WEST BANK, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Amnesty International said on Thursday that Israel’s latest decisions to seize occupied Palestinian land reflect an expansion of its agenda and policies aimed at annexing the West Bank under Israeli sovereignty.
In a statement, the organization said Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and seizure of Palestinian land are accelerating the annexation process, noting that Israel continues to take over more land and establish illegal settlements on it.
Amnesty stressed that Israel’s seizure of land under the control of the State of Palestine disregards the rights of Palestinians living under occupation. It said the Israeli military seized 15 plots of land totaling 20 hectares in July alone.
The organization added that Israel plans to build two of the 34 illegal settlements it has decided to establish this year specifically in these areas.
Amnesty also said Israel is establishing military bases by seizing privately owned land and is targeting Palestinian Bedouin communities and herders.
It warned that a road Israel plans to build to serve illegal settlements in Jenin would isolate the governorate from other Palestinian communities.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said Israel is occupying Palestinian land classified as Area A for the first time since the Oslo Accords.
Morayef said the latest seizure orders targeting Area A clearly demonstrate Israel’s continued expansion of its annexation agenda into areas that have been under Palestinian control since the Oslo Accords.
She called on countries with close political and trade ties with Israel to exert pressure on Israeli authorities to revoke the decisions.
Morayef warned that any state providing support for Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements or other war crimes risks becoming complicit in international crimes committed against Palestinians.
She added that the roads Israel plans to build threaten Palestine’s territorial integrity and economic connectivity while imposing further restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement.
Morayef described the measures as reflecting a determination by Israeli authorities to intensify the formal annexation of Palestinian land across the occupied West Bank.
She said Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and continued expansion of illegal settlements further deepen longstanding violations of international law by Israeli institutions.
Morayef called on the international community to take concrete action, stressing that states should use all available means, including ending partnerships that help sustain these violations, reconsidering economic projects with Israel, and terminating trade relations with Israeli settlements established on seized Palestinian land.
She also stressed that private companies must refrain from profiting from these human rights violations.
