Jewish settlers grabbed Palestinian land as they continue to expand an illegal settlement outpost in Abu al-Qandol area in the northern Jordan Valley, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Local activist Aref Daraghm said that settlers have been setting up caravans on the land that belongs to local Palestinians and fenced it as they expand their illegal outpost established a year ago.
#Israeli Forces Demolish #Palestinian Bedouin Village for 177th Time (VIDEO) https://t.co/orsyU22Sjg via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/CcJtPa6GVG
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) August 29, 2020
The Jordan Valley covers an area of about 1.6 million dunams (1,600 km2) and constitutes around 30 percent of the total occupied West Bank. According to a previous government report, the Valley includes about 280,000 dunams of arable land, 50,000 of which are still used by Palestinians and 27,000 by illegal Jewish settlers.
The majority of the Jordan Valley is under full Israeli military control, despite being within the West Bank. Meanwhile, at least 44 percent of the total land in the Jordan Valley has been reappropriated by Israeli forces for military purposes and training exercises.
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.
(Palestine Chronicle, WAFA, Social Media)
