14/5/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
The Union for Justice Foundation stated that the Israeli occupation army’s confiscation of Palestinian land in areas classified as Area A in central Jenin constitutes a dangerous precedent and an Israeli attempt to gauge local and international reactions before replicating the move in other West Bank cities.
The Foundation noted that the Israeli Knesset’s postponement earlier this week of the vote on a bill seeking to annul the Oslo Accords does not alter the grim reality in the West Bank. It stressed that the decision to confiscate land in Jenin cannot be separated from the Israeli government’s broader direction toward implementing plans to annex the West Bank and gradually annul the Oslo Accords.
The Foundation added: “Just days after postponing the vote on annulling Oslo, the Israeli Knesset swiftly moved to ratify a bill establishing an Israeli Antiquities Authority responsible for archaeological sites in the West Bank. This authority has been granted broad powers, including land seizure, management of archaeological excavations, and enforcement of laws related to antiquities and nature reserves in Areas B and C of the West Bank.”
The so-called commander of the Israeli army in the West Bank, Avi Bluth, issued a military order on 10 May to confiscate seven dunams of land in the Al-Jabriyat neighborhood southwest of Jenin, in preparation for the establishment of a military facility or base overlooking Jenin refugee camp.
The Union for Justice Foundation added: “This decision establishes a permanent presence for the occupation inside Jenin and may, in the future, signal the division of the city into eastern and western sectors. It also encourages the occupation to pursue similar measures in other locations within West Bank cities classified as Area A, particularly if local and international reactions remain weak and below expectations.”
Under the Oslo Accords signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli government in 1993, the occupation authorities hold no civil or security jurisdiction within areas classified as Area A in West Bank cities. This confirms that the Israeli measure in Jenin is unlawful even under Israeli law itself, in addition to violating international law, which considers any Israeli military presence in the West Bank illegal, in the same way as settlement activity.
Since the large-scale military operation launched by the Israeli army in the West Bank in 2002, known as “Operation Defensive Shield,” the occupation government has effectively abandoned one of the Oslo provisions prohibiting Israeli military incursions into Area A except under rare and limited circumstances. Today, the occupation is moving toward another stage that allows for the confiscation of land within these areas, which constitute 18 percent of the West Bank’s total area.
The “Union for Justice” Foundation warns that the confiscation of land within an Area A classification carries political and security implications that go beyond its military dimension. It reflects an Israeli direction toward reshaping the reality on the ground in the northern West Bank—particularly in Jenin and its refugee camp—by entrenching a permanent military presence and linking that presence to settlement projects currently being revived in the governorate.
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