Following the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, Israeli policy was to create new settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories under the justification of security. This policy continued until the late 1970s when the High Court of Justice ruled against the confiscation of lands of the village of Rojeeb near Nablus to establish the settlement of Alon Moreh, based on an affidavit by former Chief of Staff Haim Bar-Lev, stating the settlement is not vital for Israeli security.
Consequently, the Israeli authorities have adopted a new method of confiscation by categorizing Palestinian land as state land - knowing that many Palestinian property owners do not have proof of ownership. The Palestinian farmers relied on the fact that everyone knows his land, and there were no disputes over its borders with neighbors.
This turning point proved that the establishment of settlements is not a security need, as has been claimed by successive Israeli governments, but a
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