Hamas calls for confrontations over Israeli settlement expansion
4 Min Read
Hamas denounces the Israeli occupation's seizure of land near Ramallah as colonial expansion, calls for widespread resistance across the West Bank, as Smotrich defends the settlement push.
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A masked Palestinian demonstrator holds rocks during confrontations with Israeli forces following a military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
The Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas strongly denounced the Israeli regime’s recent decision to confiscate some 800,000 square meters of land east of Ramallah, near the illegal settlement outpost of Malakhi Hashalom, following approval by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Hamas described the land seizure as "a practical implementation of the occupation's colonial plans in the West Bank" and a reaffirmation of "the fascist government’s commitment to annexation and forced displacement policies."
The movement warned that this decision, along with previous settlement escalations in the occupied West Bank, demands a "comprehensive popular mobilization and an intensification of confrontation with the occupation." Hamas stressed that "our people and their steadfast resistance remain the impenetrable shield against Zionist attempts to seize our land and sacred sites."
Blatant crimes, violations
Hamas also urged the international community to shoulder its responsibility in the face of what it described as a “settler invasion” and systematic colonial expansion targeting the West Bank, calling for the isolation of the Israeli occupation and the severance of all forms of ties with it. The movement demanded accountability for what it called "blatant crimes and violations of international law and humanitarian conventions."
Furthermore, Hamas called on the Palestinian people to escalate confrontation across all areas of the West Bank, to thwart the regime’s colonial agenda through "comprehensive resistance tools" and by disrupting the presence of the occupation and its settlers using all legitimate means.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli occupation forces began the seizure of nine additional dunams of land from the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, under an order signed by Smotrich.
Deliberate attempt at settlement expansion
Meanwhile, bulldozers demolished fences, agricultural structures, and farmland in the village of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, in what local residents called another deliberate attempt to displace Palestinians and make way for settlement expansion.
Smotrich’s land seizure order came just days after sanctions were imposed on him and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir by the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway. Responding to the sanctions, Smotrich declared that "the appropriate response is more construction and settlement building."
Late last month, the Israeli security cabinet approved the establishment of 22 new illegal settlements across the West Bank, including the return to the evacuated outposts of Homesh and Sanur, following the cancellation of the 2005 disengagement law that had previously banned settlement activity in those areas.
Palestinian Authority condemns the escalation
The Palestinian presidency strongly condemned the approval, calling it “a dangerous escalation that drags the region into a cycle of violence and instability.”
Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the decision “represents a serious escalation and a challenge to international legitimacy and international law.”
He added, “The Israeli government's secret approval to establish 22 new settlements in the West Bank, including East al-Quds,” defies legal norms and the international consensus.
The secret approval comes amid a broader push by "Israel" to expand its occupation of Palestinian territories. On May 12, the Israeli Cabinet authorized the resumption of land registration procedures in so-called Area C, the part of the West Bank that remains under full Israeli occupation and constitutes approximately 61% of the territory.
Surge in West Bank violence since Gaza assault
The move also comes against a backdrop of escalating Israeli assaults across the West Bank. Since "Israel" launched its genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israeli aggression in the occupied West Bank has sharply increased.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 970 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 injured in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.
The approval of new illegal settlements, especially under secretive conditions, is widely viewed as a provocation that could fuel further instability at a time of already heightened regional tension.
