Israel Expands Settlements in Largest Land Seizure Since Oslo Accords


Israel Expands Settlements in Largest Land Seizure Since Oslo Accords

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli forces have intensified raids across the occupied West Bank, detaining Palestinians and confiscating property, while announcing the largest land seizure in decades, heightening tensions in the region.

Israeli forces detained several Palestinians, including former prisoners, in a series of overnight raids across Tulkarem, Nablus, and Ramallah, according to a joint statement by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

The arrests are part of a surge in detentions since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, with the total number surpassing 11,900, the groups reported.

In Qalandiya, north of East Jerusalem al-Quds, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a young Palestinian man at a military checkpoint.

Raids also targeted several locations in the West Bank.

In al-Lubban Asharqiya, south of Nablus, Israeli forces seized a vehicle belonging to a local resident during a dawn incursion.

In Qusra, also south of Nablus, troops fired sound bombs and interrogated residents, though no injuries were reported.

Clashes were reported in Beita, where Palestinian resistance fighters confronted Israeli forces.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, civil defense workers retrieved the body of a Palestinian killed in an airstrike on the beach west of Rafah. The body was transferred to Nasser Hospital, officials said.

In a related development, Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the confiscation of 24,000 dunums (approximately 6,000 acres) of Palestinian land in the West Bank, marking the largest annexation since the Oslo Accords of 1993.

“This process creates a settlement sequence, builds land reserves for Israel to develop settlements and infrastructure, and guarantees that we will continue to strengthen the settlements,” Smotrich stated.

Channel 14 reported that the expansion includes approximately 2,600 dunums (642 acres) around the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, linking it to the settlement of Kedar. Other settlements, including Migdal Oz, Susya, and Yafit, will also see expansion.

Smotrich described the move as a “historic achievement” aimed at strengthening settlement activity and thwarting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

He has previously declared plans to apply Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank in the coming year.

Over 700,000 Israeli settlers currently reside in more than 230 settlements deemed illegal under international law.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories “illegal” and called for the removal of settlements.

The escalation of raids, detentions, and land seizures comes amid a broader Israeli offensive in Gaza, which has claimed over 44,500 lives in the besieged enclave.

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