Israel Seizes Palestinian Land to Connect Two Illegal West Bank Settlements

Israel's army seized land under Palestinian Authority control in the occupied West Bank to connect two new illegal settlements, according to a Haaretz report on Wednesday.

The head of the Israeli army's Central Command, Avi Blot, signed 15 land confiscation orders in Area A to build a road connecting the illegal settlements of Noa and Emek Dotan, the newspaper said.

Noa and Emek Dotan are among the new illegal settlements secretly approved by the Israeli Security Cabinet in April 2026 as part of a package that includes 34 settlements in the occupied West Bank, Haaretz said.

According to the Israeli anti-settlement group, Kerem Navot, this is the first time that the Israeli army has used a confiscation order in Area A to connect illegal settlements.

Under the Oslo Accords, Area A is under Palestinian security and administrative control. Israeli law prohibits Israeli occupation from entering the area, while the Palestinian Authority holds civil and security responsibilities there.

Last month, an Israeli human rights group warned that the location of the new settlement was designed to undermine the Oslo Accords.

"I have never seen anything like this before," said researcher Kerem Navot, Dror Etkes, Anadolu (30/7) reported.

"The confiscation order in Area A was previously used for military purposes, but now the order serves a clear civilian and political purpose: connecting settlements," he added.

"The order of confiscation is the same as the deliberate destruction of the Oslo Accords by the Israeli army, which acts under political direction," Etkes said.

The seizure of the land came after the Israeli Security Cabinet approved the establishment of 18 new illegal settlements in the northern West Bank, in addition to dozens of settlements legalized by the current government, Haaretz said.

The first group of settlers is expected to move into the two settlements next month, as infrastructure work is accelerated to implement the new facts on the ground ahead of Israel's general election in October, the newspaper said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised his government's decision on settlement expansion, calling it some of the promises that have been fulfilled.

"There is no dispute about one thing: Minister Bezalel Smotrich said and did. 104 new settlements are just part of a declaration that has become a reality," Smotrich tweeted in a post on X.

According to the Israeli settlement watchdog, Peace Now, there are currently 141 illegal settlements and 360 outposts in the West Bank, in addition to 15 settlements in East Jerusalem.

UN Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016 states that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, have no legal validity and are a flagrant violation of international law.

Meanwhile, in its advisory opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Palestinians warn that Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank, including home demolitions and illegal settlement expansion, pave the way for formal annexation and undermine the possibility of a Palestinian state based on relevant UN resolutions.