Israeli authorities seized nearly 500 dunams (123 acres) of Palestinian land in the northern West Bank, as occupiers built eight illegal settlement outposts in the occupied territory since Friday, according to authorities and media on Monday, Anadolu reports.
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said in a statement that Israeli authorities seized 498 dunams of land in Tubas province and the village of Tayasir to build a military road.
“The seizure orders remain in effect until the end of 2028 and aim to establish a security and military road about 10 kilometers long to serve the Israeli army and occupiers,” the statement said.
The commission said the military orders impose a wide zone of military control over the area and threaten to deprive Palestinians of access to their land.
The land seizure comes as Israeli occupiers have built eight illegal settlement outposts in the northern city of Nablus since their attack on the town of Tell on Friday, according to Israel’s Army Radio.
“Over the past 24 hours, two additional settlement outposts were established in Nablus near the site of Friday’s attack in Tell,” the radio said.
READ: UN rapporteur calls Israeli attacks in occupied West Bank civilians ‘pogroms’
On Friday, Israeli occupiers backed by army forces attacked the Palestinian town of Tell near Nablus, killing four Palestinians. Two Israelis were also killed in a shooting during the confrontation, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.
The radio said one of the two outposts was established in Area B between the Palestinian village of Deir Istiya and the illegal Emmanuel settlement, while the other was set up in Area C west of the village of Deir Ballut.
Under the 1995 Oslo II agreement, Area B falls under Palestinian civil control and Israeli security control, while Area C is under full Israeli civil and security control.
Settlement outposts are mobile homes placed by occupiers on Palestinian land before being turned into illegal permanent settlements, often with government backing.
The UN considers the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, occupied Palestinian territory and says Israeli settlement activity there is illegal under international law.
“The decision to evacuate the outposts will be made according to the assessment of the situation and the directives of the political leadership,” the radio said, citing a military statement.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces and occupiers have killed at least 1,182 Palestinians in the West Bank, injured thousands and detained around 24,000, according to official Palestinian figures.
READ: Israel plans 763 new settlement units, threefold expansion of Eli settlement in occupied West Bank
