Land Research Center

Violation : Confiscation of 400 Meters of land

Location : Sebastiya Village ,Naqoura, Deir Sharaf/ North of Nablus

Date of Violation : January, 22 , 2025

Perpetrator: The So- Called Commander of The Occupation Army in The West Bank

 Affected Party : Farmers in Those Villages

Details of The Violation :

The so- called commander of the Israeli occupation army in the West Bank, Aluf Balout issued a military order at the end of January last month, involving the confiscation of 400 meters of lands from Sebastiya , Naqoura, Deir Sharaf villages, located north of Nablus.

It is noted that according to the military notice, entitled ‘’ Order to seize lands (25/9/t), and located in Naqoura as shown in the attached detailed map ,the Israeli occupation seems to be planning to establish a new military road to serve the occupation army. This road would connect ‘’Shavei Shomron’’ settlement to the settlement bypass road   No. 57, leading to the’’ Anab’’ settlement, with the aim of facilitating the movement of Israeli occupation forces throughout the entire area.

In fact , the notice does not only target the 400 meters. The announced road actually cuts through large areas of agricultural lands, over 150 dunams, which are owned by farmers in those villages and are located on both sides of the planned road. This, in turn will provide the occupation with an opportunity to seize control of these lands under the pretext of security. It will also facilitate the settlers’ control over them. That the road that the occupation plans to implement , actually connects the settlement of ‘’Shavei Shomron’’ with the colonial outpost near the village of Ramin, passing through the bypass road. This creates a kind of linkage between the colonial activities there.

The occupation issued an order to confiscate lands at the following locations / natural blocks:

1. Naqoura Village: Natural block No. 12
2. Deir Sharaf Village : Natural block No. 14
3. Sebastiya Town : Natural block No. 14

Mr. Adel Abdal Ghani Salman , the head of Wadi al – Shaer Association , told  the LRC researcher the following  :

‘’What is happening is a continuation of the plan to seize dozens of dunams in the area, the area has effectively become a disaster, due to the presence of the colonial outposts, in addition to a series of roads that the settlers opened just a few weeks ago, and the completion of this plan that devours what remains of the lands in the area. It threatens large spaces of the land and threatens the lives of many citizens in the area.

In late January, LRC field research team noticed that the settlers had brought a large excavation machinery and bulldozers. They began constructing a road connection the colonial outpost established on the lands of Ramin, passing through the lands those villages, and extending to the ‘’ Shavei Shomron’’ settlement. It is noted that the road is being built on private property, then the registration process was completed during Jordanian rule of Palestine for a large number of farmers. This is a grave warning of potential disaster, as it involves the construction of infrastructure linking the settlements to the new pastoral outpost, later field observations confirmed that settlers were also placing benches and signs along both sides of the road with 4 km long. This means that 2500 dunams of olive trees in these villages and closure land, they will also face difficulty in serving them and exploiting them agriculturally , due to the presence of this colonial road that bypasses these lands, which poses a danger to the lives of farmers who own the lands in the area, noting the farmers have actually been unable to serve these lands since the events of October 7 due to the continuous presence of settlers there, as a number of attacks on farmers were mentioned during that period and a large number of olive trees were cut down and burned.’’

Land Confiscation Violates International Laws : 

What Israel is doing in the occupied Palestinian territories is considered a violation of the Palestinian people's rights and their lands, and a violation of international laws and conventions. The following are the most important texts contained in international laws and treaties that prohibit Israeli settlement in Palestinian territories and prevent interference with civil and public rights and properties in occupied territories, along with relevant United Nations resolutions.

Lahay Convention / 1907:

Article 46: The occupying power may not confiscate private property.

Article 55: The occupying power is considered a manager of lands in the occupied country and must treat the country's properties as private property.

Fourth Geneva Convention / 1949:

Article 49: The occupying power has no right to transfer its citizens to territories it has occupied, or to take any action that leads to demographic change in them.

Article 53: The occupying forces have no right to destroy individual or collective personal property, or property belonging to individuals, the state, or any authority in the occupied country.

Article 147: The destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out on a large scale in an unlawful and arbitrary manner is a grave breach.  

مشروع: حماية الحقوق البيئية الفلسطينية في مناطق "ج" SPERAC IV - FCDO

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Land Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the project donor; the Norwegian Refugee Council.
إخلاء المسؤولية: الآراء ووجهات النظر الواردة في هذا التقرير هي آراء ووجهات نظر مركز أبحاث الأراضي ولا تعكس بالضرورة وجهات نظر أو مواقف الجهة المانحة للمشروع؛ المجلس النرويجي. للاجئين