Israeli authorities have announced the seizure of around 456 dunams (456,000 square metres) of land in the northern occupied West Bank, amid what Palestinian officials describe as a systematic escalation of settlement expansion, demolitions, and attacks on civilians since October 2023.
The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said on Tuesday evening that the land confiscation affects the villages of Jit and Farata in the east of Qalqilya Governorate, and the town of Tel in the west of Nablus Governorate.
In a press statement, the Commission said the move comes after Israel designated the area as "state land", a term which it often uses to take control of and illegally confiscate Palestinian property.
It explained that the seizure targets land where the Havat Gilad outpost was established in 2003, noting that the declaration aims to "regularize" the status of the outpost.
The Commission said the Israeli government had previously signalled its intention to legalise Havat Gilad, and that with Tuesday’s announcement, the total land seized under the "state land" designation since the far-right government took power in early 2023 has risen to more than 26,000 dunams through 13 such declarations.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, it has built hundreds of settlements there in violation of international law, on what it claims is "state land". However, Israeli settlers have also established outposts, without the permission of Israeli authorities, on seized private Palestinian land.
The classification of the outposts as being built on "state land" serves to legitimize them and entrench Israeli settlement.
It comes amid measures and discussions led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers to prepare for the annexation of the West Bank.
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Commission said its policies of home demolitions, forced displacement, and settlement construction have intensified, despite UN calls for a halt to settlement activity.
Alongside the land seizure, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate released a report on Tuesday detailing a surge in attacks and violations by Israeli forces and settlers in Jerusalem from 7 October 2023 to 31 August 2025.
The Governorate said 116,755 settlers had stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during that period in "systematic incursions" under the protection of Israeli forces, describing the actions as a violation of the historical and legal status of holy sites and "an assault on freedom of worship and the rights of Muslims worldwide".
It also documented 719 demolitions and bulldozing operations in Jerusalem, calling them "large-scale destruction of property without military necessity" in violation of Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and aimed at the "forcible displacement" of Palestinians.
The report said 94 Palestinians had been killed deliberately, some in field executions, calling the actions war crimes and a “flagrant violation” of Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
It added that Israel has withheld the bodies of 47 Palestinians from Jerusalem from their families since 1967, calling this an “inhumane crime” and "a form of collective punishment" that constitutes psychological torture for families.
The Governorate also documented 2,574 detentions, including arbitrary and mass detentions of minors and women.
It reported 706 prison sentences by military courts, including administrative detention orders based on secret files. There were 166 house arrest orders, 18 travel bans, and 251 forced expulsion orders from Jerusalem or Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The report also recorded 464 injuries from live and rubber-coated bullets, which it said amounted to excessive and disproportionate force in violation of international humanitarian law
The Governorate said the escalation reflects a clear policy to impose the "Judaization" of Jerusalem and force its residents into migration, noting that large-scale settlement projects are aimed at eliminating the two-state solution and the Palestinian aspiration for an independent, contiguous state.
It called on the UN Security Council, the international community and the International Criminal Court to assume their legal and moral responsibilities and move from verbal condemnation to sanctions and legal accountability.
It also urged the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and full UN membership for Palestine, saying this would be "a fundamental step toward correcting historical injustice and guaranteeing the Palestinian people’s right to freedom, self-determination, and statehood".