THE HEAD of the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, Moayad Shaaban, said that since the beginning of this year, the Israeli occupation authorities have seized an estimated 40 thousand dunums of privately owned Palestinian lands.
During a press conference held on Wednesday at the commission’s headquarters in Ramallah, he said that 24 thousand dunums of seized land was declared ‘state land’, in the largest land seizure in more than 30 years of using this pretext.
Shaaban said the occupation authorities systematically targeted nature reserves to seize a total of more than 15,000 dunums.
Within the same period, the authorities set up 20 new colonial outposts, proposed studies on over 19,000 new colonial units, turned 11 outposts into colonies and gave the green light to intensify demolition operations in areas classified as Area B; under Palestinian administration and Israeli military control. and Area C; under full Israeli military and civilian control.
He said the occupation incited the colonists to implement forced displacement schemes, by displacing 26 Bedouin communities and carrying out more than 1,300 attacks and 23 fires in villages and towns, underscoring the dangerous data which indicated the occupation’s control over 43% of the total area of the West Bank.
Shaaban stressed that according to available data, these measures no longer constitute a threat to the two-state solution, but have completely destroyed the possibility of achieving it.
He stressed that Israel is no longer targeting Area C only, but also targets Area B, in declarations that abolish what is left of political agreements and challenge UN Security Council resolutions and the global common position that condemns Colonisation and the acts of the occupying power, Israel.
He emphasised the need to provide international protection that would deter the brutality of the occupation and curb the terrorism of the colonists.
In the meantime, Issam Arouri, General Director of Jerusalem Legal Aid Centre, underscored the dangerous rise in demolitions all over the West Bank since the onset of the Israeli aggression on the West Bank, including Jerusalem.
He stressed that 2023 was the worst year in almost 30 years, noting that the first half of 2024 recorded an increase in demolitions by 43% compared to 2023, and by 65% compared to 2022.
He said that such practices constitute grave violations of international law and international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians, which prohibits the forcible transfer and deportation of civilian populations, and the confiscation or destruction of property.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed at dawn different areas of the West Bank and kidnapped a number of Palestinian citizens from their homes, amid clashes with resistance fighters.
The most prominent incident was in Jenin, where Israeli special forces hiding in a Palestinian truck infiltrated into the eastern neighbourhood of the city and encircled a house.
The Israeli forces bombed the house with an Energa projectile before clashing with resistance fighters.
Later, the IOF ended the operation and withdrew from Jenin after kidnapping a wanted fighter called Nouruddin al-Shalabi and another young man.
In Qalqilya City, the IOF took measurements of a house belonging to the family of Ali Bakr, a wanted fighter, and threatened his parents to assassinate him if he did not turn himself in.
Armed clashes also took place between resistance fighters and Israeli forces in Qalqilya City. Resistance fighters also shot down an Israeli drone in the city.
The IOF also deployed snipers on rooftops of some houses in Qalqilya and set up ambushes for young men in Street 22 and near the Islamic Academy.
Israeli forces also kidnapped the mother of another wanted fighter called Muawiya Abu Haneyya from her home in Azzun town in eastern Qalqilya to pressure her son to turn himself in.
In al-Khalil, the IOF kidnapped Palestinian journalist and writer Israa Lafi from her home in Surif town.
In east Jerusalem, Israeli police forces closed the main entrance of the east Jerusalem district of Issawiya, which provoked clashed with local youths.
One young man was reportedly injured by police gunfire during the events in Issawiya.
- Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the European Union (EU) not to remain silent regarding Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights, and to ensure that Tel Aviv stops all its illegal practices.
People in Gaza are being deliberately starved and collectively punished as Israeli authorities are using starvation as a method of warfare, severely and arbitrarily restricting food, water, fuel, electricity, and humanitarian access, HRW said in a letter addressing the EU and EU foreign ministers.
‘There is mounting evidence that the actions of the Israeli army are rendering large parts of the Strip unlivable, and massive reconstruction efforts will be required to enable Palestinians to return to their previous lives.’
‘Most EU governments and commissioners failed to acknowledge Israeli authorities’ crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians, the letter added.
‘Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other officials did not condemn Israel’s cutting off of basic services and aid to civilians in Gaza, and they showed little regard for the loss of Palestinian lives amid Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza.’
HRW concluded by calling on the EU to unequivocally and publicly recognise and condemn the Israeli authorities’ war crimes, other international law violations and rights abuses in Gaza and in the West Bank, both before and since October 7th, and demand accountability.
- Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has called for an immediate halt to the Israeli regime’s barbarous campaign that has claimed the lives of over 38,800 people since early October.
More than 17,000 children have been killed during the Israeli aggression since October, according to the latest estimate by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. About 98% of children in Gaza do not have access to safe drinking water.
