Qalqilya: Israel has approved a new settlement plan to seize 9 acres of land from the Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddum, located east of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank. The plan was confirmed by a local official on Sunday.
According to Anadolu Agency, Munif Nazzal, an official who monitors settlement activities at the Palestinian Authority's Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, reported that the plan includes constructing 58 new settler units at the Mitzpe Yeshai settlement, which is already established on the village's land.
The United Nations has long maintained that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law and pose a significant obstacle to the two-state solution.
Earlier in September, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to annex 82% of the occupied West Bank, a move that experts believe would severely jeopardize the two-state solution endorsed by UN resolutions.
The recent announcement of land seizure comes amid heightened tensions, as Israeli forces and settlers have conducted over 38,000 attacks across the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023, as reported by the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
These incidents have led to the displacement of 33 Bedouin communities and the creation of 114 new illegal settler outposts. The commission also noted that 767 fires were deliberately set on Palestinian properties, and over 1,000 demolitions have obliterated nearly 3,700 structures, including residential and agricultural facilities.
Following the onset of the Gaza war, Israeli forces have instituted more than 900 checkpoints, both permanent and temporary, across the West Bank, severely restricting movement in the occupied territory.
Official Palestinian statistics indicate that since October 2023, at least 1,048 Palestinians have been killed, and approximately 10,300 have sustained injuries.
Israel has maintained its occupation of Palestinian territories, along with parts of Syria and Lebanon, for decades, refusing to withdraw and resisting the formation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the borders established before 1967.