Source: Amnesty International –
Israel is escalating its relentless expansion of illegal settlements by confiscating land in the occupied West Bank, including through the alarming step of blatantly ordering the seizure of land in Area A, which is under the control of the State of Palestine authorities. This move deepens Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise and further undermines the rights of Palestinians living under occupation, said Amnesty International today.
In July 2026 alone, the Israeli military signed at least 15 land confiscation orders covering approximately 200 dunams (20 hectares) of land in Areas A and C in the Jenin governorate in the north of the occupied West Bank, with the apparent goal of connecting two planned Israeli settlements in the area: Emek Dotan and Noa. The two settlements are among 34 new settlements whose establishment was approved by the current Israeli government earlier this year.
“These latest confiscation orders from Area A show how Israel is now brazenly expanding its annexation agenda to areas that have been under the control of the Palestinian authorities since the Oslo Accords. States with close trade and political relationships with the Israeli government must urgently take action to pressure Israel to rescind these land confiscation orders. Any states providing assistance to Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements or other war crimes risk complicity in international crimes against Palestinians,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“By building new roads linking settlements to one another, Israel is carving up the Jenin governorate into isolated cantons, undermining the area’s geographical and economic integrity and tearing Palestinian communities apart; further fragmenting them and restricting their freedom of movement. Alongside Israel’s forcible transfer and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Area C, these measures illustrate in action the Israeli authorities’ determination to intensify its formal annexation of Palestinian land across the occupied West Bank.”
These latest confiscation orders from Area A show how Israel is now brazenly expanding its annexation agenda to areas that have been under the control of the Palestinian authorities since the Oslo Accords.
Heba Morayef, MENA Regional Director
In a recent report Amnesty International documented how the Israeli authorities have been accelerating annexation through a state-driven campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in Area C of the unlawfully occupied West Bank.
According to Peace Now, this is the first time since the Oslo Accords that military seizure orders have been issued in Area A openly for civil purposes benefiting settlers rather than for ostensible security reasons. In May 2026 the Israeli army confiscated privately owned lands within the city of Jenin for the purpose of establishing a military base.
Under international law, an occupying power must not confiscate land in an occupied territory unless absolutely necessary for military reasons; this does not include illegal settlement expansion.
In recent days Israel has also sparked a global outcry by advancing its controversial E1 settlement plan in violation of international law with an announcement that it has opened tenders for the construction of 1,234 Israeli homes in the occupied West Bank. If implemented, the plan would isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of Palestinian territory and will effectively divide the West Bank in two, making Palestinian movement across these areas of the Occupied Palestinian Territory more difficult and further fragmenting Palestinian communities.