RAMALLAH, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements, part of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), on Saturday warned of Israeli plans to seize large areas of land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In its weekly report, the bureau said Israeli authorities discussed building 248 settlement units in the West Bank last week and intend to proceed with six plans across four settlements. It also reported a seizure order for over 70 dunams (7 hectares) of land in Nablus, citing military and security purposes to create a buffer zone.
The bureau added that during the past week, settlers fenced off more than 4,000 dunams of privately owned, fertile agricultural land belonging to around 40 Palestinian families in the northern Jordan Valley.
The report also highlighted a surge in settler attacks on Palestinians and their property in the area, particularly during the olive harvest season, now in its third consecutive week.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said settlers carried out 71 attacks on 27 West Bank villages between Oct. 7-13, about half linked to the olive harvest. Palestinian sources reported that dozens of olive pickers were injured Saturday, suffering suffocation and burns in attacks involving both settlers and the Israeli army.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, settlers have carried out roughly 7,154 attacks on Palestinians and their property, resulting in 34 deaths in the West Bank, according to the PLO's Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.
Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. The settlements it has built there, and its military occupation, are considered illegal under international law. ■
