[News] Israel is turning WB into isolated enclaves, seeks full occupation of Area C

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Settlement expert: Israel is turning WB into isolated enclaves, seeks full
occupation of Area C

Monday 14-July-2025 - https://english.palinfo.com/?p=3
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WEST BANK, (PIC)

Jad Isaac, Director General of the Applied Research Institute – ARIJ,
warned that the Israeli occupation authorities are working to transform the
occupied West Bank into isolated “enclaves” while aiming to take full
control of Area C, effectively ending any possibility of establishing a
viable Palestinian state.

The settlement affairs expert added on Monday that Israel continues to
expand its settlement activity in the West Bank, seize as much land as
possible, and encourage “voluntary migration” of Palestinians.

Since the start of the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza on October 7, 2023,
calls from Israeli ministers and Knesset members to annex the occupied West
Bank and apply full Israeli sovereignty over it have been increasing.

In early July 2025, 14 Israeli ministers and the Knesset Speaker signed a
letter addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by
international justice—urging him to annex the occupied West Bank.


*Isolated zones*Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Isaac explained that the
Israeli government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (who
oversees settlement affairs), seeks to bring all of Area C—including nature
reserves—under full Israeli control. This would leave Palestinians confined
to the remaining areas, corralled into disconnected enclaves linked by
roads, tunnels, or bridges, without any real possibility for sustainability
or development in the future.

He expressed concern that what is happening in Gaza could be just a prelude
to similar measures in the West Bank. He pointed to Israel’s military
operations in refugee camps—especially in the northern West Bank cities of
Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, and Tubas—as evidence of an attempt to impose new
facts on the ground.

Since January 21 this year, the Israeli army has launched a campaign
starting in Jenin and its refugee camp, later expanding to Tulkarem and Nur
Shams camps, destroying thousands of housing units, demolishing
infrastructure, and forcibly displacing residents from these camps and
surrounding neighborhoods.

Isaac believes that the occupation authorities are reconfiguring the West
Bank into regional clusters, delegating authority to local tribal leaders
or figures to tighten control over the Palestinian population—effectively
eliminating any hope for a viable, sustainable Palestinian state and
dismantling any path toward a two-state solution.

He added that Areas A and B will likely be reduced to disconnected cantons
where Palestinians are allowed to remain under certain conditions meant to
encourage voluntary emigration.

Under the Oslo II Accords (1995), the West Bank was divided into three
areas:
• Area A: Full Palestinian control
• Area B: Palestinian civil control with Israeli security control
• Area C: Full Israeli civil and security control
Area C constitutes about 60% of the West Bank’s territory.


*Emptying the Jordan Valley*According to Isaac, the occupation has recently
emptied 32 Bedouin communities from the eastern slopes of the West Bank
through forced displacement—crimes that, he stressed, have received little
international attention.

He described these actions as war crimes, explaining that Israel aims to
reduce the Palestinian population in Area C through intimidation, forced
eviction, and various oppressive practices, especially in the Jordan Valley.

Farmlands that used to be cultivated by Palestinians have been turned into
grazing outposts due to the lack of settlers to inhabit the area. To
maintain a presence, livestock—including cattle—have been brought in.

Currently, 133 grazing outposts control over 250,000 dunums (1 dunum =
1,000 m²) of land in the Jordan Valley, in addition to other outposts south
of Al-Khalil, where residents of Masafer Yatta face daily forced
displacement and are even prevented from setting up tents for students or
shelter.


*Land confiscation disguised as “Land Registration”*Regarding Israel’s land
registration law in the West Bank, Isaac explained that when Jordan
governed the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), land ownership was being
officially registered in 1963. However, this process was halted when Israel
occupied all Palestinian territories in 1967.

Isaac said that land registration activities resumed about a year and a
half ago in occupied Jerusalem, where the Israeli government began
re-evaluating land ownership titles registered in the names of Palestinian
ancestors. Properties were recorded in the names of those physically
present in Jerusalem, while Palestinians living outside the city lost their
rights to those properties.

“In effect,” Isaac said, “Israel gave itself the authority to manage land
registration, which is a violation of international law, as the occupying
power has no right to carry out such procedures on occupied land.”

He added, “The Knesset decided to apply land registration procedures in
Area C, even though the Palestinian Authority had previously conducted such
registration. Israel refuses to recognize those records.” He pointed out
that a new registration process has begun under the Israeli Civil
Administration, with new requirements, “and we will see how much land we
end up losing through this process.”

Isaac described this as a dangerous step that grants Israel self-proclaimed
sovereignty over occupied territories, amid global silence, a world that
neither hears, sees, nor speaks.


*Parallel violence in Gaza and the West Bank*In parallel with the genocide
in Gaza, Israel has escalated attacks by its military and settlers across
the West Bank, resulting in the death of at least 998 Palestinians and
injury to around 7,000 others over the past 21 months, according to
Palestinian data.

In Gaza, Israel, with US support, has been committing genocide that has
left over 196,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, most of them women and
children, since October 2023. In addition, over 10,000 people are missing,
hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and famine has claimed the lives
of many—including dozens of children.
Israeli violations <https://english.palinfo.com/tag/Israeli-violations/> Land
annexation <https://english.palinfo.com/tag/Land-annexation/> West Bank
<https://english.palinfo.com/tag/West-Bank/>

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