New Settlement Schemes and Large-scale of Land Robbery in Jordan Valley and vicinity of Jerusalem

By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The ‘National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that every week, the Smotrich s Civil Administration and his destructive machine carry out new works in the settlements, where the Supreme Planning Council at the Civil Administration discussed plans to build 248 housing units across the West Bank and intends to move forward with 6 plans in 4 settlements, including 102 units in the Rotem settlement, north of the Jordan Valley, about 14 units in Givat Ze ev, 4 units in Shiloh, and 138 units in the Eli settlement, in the West Bank. In the meantime, the Occupation Authorities announced the seizure of more than 70 dunams of land from the villages of Qariot, Al-lubban Ash-Sharqia, and Al-Sawia in the Nablus Governorate, through a seizure order for military and security purposes.
That is to establish a buffer zone around the Eli settlement, which was built on the lands of these 3 villages. Noting the Council holds weekly meetings since Nov. 2024 to advance housing projects in the settlements, this raises concerns regarding the weekly approval process, which not only facilitates construction, but also accelerates it in the settlements without fearing International reaction. Since the beginning of 2025, this has resulted in the approval of a total of 26,078 housing units, in an unprecedented record. This comes in light of changes made by the current far-right and fascist government, which abolished the requirement for the Army Minister s approval for each stage of the development of settlement plans.
Earlier, every construction plan in the settlements required prior approval from the Army Minister. Recently, the Army Minister-limit-ed the pace of development of settlement plans to about four times per year, with thousands of housing units approved in a single session of the Supreme Planning Council. In recent weeks, we have witnessed a change, with the Supreme Planning Council meeting weekly and approving hundreds of housing units at each meeting. As a result, the government seeks to normalize planning in the settlements and minimize public and international attention and criticism.
The occupation s Civil Administration also activated old decisions to seize hundreds of dunams of land from the Qalandia village, north of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Governorate explained that these lands are located east of the village of Qalandia, next to the ‘Atarot settlement’ industrial zone and Jerusalem Airport.
It pointed out that these decisions were issued in the 1970s and 1980s in favor of expanding the industrial zone, which has not been implemented for decades due to objections from the landowners, who have since rejected these legally invalid occupation decisions and refrained from dealing with them. They continued to cultivate their lands without any objection from the occupation authorities over the past decades, until they were surprised by new occupation measures demanding that they relinquish their lands to the so-called "Israel Lands Administration."
In the northern Jordan Valley, it was revealed last week that settlers had fenced off more than 4000 dunams of agricultural land officially owned by about 40 Palestinian families. These lands are classified as highly fertile agricultural land and are owned by their owners with official land registry documents, according to these families. The settlers took advantage of the world s preoccupation with the events in the Gaza Strip and the closure of roads and gates in the Jordan Valley by the occupation forces to carry out this thieving seizure of Palestinian land and fence off this vast area, thus depriving residents of access to their lands.
This action has raised grave concerns about the impact on neighboring lands as well, and the deprivation of their owners from accessing them. Mahdi Daraghmeh, head of the Al-Maleh Village Council and Bedouin encampments, explained that the fenced lands are located in the areas of Umm al-Quba, Samra, and al-Marmaleh. The northern Jordan Valley is witnessing a significant increase in settler attacks on citizens and their property. The attacks include raiding citizens homes, intimidating and assaulting them, and destroying their property. They are also being pursued in pastures, prevented from entering them, and attacked and stolen livestock.
The Hebron Governorate is also exposed to a series of attacks carried out by settlers against Palestinian citizens on their lands and property, while the so-called Israeli law enforcement authorities stand by as spectators and even collude with these settlers, despite occasional appeals issued by the Israeli Judiciary against settler practices and attacks. Last week, the occupation forces destroyed large areas of agricultural land in the Beit Ummar Town, north of Hebron, after they stormed citizens lands planted with grape trees, and began bulldozing lands to expand a settlement area.
