"Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria" (1 Kings 21 )
The Bad Samaritan
Land Grabbing by Israeli Settlers in the Occupied West Bank Through Grazing
In June 2022, Kerem Navot released its report “The Wild West: Grazing, Seizing, and Looting by Israeli Settlers in the West Bank,” which revealed that Israeli settlers had seized control of 240,000 dunams (4.04 dunams are 1 acre) of land—equivalent to 7% of the West Bank's total area—through the establishment of 77 shepherding outposts across the region. After the far-right Netanyahu-Smotrich government assumed power in December 2022, state support for these outposts expanded, particularly following the events of October 7, 2023. More than 70 additional outposts have been established since the report's
publication, alongside a surge in settler violence against Palestinians. This escalation has already led to the displacement of dozens of Palestinian shepherding communities.
This new report by Kerem Navot and Peace Now reveals that Israeli settlers have used shepherding outposts to seize at least 786,000 dunams of land—14% of the West Bank’s total area. In less than three years, 70% of all land seized by settlers to date has been taken under the guise of grazing activities.
Israeli settlers, with the backing of the Israeli government and military, employ three primary methods to seize land:
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Establishing shepherding outposts and displacing Palestinian shepherds and farmers from their lands.
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Harassing, intimidating, and violently targeting nearby Palestinian communities to force their expulsion.
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Taking control of large areas of land from displaced Palestinian communities and setting up new outposts.
Through these methods, settlers have displaced more than 60 Palestinian shepherding communities and established at least 14 Israeli shepherding outposts on or near their former lands.
An analysis of the land seized by Israeli settlers shows that the majority are not classified as "state lands," even under Israel's own definitions, making up only 40% of the areas taken. Around 41% of the seized lands have been designated as "firing zones" by the Israeli military—restricted areas where civilians without permanent residency, including settlers, are officially banned from entering. Additionally, about 4.4% of the lands taken over by settlers through shepherding outposts are located within Areas A and B, under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction.
Grazing Contracts
The Settlement Division of the World Zionist Organization (WZO), entrusted by the state with managing hundreds of thousands of dunams of land—without oversight and out of the public eye—has awarded "grazing contracts" to dozens of Israeli settlers. According to the State Attorney’s Office, the Settlement Division has allocated approximately 80,000 dunams of West Bank land to settlers for grazing purposes. These contracts enable settlers to take control of hundreds of thousands of dunams of land beyond the areas outlined in their agreements, while also securing financial and other state support—effectively bypassing the ban on state funding for activities officially considered illegal. Furthermore, these contracts allow settlers to enlist the help of Israeli military forces in expelling Palestinian shepherds and farmers from the lands they seek to claim.
This report reveals, for the first time, dozens of grazing contracts signed between the WZO's Settlement Division and Israeli settlers. The contracts included in the report likely represent only about half of the total agreements that have been signed. The contracts we have obtained reveal the following key details:
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Thousands of dunams of land were allocated to dozens of settlers without a tender process and without compensation.
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Although the contracts specify “grazing” as the purpose of the land allocation, settlers have established illegal outposts on nearly all the allocated lands—without permits and in direct violation of the contract terms.
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The maps accompanying the contracts were carelessly and inaccurately drawn, suggesting a deliberate effort to allow settlers to take control of areas not officially allocated to them.
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There is no consistency between the land size stated in the agreements (in dunams) and the areas marked on the attached maps.
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Some contracts allocate land already assigned to other settlers under separate agreements for residential or agricultural purposes.
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Approximately 9,000 dunams of allocated land are private Palestinian lands, outside the Settlement Division’s jurisdiction, and cannot legally be allocated to settlers.
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Over 10,000 dunams of declared state lands allocated to settlers have not been reclassified by the Civil Administration’s Blue Line Team, contrary to Attorney General guidelines.
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More than 5,000 dunams allocated to settlers are located within military firing zones, where settlers are officially prohibited from entering.
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In one contract, the Settlement Division granted a settler approximately 1,060 dunams of land located within the Palestinian Authority’s jurisdiction (Area B).
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As noted, these findings are based solely on the contracts we were able to obtain.