Israel is escalating its relentless expansion of illegal settlements by confiscating land in the occupied West Bank, including through the alarming step of blatantly ordering the seizure of land in Area A, which is under the control of the State of Palestine authorities. This move deepens Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise and further undermines the rights of Palestinians living under occupation, said Amnesty International today.
In July 2026 alone, the Israeli military signed at least 15 land confiscation orders covering approximately 200 dunams (20 hectares) of land in Areas A and C in the Jenin governorate in the north of the occupied West Bank, with the apparent goal of connecting two planned Israeli settlements in the area: Emek Dotan and Noa. The two settlements are among 34 new settlements whose establishment was approved by the current Israeli government earlier this year.
“These latest confiscation orders from Area A show how Israel is now brazenly expanding its annexation agenda to areas that have been under the control of the Palestinian authorities since the Oslo Accords. States with close trade and political relationships with the Israeli government must urgently take action to pressure Israel to rescind these land confiscation orders. Any states providing assistance to Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements or other war crimes risk complicity in international crimes against Palestinians,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“By building new roads linking settlements to one another, Israel is carving up the Jenin governorate into isolated cantons, undermining the area’s geographical and economic integrity and tearing Palestinian communities apart; further fragmenting them and restricting their freedom of movement. Alongside Israel’s
forcible transfer
and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Area C, these measures illustrate in action the Israeli authorities’ determination to intensify its formal annex
