Israel to seize hundreds of dunams in Jordan Valley

Israel yesterday distributed notices to Palestinians informing it of its plan to seize 95 acres of Palestinian agricultural land in the northern Jordan Valley.

Mutaz Bisharat, a Palestinian official who monitors settlement activity in the Jordan Valley/Tubas district, told Ma’an that the Israeli Civil Administration staff distributed notices to Palestinian residents of Tubas, Tayasir, and Tamoun regarding seizure of their lands.

Bisharat confirmed that 384.49 dunams (about 95 acres) of Palestinian-owned lands would be seized by Israeli authorities.

He added that Israel intends to build new roads for Israeli settlers on the land.

The Jordan Valley forms a third of the occupied West Bank, with 88 per cent of its land classified as Area C – under full Israeli military control – according to the Oslo Accords.

Some 57 per cent of the land in the Jordan Valley has been declared a closed military zone, also known as “firing zones”, where Israeli army forces routinely train using live ammunition and explosive devices.

READ: Israel cuts water supply to 2,600 Palestinians in Jordan Valley