Illegal Israeli Jewish settlers continue to steal land in the occupied West Bank despite an ICJ ruling last year.
Dozens of illegal Israeli Jewish settlers began establishing a new settlement outpost on lands in the town of Atara, north of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank on Monday.
According to the Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, the settlers leveled the land and transported mobile homes to the site, under heavy protection from Israeli occupation forces, who prevented landowners and villagers from approaching, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
Israeli settlers establish a new settlement outpost on the lands of the town of Atara, north of Ramallah.#Israel pic.twitter.com/w4wWWqUV8d
— Al-Jarmaq News (@Aljarmaqnetnews) August 11, 2025
The organization emphasized that this action represents a flagrant violation of Palestinian rights and a clear breach of international law and UN resolutions prohibiting settlements. It noted that the settlers’ goal is to displace the indigenous population and seize their lands for new settlement projects, the report added.
Call to International Community
The organization called on the international community and human rights organizations to take urgent action to stop these violations and hold those responsible accountable.
Al-Baidar Organization reported that settlers, backed directly by the Israeli occupation forces, are carrying out a forced displacement campaign in the Ein Ayoub area near Deir Ammar, northwest of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, targeting the Arab al-Jahalin community.
The… pic.twitter.com/DR3LWvAX1R— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 11, 2025
The official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, reported that the settlers stormed the “Jabal al-Khirba” area at the entrance to the town, accompanied by a bulldozer, and began paving a dirt road in the area and erecting tents there.
The report noted that the Jabal al-Khirba area, which covers an area of 2,000 dunams, is an archaeological site frequented by illegal settlers as part of a colonial settlement policy aimed at displacing the Palestinian population.
Settler Attacks in Nablus
Elsewhere on Monday, illegal Israeli Jewish settlers began cutting down dozens of trees on land belonging to Palestinian resident Mohammed Abdel Rahim Nofal in Deir Sharaf village, west of Nablus, WAFA reported.
Omar Nofal, deputy head of the village council, said the settlers uprooted dozens of olive, pomegranate, citrus, and grape trees. They also destroyed water pipes used to irrigate crops and trees.
The Israeli occupation forces uprooted and destroyed dozens of olive trees from farmers’ lands in the town of Burqa, located on the road between Jenin and Nablus in the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/Y6OZUAJkVJ
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 11, 2025
According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, cited by WAFA, illegal settlers carried out 232 acts of vandalism and theft of Palestinian property in July alone, affecting vast areas of land. They also uprooted and vandalized 2,844 trees, including 2,647 olive trees.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces began bulldozing lands belonging to the village of Burqa, northwest of Nablus, on Monday morning, WAFA reported.
Fatin Salah, a member of the Burqa Land Defense Committee, told the news agency that the occupation forces began bulldozing and uprooting ancient olive trees in the al-Wadi area adjacent to the road between Jenin and Nablus, as part of a plan to expand the roads.
Jordan Valley Escalation
Also on Monday, illegal Israeli Jewish settlers forced shepherds to leave their pastures in Al-Hamma in the northern Jordan Valley, WAFA reported.
All areas of the northern Jordan Valley have witnessed a significant escalation in attacks by armed settlers against Palestinians and their property, including physical assaults, preventing them from grazing, stealing their livestock and property, and raiding their tents, the report added.
West Bank on the Brink: Israel’s Annexation Playbook and the Looming Explosion
Due to these attacks, the report noted, more than 25 Palestinian families have been displaced from their homes in the northern Jordan Valley since last Summer, and three communities have been completely displaced. The number of Palestinian families in other communities has also decreased, it added.
According to a report by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, issued in early August, settler activities and attacks have led to the displacement of 33 Bedouin communities since October 7, 2023, WAFA reported.
In July last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and should be brought to an end “as rapidly as possible.”
(PC, AJA, WAFA)