In the city of Hebron, the occupation forces also bulldozed agricultural lands after sending military reinforcements to the Bir Arkeh area, northwest of Hebron, and bulldozed agricultural lands and stone terraces covering an area of bout 70 dunams, belonging to the Al-Zughayer, Al-Qawasmeh, and Aqnibi families, among others.
The Um-Khair village in the Hebron Governorate, east of the city of Yatta, has suffered its fair share of these attacks. The Israeli Peace Now Movement reported that residents of the village of Um-Khair in the Hebron Governorate submitted an affidavit on Sunday, Oct 19, detailing multiple violations of a temporary court order prohibiting the construction of caravans and other construction work in the illegal outpost adjacent to the village. The order had been issued by the Beersheba District Court approximately two weeks earlier, on October 12, 2025.
According to the affidavit, the most recent violation occurred on Monday, Oct 13, the day the Israeli hostages were released, on that day, settlers entered the outpost, occupied the caravans, and continued development work, which has continued ever since. The head of the Har Hevron Regional Council, Eliram Azulai, was reportedly seen visiting the site. Attorney Michael Sfard, Peace Now s legal advisor, immediately notified the West Bank legal advisor, the Ministry of Army s legal advisor, the Hebron Police, and the Civil Administration. The villagers also filed complaints and sent photographic evidence to several agencies.
However, no enforcement officials arrived on the scene, and the settlers have since continued to renovate the caravans, connect them to electricity, and move equipment. Peace Now added that all law enforcement authorities were fully aware of the massive and blatantly illegal construction project underway on Umm al-Khair s land.
Not only have they been negligent, but even after a clear court order was issued, the criminal activity and land theft continue unabated. It is outrageous and inexcusable that while Israelis have united in joy over the return of the hostages, the lawless settlers are openly defying the court, and no law enforcement authority has intervened.
For the third consecutive week, settlers have escalated their attacks on citizens during the olive harvest season. Their attacks spread across various governorates in the West Bank with the help and protection of the occupation forces, they have targeted farmers with bullets, assaulted them, and stolen their produce and agricultural equipment, coinciding with the expansion of a number of settlement outposts. Settler attacks, which escalate during the olive harvest season, extend to the Palestinian countryside, affecting many villages and towns whose olive groves border settlements, outposts,´-or-pastoral farms.
Last week, the Sa ir town, north of Hebron, was the target of these attacks, as settlers began expanding a settlement outpost by preparing the land inside the outpost built on the lands of Khirbet Hamrush in preparation for the establishment of a new settlement facility, this is part of an ongoing attempt to expand the outpost, control the surrounding lands, and oppress citizens for whom these lands constitute a source of livelihood. In the northern Jordan Valley, settlers have begun fencing off large areas of land in the areas of Um al-Quba, Samra, and al-Marmaleh. The area of land being fenced is estimated at more than four thousand dunams, belonging to more than 300 families.
In Khirbet Ibziq, north of Tubas, settlers stormed a school, threatened its staff, and demanded that they leave without delay. In the Ramin Plain, east of Tulkarm, a farmer was injured in an attack by settlers who stole olives from citizens lands under the protection of occupation forces, which prevented farmers from entering their lands and chased them at gunpoint. In the town of Kafr Ra i, south of Jenin, settlers attacked farmers and olive pickers while they were harvesting olives on their lands, with the support of the occupation army, which opened live fire at them to force them to leave their lands. In the village of Um Safa, northwest of Ramallah, armed settlers attacked olive pickers in the western part of the village, opening fire on them.
They also pursued a member of the Joudeh family to his home in the area, firing at his home and surrounding houses belonging to the same family. In the village of Ein Siniya, north of Ramallah, settlers stole olives from citizens lands in the Wadi al-Balat area after expelling farmers. The village of al-Mughayir, northeast of Ramallah, was also a target of settler attacks, as settlers released their cows into citizens lands and grazed their cows and livestock on the citizens lands south of the village. Last week, the area between al-Mughayyir and the neighboring town of Turmusaia witnessed a heavy presence of occupation soldiers around agricultural lands and olive groves.
