Israel’s ‘buffer zones’ in West Bank: Palestinians denounce land theft

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank say so-called “buffer zones” the Israeli army recently established by illegally confiscating Palestinian lands around areas seized under the pretext of “security” are “the new face of land theft.”

The confiscations affected 11 areas in Nablus and Salfit in the north, Ramallah in the central region and Bethlehem in the south.

Farmers and activists are sounding the alarm about the new strategy of land confiscation around illegal settlements as it increasingly restricts access to Palestinian agricultural lands.

Since October 7, when Israel launched a genocidal military campaign in the Gaza Strip, there has been a notable increase in land seizures and the creation of buffer zones in the West Bank, ostensibly for “security reasons.”

Reyyan, a Palestinian farmer in Salfit in the northern West Bank, lives in the fear gripping his community because of recent confiscation orders.

“The Israeli army confiscated Palestinian lands around the Revava settlement,” he said. Reyyan owns seven dunams (1.7 acres) of olive groves in the newly designated “buffer zone” and can no longer access his trees.

– Effect beyond immediate loss

Sami Daglas, an activist from Burqa town, said that Israel has stolen hundreds of dunams of agricultural land and established a “security perimeter.”

Daglas owns property in the confiscated area.

“We are forbidden to access it. Whoever tries to go there will find an ambush by the (illegal) Israeli settlers,” he said.

The effect of the buffer zones extends beyond immediate land loss. “The lands confiscated by the Israelis are growing day-by-day through these so-called buffer zones, with the aim of seizing more land and confining the Palestinian population to a narrow area,” said Daglas.

– ‘West Bank is being turned into ghettos’

The Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission reported that Israel established “buffer zones” in 11 locations across the West Bank, preventing Palestinians from accessing hundreds of acres of farmland.

Amir Daoud, an official with the Commission, said: “When we look at the maps, it becomes clear that the confiscated areas are a strip that surrounds the settlements and creates a buffer zone around them.” He warned that the “silent confiscation” poses a serious threat to Palestinian land rights, because under Israeli law, land left uncultivated for three years can be declared “state land.”

Daoud is concerned about the trajectory of the developments.

“A state is being created for the (illegal) Israeli settlers, and the West Bank is being turned into ghettos,” he said.

He fears that more confiscation orders may be forthcoming, further fragmenting Palestinian territory.

The Commission reported on September 9 that the Israeli army issued an order to confiscate 18 dunams (4.5 acres) of land in the villages of Burin, Madama, and Asira al-Kibliyya in Nablus, citing “military and security” reasons.

Investigations suggest it is part of a broader plan to establish a ‘buffer zone’ around the Yitzhar illegal settlement.

Israeli data estimates that more than 720,000 illegal Israeli settlers now live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on land seized from Palestinians.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says that since October 7, a total of 716 Palestinians, including 160 children and 10 women, have been killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers. Additionally, 5,750 have been injured.

While Israeli settlements in Palestinian land are illegal according to international law, Israel has carried on its state sponsored policy of settler colonization in defiance of international law and human rights.