According to an Israeli human rights organization, 2024 will be a record year for Israeli land grabs. The right-wing religious leadership is pushing ahead with settlement construction in the West Bank.
Israel’s civil administration has declared around 1,270 hectares in the West Bank to be Israeli state land. This corresponds to an area of almost 13 square kilometers. The Israeli human rights organization Peace Now spoke of the largest land seizure since the Oslo Peace Accords, which Israelis and Palestinians signed in 1993. The relevant Israeli government authority in the West Bank had already signed the corresponding decree to take possession in June. However, the decision was only published today.
A total of 2,370 hectares (almost 24 square kilometers) have already been declared state land this year. “The declaration of state land is one of the most important methods by which the State of Israel tries to assert control over land in the occupied territories. Land that has been declared state land is no longer considered private property of Palestinians in Israel’s eyes. They are prevented from using it. In addition, Israel leases state land exclusively to Israelis,” said Peace Now. According to this, a large part of the area had previously been designated as a nature reserve.
Israeli media reported that Israeli settlers in the West Bank attacked Israeli security forces that were dismantling an illegal settlement outpost and destroying makeshift buildings on private Palestinian land. They threw Molotov cocktails at the security forces and set fire to a vehicle in protest against the eviction. They also smashed the windshield of a car belonging to a civil administration official. The dismantling of the outpost had previously been approved by the Israeli government. 70 border police officers were deployed.
During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem, among other places. Today, around 700,000 Israeli settlers live there among three million Palestinians. In 1993, according to Peace Now, there were 250,000. Israel distinguishes between settlements that were built with government approval and “wild settlements,” which are sometimes retroactively legalized by law. From an international perspective, however, all settlements are illegal.
Israel’s right-wing religious leadership is pushing ahead with settlement construction despite international criticism. According to the Israeli human rights organization Peace Now, since the government took office at the end of 2022, more new Israeli housing units have been approved in the occupied West Bank than ever since the organization began recording data in 2012. 2024 will be a record year for land acquisitions.
Source: Stern
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