Continuing Israeli crimes: The largest land grab in the West Bank since 1993

Bezalel Smotrich, the Minister of Finance of Israel, who has signed the resolution to expropriate the land, said: The announcement of the expropriation of the land is an important and strategic issue, and it has been allocated for the construction of hundreds of residential houses, factories and commercial areas and employment.

The action of Israel has come in a situation where the United Nations and many countries of the world recognize the construction of Jewish settler neighborhoods in the occupied lands of Palestine as illegal. Because the aggressive Israeli regime invaded and occupied these lands in the 1967 war, and in accordance with the Geneva Convention, it is forbidden to do any kind of construction in the occupied lands. However, hundreds of thousands of Zionists are currently living in Jewish settlement neighborhoods built by the Zionist regime after the 1967 war and the occupation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank of the Jordan River and East of Quds (Jerusalem).

Now, in another step, Israel is trying to loot another part of Palestinian land. The radical right-wing political group in Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has been officially implementing the policy of seizing Palestinian lands in the West Bank since 2023; and the war in Gaza and the current situation of the Palestinians have provided more opportunities for the invaders to grab more land. This action has been opposed even by Israel's allies.

The European Union has strongly condemned the decision of the Minister of Finance of Israel, Bezalel Smotrich, to seize more than 800 hectares of Palestinian land. Peter Stano, the spokesman for the foreign policy of the European Union has also announced in his statement that: It is the largest seizure of Palestinian land since the signing of the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Movement (PLO) and the brutal Israeli regime in 1993. Stano has emphasized that: The expansion of Zionist settlements in Palestinian land is a clear violation and of the dangers of international humanitarian law.

Although other leaders of European countries, including French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Foreign Ministry, have condemned the decision of the Zionist regime to build new settlements for settlers in different areas of Palestine, they have not taken any serious action to stop the crime committed by Israel. In this context, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned the new Israeli plan and declared that: Forcing the Palestinians to leave Rafah is a war crime. Macron said the construction of Zionist settlements in Palestine is a clear and dangerous violation of international law.

For his part, Volker Türk, the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner has warned that: Building and continuing the construction of settler neighborhoods in the occupied Palestinian lands is a crime and a war crime and can destroy any possibility of establishing a stable state of Palestine.

Despite the warnings and the international position condemning Israel's policy of building Zionist settlements in occupied Palestinian lands, Israel still insists on continuing the policy, and it seems to be one of the most important strategies of the brutal regime after failure of his policies against the Palestinians.

Netanyahu and his cabinet, who are under intense internal pressure, have not been able to achieve meaningful success, including the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian liberation groups, despite the passage of six months since the start of the Gaza war. So they have decided to implement a policy of seizing more Palestinian land in the West Bank so that they can compensate for failing to achieve their previously defined goals in relation to the Gaza war.