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<h1>Mapping how Israel’s land grabs are reshaping the occupied West Bank</h1><p class="gmail-article__subhead"><em>Israel’s
continuing military assault in Jenin and Tulkarem seeks to suppress
resistance and tighten control amid a demographic crisis.</em></p><div class="gmail-responsive-image"><img src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Tulkarem-Jenin-Nur-Shams-camp-West-Bank-Israel-poster-1743158401.png?resize=770%2C513&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Tulkarem Jenin Nur Shams camp West Bank Israel poster-1743158401" width="451" height="300" style="margin-right: 25px;"></div>(Al Jazeera)<div class="gmail-article-info-block"><div class="gmail-article-b-l"><div class="gmail-article-author-name"><span class="gmail-article-by">By </span><span class="gmail-article-author-name-item"><a class="gmail-author-link" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/author/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458">Al Jazeera Staff</a></span></div><div class="gmail-article-dates"><div class="gmail-date-simple"><span class="gmail-screen-reader-text">Published On 30 Mar 2025</span> -<font size="1"> <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/30/mapping-how-israels-land-grabs-are-reshaping-the-occupied-west-bank">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/30/mapping-how-israels-land-grabs-are-reshaping-the-occupied-west-bank</a></font></div></div></div><div class="gmail-social-share-buttons"><div class="gmail-update-reading-list"></div></div></div><div class="gmail-update-reading-list"><span class="gmail-update-reading-list__tooltip" role="tooltip"></span></div><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Femf5ms"></a><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Mapping%20how%20Israel%E2%80%99s%20land%20grabs%20are%20reshaping%20the%20occupied%20West%20Bank&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Femf5ms"></a><a class="gmail-social-share-button gmail-copylink" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Copy link" href="https://aje.io/emf5ms"></a><p>While global attention remains fixed on <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker">Israel’s war on Gaza</a>, Israel is rapidly redrawing the map of the occupied West Bank.</p>
<p>On January 21, just two days after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza,
the Israeli military intensified its assault across the occupied West
Bank, particularly in the northern regions. Israeli bulldozers have
razed entire residential areas, forcibly expelling at least 40,000
people from their homes.</p><p>For the first time since the second Intifada, Israeli forces have
reintroduced tank incursions and air attacks into the West Bank, part of
a systematic Israeli strategy to change the geography of the West Bank,
paving the way for full annexation.</p>
<p>This report, produced by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, SANAD,
draws on United Nations data, satellite imagery, and maps to reveal how
this is happening.</p>
<h2 id="gmail-the-occupied-west-bank-at-a-glance">The occupied West Bank at a glance</h2>
<p>The West Bank, called al-Daffah in Arabic, is <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/16/ten-maps-to-understand-the-occupied-west-bank">west of the Jordan River</a>, from which it gets its name.</p>
<p>Together with occupied East Jerusalem, it covers an area of 5,655sq
km (2,183sq miles), making it about 15 times larger than Gaza or roughly
the same size as the US state of Delaware.</p>
<p>Since 1967, Israel has <a href="https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2024/israel-occupation-illustrated-guide/">militarily occupied the West Bank</a>, subjecting Palestinians to <a href="https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2018/commuting-through-israeli-checkpoints/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">checkpoints</a>, arbitrary <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/17/palestinian-prisoners-day-how-many-palestinians-are-in-israeli-jails" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrests</a>, home <a href="https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2017/jerusalem-2016-home-demolitions/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demolitions</a>, land <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/11/how-israel-keeps-stealing-palestinian-land" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seizures</a>, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/6/who-are-israeli-settlers-and-why-do-they-live-on-palestinian-lands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">settlement</a> expansion and frequent <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/3/timeline-israels-deadly-seven-day-raid-in-occupied-west-banks-jenin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raids</a>, severely restricting every aspect of their lives.</p>
<p>The West Bank is home to approximately 3.3 million Palestinians. It
