Israel announces theft of Palestinian land in West Bank to expand road for settlers

What Happened

Israel issued military orders to confiscate hundreds of dunams of Palestinian agricultural land in Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiya, east of Ramallah, to expand Route 60, a road linking illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The orders, found discarded on the land rather than delivered directly, give landowners 60 days to appeal. Landowner Taysir Salem told Middle East Eye that his family's 180-dunam farm, inherited and planted with trees, will be bulldozed, and that settlers armed with tractors and guns expelled his family from the land last week. The expansion also threatens adjacent towns like Al-Sawiya and Sinjil, where 464 dunams were confiscated in June. The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that Israeli authorities seized 4,379 dunams in the West Bank in the first half of 2026.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

Route 60's expansion is a key infrastructural project linking dozens of settlements and outposts, further entrenching Israel's occupation, fragmenting Palestinian territorial continuity, and isolating villages from their agricultural lands. It occurs amid a documented surge in land confiscations — 4,379 dunams in early 2026 — and settler violence, underscoring the de facto annexation drive that undermines the two-state solution and international law, while testing the response of the US and other mediators.

Watch For

Monitor whether landowners file appeals within the 60-day window and any legal outcomes; watch for forced evictions or bulldozing of trees; observe US and European diplomatic reactions, as the US is explicitly called upon by landowners to intervene; track further settler attacks or Israeli military enforcement in the area.