SAFA — Amnesty International said Thursday that Israel’s latest seizure of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank is accelerating annexation, expanding illegal settlements and further entrenching human rights violations against Palestinians.

In a statement, Amnesty said Israeli authorities are escalating land confiscations and settlement expansion, including through what it described as the “alarming” seizure of land in Area A, which has been under Palestinian Authority control since the Oslo Accords.

In July alone, the Israeli military signed at least 15 land confiscation orders covering approximately 200 dunams, or 20 hectares, in Areas A and C of the Jenin governorate in the northern occupied West Bank.

According to Amnesty, the seizures appear intended to connect two planned Israeli settlements, Emek Dotan and Noa. The two are among 34 new settlements whose establishment was approved by the Israeli government earlier this year.

The organization said the measures are part of a broader expansion of Israeli settlement infrastructure and increasing pressure on Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank.

Amnesty also highlighted the forcible transfer of Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in Area C amid settler violence and other coercive measures.

According to Peace Now, cited by Amnesty, this is the first time since the Oslo Accords that Israeli military seizure orders have been openly issued in Area A for civilian purposes benefiting settlers rather than for purported security reasons.

“The latest land seizure decisions targeting Area A clearly reveal Israel’s ongoing push to expand its annexation agenda into areas that have been under Palestinian control since the Oslo Accords,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Morayef called on states with close political and trade relations with Israel to pressure Israeli authorities to revoke the measures.

She warned that states assisting Israel in expanding illegal settlements or committing other war crimes risk becoming complicit in international crimes against Palestinians.

Settlement Roads Threaten Palestinian Territorial Continuity

Amnesty also warned that new roads linking Israeli settlements would further fragment Palestinian communities in the Jenin governorate.

According to the Jenin governor’s office, a planned road connecting the two settlements, alongside other settlement activity, would sever Jenin from neighbouring Palestinian governorates, including Tulkarem, Tubas and Nablus.

Morayef said the road network would undermine the geographical and economic integrity of Palestinian communities and further restrict Palestinians’ freedom of movement.

She described the latest measures as evidence of Israeli authorities’ determination to “intensify” the formal annexation of Palestinian land across the occupied West Bank.

Amnesty said the continued occupation, confiscation of Palestinian land and expansion of illegal settlements are further entrenching long-standing violations of international law.

The organization urged the international community to take “concrete steps” rather than limiting its response to condemnation.

It called on states to suspend cooperation that contributes to Israeli violations and to condition economic projects with Israel on the withdrawal of the confiscation orders.

Amnesty also urged governments to ensure that businesses do not support projects linked to Israeli settlements, occupation, land confiscation or annexation.

The organization stressed that private companies must responsibly disengage from, or avoid entering into, business relationships with entities contributing to Israel’s unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.