links
The commission said the purpose of the order is to expand the Karmi Tzur settlement and reinforce geographic continuity between settlements and outposts north of Ramallah and south of Nablus.
The move is part of an Israeli policy aimed at creating new facts on the ground by adding more land to what it describes as “state land,” something Palestinian institutions view as part of a rapidly expanding settlement project.
More than 28,000 dunams in three years
According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Israeli authorities have declared more than 28,000 dunams of citizens’ land as “state land” over the past three years, most of it in 2024, which alone saw the seizure of more than 24,000 dunams.
Palestinian institutions say these measures are part of a wider drive to expand settlements and reduce the land available to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
30 Palestinians detained in ongoing raids
In a separate development, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said Israeli forces had detained at least 30 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, with the raids concentrated in Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilya and Tulkarm.
The group said the arrests came amid a continuing escalation in detentions targeting Palestinians from various backgrounds, often accompanied by home raids, searches, property damage, and field interrogations.
Arrest tally since October 2023
The society said the number of arrests since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023 has risen to more than 25,000, adding that mass arrests are one of the occupation’s main tools of control and collective punishment.
It said Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilya and Tulkarm continue to see repeated raids and arrests, reflecting the widening scope of the campaign across different areas and communities.
Settler violence rises alongside raids
The statement said the arrest campaigns are taking place alongside rising settler attacks on Palestinians and their property, particularly in areas that face repeated incursions and assaults.
Palestinian institutions say these raids, arrests and land seizures form part of a broader system aimed at imposing greater control over Palestinians and leaving them exposed to ongoing threats, violence and intimidation.
Conclusion:
The seizure of 1,152 dunams in the occupied West Bank reflects the continuation of Israeli settlement expansion and efforts to impose facts on the ground. At the same time, raids and mass arrests continue to deepen tensions across the occupied territory.
