Occupied Jerusalem, May 17 (SANA) Israeli occupation authorities have intensified land seizures, access restrictions, and measures targeting Palestinian farming and Bedouin communities across the West Bank, according to Palestinian officials and United Nations agencies.
New land seizure orders near Jenin
The latest measures include new military land orders near Jenin, commercial shutdowns in occupied Jerusalem, uprooting of Palestinian-owned trees, and what aid agencies describe as a growing pattern of settler violence and displacement.
On May 14, Israeli authorities issued a military order to seize around 61 dunams of land belonging to residents of Zabda village near Ya’bad, southwest of Jenin, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The order, issued on grounds of military use, is expected to remain in effect until the end of 2028.
Saleh Ammarna, head of the Zabda village council, said residents planned to challenge the order through legal channels.
Commercial restrictions in occupied Jerusalem
In occupied Jerusalem, Palestinian shop owners in the Old City and surrounding commercial districts were ordered to close their businesses ahead of the annual Israeli Flag March, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
Thousands of Israeli ultranationalists and settlers marched through the Muslim Quarter under heavy police deployment, Reuters reported. Palestinian shopkeepers told Reuters they had been instructed to shut their stores before the march began.
Growing pressure on Palestinian agriculture
Pressure has also mounted on Palestinian agriculture, particularly in rural areas of the northern West Bank.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said earlier this month that authorities had uprooted around 3,000 trees planted by Palestinians, saying the trees had been planted on land designated as state property.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the 2025 olive harvest season recorded the highest level of settler-related damage since 2020.
According to OCHA, 126 attacks were documented across 70 Palestinian communities, with more than 4,000 olive trees and saplings damaged or destroyed.
The U.N. Human Rights Office has warned that such attacks carry major economic consequences, noting that between 80,000 and 100,000 Palestinian families depend on olive harvesting as a primary source of income.
Bedouin communities face displacement pressure
Bedouin communities in the Jordan Valley have also reported increasing pressure.
Residents of Ein al-Auja, north of Jericho, told Reuters in March that armed Israeli settlers stole approximately 1,500 sheep and goats from the community. Israeli police denied the incident had taken place.
Palestinian authorities say displacement has accelerated since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said 27 Palestinian communities in the West Bank had been displaced as of April 2024. OCHA estimated that about 558 households, 3,055 people, including 1,529 children, had been displaced since Oct. 7, 2023 due mainly to settler attacks and access restrictions.
Rising settler attacks and humanitarian concerns
In a July 2025 report, the U.N. Human Rights Office said Israeli settlers and security forces had intensified attacks, harassment, and killings targeting Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The report documented 757 settler attacks against Palestinians or their property since January 2025, representing a 13% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
Taken together, the measures, including land seizures, movement restrictions, settler violence, and forced displacement, point to mounting pressure on Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank.
U.N. agencies and rights groups have warned that the measures could carry long-term humanitarian, economic, and legal consequences, particularly for communities already facing repeated threats to their land, livelihoods, and continued presence.
R.H/Abd
