Gaza: Israel's recent decisions to seize Palestinian land reflect an expansion of its agenda and policies aimed at annexing the occupied West Bank to Israel.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, in a statement, the organization said Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank and seizure of Palestinian land were accelerating the annexation of the territory. Israel continues to take control of additional land and establish illegal settlements. Amnesty asserted that Israel's seizure of land under the control of the State of Palestine disregards the rights of Palestinians living under occupation, noting that in July alone, the Israeli army seized 15 plots of land covering a combined 20 hectares.
The organization reported that Israel plans to build two of the 34 illegal settlements it decided to establish this year specifically in these areas. Additionally, Amnesty highlighted that Israel is establishing military bases through the seizure of privately owned Palestinian land, targeting Palestinian Bedouin communities and herders. The potential construction of a road to serve illegal settlements in Jenin could further isolate the governorate from other Palestinian population centers.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, indicated that Israel had seized Palestinian land classified as Area A under the Oslo Accords for the first time. Morayef remarked, 'Recent seizure orders targeting Area A clearly reveal how Israel is recklessly expanding its annexation agenda into areas that have been under Palestinian control since the Oslo Accords.' She called on states with close trade and political ties to Israel to exert pressure to revoke the seizure orders.
Morayef warned that the roads Israel plans to construct threaten Palestine's territorial integrity and economic integration while imposing further restrictions on Palestinians' freedom of movement. She described the measures as evidence of 'a determination by Israeli authorities to intensify the formal annexation of Palestinian land throughout the occupied West Bank.' By occupying Palestinian land and expanding illegal settlements, Israeli institutions are deepening their violations of long-standing international law.
Morayef urged the international community to take concrete steps, including ending partnerships and economic projects with Israel, and halting trade relations with Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land. She also called on the private sector to refrain from profiting from these human rights violations.