The Israel Defense Forces reportedly issued orders to seize Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of the West Bank in order to link two planned Israeli settlements in the north of the territory.

The IDF Central Command chief, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, issued 15 seizure orders in parts of Area A, which the PA controls, between the planned settlements of Noah and Emek Dotan, the Haaretz daily reported on Wednesday.

The two are among the 34 new West Bank settlements approved by the government in April. The reported seizure appears to provide land for a road between the two settlements, south of the Palestinian city of Jenin.

It marks the first time the military has used seizure orders for the purpose of linking settlements as opposed to military purposes, according to Kerem Navot, a watchdog that monitors Israeli land policy in the West Bank.

There was no immediate comment from the IDF.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government has greatly streamlined and expedited approval processes for settlements, with the goal of entrenching Israeli control over the West Bank and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Under the 1995 Oslo II Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank is divided into Area A, under full Palestinian Authority control; Area B, under Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control; and Area C, which comprises most of the territory and where Israel’s settlements are located, and is under full Israeli control.

However, Israeli forces have routinely entered Area A to conduct operations. Israel bars its citizens from entering Area A due to security concerns, but Israelis have been repeatedly evacuated from the area over the past year. PA security forces have assisted in such extractions more than a dozen times, mainly in cases where Israelis mistakenly entered the area.

Hadash MK forced to ground by Israeli officer at memorial

Meanwhile, Hadash MK Ofer Cassif got into a physical altercation with a Border Police officer during a memorial ceremony in the West Bank for Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist who was shot dead one year ago in the West Bank, allegedly by extremist settler Yinon Levi.

In footage of the event in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Kheir, Cassif was seen quarreling with officers before one of them shoved him, prompting a scuffle.

“Don’t raise your voice at me,” the officer was heard saying as he pushed the lawmaker. The border policeman then grabbed Cassif’s arm and appeared to force him to the ground amid a crowd of people.

In a statement, Cassif, the only Jewish member of the Arab-majority Hadash Party, said the clash came after officers declared the area a closed military zone, a tactic often used by security forces to disperse protesters and activists.

“A quiet and respectful event in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Kheir in remembrance of Awdah Hadaleen, a peace-loving activist who was murdered a year ago by a settler who continues to roam free and armed, was disrupted by dozens of........

© The Times of Israel