Holding Firm to Rights in the Face of Confiscation and Settlement Policies
March 30 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Land Day, a historic milestone that embodied the unity of the Palestinian people and their steadfast attachment to their identity and land in the face of confiscation and displacement policies.
This anniversary comes at a time of accelerated and systematic expansion of settlement activities and land confiscation, placing the international community before its legal and moral responsibilities.
The Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness) affirms, through its field and legal monitoring, that the continued confiscation of Palestinian land by the occupying authorities constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and its Additional Protocol I.
In this context, (Witness) emphasizes that the impact of settlement expansion is no longer measured solely by the number of settlements or settlers, but by the extent of effective territorial control. Approximately 10% of the West Bank falls within the municipal boundaries of settlements, while broader settlement jurisdiction areas extend to nearly 42% of the West Bank, alongside near-complete control over Area C, which constitutes around 60% of the West Bank. This reality fragments Palestinian geography into isolated areas and increasingly undermines the possibility of establishing a contiguous and viable Palestinian state.
(Witness) further stresses that the right to land is intrinsically linked to the right of return of millions of Palestinian refugees to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced in 1948.
Confiscation and settlement policies do not only target the present but aim to impose a permanent reality that prevents the realization of this right, in clear violation of international law and United Nations resolutions, particularly Resolution 194.
On this occasion, Witness highlights the following legal and human rights dimensions:
First: Settlements as a War Crime
The continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem constitutes a violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and amounts to a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, requiring accountability for those responsible for these policies.
Second: Demolition and Forced Displacement Policies
Witness documents an increase in demolition orders under the pretext of "lack of permits,” a policy clearly aimed at forced demographic change and the displacement of the indigenous population, in violation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Third: The Reality of Land in Gaza and Jerusalem
Witness stresses that the targeting of agricultural lands and buffer zones in Gaza, along with ongoing Judaization policies in Jerusalem neighborhoods, represents attempts to impose a new geographical reality that undermines the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
Based on the above, The Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness) calls for:
First: The international community to move from condemnation to concrete legal action and to compel the occupying authorities to halt all settlement activities in implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334.
Second: The United Nations to provide legal and field protection for Palestinian land and its population and to activate international accountability mechanisms.
Third: Human rights organizations to intensify efforts in documenting land-related violations and submitting periodic reports to United Nations treaty bodies.
The Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness)
Beirut, March 30, 2026