Israeli settlers seize more Palestinian land in occupied West Bank

Israeli settlers seized more Palestinian land yesterday belonging to the townspeople of Deir Dibwan and Rammun near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The Jewish settlers were protected by Israeli security forces during their raid.

The Head of Deir Dibwan municipality, Mansour Mansour, told Wafa news agency that dozens of illegal colonial-settlers stormed the area and seized around 47 dunams of land. He said that they then used bulldozers to raze all structures on the land.

The soldiers prevented residents from having access to their land and forced them to leave. The settlers were allowed to continue with their destruction of Palestinian homes.

Meanwhile, a house being built by Ibrahim Benniya in the Furush Beit Dajan area was demolished because it did not have the necessary permit from the Israeli occupation authorities. Such permits are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain.

READ: Israel expropriates Palestinian land to expand illegal settlement

According to Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official in charge of the settlements file in the northern West Bank, the Israeli military invaded the region early this morning and began extensive demolitions, which included using bulldozers at the Sebastia archaeological site and stealing ancient stones from the surrounding area.

There are now some 650,000 Jewish settlers on occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. All of Israel’s settlements are illegal under international law. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring its population onto occupied land.