Land Research Center

• Violation: Establishment of a new pastoral outpost.
• Location: Ramin village located to the south of Tulkarm city.
• Date of Violation: January 2024.
• Perpetrating Party: Settlers.
• Affected Party: Farmer Mahera Zakaria Suleiman Ibrahim.

Description: 

The Israeli occupation continues to impose restrictions on farmers in Palestinian territories with the aim of emptying them of their owners in preparation for complete control, which contributes significantly to leaking them to settlers and subsequently subjecting them to colonial activities.

According to recent developments, a group of settlers in early January 2025 established a new colonial outpost on the lands of southern Ramin village, specifically within the natural basin No. (9) and plot No. (74) in the "Eastern Al-Rummanah" site, on a plot of land owned by Mrs. Mahera Zakaria Suleiman Ibrahim from Ramin village, who owns the land according to inheritance shares owned by all heirs, with a total area of 36 dunums.

According to direct field monitoring at the violation site, the settlers installed three mobile residential units (caravans) on an area of two dunums of land, for the purpose of establishing a new residential outpost, which is actually located at a distance of one and a half kilometers to the north of the Shavei Shomron settlement.

For her part, the affected farmer, Mrs. Mahera Ibrahim, stated: 

"I own a piece of land that I inherited according to official documents from my ancestors, and it is land owned by us and documented with official papers. The land is classified as financial land, and at the beginning of last year 2024, I was surprised by settlers placing residential tents on my land, and then they established a colonial outpost on it."

She added:

"I immediately filed an official complaint to the military liaison and to the occupation police, but until now I have not received any results. I monitor daily what is happening on my land, and a short time ago I went to the Jerusalem Center for legal follow-up to activate the complaint I submitted, but so far there are no tangible results. Day after day, the settlers continue to expand the colonial outpost directly on my land, noting that the land was agriculturally utilized and not abandoned as the occupation claims."

Later, specifically on 01/21/2025, the field research team at the Land Research Center documented a group of settlers paving a colonial road with a length of five kilometers to connect the "Shafei Shomron" settlement with the new colonial outpost.

This road threatens about 2,500 dunums located on its edges, indicating that the actual goal of establishing this outpost is to expand the influence of the "Shafei Shomron" settlement, as the construction of the colonial road is considered the first step in implementing this plan.

Ramin Village:

Ramin village is located 11.5 kilometers to the southeast of Tulkarm city. The "Enab" settlement, which was built at the expense of the village lands in 1981, is located on its lands from the western side, confiscating approximately 700 dunums of the village lands. To the east are the villages of Burqa and Mas'udiya, to the south is bypass road number 557 and the villages of Beit Lid and Saffarin, and to the north are the villages of Anabta and Kafr al Labad.

The area of Ramin village is 8,934 dunums, inhabited by approximately 1,998 people according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in 2017.

Land Confiscation Violates International Laws:

The actions of settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories, including confiscating Palestinian lands and establishing outposts or expanding settlements on them, are considered violations of the rights of the Palestinian people and their lands, and violations of international laws and customs. Below are the most important texts in international laws and treaties that prohibit Israeli settlement in Palestinian territories and prevent interference with civil and public rights and properties in occupied countries, as well as relevant United Nations resolutions.

 Lahai Convention / 1907:-

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

Article 55: The occupying state is considered a manager of the 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 the territories it has occupied, or to undertake any procedure that leads to demographic change therein.

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

Article 147: The destruction and usurpation of property in a manner not justified by military necessity and on a large scale in an unlawful and arbitrary manner is a serious violation.

 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