Settlers also stormed the lands of the village of Burin, south of Nablus, and stole olives from in front of citizens homes, while occupation bulldozers began razing about 70 dunams of land in Bir Arkah in the Hebron Governorate. A settler blocked the main road leading to the village of Al-Zweidin, east of Yatta, and released his sheep in the middle of the road, obstructing the movement of students, teachers, and residents. Besides, settlers grazed their cows on lands in the Al-Mughayir village, northeast of Ramallah.
The OCHA documented 71 settler attacks in the West Bank between Oct, 7 and 13, half of which were linked to the olive harvest season. It explained that settlers attacked Palestinians in 27 West Bank villages, resulting in injuries and property damage. It noted that the attacks included assaulting farmers, stealing crops´-or-equipment,´-or-vandalizing olive trees. The settlers violations and terrorist practices continued last week during the period from 10/14/2025 - 10/22/2025, reaching, according to the data of the National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlement, about 78 attacks, represented by 23 attacks by settlers on olive pickers and preventing them from picking the fruits of their trees, 10 cases of settlers storming Palestinian lands with their livestock and releasing them among the trees for further destruction, 9 cases of land seizure and fencing of some of them, 10 attacks that destroyed olive trees, including burning and smashing, 10 vehicles and a vehicle repair shop were burned, 6 cases of stealing olives in different locations, 3 Bedouin communities were attacked more than once.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Attacking the Khallet al-Sidrah Community east of Mikhmas, closed the road leading to the community, and cut off the water lines supplying the residents.
- Demolishing 2 barracks belonging to Hani al-Salaymeh, under the pretext of lacking permits in the Wadi Qaddum Neighborhood in the Silwan town. They also forced Nasser Yousef Abu Ramila from the At-Tur town to demolish his home under the same pretext.
- Demolishing a farm and an agricultural pergola belonging to Farouk Mostafa in the Al-Zaim town under the pretext of building without a permit. They also bulldozed a fence surrounding his land, which is about 8 dunams.
- Bulldozing a plot of land near the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood designated for displaying and selling cars belonging to the Kalghasi family, and began bulldozing areas of the land, in addition to destroying the equipment and landmarks of the exhibition. The Jerusalem Governorate explained that the targeted land is located in a vital area on St. no. 1, and is considered one of the well-known commercial sites belonging to a Jerusalemite family for decades, noting that the occupation authorities claim that the land is ‘unlicensed’ as part of its plan to expand settlement control in the vicinity of the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood and Wadi Al-Joz.
Hebron:
- Grazing their sheep on citizens’ lands in the Al-Zweidin village, Hebron, damaged crops, amid repeated attempts to control agricultural land in the area, attacked citizens’ vehicles. Moreover, they vandalized the water tank designated for irrigating fruit trees at the entrance of the village, causing -dir-ect damage to farmers and leading to the suspension of part of the irrigation work. The tank is belonging to citizen Moh’d Salama Ka’abneh.
- Burning 3 uninhabited tents in Wadi Al-Jawaya in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.
- Uprooting 60 olive trees in the village of Susya in Masafer Yatta, belonging to the brothers Abdullah and Moh’d Ayoub Obaid. They also cut and vandalized a fence surrounding the land and filled in a water well under construction.
- Bulldozing agricultural lands planted with grape trees, and began bulldozing lands belonging to citizens Suhail Hussein and Akram Jabra Awad, to expand a settlement area in the Beit Umar town.
- Expanding a settlement outpost built on the lands of Khirbet Hamrush, in preparation for the establishment of a new settlement facility in the Sa ir town, Hebron.
Bethlehem:
- Setting fire to several vehicles inside a garage belonging to Ali Ahmed Ali al-Tous in the village of al-Jab a, causing extensive damage. Also in al-Jab a and the Khalayel al-Loz area, settlers destroyed olive and almond trees and grazed their livestock there.