is divided into 11 governorates, with Hebron, or al-Khalil in Arabic,
being the most populous at about 842,000 residents. Jerusalem follows
with 500,000, Nablus with 440,000, Ramallah and el-Bireh with 377,000
and Jenin with 360,000.</p>
<p>About 700,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements on Palestinian land.</p>
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608164" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Occupied-West-Bank-population-1743158487.png?w=770&resize=770%2C962&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Occupied West Bank population-1743158487" width="361" height="451" style="margin-right: 0px;">(Al Jazeera)
<h2 id="escalating-attacks-before-october-7">Escalating attacks before October 7</h2>
<p>Deadly attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have persisted for years.</p><p>Since systematic documentation began in 2008, UN data shows that at
least 1,896 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and
settlers.</p>
<p>By October 6, 2023 – just hours before the Al-Aqsa Flood operation –
the death toll for 2023 had already risen to 198, surpassing 2022’s
total of 154 and making it the deadliest year on record at the time.</p>
<p>Since October 7, 2023, the number of attacks has skyrocketed.</p>
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608166" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Palestinians-killed-across-the-West-Bank-1743158495.png?w=770&resize=770%2C962&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Palestinians killed across the West Bank-1743158495" width="361" height="451" style="margin-right: 0px;">(Al Jazeera)
<p>Over the past 17 months, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed
in the occupied West Bank. More than half of them were from Jenin and
Tulkarem.</p>
<p>Amnesty International <a href="https://www.amnesty.ie/israel-palestine-occupation-force/">described</a>
this violence as “brutal”, citing unlawful killings, the
disproportionate use of deadly force, and the deliberate denial of
medical care to the wounded – all unfolding as global attention remains
fixated on Gaza.</p>
<h2 id="gmail-why-is-the-northern-west-bank-being-targeted">Why is the northern West Bank being targeted?</h2>
<p>Israel’s continuing military incursion, which it calls “Operation
Iron Wall”, has primarily targeted the northern governorates of Jenin
and Tulkarem.</p>
<p>These governorates have fewer Israeli settlements than the rest of
the West Bank and have long been centres of Palestinian resistance, a
factor that has historically hindered their annexation. In response,
Israel has carried out systematic raids and large-scale demolitions in
these regions, aiming to suppress resistance and establish full control –
part of a broader strategy to tighten its hold on the entire West Bank.</p>
<p>The refugee camps in particular have been heavily targeted. Since
October 2023, the Tulkarem refugee camp, the second-largest in the West
Bank, witnessed the destruction of 205 structures, including homes,
commercial buildings, and agricultural infrastructure, followed by 174
structures in Nur Shams camp and 144 in Jenin camp. The peak in Jenin
occurred in August 2024, when 37 structures were demolished in a single
month.</p>
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608161" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Occupied-West-Bank-settlement-expansion-1743158479.png?w=770&resize=770%2C962&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Occupied West Bank - settlement expansion-1743158479" width="361" height="451" style="margin-right: 0px;">(Al Jazeera)
<p>According to Peace Now, an Israeli nongovernmental organisation
(NGO), in 2024 a record-breaking 48 new settlement outposts were
established in the West Bank.</p>
<p>Even before the war, settlement expansion was accelerating. In 2023,
31 new outposts were set up, with 21 appearing in just six months
between February and July – well before October 7.</p>
<h2 id="gmail-settler-violence-an-informal-weapon-of-displacement">Settler violence: An informal weapon of displacement</h2>
<p>Settler attacks have become a daily occurrence in the West Bank,
especially in rural areas near settlement outposts. Settlers have
blocked roads to Palestinian communities, hindering access to essential
services and livelihoods. In some instances, they have destroyed water
sources, cutting off vital resources for Palestinian herding
communities.</p>
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3458229" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/INTERACTIVE-Israeli-settler-violence-in-the-West-Bank-1737532794.png?w=770&resize=770%2C962&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Israeli settler violence in the West Bank-1737532794" width="361" height="451" style="margin-right: 0px;">(Al Jazeera)
<p> </p>
<p>Testimonies from the southern West Bank village of Khirbet Zanuta
describe homes and water sources being destroyed, forcing residents to
