Hamas Warns “Israel’s” West Bank Land Seizures Are Central to Ongoing Ethnic Cleansing Strategy

By Staff, Agencies

A senior Hamas figure has cautioned that the recent escalation of land confiscations by “Israel” in the occupied West Bank reflects a broader policy of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.

Abdul Rahman Shadid said that the latest moves demonstrate the occupying power’s determination to continue systematic land theft as part of a wider plan of annexation and population removal. He pointed specifically to “Israel’s” decision to seize additional Palestinian land in the village of Al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah, describing it as one component of a comprehensive settlement strategy.

According to Shadid, this strategy is designed to isolate Palestinian communities from their surroundings by confiscating farmland, building settlement-only roads and expanding nearby settlement outposts. He warned that these measures directly threaten residents’ livelihoods, weaken their ability to remain on their land, and turn land ownership into a tool of coercion and pressure.

He stressed that land confiscation policies are not isolated acts, but rather a continuation of the entity’s ethnic cleansing agenda aimed at displacing the indigenous Palestinian population of the West Bank. Shadid added that these actions are intended to facilitate further settlement expansion and constitute serious violations of international law, amounting to war crimes.

The Hamas official urged the international community and global institutions to take concrete and immediate action to halt “Israel’s” settlement plans, criticizing what he described as empty expressions of concern and ineffective condemnations. He also called on Palestinians to reinforce their steadfastness, unite nationally, and intensify collective efforts to resist the occupation and block settlement projects.

Recently, “Israel” approved 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, raising the total number of settlements legalized or approved over the past three years to 69. The West Bank has remained under “Israeli” occupation since 1967, and violence has sharply intensified since the start of the regime’s war on Gaza in October 2023.

Over the past two years, nearly 1,102 Palestinians have been martyred in the occupied West Bank, with close to 11,000 others wounded in attacks by the “Israeli” military and settlers. Approximately 21,000 Palestinians have also been detained by occupation forces. Human rights organizations continue to warn that Palestinians in the West Bank face an escalating risk of ethnic cleansing amid ongoing violence.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that “Israel’s” prolonged occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful and called for the dismantling of all settlements in the West Bank and East Al-Quds ["Jerusalem"].