Israel seizes 12.7 square kilometers in West Bank, largest seizure in decades

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3 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Israeli authorities have approved the confiscation of 12.7 square kilometres of land in the West Bank, an unprecedented seizure since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and which comes amid escalating tensions in the area, according to the NGO Peace Now.

The Israeli Civil Administration agreed to this massive seizure on June 25, but the text was only published on Wednesday. With this new announcement, which affects an area in the northeastern West Bank, the total amount of land confiscated this year now stands at 23.7 square kilometers.

The declaration of Israeli sovereignty over certain territories implies the confirmation of an illegal occupation in the eyes of international law and de facto blocks Palestinians from accessing these areas. In the case of the latter measure, it guarantees Israel territorial continuity between different settler settlements.

For Peace Now, which examines such movements, the constant seizures show that both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is in charge of Civil Administration, “are determined to fight against the entire world and the interests of the people of Israel for the benefit of a handful of settlers.”

“It is clear that this conflict cannot be resolved without a political agreement that establishes a Palestinian state alongside Israel. However, the Israeli government chooses to complicate the situation and distance us from the possibility of peace,” the NGO said in a statement.