flee. In Nablus, eight families (51 people) were forcibly displaced at
gunpoint.</p>
<p>A report by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din, which
analysed 1,664 police investigations into settler violence against
Palestinians between 2005 and September 2023, found that:</p>
<ul><li>94 percent of cases were closed without indictment.</li><li>Only 3 percent led to convictions.</li><li>In at least 80 percent of cases, investigations were closed due to
an alleged inability to identify suspects or gather sufficient evidence.</li></ul>
<p>The study highlighted a deep mistrust of Israeli law enforcement
among Palestinians, with 58 percent of Palestinian victims in 2023
choosing not to report crimes to the police. B’Tselem, another Israeli
human rights group, has described settler violence as “Israel’s
unofficial tool” for expelling Palestinians, with the lack of
accountability contributing to a culture of impunity.</p>
<h2 id="gmail-illegal-seizure-of-palestinian-land">Illegal seizure of Palestinian land</h2>
<p>A June 2024 report by HaMoked, an Israeli human rights organisation,
showed that Israel has rapidly intensified its control over the West
Bank since October 2023, moving towards full annexation.</p>
<p>This effort is led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who was
recently given a newly created minister position in the Ministry of
Defence, granting him extensive powers over civilian affairs in the West
Bank.</p>
<p>Smotrich, a settler who lives on Palestinian land outside the illegal
settlement of Kedumin, also heads the Settlement Administration, a
division within the Israeli Ministry of Defense, responsible for
overseeing the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements.</p>
<p>In 2024, 24,700 dunams (6,100 acres or 2,470 hectares) were
classified as “state land” by Israeli authorities, surpassing the 23,000
dunams annexed between 2000 and 2023. Additionally, 68 illegal
settlement outposts were recognised by Israel and provided with
infrastructure, deepening Israeli control.</p>
<p>Smotrich’s transfer of planning and demolition powers has accelerated
the forced displacement of Palestinians. His administration works with
settlers to seize land, demolish Palestinian homes, and recognise
illegal outposts, further entrenching settlement control.</p>
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608155" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Israel-Palestine-land-seizure-1743158462.png?w=770&resize=770%2C962&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Israel Palestine land seizure-1743158462" width="361" height="451" style="margin-right: 0px;">(Al Jazeera)
<h2 id="gmail-satellite-image-analysis-of-northern-west-bank">Satellite image analysis of northern West Bank</h2>
<p>An analysis of satellite images from March 12 over Tulkarem and Jenin
reveals widespread destruction and bulldozing by the Israeli military:</p>
<ul><li>12.5km (7.8 miles) of roads were destroyed in Tulkarem and Nur Shams camp.</li><li>17.5km (10.9 miles) of road networks were demolished in Jenin camp.</li><li>Extensive damage to buildings across all three camps.</li></ul>
<p>Since October 7, 2023, the bulldozing of at least 523 buildings,
which housed numerous families, has forced nearly 3,000 people from
their homes, including:</p>
<ul><li>Tulkarem camp: 1,070 people displaced after 205 buildings were demolished.</li><li>Nur Shams camp: 965 people displaced following the destruction of 174 structures.</li><li>Jenin camp: 960 people displaced after 144 structures were demolished.</li></ul>
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608145" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Tulkarem-camp-Nur-Shams-camp-West-Bank-Israel-1743158423.png?w=770&resize=770%2C595&quality=80" alt="Satellite image showing destroyed buildings and roads in Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, March 12, 2025, [Airbus]" width="451" height="349" style="margin-right: 25px;">Satellite
image showing destroyed buildings and roads in Tulkarem and Nur Shams
refugee camps, on March 12, 2025 [Airbus] (Al Jazeera)
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608148" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Jenin-camp-West-Bank-Israel-1743158434.png?w=770&resize=770%2C596&quality=80" alt="Satellite image showing destroyed buildings and roads in Jenin refugee camp, March 12, 2025 [Airbus]" width="451" height="349" style="margin-right: 25px;">Satellite image showing destroyed buildings and roads in Jenin refugee camp, on March 12, 2025 [Airbus] (Al Jazeera)
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608150" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Tulkarem-camp-West-Bank-Israel_1-1743158444.png?w=770&resize=770%2C595&quality=80" alt="Satellite image showing destroyed buildings and roads in Tulkarem refugee camp, March 12, 2025 [Airbus]" width="451" height="349" style="margin-right: 25px;">Satellite image showing destroyed buildings and roads in Tulkarem refugee camp, on March 12, 2025 [Airbus] (Al Jazeera)
