Palestinian officials have called for international intervention after Israel advanced plans for a waste treatment facility that could affect homes and agricultural land in the village of Qalandia , located northwest of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank.
Amir Daoud, Director of Publishing and Documentation at the Colonisation & Wall Resistance Commission, told The New Arab on Saturday that the move marks a dangerous escalation in policies of annexation and land confiscation in the occupied Palestinian territories , threatening both the Palestinian population and the area's agricultural presence.
"This project cannot be viewed as a purely environmental or service-oriented initiative. It is being advanced by the occupying authorities on Palestinian land without the consent of the Palestinian people and in a context dominated by settlement expansion and territorial control," Daoud said.
"We see it as another tool through which Israel seeks to impose facts on the ground and deepen its control over strategically located areas surrounding Jerusalem," he continued.
According to the Jerusalem Governorate, Israeli plans published on Thursday include the construction of a large-scale waste treatment facility on Palestinian land, alongside changes to the route of the separation wall, which would push it further into the village's territory.
Under the plans, a waste treatment and energy recovery facility would be established, with electricity generated from processed waste fed into Israel's power grid.
The site would receive substantial quantities of waste, including plastics, paper products and other combustible materials, as part of a broader expansion of Israel's waste management infrastructure that Palestinian officials say comes at the expense of occupied Palestinian land. Confiscation of Palestinian land The governorate stated that the project would result in the confiscation of approximately 278 dunams of Palestinian land, significantly exceeding the areas outlined in earlier proposals and highlighting what it described as the wider objectives of the scheme.
It also said the affected area includes around 40 inhabited homes, as well as dozens of dunams of fertile farmland cultivated with olive trees, grains and vegetables.
"In reality, most Israeli plans in the occupied Palestinian territory are implemented on lands that have already been confiscated through a variety of military, legal, and administrative measures over previous decades," Daoud said.
"This means that the land is not merely being taken from its Palestinian owners; it is being incorporated into a long-term system of Israeli control and development that serves the settlement enterprise and entrenches facts on the ground," he added. Public health concerns Daoud further emphasised that the project's implications extend beyond land confiscation and threats to housing, encompassing serious environmental and public health concerns due to the site's proximity to densely populated Palestinian residential communities in and around Qalandia.
"Palestinian communities already face severe planning restrictions, and projects of this nature contribute to creating a coercive environment that limits their ability to remain and develop on their land," he explained.
One of the biggest concerns is that the facility could increase emissions of pollutants, odours and particulate matter, potentially affecting air quality, soil, groundwater and public health.
The Jerusalem Governorate further said the presence of a waste treatment facility near residential areas can contribute to higher rates of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as certain forms of cancer, particularly among children and older people.
The project will likely also undermine agricultural production and local food security by reducing productive farmland.
"When examined in isolation, it may appear to be a technical infrastructure project," Daoud said.
"However, when viewed alongside settlement expansion, road construction, land confiscation, and the systematic integration of occupied territory into Israeli administrative and economic systems, a clear pattern emerges."
Palestinians have long argued that Israeli infrastructure is being used as a mechanism to consolidate control over land, while marginalising Palestinian communities and limiting their development.
Daoud said such policies have "had a profound impact on the daily lives of Palestinians, restricting economic opportunities, undermining social cohesion, and creating significant obstacles to sustainable development".
He explained that over the years, substantial investment has been channelled into expanding Israeli settlements and developing infrastructure networks aimed at linking and reinforcing them, while Palestinians have been neglected and sidelined. "These policies contribute to weakening the Palestinian presence around Jerusalem while consolidating Israeli control over strategically important areas surrounding the occupied city. They also create new realities on the ground that can have long-term implications for the territorial continuity of Palestinian communities and for the prospects of achieving a just and sustainable resolution to the conflict." Coordinating with legal experts Daoud said the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission was monitoring the project, documenting all related measures, and coordinating with affected communities and legal experts.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA , the project dates back to June 2024, when the Israeli government tasked the Eden Company, also known as the Jerusalem Economic Development Company, with identifying a suitable location for the facility.
The latest developments come as Israel rapidly advances a series of large-scale projects to expand settlements across the occupied Palestinian territory, while also pursuing de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank.
This comes alongside its war on Gaza , which began in October 2023 and has so far killed at least 72,942 people, with thousands more reported missing and presumed dead beneath the rubble.