Israel confiscates some 14 acres of land in West Bank: Palestinian group

Israeli authorities have confiscated 57 dunums (some 14 acres) of land in the village of Kafr Qaddum in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian commission said on Monday.

In a statement, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said that Israeli forces issued a military order for the land seizure, leaving a copy of the decree at the site.

The confiscated land is intended to create a security buffer zone around the nearby Israeli settlement of Kedumim, the commission said, labeling it "the 10th such order issued in September alone."

The military order restricts Palestinian landowners from accessing hundreds of dunums surrounding the settlement, raising concerns about further encroachment on Palestinian land, the statement said.

Last Thursday, the commission said that Israeli forces had seized another eight dunums (1.9 acres) in Fasayil, a village in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank.

Since the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to power in 2022, there has been a sharp rise in settlement building and land confiscations in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Violence by illegal Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities has also intensified, particularly in areas like Fasayil, where settlers have expanded their control through armed force.

Israeli estimates indicate that more than 720,000 Israelis now live in illegal settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The international community, including the UN, considers these settlements illegal under international law.

The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 719 Palestinians, including 160 children, have since been killed, nearly 6,200 others injured and over 10,900 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion last July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.