RAMALLAH, 19 August 2026 (WAFA) - The Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission said that, between 7 October 2023 and 18 August 2026, the Israeli occupation authorities targeted approximately 29,335 dunums of Palestinian land through declarations designating it as so-called "State Land", marking one of the largest waves of land seizure since the signing of the Oslo Accords.
The updated figure follows Declaration No. HC/04/26, dated 18 August 2026, which targets approximately 1,152 dunums of land belonging to Sinjil in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, and Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya and Qaryut in the Nablus Governorate. The declaration is intended to facilitate the expansion of the Israeli colony of Karmei Oz and connect it with other components of the Israeli Shilo colonial bloc.
The Commission explained that the declarations issued since 7 October have targeted land in the governorates of Jerusalem, Nablus, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Bethlehem, Qalqiliya and Salfit. These declarations are not isolated measures. They form part of an integrated policy aimed at expanding existing colonies, retroactively legalising colonial outposts, connecting colonial blocs and consolidating Israeli control over strategic geographical corridors in the West Bank.
The year 2024 witnessed the sharpest escalation in this policy. The Israeli occupation authorities issued eight declarations targeting approximately 24,597 dunums, representing the overwhelming majority of the land designated since 7 October. Major declarations included 2,640 dunums belonging to Al-Eizariya and Abu Dis to connect the colonies of Ma'ale Adumim and Kedar; approximately 8,160 dunums east of Aqraba; and a further 12,700 dunums in the same general area. Other declarations targeted land in Bethlehem, Qabalan and Beita, villages west of Ramallah, and Burin.
During 2025, declarations targeted approximately 1,925 dunums. Among the most significant were 262 dunums north of Jerusalem, 744 dunums belonging to Al-Mughayyir and Jubait northeast of Ramallah, and approximately 455 dunums belonging to Jit, Far'ata and Tell in the Qalqiliya and Nablus governorates. The latter declaration was intended to retroactively legalise the colonial outpost of Havat Gilad and enable its future planning and expansion.
From the beginning of 2026 through 18 August, declarations targeted approximately 2,312 dunums. Major cases included approximately 694 dunums belonging to Kafr Thulth, Deir Istiya and Bidya for the colonial project associated with Dorot; approximately 464 dunums belonging to Sinjil and Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya to legalise the colonial outpost of Givat Haroeh; and the latest declaration targeting 1,152 dunums belonging to Sinjil, Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya and Qaryut for the expansion of Karmei Oz.
The Commission stressed that designating Palestinian land as "State Land" become an operational mechanism that transfers control of the land to the Israeli Custodian of Government Property, allowing it to be incorporated into colonial jurisdictional areas, allocated for colonial planning, roads and infrastructure, and ultimately transferred for the use of colonial councils and Israeli colonists.
A spatial analysis of the declarations reveals three principal objectives: creating geographical continuity between existing colonies; preparing land for the retroactive legalisation and transformation of outposts into permanent colonies; and controlling the geographical corridors connecting Palestinian communities. This pattern is evident in the E1 project east of Jerusalem, the eastern slopes around Aqraba and the Jordan Valley, the Shilo bloc between northern Ramallah and southern Nablus, and colonial corridors across the western West Bank.
The CWRC stated that "State Land" declarations have become a central instrument in Israel's annexation project since 7 October. It stressed that the Israeli government is exploiting the ongoing war to alter the legal and geographical status of Palestinian land and transform facts established by colonists into permanent colonies supported by official planning, funding and military protection.
The Commission affirmed that Israel, as an occupying Power, has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory. The use of military orders to reclassify Palestinian land and allocate it to colonists does not confer legality on these measures. Rather, it constitutes a serious violation of international law and international resolutions affirming the illegality of Israeli colonization in all its forms.
K.F.
