LONDON: Israeli authorities seized 464,400 sq. meters of Palestinian land in the town of Sinjil, north of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, according to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
The plot is now classified as “state land,” which Israel will use for the benefit of the illegal outpost of Givat Haroeh, established in 1998. It will also benefit the settlements of Shilo and Maale Levona, which are very close to Sinjil.
The commission warned of an Israeli plan aiming to create a continuous geographical corridor connecting all these settlements and to isolate Palestinian communities, according to Palestine News Agency.
Sinjil, along with the Israeli settlements, is located alongside Road 60, which runs through the occupied West Bank from south to north.
The Palestinian town is thought to have been established during the Crusades in 1103, when it was referred to as the Citadel of Saint Gilles. It is home to about 16,000 residents. Israeli settlers have repeatedly attacked Sinjil and other neighboring towns, including Turmus Ayya.
The majority of UN member states condemn Israel’s land grab and settlement-building policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the country occupied the territories in June 1967.
The Israeli government is unilaterally advancing a de facto annexation of the area through laws and military orders that strip powers from the Palestinian Authority.
Last week, a section of Road 60 near Hebron, from Bnei Naim to Al-Arroub towns, was renamed Tanach (Bible) Road during a ceremony attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
There are currently 279 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including 14 in East Jerusalem. They are built either on private land taken from Palestinians or on public land that was deemed to be owned by the government of Jordan, which once ruled the area. Nearly 737,000 settlers live in these settlements, among 3.43 million Palestinians.
