Ramallah, May 4, 2026: The head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Minister Mu'ayyad Sha'ban, stated that Israeli occupation forces and colonizers carried out a total of 1,637 attacks during the month of April. This can be read as a continuation of the systematic terrorism practiced by the occupation state against the Palestinian people, their lands, and their properties.
Mr. Sha'ban clarified in the Commission's monthly report, titled "Occupation Violations and Colonial Expansion Measures," that the occupation army carried out 1,097 attacks, while colonizers carried out 540 attacks. He noted that these attacks were concentrated primarily in Nablus Governorate with 402 attacks, followed by Hebron Governorate with 340 attacks, Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate with 312 attacks, and Bethlehem Governorate with 171 attacks; which is a clear indicator of the intensity of systematic targeting of these areas.
Mr. Sha'ban also explained that the attacks varied and intensified, encompassing direct physical violence, uprooting of trees, burning of fields, preventing farmers from accessing their lands, seizure of properties, as well as demolition of homes and agricultural structures. He noted that these practices coincide with the closure of vast areas of Palestinian land under the pretext of security, while simultaneously providing protection and support to colonizers to enable their expansion within those areas.
An Ongoing Escalation of Colonizer Terrorism
Mr. Sha'ban stated that the 540 colonizer attacks represented a continuation of the escalation of colonizer terrorism targeting Palestinian villages and Bedouin communities, concentrated in Nablus Governorate with 174 attacks, Hebron with 139 attacks, and Ramallah and Al-Bireh with 109 attacks. He added that colonizer attacks have reached 2,016 since the beginning of 2026.
He further noted that colonizers carried out 124 property vandalism operations and 20 confiscation and theft operations targeting Palestinian properties. Their attacks also affected vast areas of Palestinian land. Colonizer attacks, aided by the occupation army, resulted in the uprooting, vandalism, and poisoning of 4,414 trees, all of which were olive trees, across Hebron Governorate with 2,169 trees, Ramallah and Al-Bireh with 1,170 trees, Nablus with 740 trees, Jerusalem with 200 trees, and Bethlehem with 135 trees.
Mr. Sha'ban emphasized that these figures clearly reveal the systematic enforcement of coercive displacement policies, manifested in forced displacement operations carried out through colonizer terrorism under the direct protection of occupation authorities. He explained that these practices aim to empty the land of its people and undermine Palestinian presence, particularly in Bedouin communities. He added that the displacement of families and the destruction of properties, lands, and trees constitutes a compound crime targeting both the people and the land, forming part of a gradual de facto annexation project managed through an organized escalation of violence that has not ceased despite the clear nature of its intent and the continuation of international condemnations.
Attempts to Establish 21 New Colonial Outposts
Mr. Sha'ban noted that colonizers attempted to establish 21 new colonial outposts since the beginning of April, predominantly agricultural and pastoral in character. These outposts are to be established across Hebron Governorate with 7 new outpost attempts, Bethlehem with 3, Ramallah and Al-Bireh with 4 attempts, Nablus with 5, and Jenin and Tubas with one outpost each. Mr. Sha'ban confirmed that the escalation in colonial outpost establishment attempts in the recent period could only be occurring under clear instructions from the political leadership of the occupation state, with the aim of imposing facts on the ground and further fragmenting Palestinian geography. Colonizers carry out changes on the ground, and the official level then converts these changes into a fait accompli by legalizing, entrenching, and transforming them into colonial sites equipped with all services.
Seizure of 42 Dunums of Citizens' Lands
Mr. Sha'ban stated that occupation authorities in April seized 42 dunums of citizens' lands through a series of military orders, specifically 6 land seizure orders for security and military purposes aimed at constructing security roads. These seizure orders were distributed in Bethlehem Governorate with 3 military orders, Tubas with 2 military orders, and the establishment of a buffer zone around the Sanur colony in Jenin Governorate.
The occupation authorities also issued a total of 7 military orders under the label of "security measures orders," requiring the removal of trees from an area of 161.6 dunums of citizens' lands in Hebron Governorate with 6 orders, and one order in Nablus, including a major order targeting lands in Dura in Hebron Governorate covering 83 dunums.
Mr. Sha'ban also affirmed that these declarations come at a dangerous political moment in which legislation, master plans, and confiscation decisions converge with colonial bids to form an integrated system aimed at imposing irreversible facts on the ground, according to the occupation's own discourse, and transforming the occupation from a temporary condition into a permanent system of coercive sovereignty.
Demolition of 78 Facilities and Notifications to Demolish 21 More
Mr. Sha'ban indicated that occupation authorities carried out 37 demolition operations in April targeting 78 facilities, including 37 inhabited homes, 34 agricultural facilities, and 5 livelihood facilities, concentrated in Jerusalem Governorate with 29 facilities, Ramallah and Al-Bireh with 22 facilities, and Bethlehem with 10 facilities, among others. Mr. Sha'ban noted that occupation authorities distributed 21 demolition notifications for Palestinian facilities, continuing the pattern of restricting Palestinian construction and the natural growth of Palestinian villages and towns, a pattern currently being translated with great intensity into demolition operations. The notifications were concentrated in Hebron Governorate with 15 demolition notifications, followed by Jerusalem with 3, Jenin with 2, and one notification in Qalqilya.
Approval of 34 New Colonies and Review of 10 Colony Master Plans
Mr. Sha'ban stated that occupation policies have shifted from managing colonial expansion to imposing comprehensive, codified geographical facts through official decisions aimed at entrenching realities and reshaping Palestinian geography. This was manifested in the announcement of 34 new colonial sites. He clarified that since the formation of the extreme far-right government, the reshaping of Palestinian space has been proceeding at an accelerating pace, reflecting a strategic orientation toward consolidating control over the land through official channels that leave no room for ambiguity or interpretation, through the approval of no fewer than 103 new colonial sites since the formation of the extreme far-right government at the end of 2022. This figure reflects the magnitude of the shift from policies of gradual expansion to policies of systematic geographical saturation, with these sites distributed in a calculated manner designed to achieve the maximum possible impact on the cohesion of Palestinian geography.
Mr. Sha'ban added that occupation planning authorities reviewed in April a total of 10 master plans for the benefit of West Bank colonies and within the municipal boundaries of the occupation in Jerusalem; 6 master plans for West Bank colonies and 4 master plans for colonies within Jerusalem's occupation municipal boundaries.
He explained that the occupation municipality of Jerusalem deposited two plans for subsequent approval and approved two others, while planning authorities affiliated with the so-called” Civil Administration” reviewed 6 master plans for West Bank colonies, approving 5 and depositing one for subsequent approval, with the aim of constructing a total of 304 colonial units on an area of 256 dunums.
Mr. Sha'ban noted that maps accompanying the master plans indicated that occupation authorities approved two major plans for Salfit Governorate, specifically for the Kfar Tapuah colony established on the lands of the village of Yasuf east of the governorate, under plan number יוש/6/131, aimed at establishing 136 colonial units on 92 dunums; and the Nofim colony established on the lands of the village of Deir Istiya in the governorate, under plan number יוש/4/10/119, aimed at constructing 168 colonial units on 149 dunums of citizens' lands.