02/04/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
The Union for Justice Foundation stated that Israeli occupation authorities confiscated, during the first quarter of 2026, more than (1,788) dunums of land belonging to Palestinian citizens in the West Bank for military and settlement purposes.
In a report issued on the occasion of “Land Day,” the organization affirmed that the ongoing Israeli land confiscation practices form part of a systematic and continuous policy aimed at annexing the West Bank, asserting control over it, depriving Palestinians of access to their natural resources, confining them to limited areas, and preventing urban expansion.
The organization noted that the confiscation of these dunums (one dunum in Palestine equals 1,000 square meters) serves to expand the boundaries of Israeli settlements, connect them through an extensive road network, establish buffer zones separating them from Palestinian villages and towns, and construct Israeli military camps or areas designated for military training.
It added: “Since after 7 October 2023, the occupation has advanced numerous approvals for the construction of new settlement units, amounting to tens of thousands, alongside the paving of hundreds of kilometres of bypass roads that reshape the geographical landscape and deepen the isolation of Palestinian communities, as part of an integrated project aimed at consolidating control over the land and undermining any possibility of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian entity.”
The organization further indicated that occupation authorities are racing against time, taking advantage of international preoccupation with the war on Iran and the decline in international oversight, to impose new facts on the ground and advance their settlement plans in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics had previously reported that occupation authorities seized more than 6,000 dunums of land in the West Bank during 2025.
Data issued by the Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) show that approximately 61% of the West Bank is classified as Area (C), where the occupation authorities exercise full security and civil control. More than 70% of lands within these areas are subject to settlement-related classifications such as “State Land,” “nature reserves,” and “military training zones.”
Additionally, around 15% of the West Bank has been classified as “State Land,” with the majority of it systematically allocated for settlement expansion. This is in addition to 18% of the West Bank’s total area that has been declared as military training zones, where Palestinians are deprived of their right to access, use, and develop it, while settlers are allowed to enter and establish outposts there.
Since the beginning of this year, the Union for Justice Foundation has documented ten land confiscation and seizure orders across several governorates, including Nablus, Qalqilya, Salfit, Jenin, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, and the Jordan Valley.
On 5 January, occupation authorities issued a decision to confiscate (47) dunums of land from the towns of Al-Funduqomiya and Silat al-Dhahr in Jenin Governorate, and Burqa in Nablus Governorate, as an amendment to a military order issued at the end of last year.
On 7 January, the authorities issued a decision to confiscate (694) dunums of land from the towns of Kafr Thulth in Qalqilya Governorate, and Deir Istiya and Biddya in Salfit Governorate, under the pretext that it is classified as “State Land,” a designation used by the occupation to control and seize more Palestinian land.
On 8 January, occupation authorities issued a military order to seize approximately (140) dunums of land from the village of Al-Funduqomiya south of Jenin, in addition to a previous order to seize (311) dunums, bringing the total seized area to approximately (451) dunums.
On 18 January, the occupation municipality in Jerusalem notified residents of Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, near Al-Aqsa Mosque, of its intention to seize (1 dunum and 100 square meters) of land under the pretext of establishing a public park and a parking facility.
On 17 February, occupation authorities handed residents in the area of “Khallet al-Nahla,” near the village of Wadi Rahhal south of Bethlehem, a decision to seize land for the purpose of constructing a settlement road linking the outpost of “Giv’at Eitam” with the settlement of “Tekoa.”
On the same day, occupation authorities issued a decision to seize approximately (286) square meters of land in Beit Hanina, northwest of Jerusalem, under the pretext of “military purposes.” The targeted land lies within the separation wall in the Al-Barid suburb, opposite the Al-Ram checkpoint.
On 23 February, the Israeli army seized approximately (500) dunums of land and uprooted dozens of olive trees in the “Jamrura” area of Beit Kahil, northwest of Hebron, under the pretext of establishing an industrial zone.
On 4 March, the Israeli army informed residents of the town of Jaba’, south of Jenin, of its decision to take control of (2.8) dunums of land near the entrance to the “Tirsala” site along the Jenin–Nablus road, for the purpose of establishing a military checkpoint.
On 13 March, occupation authorities issued a military order to seize (268) dunums of land belonging to Palestinian citizens in the Al-Baqi‘a Plain in the northern Jordan Valley for military purposes. This followed several months after a previous order to seize (1,042) dunums of land in the Atouf Plain, which lies within Al-Baqi‘a.
Also on 13 March, occupation authorities issued three separate military orders to seize a total of (133) dunums of land in the town of Arraba in Jenin Governorate and the village of Deir Istiya in Salfit Governorate, under the pretext of “military purposes.”
In Jenin Governorate, two military orders were issued to seize 128.6 dunums of land from the town of Arraba to expand a military site east of the town, in addition to another order to seize 3.6 dunums to construct a road in the same area.
In Salfit Governorate, occupation authorities issued an order to confiscate 999 square meters of land in Deir Istiya for the purpose of constructing a “security road” south of the town of Marda, adjacent to the settlement of “Ariel.”
The Union for Justice Foundation emphasizes that these figures do not include ongoing land seizures carried out by settlers, particularly in areas adjacent to settlements and especially in the Jordan Valley, where settlers take over Palestinian land, fence it, cultivate it as a means of imposing a fait accompli, and prevent Palestinian residents from accessing or approaching it.
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