The move marks the single largest land seizure by the Israeli government since the 1993 Oslo accords, according to Peace Now, a settlement watchdog group.
By Cate Brown, The Washington PostIsraeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, on July 10, 2023.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law. Still, Israel has used land orders like the one issued Friday to gain control over 16% of Palestinian-controlled lands in the West Bank. The newly seized area includes parcels in the Jordan Valley and between the settlements of Maale Adumim and Keidar.
“If Israel confiscates land around Jerusalem, all the way to the Dead Sea, there will be no future for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem,” said Hamza Zubiedat, a land rights activist for the Ramallah-based Ma’an Development Center. “This is where a Palestinian capital was supposed to be located, according to the American and European talks.”“If the Israelis annex this area near Maale Adumim, it will be a catastrophe for Palestinians who live in the south,” Zubiedat said.
Palestinians have little ability to stop the land transfers. After the 1967 war, Israel issued a military order that stopped the process of land registration across the West Bank. Now families lack the paperwork to prove that they have private ownership over their land. And tax records, the only other evidence of West Bank property rights, are not accepted by Israeli authorities.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Israel announces largest West Bank land seizure since 1993 during Blinken visitThe move marks the single largest land seizure by the Israeli government since the 1993 Oslo accords, according to Peace Now, a settlement watchdog group.
Read more »
Israel-Hamas war live updates: Biden says Netanyahu 'hurting Israel more than helping Israel'This is additional taxonomy that helps us with analytics
Read more »
Live blog: 1 injured, 3 detained as Israel's raids into West Bank intensifyIsrael's war on besieged Palestinians of Gaza — now in its 156th day — has killed at least 31,045 people, mostly children and women, and wounded 72,654.
Read more »
Israel Deploys 15,000 Troops in West Bank and Jerusalem as Ramadan BeginsCeasefire talks falter as Israel continues its campaign of starvation in Gaza and escalates repression in the West Bank.
Read more »
68 orphans were evacuated from Gaza to the West Bank, enraging Israel's far rightThe children were moved out of Rafah by the charity SOS Children's Villages International with the help of the German government. But the transfer has sparked anger among some hardliners in Israel.
Read more »
Israel's attacks go beyond Gaza with settler terrorism in West Bank: FidanTurkish foreign minister expresses that ongoing Israeli atrocities in Gaza continue to disregard not only international law but also all humanitarian values in his speech in northwestern Bursa province.
Read more »