JENIN, August 9, 2026 (WAFA) — Israeli ministers, Knesset members and officials on Sunday laid the foundation stone for a new Israeli settlement, named Emek Dotan, on lands belonging to the town of Arraba, southwest of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, in a further escalation of Israel’s settlement expansion in the region.

Jenin Governorate's settlement affairs official Tareq Eghbariyeh told WAFA that the establishment of the new settlement, with the participation of Israeli ministers, Knesset members and other officials, represents a dangerous escalation targeting Palestinian land and aimed at tightening restrictions on the local population and creating new facts on the ground, ultimately forcing Palestinians from their homes.

He said the settlement projects violate international law and form part of Israeli efforts to impose sovereignty and annexation over large areas of the occupied West Bank, particularly its northern areas and Jenin Governorate.

Around 22 Israeli colonist families participated in the foundation-stone ceremony alongside Israeli ministers, Knesset members and officials, reflecting official political support for settlement expansion in the area.

The new settlement is located in the Arraba area and its plain, one of Jenin Governorate’s most fertile agricultural areas, encompassing extensive lands on which Palestinians depend for farming and their livelihoods.

The establishment of Emek Dotan comes amid escalating Israeli measures in the Jenin Governorate, including land seizure orders, the construction and expansion of military roads, land leveling and tree uprooting, as well as the establishment and expansion of settlement outposts and settlements.

M.N