Snotrich calls for biggest-ever West Bank land theft, settler expansion

Muhammad Amin

Israel plans to steal more than 23 000 dunams (nearly 5 900 acres) of land in the occupied West Bank and declare it as “state” territory for more illegal settlement, in the biggest Zionist land grab in decades.
“More than 23,000 dunams of land for the benefit of the settlement in Yosh. We determine facts on the ground and thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state!” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on X.
Israel’s Channel 14 says the move will be one of the largest land appropriations since the Oslo Accords in 1993.
Smotrich knows his call flies in the face of an International Court of Justice ruling earlier this year the Israeli occupation is illegal and all stolen land must be handed back to the Palestinians and all reparations must be paid.
That is exactly what Smotrich means when he says he’s establishing “facts on the ground” by expanding the settlements.
From 1993 until the end of 2023, about 50,000 dunams in the West Bank have been stolen and declared as Israeli “state land.”
Smotrich intends to expand the Maale Adumim settlement east of occupied Jerusalem by around 2,600 dunams to link it to the Kedar settlement. Other illegal Settlements like Migdal Oz, Susya, and Yafit are also set to expand as part of the land grab.
Smotrich called the decision a “historic achievement that contributes to strengthening settlement activity and expanding land designated for infrastructure and settlement projects.”
Israel has recently taken several actions to prepare for the annexation of the West Bank.
Smotrich has ordered the Defense Ministry’s Settlement Directorate and Civil Administration to prepare for annexing the West Bank and expanding settlement expansion. Last year, most administrative powers in the West Bank were transferred from the military to Smotrich.
Israel Hayom in early December said settler council in the occupied West Bank have been drafting a plan to tighten Israel’s grip over the territory and accelerate the path towards annexation as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House.