Israeli occupation forces continued large‑scale bulldozing of Palestinian‑owned land in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, on Monday, marking the second consecutive day of clearing operations in the northeastern part of the community.
Hani Odah, head of the Qusra Village Council, said Israeli bulldozers have advanced dangerously close to residential homes, raising concerns among residents about further land loss and potential damage to nearby properties.
He noted that the bulldozing is part of a broader pattern of pressure on the town, which has faced repeated incursions and land seizures.
Odah added that illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers have also placed mobile “caravans” on Palestinian land in the area, in what appears to be preparation for seizing additional territory and establishing new colonial outposts.
Qusra encompasses roughly 9,000 dunams of land, classified within Areas B and C under the Oslo framework. The town is surrounded by five Israeli colonies: Migdalim to the east — the largest in the area — and four others to the south, identified as Yesh Kodesh, Adei Ad, Kida, and Ahiya.
Residents say the expanding network of colonies and outposts has increasingly restricted their access to farmland and grazing areas. Local officials warn that the ongoing bulldozing, combined with the placement of new caravans, signals a renewed push to alter the landscape around Qusra and tighten control over its remaining open land.
All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment and acts of terror against civilian populations.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
Articles 53 and 147 prohibit the destruction of civilian property and classify pillage as a war crime.
