Israel plans grazing permits on 2,345 acres of West Bank land
Notices dated Nov. 1 cover land in Salfit and Jenin governorates, and a Palestinian body warns the move could extend settlements.
Israeli authorities plan to set aside nearly 2,350 acres of occupied West Bank land for grazing by settlers, the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said Tuesday, as reported by Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency.
The commission said two notices dated Nov. 1 propose temporary grazing permits on 9,488 dunams (about 2,345 acres) of land that Israel classifies as "state land."
The notices cover villages in Salfit governorate, including Al-Zawiya, Rafat and Deir Ballut, and villages in Jenin governorate, including Arraba, Kafr Rai and Ya'bad.
The commission warned that using the "state land" label to approve grazing could push settlements further into open areas between Palestinian villages.
It added that the effects could reach beyond the livestock sites to nearby pastures and the routes herders use, adding pressure on Palestinian farmers and herding communities.
The commission said Israeli authorities issued seven similar military orders in 2025, covering 16,733 dunams (about 4,135 acres) of land Israel also classifies as "state land."
It also documented the establishment of 211 illegal settlement outposts across the occupied West Bank over the past three years, most of them set up for grazing.
Palestinian official figures put the settler population at around 750,000, living in 194 settlements and 400 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Most of the international community considers settlements built on occupied territory illegal under international law, and the issue remains central to Israeli-Palestinian talks.