Israel seizes 12,800 acres of land in occupied West Bank since October 7

The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission announced Saturday that Israeli authorities have confiscated more than 52,000 dunams (12,800 acres) of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023.

In a statement marking Land Day, the commission reported that Israel has issued 13 military orders to establish buffer zones around illegal settlements and has created 60 new settler outposts across the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

Of the seized land, 46,000 dunams (11,400 acres) were confiscated in 2024 alone, under various pretexts such as the designation of land as nature reserves, state land, and military zones.

Land Day and ongoing land confiscation

Land Day, observed annually on March 30, commemorates the events of 1976 when Israel seized large tracts of land from Palestinian citizens, sparking protests that led to numerous deaths and injuries.

The commission reported that more than 24,000 dunams (5,900 acres) were taken under the claim of “state land,” marking the largest land confiscation in over three decades.

The statement also emphasized the Israeli demolition campaign targeting Palestinian buildings. In 2023, Israeli authorities issued 939 demolition orders, with 60% of them concentrated in Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Jerusalem. Additionally, 684 demolitions occurred, primarily in Area C, which includes Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablus, and Jericho.

According to the Palestinian commission, 770,000 illegal Israeli settlers now reside in 180 illegal settlements and 256 outposts across the occupied West Bank.

Tensions in the occupied West Bank have escalated significantly, with at least 939 Palestinians killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and settlers since the beginning of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza on October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.