How Israel’s ‘Blue Line’ team seizes Palestinian land in the West Bank
Little-known Israeli map team is redrawing land boundaries as Palestinians face growing illegal settlement expansion.
Al-Mughayyir, occupied West Bank – As the October olive harvest approaches, Bilal Abu Alia stands near his home, gazing at his family’s land – territory he says Israeli authorities have taken from his family in the Palestinian village of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah.
Of their original 0.4sq km (100 acres) of land, Bilal explains that his family can now only access a small area that includes their home and a few olive trees.
Land confiscation in the occupied West Bank doesn’t always begin with a direct seizure. In many instances, the process starts with the redesignation and demarcation of land on official Israeli maps, with the Israeli Civil Administration’s “Blue Line Team” playing an important role.
The implications of the Blue Line team’s work go far beyond merely altering colours or boundaries on a map: A reclassification of land to state property can effectively open it up to construction projects or illegal settlement expansion.