Jewish settlers stormed the town of Kifl Haris, north of Salfit in the occupied West Bank, to perform Talmudic rituals in Islamic shrines on Sunday evening.
Local sources reported that groups of settlers stormed the area under heavy military protection.
They added that Israeli forces deployed around the town and closed several roads to secure the settlers’ movements during the raid.
The town of Kifl Haris has witnessed repeated settler incursions, particularly targeting religious sites, under military protection. These incursions are often accompanied by on-the-ground measures, including road closures and restrictions on residents’ movement.
In a related development, Israeli occupation forces decided, on Sunday evening, to seize areas of land from the village of Al-Funduqomiya, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank, for military purposes.
Local sources explained that the confiscation order covers approximately 8,950 square meters of village land.
This step falls within a broader policy of land seizure and military and settlement expansion pursued by the Israeli authorities in West Bank governorates, accompanied by strict restrictions on Palestinians and denial of access to their lands.
On February 8, the Israeli government approved a decision allowing the seizure of Palestinian land in Area “C” of the West Bank by registering it as “state land” for the first time since 1967. This move aims to bring about a fundamental change in the legal and civil reality and to consolidate control over the land.
Annexing the West Bank would eliminate the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state, in accordance with United Nations resolutions based on the principle of a two-state solution.
In a related context, official data issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics showed that in 2025, the Israeli occupation seized more than 5,571 dunums of land and issued 94 orders to take control of approximately 2,609 dunums. Additionally, 3 expropriation orders were issued for about 1,731 dunums, along with 3 declarations of “state land” covering around 1,231 dunums.
The data also indicated that during the same year, the Israeli occupation demolished around 1,400 Palestinian structures, either fully or partially, including 258 structures in Occupied Jerusalem, among them 104 cases of self-demolition. In addition, 991 demolition orders were issued for allegedly being built without Israeli permits.
The United Nations affirms that settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories is illegal and undermines the possibility of implementing the two-state solution and has for decades called for a halt to it without success.
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces continue efforts to alter the demographic structure of the West Bank and displace Palestinians, while residents continue to assert their attachment to their land and reject displacement policies.
