The Israeli occupations authorities on Saturday delivered notices to the Palestinian village of Jalud in the northern occupied West Bank, alerting residents that 5,000 dunams (1,250 acres) of private land were slated for confiscation in what appeared to be the retroactive legalization of illegal outposts in the area.

    Officials from Jalud’s local council told Ma’an that the military identified areas of the Palestinian village expected to lose land to the confiscation as Khallat al-Wusta, Shieb Khallat al-Wusta, and Abu al-Kasbar.

    However, the illegal outposts of Adei Ad, Esh Kodesh, Ahiya, and Kidah have already been established in the areas, marking the confiscation as Israel’s most recent retroactive legalization of unauthorized settlement construction.

    Israel’s High Court of Justice last year declared its intention to retroactively formalize the string of outposts, established in violation of both Israeli and international law, according to the UN.

    Jalud officials told Ma’an that the notice delivered to the Nablus-area village was signed by Israeli army’s head of Central Command Roni Numa, who said he believed "certain steps are needed to prevent terror attacks" and he as a result gave orders to confiscate the land "for security reasons." The land will be declared as "state land" and fall under full control of the Israeli military, the officials added.

    A spokesperson for Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) was not immediately available for comment on the confiscation notice.

Source: QNA