Ramallh:
- Injuring 2 citizens and a foreign activist when settlers attacked olive pickers in the Turmusaia town, while they were picking olives in the Wadi Ammar area. They also set fire to two vehicles belonging to citizens Shaher Abu Alia and Moh’d Abu Alia from the village of Al-Mughayyir.
- Attacking olive pickers and forced them to leave their lands in the town of Silwad,. Others attacked olive pickers in the town of Deir Ammar, while the ‘Hilltop Youth’ released their livestock onto citizens lands in the village of Al-Mughayyir to the east, causing damage to trees and crops.
- Opening fire on olive pickers while they were heading to their lands to pick olives in the town of Kobar, while others stole olives from citizens lands in Deir Abu Mash al.
- Paving and expanding a settlement road on the lands of Um Safa village. They deployed more bulldozers and machinery to accelerate the paving and expansion of the road, which was built by settlers last August. The road is located in the eastern part of the village and leads to the settlement outpost built on top of ‘Jabal al-Ras’.
- Attacking olive pickers and forced them to leave the area in the Wadi Ammar area in the Turmusaia town. They also caused material damage to a farmer s vehicle after throwing stones at it. Settlers also grazed their livestock on citizens lands in the village of al-Mughayyir, damaging several fruitful olive trees.
Salfeet:
- Injuring Mah’d Abdel Fattah Hajjaj while he was picking olives with his wife and son in their land, after settlers severely beat him in the village of Farkha, south of Salfeet. The settlers had forced the family to leave their land last week, before returning this week and renewing their assault.
- Continuing attacks on olive pickers in the Wadi Abu Sukkar area, south of the town of Deir Ballut, Salfeet, and tried to prevent them from reaching their lands.
Nablus:
- Attacking olive pickers in the towns and villages of Qusra, Qabalan, Aqraba, Salem, and Sebastia, with the support of the occupation forces, who fired sound and tear gas bombs at them, prevented them from completing the picking operation.
- Attacking olive pickers, while the occupation forces detained dozens of vehicles and prevented farmers from reaching their lands in Khirbet Yanun in the Rujeib village, where they set up military checkpoints at the entrances to the area and stopped vehicles for long periods, disrupting the movement of farmers and obstructing the picking operation at the height of the agricultural season.
- Carrying out extensive leveling operations in the lands located between the towns of Burqa and Beit Imrin in an attempt to impose a new reality on the ground and prevent farmers from reaching their lands.
Tulkarem:
- Storming the Ramin Plain east of Tulkarm in a four-wheel drive vehicle, then contacted the occupation army via his mobile phone, which arrived immediately, detained farmers and activists who were picking olives, and interrogated them. They detained the farmer Akram Al-Salman, and the journalists Enas Abu Jabal, who was later released, and Hamza Hamdan, who lost contact with him after the occupation forces led him away in handcuffs. It was later revealed that he was severely beaten by the occupation soldiers and thrown into the Sebastia area, where he was transferred to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus for treatment.
Jenin:
- Injuring a farmer from the Kafr Ra I town after being assaulted by occupation soldiers while harvesting his olive crop. Local sources said that a number of occupation soldiers severely beaten an olive picker in Kafr Ra i, causing him to suffer head injuries. He was transferred to the hospital for treatment. They also attacked farmers for the second time while they were harvesting olives on their lands, with the support of the occupation army, which opened live fire at them to force them to leave their lands.
Jordan Valley:
- Attacking the Dhaif Allah al-Faqir’s house in the Al-Aqaba village, east of Tubas, and assaulted his family, leaving one of his sons with bruises. Others plowed an agricultural land estimated at 30 dunams and cut off the water network for irrigated agriculture in another plot of land estimated at 25 dunams in Khallet Khader.
- Storming several tents in the Farisiya area in the northern Jordan Valley and photographed them, accompanied by officials from the settlement council.

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