Israel announces largest West Bank land appropriation since Oslo Accords

The Civil Administration, which manages civilian affairs in the West Bank, has declared 2,965 acres of land in the Jordan Valley region to be state land, meaning it is fit for future development.

According to the Peace Now organization, which campaigns against the West Bank settlements, this is the largest designation of state land since the Oslo Accords in 1993, and follows other large designations of state land including 1,976 acres also in the Jordan Valley in March, 650 acres east of Jerusalem in February, and 42 acres in the Etzion Bloc.

The new declaration involves land some 50 kilometers north of Jericho, immediately adjacent to the 1,976 acres of state land designated in March.

The designation was issued on June 25 but only published today.

The amount of land declared to be state land in 2024, some 5,852 acres as of July, far outstrips any other year this century. The highest previous total was 1,181 acres in 2014.

The Civil Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich are determined to fight against the entire world and against the interests of the people of Israel for the benefit of a handful of settlers who receive thousands of dunams [each one is a quarter acre] as if there were no political conflict to resolve, or war to end,” says Peace Now.

“Today, it is clear to everyone that this conflict cannot be resolved without a political settlement that establishes a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Still, the Israeli government chooses to actually make it difficult and distance us from the possibility of peace and stopping the bloodshed.”