Israel Confiscates 7.5 Dunums of Palestinian Land Near Bethlehem

Bethlehem, MINA – The Israeli occupation forces have confiscated 7.5 dunums (0.75 hectares) of land in Husan village, located west of occupied Bethlehem, Wafa news agency reported.

Jamal Sabateen, head of the Husan Village Council, told Wafa that the Israeli occupation authorities issued a map stating the confiscation of the land. The affected area is located near the western entrance of the village, adjacent to the illegal settlement of Beitar Illit.

The confiscated properties belong to Palestinians Ayed Odeh Shusha and Ahmad Mahmoud Shahin.

Sabateen vowed to take all possible measures to counter the land confiscations, Wafa reported.

The 2024 annual report by the Land Research Center said Israel had demolished 970 Palestinian homes and structures, issued demolition orders to 765 others and confiscated 53,055 dunums (53 square kilometers) in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the past year through various military orders.

The report also revealed that the Israeli occupation has displaced 38 Palestinian Bedouin communities, including 355 families consisting of 2,209 individuals, and established 25 illegal pastoral settlement outposts, which threaten to confiscate thousands more dunums.

In 2024, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, issued a decision to confiscate Palestinian land south of Hebron, while seven settlement outposts were established on land classified in ‘Area B’ in the occupied West Bank, five of which are on Bethlehem Wilderness land, a nature reserve according to the Oslo Accords and its annexes. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)