The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) announced its intent to seize hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land in Salfit province, in the central occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
Local official Ghassan Daghlas, said that the IOA recently delivered notices to Palestinian municipal councils in Salfit province informing them of its intent to annex hundreds of dunams from their towns and villages in order to use the land for settlement activity.
In recent months, the IOA has annexed thousands of dunams of Palestinian land in the West Bank for the purpose of expanding settlements, and announced plans to build roads and hundreds of housing units for Jewish settlers.
At the same time, the Israel embarked on carrying out widespread demolitions against Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied Palestinian territories.
According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, more than 620,000 Israeli citizens currently reside in settlements across the occupied West Bank. The settlements are the single most important factor in shaping life in the West Bank.
The destructive impact of settlements on the human rights of Palestinians, extends beyond the hundreds of thousands of dunams [1 dunam = 1,000 sq. meters], including farmland and grazing areas, that Israel appropriated from Palestinians in order to build settlements.
The existence of settlements violate many human rights of Palestinians, including the rights to property, equality, an adequate standard of living and freedom of movement.
In addition, the radical changes that Israel has made to the map of the West Bank preclude any real possibility of establishing an independent, viable Palestinian state in fulfilment of the right to self-determination.
Edited for IMEMC: Ali Salam
