'Israel' seizes more land in al-Khalil for settler road
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"Israel" has seized more than 5 dunums of land in al-Khalil to construct a road connecting illegal settlements, part of a surge in settlement expansion across the West Bank this year.
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Israeli occupation soldiers speak to a Palestinian woman near the site of a car-ramming operation near Beit Hagai, a Jewish settlement in the hills south of the large Palestinian city of al-Khalil, on August 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File)
In the latest escalation of its settlement expansion campaign, "Israel" has issued a military order on Saturday to seize over five dunums of land in the al-Khalil governorate, as reported by WAFA news. The targeted area lies near the outskirts of Sa’ir and al-Shuyoukh towns, and will be used to construct a road exclusively for settlers, connecting the illegal settlements of Asfar and Pnei Kedem.
The land seizure was authorized under the pretext of "military and security purposes," allowing for the creation of new infrastructure aimed at facilitating settler movement while severely restricting Palestinian access.
According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the confiscated land includes both areas previously declared as private Palestinian property. Approximately 4.9 dunums are designated specifically for the road’s construction, marking another step in expanding the settler corridor in the region.
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A military map issued by the IOF, titled “Order Regarding Land Seizure No. T/105/25 (Judea and Samaria), 2025,” shows the area targeted for confiscation in al-Khalil’s Sa’ir and Al-Shuyoukh towns. The red line marks the section of land seized under the order. At the same time, the blue indicates the portion allocated to the Israeli military, intended for a settler-only road connecting the illegal colonies of Asfar and Pnei Kedem. (Israeli media)
40th land seizure order issued in 2025
The al-Khalil land seizure is part of a broader pattern of intensifying land confiscations by Israeli occupation authorities in 2025. The Commission confirmed that this marks the 40th military seizure order issued this year alone.
At least 11 of these orders have created buffer zones around illegal settlements, effectively cutting Palestinians off from vast areas of their agricultural land. In total, "Israel" has declared over 25,800 dunums (25.8 km²) as "state land" since the start of 2025, surpassing even the 24,300 dunums seized in 2024, the highest annual figure since the Oslo Accords.
In a recent example, on July 7, Israeli occupation forces seized 744 dunums near al-Mughayir and Jaba’it villages to expand the illegal outpost of Malakhi HaShalom. Earlier, on May 29, Israeli authorities approved 22 new settlements, marking the most extensive settlement expansion in decades.
Israeli control mechanisms
"Israel" employs multiple legal mechanisms to facilitate its ongoing campaign of Palestinian land seizures:
- Declaring land as “state land” under Ottoman-era legislation
- Issuing military orders under the guise of security needs
- Constructing settler roads and military infrastructure
- Retroactively legalizing illegal outposts
These measures have enabled "Israel" to exert control over approximately 44.5% of the West Bank, with settlements alone accounting for 42%. Although the physical built-up areas comprise only about 3.6%, the total influence of settlements extends much further due to zoning and infrastructure control.
As a result of these settler colonial activities, over 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced in 2025, per UN estimates. Additionally, thousands more face restricted movement, the demolition of their homes, and the continued loss of vital farmland.
Israeli settlement expansion surges by 40% under Netanyahu
It is worth noting that earlier this month, Israeli media reported on July 5 that there has been a 40% rise in the number of settlements under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that the West Bank has witnessed a boom in settlement activity since the formation of Netanyahu's government at the end of 2022. The number of settlements increased from 128 to 178, accompanied by extensive demolitions of Palestinian homes.
This expansion directly affects Palestinian communities through land confiscation and home demolitions. The channel emphasized that these measures aim to entrench Israeli control over the area and dismantle the viability of the so-called two-state solution.
West Bank settlements in international law
Last year in July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reaffirmed that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank violate international law. The UN Human Rights Office has also warned that the forced transfers and seizures seen in recent months may constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law.
Despite mounting global criticism, Israeli authorities continue to advance settlement expansion in 2025, using a combination of legal, military, and infrastructural tools to impose new geopolitical realities on Palestinian territory.
