Israel has ordered the confiscation of about 200 dunams (20 hectares) of land in the occupied West Bank, including areas under the control of Palestinian authorities, the Amnesty International has said.
The human rights organisation said the development was part of what it described as Israel’s expanding settlement activities in the occupied territory, warning that the land seizures could further affect Palestinian communities and their access to farmland and livelihoods.
According to the Amnesty International, the Israeli military signed at least 15 land confiscation orders in July 2026 covering approximately 200 dunams of land in Areas A and C of Jenin governorate in the northern occupied West Bank.
The organisation said the apparent objective was to connect two planned Israeli settlements in the area, Emek Dotan and Noa.
The two settlements are among 34 new settlements whose establishment was approved by the current Israeli government earlier this year, according to the statement.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said the latest orders represented a significant development because some of the affected land is in Area A, which has been under the control of Palestinian authorities since the Oslo Accords.
“These latest confiscation orders from Area A show how Israel is now brazenly expanding its annexation agenda to areas that have been under the control of the Palestinian authorities since the Oslo Accords,” Morayef said.
She urged states with close trade and political relationships with Israel to pressure the Israeli government to rescind the land confiscation orders.
“Any states providing assistance to Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements or other war crimes risk complicity in international crimes against Palestinians,” she said.
Morayef also criticised the construction of roads linking Israeli settlements, saying such infrastructure was contributing to the fragmentation of Palestinian communities.
“By building new roads linking settlements to one another, Israel is carving up the Jenin governorate into isolated cantons, undermining the area’s geographical and economic integrity and tearing Palestinian communities apart; further fragmenting them and restricting their freedom of movement,” she said.
Amnesty International said the Jenin governor’s office had told it that enforcement of the confiscation orders had already begun.
The governor’s office reportedly warned that hundreds of families could face significant economic consequences if the seizures are completed, particularly because affected residents could lose access to agricultural lands and olive groves as the olive harvest season approaches.
The lands are mostly privately owned by residents of Qabatiya, Arraba, Mirka, Misilya, Jirba and Al-Yamoun villages in Jenin Governorate.
Most of the affected land is located along Road 60, which runs from the northern to the southern parts of the West Bank.
Amnesty International said Israel’s Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration approved a plan on July 29, 2026, for the expansion of the road.
The organisation described Road 60 as a critical part of settlement infrastructure, saying its expansion would facilitate movement between settlements while affecting Palestinian freedom of movement.
It added that Israeli forces have, in recent years, blocked access points to Palestinian villages and towns along the road using metal gates, military checkpoints and dirt barriers.
According to the Jenin governor’s office, the planned road connecting the two Israeli settlements, together with other settlement activities, could sever Jenin from Palestinian governorates including Tulkarem, Tubas and Nablus.
The office said separating Palestinian towns could also undermine their economic, social and political ties.
Amnesty International cited United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs data showing that 925 movement obstacles were reported in April 2026. The organisation said the obstacles permanently or intermittently restrict the movement of 3.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank, representing a 20-year high and 43 per cent above the annual average over the past two decades.
Amnesty International also referred to land confiscation orders issued in other parts of the West Bank, including Qusra in Nablus governorate and Kufr Ni’meh in Ramallah governorate.
According to Peace Now, the July orders were the first since the Oslo Accords in which military seizure orders had been issued openly in Area A for civil purposes benefiting settlers rather than for stated security reasons.
In May 2026, the Israeli army also confiscated privately owned land within Jenin for the establishment of a military base, Amnesty International said.
The organisation further raised concerns over Israel’s E1 settlement plan, following an announcement that tenders had been opened for the construction of 1,234 Israeli homes in the occupied West Bank.
Amnesty International said that, if implemented, the plan would isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of Palestinian territory and effectively divide the West Bank in two.
It said the development could make movement across parts of the occupied territory more difficult and further fragment Palestinian communities.
Under international law, Amnesty International said, an occupying power must not confiscate land in an occupied territory unless it is “absolutely necessary” for military reasons, adding that this does not include settlement expansion.
Morayef called for an immediate halt to the land seizures.
“Israel’s shameless use of land seizure orders to dispossess Palestinians and accelerate the annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory must be stopped immediately,” she said.
“By confiscating Palestinian land to expand its illegal settlements, Israeli authorities are escalating long-standing violations of international law and further entrenching a system of dispossession and oppression.”
She added: “Israel must immediately halt these unlawful land seizures and end the relentless expansion of illegal settlements.”
Amnesty International also called on the international community to take concrete measures, including suspending cooperation that contributes to the alleged violations and ensuring that businesses do not support projects linked to settlements, land confiscation and annexation.
“The international community must move beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps to uphold its legal obligations to bring Israel’s violations to an end,” the organisation said.
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