A/HRC/31/43 Palestinian owners. The Secretary-General has previously expressed concerns that the implementation of the plans for the Kedem Compound risks accelerating settlement expansion in Silwan, with repercussions for the human rights situation in the area (see A/70/351, para. 36). 20. On 10 August 2015, Israeli planning authorities in the West Bank approved plans for the development of a major archaeological and tourism site at Khirbet Seilun, on the lands of the Palestinian village of Qaryut. The site is located inside the boundaries of the Shilo settlement and is being promoted by Israeli authorities as “Tel Shiloh”. 9 The planning body stopped short of providing full approval for the original master plan, but granted the Archaeology Staff Officer, within the Israeli Civil Administration the authority to approve individual structures on a case-by-case basis, including for tourism and commercial use. In a reversal of current practice, planning authorities required that Palestinian visitors be allowed entry without permits to the ancient site. At the time of writing, Palestinians still required permits to enter the area.10 Expansion of “State land” boundaries (b) 21. A further indicator of the expansion of land under settlement control has been evidenced in the activities of the Israeli Civil Administration’s Task Force for the Survey of State Land Boundaries (the Blue Line task force). The Blue Line team is tasked with inspecting and defining the boundaries of land designated as State property, or so-called “State land” by Israeli authorities since 1970 (see A/HRC/22/63, para. 63). The declaration of State land constitutes a crucial step in the process of allocating land to settlements. According to the task force’s operating guidelines, its activities are intended to settle claims of irregularities and remedy violations of the rights of landowners whose lands were unjustly seized.11 The Civil Administration has argued before the High Court of Justice that land demarcations conducted by the Blue Line task force did not constitute formal declarations of State land, and were mere technical corrections of surveying mistakes. However, since 2009, the revisions conducted by the Blue Line task force have resulted in the expansion of State land boundaries by some 120,000 dunams (12,000 hectares).12 22. Until August 2015, the Blue Line task force re-drew State land boundaries without public announcements, thereby effectively preventing Palestinian landowners from laying claim to the surveyed land and granting no right of appeal. This practice was challenged before the Israeli High Court of Justice by Israeli human rights organizations and Palestinian landowners from the villages of Zawiya, Luban Al-Sharqiya and Qaryut, in the northern West Bank, following the expansion of State land boundaries by the Blue Line task force for the settlement of Eli in 2012. 23. Upon the request of the High Court of Justice, the Civil Administration issued revised guidelines on 11 August 2015, requiring prior notification of affected villages where any revisions of State land boundaries are intended, and granting a right of appeal within 45 days. Human rights organizations advocating for Palestinian landowners have expressed concern that the level of technical capacity and prohibitive costs required to 9 10 11 12 6 See case study in the report of the Secretary-General (A/70/351, paras. 63-66). Emek Shaveh, press release, 12 August 2015. Revised guidelines of the Task Force for the Survey of State Land Boundaries, issued by the Head of the Israeli Civil Administration on 11 August 2015. Information from Dror Etkes (founder of Kerem Navot, an Israeli non-governmental organization that monitors settlement activity), based on Israel Defense Forces data, provided to OHCHR by e-mail dated 16 November 2015.