The CWRC said that the Israeli occupation authorities confiscated 193 dunums of citizens’ land in Al-Auja area in Jericho governorate under the pretext of expropriation for the public interest. It appears through the issued military order that the occupation authorities use the pretext of archaeological sites to seize Palestinian lands, as this confiscated area is considered an archaeological site called archelaus site.
Muayyad Shaaban, head of CWRC, stated that the Israeli occupation authorities use expropriation orders as one of its means to confiscate Palestinian lands, specifically in Area C, which represents 61% of the total area of the West Bank, in light of its control over planning in those areas and preventing Palestinians from their right to develop master plans for Palestinian villages, and disapproving these plans if submitted to them, in order to exploit and develop these areas in favor of the expansion of the colonies and as a strategic geographical reserve for them in the future.
Shaaban added that the occupation authorities claim, through the expropriation orders, that they are confiscating Palestinian lands for the public interest. And when analyzing the term “public” according to the indications and evidence from the field, it becomes clear that what is meant here is the “Israeli” public, specifically the colonizers. The expropriation orders stipulate that the projects or plans that will be implemented on this area specified by the military order may not be used for the construction of private buildings or the establishment of private projects, as it depends in this regard on what was previously confiscated under the name of "State Lands".
While the confiscated lands are allocated under the pretext of State Lands for coloial expansion, legitimizing outposts and building new colonies, the occupation authorities carry out another type of confiscation under the name of "appropriation order" in order to connect the colonies and colonial blocs to road, electricity and water networks, according to flimsy legal arguments corrupted by facts on the ground, claiming in essence the illegality of colonial construction on private Palestinian lands, but it circumvents these legal arguments through the appropriation order, that targets in its entirety private Palestinian lands, which are controlled to serve the colonial project and investing in its infrastructure by building roads, electricity, water, phones networks...etc.
Shaaban explained that the dangerous escalation these days in carrying out demolitions of facilities and buildings in the Palestinian territories comes as a result of the density of demolition notices, where the arms of the Israeli occupation state, particularly with the formation and election of the right-wing, fascist, extremist government, seek to implement the largest possible number of demolitions in order to besiege Palestinian construction and natural growth, displace the Palestinians, and empty the land in favor of controlling it and turning it into the colonial project.
Shaaban said that since 2014, the Israeli occupation authorities have issued 29 orders to expropriate citizens' lands under the pretext of public interest. These orders required the confiscation of more than 2,100 dunums of citizens’ lands. The aim of these confiscations was to serve the colonial settlement project by linking the colonial settlement sites with a network of roads or tunnels, or to serve the settlers by facilitating their lives and movement, and in many cases it is forbidden for the Palestinians to benefit from these interests.