BETHLEHEM, June 2, 2026 (WAFA) – The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission revealed on Tuesday that Israeli occupation authorities have issued a new military order to seize 300 dunums of Palestinian-owned land in the mountain of Jabal al-Fureidis, also known as Herodium mountain, located on the lands of the Arab Al-Ta'amra area, east of Bethlehem Governorate, under the pretext of "expropriation for public purposes" and the "development of the archaeological site."
Head of the Commission, Minister Moayad Shaaban, said the order marks the third land expropriation order issued by Israeli authorities since the beginning of 2026, underscoring an accelerated policy aimed at consolidating legal and administrative control over Palestinian land and converting it to serve colonial settlement projects through the use of military orders designed to strip Palestinians of their land ownership rights.
He explained that the order is considered the sixth expropriation directive targeting Palestinian archaeological and heritage sites over the past few years, including sites in Jericho Governorate, Salfit Governorate, Nablus Governorate, and north of Jerusalem, in a clear indication of the escalating use of the archaeological and historical narrative by Israeli occupation authorities as a tool to seize land, advance annexation projects, and impose colonial realities on the occupied Palestinian territory.
He added that the site targeted by the current order had already been declared by Israeli occupation authorities in 2024 as “state land,” covering 171 dunums of the surrounding area, before they expanded their control today through the expropriation of the same site by adding more than 130 dunums, bringing the total area of seizure to 300 dunums, including the site itself and surrounding lands. He said this reflects a gradual and systematic plan to tighten control over the entire geographical area through the use of different designations for land seizure.
He stressed that the expropriation policy carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities in the occupied West Bank represents one of the most dangerous tools used to impose de facto annexation of Palestinian land, particularly as it relies on unilateral legislation and procedures imposed by the occupation in the occupied Palestinian Territory, in clear violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions.
He pointed out that the targeting of Palestinian archaeological and heritage sites is not limited to land control alone, but falls within an attempt to reshape the Palestinian historical and cultural landscape, linking these sites to the colonial settlement project, which contributes to isolating them from their Palestinian surroundings and turning them into tourist and settlement attractions that serve the Israeli narrative.
Shaaban affirmed that this order comes within a broader context of measures implemented by the Israeli occupation government aimed at strengthening its control over Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, and imposing new geographical and legal realities that pave the way for further annexation projects and colonial settlement expansion at the expense of the rights, land, and resources of the Palestinian people.
T.R.
