EU condemns 'Israel' for seizing 800 hectares from occupied West Bank

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
24 Mar 2024 14:24
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This theft marks the largest since the Oslo Accords in 1994 as the EU called settlements "a grave breach of international humanitarian law."

Sheep graze in a dry field near the village of Bardala in the Jordan Valley, Aug.8, 2023. (AP)

In a statement on Sunday, the EU condemned the theft of 8000 dunams (800 hectares) of land in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank by "Israel".

"The European Union firmly condemns the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that over 800 hectares of land in the occupied Palestinian territory have been declared as 'state lands'," as this marks the largest since the Oslo Accords in 1994.

The European Union called the settlements in its statement "a grave breach of international humanitarian law.'

"At this week's European Council, EU leaders condemned Israeli Government decisions to further expand illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, urging Israel to reverse these decisions".

The EU also claimed that it will fight terrorism by continuing to condemn the Palestinian Resistance through sanctions and other measures.

This brings the total area of land further occupied by "Israel" in the West Bank in only 2024 to 10,640 dunams, after 2,640 dunams were seized earlier this year: 2,350 units in "Ma’ale Adumim", 300 in "Keidar", and 694 in "Efrat".

Israeli authorities are planning to construct hundreds of housing units on the occupied land, in addition to establishing industrial and commercial areas. The plan is expected to take about two years to complete and will require political approval.

Analysts suggested that this serves as a further provocation to the administration of US President Joe Biden, as relations with the current government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been tense in the past months.

Greed knows no bounds

The Israeli settler colonial project in the occupied West Bank aims to dissect and split apart historic Palestinian towns and cities through the installment of permanent Israeli settlements or farms that are illegally built on stolen Palestinian land.

"Israel" plans to lay its hands on 16% of Gaza's territory to establish a “buffer zone", as per an analysis by Adi Ben-Nun, a Hebrew University geography professor.

Construction of the zone has already begun, as per the professor, which naturally will involve the demolishing of Palestinian homes and agriculture to make space for the 1-kilometer (0.6 miles) wide zone.

Israeli officials previously refused to comment on how wide the buffer would be, but the former head of Israeli military intelligence, Amos Yadlin, said he expected "Israel" would enforce a "perimeter" of 500 meters to 1km inside Gaza.

Moreover, "Israel" had bombed factories, warehouses, and civilian infrastructure within the potential buffer zone. Some of the buildings had been deliberately mined by Combat Engineering units, in preparation to demolish the residential bloc.

The surface seems to be for a buffer zone, but the intent may be deeper than that, as many ministers of the occupation have called for building more settlements, according to The Wall Street Journal.