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608152" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Tulkarem-camp-West-Bank-Israel-1743158457.png?w=770&resize=770%2C595&quality=80" alt="Satellite image showing destroyed buildings and roads in Nur Shams refugee camp, March 12, 2025 [Airbus]" width="451" height="349" style="margin-right: 25px;">Satellite image showing destroyed buildings and roads in Nur Shams refugee camp, on March 12, 2025 [Airbus] (Al Jazeera)
<p>According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA),
displacement has doubled in recent months, with the latest military
operation triggering the largest wave of Palestinian displacement in the
West Bank since 1967, with more than 40,000 people being forced to flee
their homes.</p>
<p>These figures point to a strategy of dismantling Palestinian
communities, as their presence in the West Bank poses a demographic
challenge to Israel.</p>
<p>New images and reports highlight the scale of devastation in Jenin,
Tulkarem and Nur Shams – entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble,
thousands forced to flee and the fabric of Palestinian society under
systematic assault.</p>
<p>A unique pattern was identified in Jenin, which was not observed in
Tulkarem and its camp. The Israeli military has constructed 14 earthen
barriers surrounding the camp, with military vehicles positioned near
some of these barriers.</p>
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608141" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-West-Bank-Jenin-road-block-1743158410.png?w=770&resize=770%2C596&quality=80" alt="Satellite image showing Israeli military vehicles and a ground checkpoint in Jenin refugee camp, March 12, 2025, [Airbus]" width="451" height="349" style="margin-right: 25px;">Satellite
image showing Israeli military vehicles and a ground checkpoint in
Jenin refugee camp, on March 12, 2025 [Airbus] (Al Jazeera)
<p>In addition, since October 2023, the Israeli military has imposed
severe movement restrictions on Palestinians, with 793 checkpoints by
November 2024, 60 percent of which are in Hebron, Nablus, and Ramallah –
hindering medical access, disrupting trade and isolating communities.</p>
<h2 id="gmail-open-calls-for-annexation-and-displacement">Open calls for annexation and displacement</h2>
<p>Despite rapid settlement expansion, Israel faces a key demographic
challenge, as the birthrate among the Palestinians in the West Bank,
Gaza Strip and Israel remains higher than among Israelis living in
Israel and the occupied West Bank, although population numbers are
roughly equal now.</p>
<img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3608158" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Demographics-of-Palestine-Israel-population-1743158470.png?w=770&resize=770%2C962&quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Demographics of Palestine Israel population-1743158470" width="361" height="451" style="margin-right: 0px;">(Al Jazeera)
<p>To counter this, Israeli policy increasingly focuses on reducing the
Palestinian presence in strategically sensitive areas, framing
displacement as both a security necessity and a “humanitarian” solution.</p>
<p>This strategy is evident in statements by Israeli officials. In March 2025, Defense Minister Israel Yoav Katz <a href="https://www.inn.co.il/news/662782" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defended</a>
illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank as “essential for
protecting Israeli cities”, while media figures like Gideon Dokov <a href="https://www.makorrishon.co.il/opinion/814795/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a>
the forced removal of Palestinians from all of Palestine “the only
humanitarian solution”, labelling Palestinians as “a murderous nation”.</p>
<p>The “Fighting for Life” <a href="https://www.i24news.tv/he/news/news/defense-news/artc-9d5938b6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaign</a>
echoed this message with the slogan “No Future in Palestine”,
encouraging what they euphemistically called “voluntary emigration”.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Meir Masri, professor of geopolitics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, <a href="https://x.com/MeirMasri/status/1889425228343943324" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>
on social media platform X that the annexation of the West Bank is “the
greatest Zionist achievement since 1967”, calling it a historic
opportunity that must not be missed.</p>
<p>In contrast, a policy <a href="https://www.inss.org.il/publication/policy-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paper</a>
for 2025–2026, published by the Israeli Institute for National Security
Studies (INSS) warned that unilateral annexation would deepen Israel’s
global isolation, push it towards a one-state reality where Jews risk
becoming a minority, and contradict core Zionist ideology.</p>
<br></div>