Ramallah, June 3, 2025: The head of the Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission, Minister Mu’ayyad Sha’ban, stated that Israeli occupation forces and colonizers carried out 1691 assaults during the month of May, in an ongoing cycle of terror by the occupation state against the Palestinian people, their lands, and property.
In the commission’s monthly report titled "Occupation Violations and Colonial Expansion Measures," Mr. Sha’ban explained that the occupation army was responsible for 1276 assaults, while colonizers carried out 415 assaults. The majority of these assaults were concentrated in the governorates of Ramallah with 283 assaults, Hebron with 271 assaults, and Nablus with 265 assaults.
He noted that the assaults ranged from armed assaults on Palestinian villages to imposing facts on the ground, field executions, destruction, land levelling, uprooting trees, seizing properties, and imposing closures and checkpoints that sever the ties of Palestinian geography.
An Ongoing Wave of Colonizer Terrorism
Mr. Sha'ban highlighted that colonizer assaults were most concentrated in the Nablus governorate, with 91 assaults, followed by Ramallah with 89 assaults, and Hebron with 72 assaults.
He added that colonizers carried out 356 acts of vandalism and theft targeting Palestinian properties, affecting vast areas of land. Additionally, these attacks led to the uprooting of 1068 trees, including 695 olive trees across the governorates of Hebron, Ramallah, Salfit, Tulkarm, and Nablus.
He noted that the wave of colonizer terrorism severely affected villages in Salfit governorate, especially Bruqin and Kafr Ad-Dik, in a clear example of the army and state institutions providing cover for colonizer violence. These assaults and arsons were carried out in a barbaric manner, further underscoring the escalating level of terrorism targeting unarmed civilians.
Attempt to Establish 15 New Colonial Outposts
Mr. Sha'ban stated that colonizers have attempted to establish 15 new colonial outposts since early May, most of which have been agricultural and pastoral in nature. These included six in Ramallah, two each in Salfit, Tubas, and Bethlehem, and one each in Jericho and Nablus. He also emphasized that the intensifying efforts to establish colonial outposts is aimed at fragmenting Palestinian geography and imposing facts on the ground. The colonizer take on the task of creating changes on the ground, after which the official authorities step in to legitimize and cement these changes, transforming them into colonial sites that receive full services.
Seizure of 48 Dunums of Land
Mr. Sha’ban added that in May, the occupation authorities also seized 48 dunums of Palestinian land via seven military seizure orders. Two of these orders were used to establish buffer zones around colonies, specifically around the Evyatar outpost on Mount Sabih and Havat Gilad on lands belonging to Tel, Far’ata, and Jit villages east of Qalqilya.
Demolition of 121 Facilities and Notification to Demolish 48 Others
Mr. Sha'ban pointed out that during May, the occupation authorities carried out 74 demolitions, destroying a total of 121 facilities, including 60 inhabited homes, 1uninhabited home, 37 agricultural facilities, and others.
The demolitions were concentrated in the following governorates: Hebron with 56 facilities, Jerusalem with 23 facilities, and Bethlehem and Ramallah with 10 demolished facilities each. Mr. Sha'ban also revealed that the occupation authorities issued 48 demolition notifications for Palestinian facilities, as part of the ongoing campaign to restrict Palestinian construction and the natural growth of villages and towns—an effort that has recently intensified through widespread demolition operations. The notifications were mainly concentrated in the Ramallah Governorate with 21 notification, followed by Salfit with 18, Tulkarm with 4, Jerusalem with 3, and Nablus with 1.
Mr. Sha’ban stated that the occupation has adopted a dangerous approach to Palestinian construction. First approach is the unprecedented escalation of demolitions, accompanied by threats to expand these operations. The second is forcing Palestinians to cover the costs of demolishing their own homes, as recently witnessed in Masafer Yatta. This policy, he stressed, is aimed at imposing further layers of oppression on Palestinians.
Study of 26 Master Plans for Colonies
Mr. Sha’ban added that in May, the planning authorities of the occupying state reviewed 26 master plans in favor of colonies in the West Bank and Jerusalem (within municipal boundaries). These plans aim to build 3,000 new colonial housing units on 1,700 dunums of land.
Mr. Sha’ban added that the attached maps reveal an intent to significantly expand the Etz Efraim colony, built on land belonging to the villages of Mas-ha (Salfit) and Saniriya (Qalqilya). This expansion is planned through the approval of a new neighborhood to accommodate 252 new colonial units on 104 dunums. The occupation continues to submit additional master plans to expand Etz Efraim, including a plan submitted two months ago to construct 192 units on 32 dunums.
Analysis of the Ariel colony plan indicates that the Israeli occupying state approved a major expansion under the “Ariel West” colony, first approved in 1992, with a tender issued last year. The new plan includes 730 colonial units on 405 dunums, marking a dangerous development targeting land in Salfit governorate, especially the city of Salfit.
He ended by stating that among the major plans approved in May is another targeting Jerusalem governorate, specifically for the Kochav Ya’akov colony. The maps show approval of a large master plan to build 627 colonial units on 253 dunums of land in Kafr Aqab, north of Jerusalem.