Violation: Order to control on 15 dunams for a Military purposes

Location:  Madama and Bourin / Nablus Governorate

Date  of Violation : January, 22^th , 2025

Perpetrator: The so-called Commander of the Occupation Army in the West Bank

 Affected party : A Number of Farmers in the Area

Details:

The so- called commander of the Israeli occupation army in the West Bank , Aluf Balut , issued a new military order at the end of last January, entitled ‘ order regarding the seize of lands 25/3 taking methods ‘which targets 15 dunams of agricultural lands located on a section of the bypass road( No 60), which crosses the land of the villages of Madama and Bourin south- west of the Nablus.

 According to the military notification and the map, the occupation claims that the reason for the confiscation is urgent security purposes, and it seems that is planning to seize those plots mentioned in the map and notification with the aim of turning them into security areas directly under the control of supervision of the Israeli occupation army and that aims to provide protection for settlers, they are walking in this section leading to several settlements, such as “Yitsahar” settlement which is very close to the confiscation site.

According to the military notification , the occupation identified the following plots and areas for confiscation:

Madama village: natural block No.(4) , the site:  Sahel Ganeem, Al- Barbas ,Karam Halal, Masmar

Bourin village: natural block No.(7) : Qurawat , basin No(8) in Albrais , Wadi al jammar

 Activist Munir Qaddous informed to the researcher at Land Research Center as follows :

The section of the bypass road No.(60) is considered one of the most dangerous as it connects several Israeli settlements to each other , including the’ Yitsahar ‘ settlement also Givat Zohar settlement. This is a real threat and endangered the farmers themselves, and it seems that the occupation is planning to impose control over some of the elevated plots with the aim of securing protection for the settlers at the expense of the land owners, it should be noted that this section destroyed large area of land during the construction.

On the other hand , according to previous field monitoring, the filed research team documented earlier in January 2025 the Israeli occupation cutting and destroying a numbers of olive trees from Madam village, which is located specifically next to this section of the bypass road. This took place during December 2024 ,where the occupation justified the actions by citing a military order issued in December 2024 under the pretext of securing the road and providing protection for settlers , as well as cutting down trees that obstruct the visibility for the Israeli army.

 Confiscation of land is a violation of international law:

What Israel is doing in the occupied Palestinian territories is considered  a violation of the rights of the Palestinian people and their land. As well as , a breach of international laws and norms are the key provisions in international laws and threats that prohibit Israeli settlement in Palestinian territories and prevent interference with civil and public rights and properties in the occupied lands, as well as relevant UN resolution.

Hague Convention/ 1907 :

• Article 46: The occupying power shall not confiscate private property.
• Article 55: the occupying power is considered as the administrator of the lands in the occupied country , and it must treat the property of the country as private property.

Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 :

• Article 49: The occupying power shall not transfer its own people  into the land that occupied, nor shall it take any measures constituting a demographic change in it .
• Article 53:  The occupation forces are not permitted to destroy personal or collective property or the property of individuals , the state or any authority in the occupied country , except where such destruction is absolutely necessary for military operation.
• Article 53:  The destruction and appropriation of property in a manner not justified by military necessary   and in an unlawful and arbitrary way, constitutes a grave breach of the convention .

مشروع: حماية الحقوق البيئية الفلسطينية في مناطق "ج" SPERAC IV - GFFO

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Land Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the project donor; the Norwegian Refugee Council.

إخلاء المسؤولية: الآراء ووجهات النظر الواردة في هذا التقرير هي آراء ووجهات نظر مركز أبحاث الأراضي ولا تعكس بالضرورة وجهات نظر أو مواقف الجهة المانحة للمشروع؛ المجلس النرويجي. للاجئين