Amid the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, Israel on Friday, March 22, seized 800 hectares (1,977 acres) of land in the northern Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, marking the “largest” seizure since 1993’s Oslo Accords.
Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich declared the seized land in the northern Jordan Valley “state land” to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank, AFP reported.
In a statement, the head of the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority said, “The year 2024 witnessed the largest Israeli seizure of West Bank lands under the name of state lands, in many years, amounting to 3 decades.”
“The areas seized by the Israel under this name amounted to a total of 1064 hectares.”
He explained that the first was on February 29, when “the Israel seized 264 hectares of lands from the towns of Al-Eizariya and Abu Dis,” east of the occupied city of Jerusalem, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
Earlier on Friday, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) reported, “Allocating 8,000 dunams in the Jordan Valley as Israeli land for the construction of hundreds of housing units, in addition to an area designated for industry, trade, and employment.”
Israel gained control of the West Bank in the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, making all Israeli settlements in the region illegal under international law.
Over 720,000 Israelis are currently living in illegal settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
This comes as the Israeli forces have been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, leaving over 32,000 deaths, a humanitarian catastrophe, and massive destruction of infrastructure.
