Key facts
- Over 4,700 dunams of land in Um al-Safa village, west of Ramallah, have been confiscated by Israeli settlers.
- Settlers are uprooting olive trees, establishing new outposts, and building infrastructure on Palestinian land.
- The Palestinian Bedouin community of Ein Samia was displaced due to settler harassment and military support.
- Israeli authorities issued a military land-seizure order for 16.577 dunams near the Beit El colony.
- These seizures are part of a pattern of military orders used to expand settlement infrastructure and restrict Palestinian access.
Israeli settlers have seized near-total control of land in the Palestinian village of Um al-Safa, west of Ramallah, confiscating over 4,700 of its 4,800 dunams. Settlers have uprooted olive trees, used bulldozers to level land for roads linking settlement outposts, and are preparing infrastructure for new settlements. Six outposts have been established on the village's land in recent months, preventing residents from accessing their cemetery.
This expansion is part of a broader trend where Israeli settlers are increasingly encroaching on areas previously under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction. The Palestinian Bedouin community of Ein Samia, east of Ramallah, was displaced in May 2023 due to mounting pressure and harassment from settlers, with significant military support. Dozens of families dismantled their homes and relocated to Al-Khalail, an area in Area B, seeking relative safety.
However, settlers established a new herding outpost called Shlisha Farm facing the Al-Khalail encampment in 2024. Settlers on Shlisha Farm began grazing flocks on land surrounding the community, damaging olive trees and crops, and threatening families, with soldiers reportedly backing them. In February, soldiers declared the area a 'closed military zone,' ordering residents to leave, though they refused.
In a separate but related development, Israeli occupation authorities issued a military land-seizure order for 16.577 dunams of privately owned Palestinian land in Doura al-Qare', northeast of Ramallah. This order targets land surrounding the illegal colony of Beit El, aiming to expand its security perimeter and restrict Palestinian access to agricultural areas. The Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission reported 40 military land-seizure orders covering 611 dunams in mid-2026, used for buffer zones, security roads, and military sites, often leading to long-term de facto annexation.