Palestinian study on Israeli land confiscation since Oslo

A recent Palestinian study estimated that the total area of land confiscated by Israel since the Oslo agreement in 1993 through the end of November 1997 reached 384,089 dunums, representing 6.6% of the total area of the West Bank and that some 60.819 trees were uprooted and 694 houses were destroyed.

Al-Quds daily published in the occupied Arab territories reported that the study revealed a great increase in the settlement activities in al-Quds (Jerusalem) district where some 73,534 dunums were confiscated in addition to other confiscation of lands in Nablus and Hebron.

The study showed that concentration of settlements on areas located between Ramallah and Nablus aim at building a settlement belt which prevents population contacts between the Northern and Southern parts of the West bank.

The study asserted that the city of Hebron had been exposed to a fierce confiscation operation as some 36,646 dunums were confiscated in the southern parts of the city.