The key facts

  • A military order issued on October 28 seizes 26,473 dunams (6.54 acres) in Deir Nizam, Umm Safa and Atara
  • The 'Ateret–Neve Tzuf' route is intended to link Israeli settlements in the area
  • The order is valid until the end of 2028 and provides for temporary seizure rather than a transfer of ownership

Military order for 26,473 dunams

Israeli authorities issued a military order to seize more than 26 dunams of Palestinian land northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said on Tuesday. According to the commission, the October 28 order places 26,473 dunams (6.54 acres) of land in the villages of Deir Nizam, Umm Safa and Atara under Israeli military control for purposes that Israel described as 'military'.

Purpose and duration

The land is designated for a route called the 'Ateret–Neve Tzuf emergency axis', which, according to the commission, is intended to link Israeli settlements in the area. The order remains in force until the end of 2028 and grants the Israeli army exclusive possession of the route marked on the maps attached to the order.

Structure of the seized territory

The commission specified the breakdown of the seized area: 5,891 dunams (1.46 acres), or about 22.3% of the territory, are classified by Israeli authorities as 'state land', while another 20,582 dunams (5.09 acres) fall outside this classification. According to the commission's assessment, the route could strengthen connections between settlements and outposts around Ateret and Halamish (also known as Neve Tzuf) while restricting Palestinian landowners' access to adjacent plots.

Legal context

The commission stressed that the order provides for temporary seizure and possession of the land rather than a formal transfer of ownership, but warned that using the land for settlement-related infrastructure raises concerns about the expansion of Israeli control in the area. According to the Anadolu Agency, Israeli authorities are increasingly using military seizure orders to establish control over Palestinian land in the West Bank. The UN considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, illegal under international law: UN Security Council Resolution 2334 states that settlements 'have no legal validity', and the International Court of Justice, in its July 2024 advisory opinion, found Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful and called for the evacuation of settlements from the West Bank and East Jerusalem.