The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) said that the Israeli occupation seized 193 dunums of Palestinian lands in the Al-Auja area in Jericho.

In a press statement today, Saturday, February 25, the commission stated that the land that was seized belongs to the Palestinian village of Al-Auja in the Jericho Governorate, and the Israeli occupation used the pretext of “expropriation for the public interest” to seize it.

Moayed Shaaban, head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, said that the Israeli occupation uses expropriation decisions as one of the means to seize Palestinian lands, specifically in Area C, especially since the occupation controls planning in those areas and prevents Palestinians from their right to prepare plans for villages.

He added that the occupation claims, through expropriation orders, that it is seizing Palestinian lands for a public project for the benefit of Israeli settlers, and are preventing Palestinians, through a military order, from using their own lands to build civil buildings or establish private projects.

Shaaban indicated that the occupation authorities, since 2014, have issued 29 orders to expropriate Palestinian citizens’ lands under the pretext of the “public interest”. These orders led to the confiscation of more than 2,100 dunums of Palestinian citizens’ lands. This policy aims to serve the Israeli settlement project, connect the colonial settlement outposts with each other, and serve the settlers by facilitating their lives and movement.