The Israeli military has seized more than 26 dunams of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, affecting three areas north of Ramallah.
,The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission released a statement on Tuesday detailing the directive. The military order was issued on October 28.
,It places 26.473 dunams, equivalent to 6.54 acres, under Israeli military control. The designated land sits within the village boundaries of Deir Nizam, Umm Safa, and Atara.
,Israeli authorities justified the takeover by citing military purposes. The commission said the property is actually designated for a route named the Ateret to Neve Tzuf emergency axis.
,The road is intended to connect Israeli settlement sites in the region. The commission warned that the route strengthens links between illegal settlements and outposts around Ateret and Halamish, also known as Neve Tzuf.
,The project could impose tighter restrictions on Palestinian landowners trying to reach nearby plots. The order grants the Israeli military exclusive possession of the specified route according to attached maps.
,The directive stays in effect until the end of 2028. Approximately 5.891 dunams, or 22.3 percent of the seized area, are classified by Israeli authorities as state land, while the remaining 20.582 dunams fall outside that classification.
,The commission stated that the military order provides for temporary seizure rather than formal ownership transfer. Using the land for settlement infrastructure raises concerns over the expansion of Israeli control.
,Israeli authorities have increasingly used military seizure orders to take Palestinian land across the occupied West Bank. The United Nations considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal under international law.
,UN Security Council Resolution 2334 states that the settlements possess no legal validity. The International Court of Justice declared in a July 2024 advisory opinion that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful, and called for the evacuation of all settlements from the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
