Israel prohibits Palestinians from using most of the lands of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea on a variety of pretexts: state land, closed military areas, nature reserves and areas under the jurisdiction of settlements’ Local and District Councils. All told, after deducting for overlap in these categories, roughly 85 percent of the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea are off limits to construction and development by Palestinians. This policy breaks up Palestinian territory and isolates Palestinian communities in the area. More on the topic
The map shows the various categories of land off-limits to Palestinian constructions and development: Areas under the jurisdiction of settlements’ Local and District Councils, state land, firing zones, nature reserves and national parks. More on the topic
The map shows the Palestinian villages and the Jewish settlements in the southern West Bank. The area marked in red is home to about 1,000 Palestinians, who live in caves and maintain a traditional lifestyle. In the 1970s this are was declared by the Israeli military commander a "closed military area,". Since 1999, Israel has been trying to expel the inhabitants. More on the topic.
This comprehensive map depicts the updated route of the separation barrier, checkpoints, Palestinian localities, and settlements and settlement outposts in the West Bank.
Israel’s regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violations. B’Tselem strives to end this regime, as that is the only way forward to a future in which human rights, democracy, liberty and equality are ensured to all people, both Palestinian and Israeli, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel has acted in a coordinated and deliberate manner to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip, committing genocide against its residents. In light of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the public statements made by Israeli decision-makers, and the international community’s failure to take effective action, there is a serious risk that the Israeli regime will expand the genocide to other areas under its control—first and foremost, the West Bank.
B’Tselem calls on the Israeli public and the international community to use every tool available under international law to bring an immediate end to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.