Salfit Ma’an – Today, Thursday, the occupation authorities notified the residents of the town of Deir Istiya, northwest of Salfit, of the confiscation of large areas of the town’s lands for the expansion of its settlements built on citizens’ lands.

The mayor of Deir Istiya, Firas Diab, stated that the occupation authorities handed them a notice to change the use of the land for residential purposes to confiscate 35 dunums of citizens’ land in the areas of ‘Karson, Balaa, and Wadi al-Hamam’ in the Wadi Qana area, west of the town, in order to expand the ‘Karnei Shomron’ settlement, which is built on citizens’ land.

Dhiab added that the occupation targets the Palestinian presence to force citizens to leave their lands and replace them with settlers in the Wadi Qana area, which is estimated to be more than 10,000 dunams, as the Israeli occupation declared it a nature reserve since 1983. It prevents the Palestinian owners of the land from working on it, while building and expanding its settlements on it, which
are estimated at 8 settlements: Immanuel from the east, Karnei Shomron and Maale Shomron from the north, Genat Shomron and the settlement outpost of Matan from the west, and Yakir and Nofim from the south.

It is noteworthy that the occupation authorities have recently escalated their policy of seizing vast areas of citizens’ lands in the villages and towns of the governorate.

Source: Maan News Agency