'Israel' steals massive land in West Bank for illegal settlements
3 Min Read
"Israel's" Finance Minister approves the seizure of 8,000 dunams of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
-
Israeli settlers and soldiers fire at Palestinians side-by-side in the town of Huwwara on 13 October 2022. (AFP)
The Israeli occupation government issued an order on Friday to seize 8,000 dunams of land in the Jordan Valley, east of the occupied West Bank, with the decision signed by extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
This bring the total area of land further occupied by "Israel" in the West Bank in only 2024 to 10,640 dunams, after 2,640 dunams were seized earlier this year: 2,350 units in "Ma’ale Adumim", 300 in "Keidar", and 694 in "Efrat".
Israeli authorities are planning to construct hundreds of housing units on the occupied land, in addition to establishing industrial and commercial areas. The plan is expected to take about two years to complete and will require political approval.
Read more: West Bank: detention campaigns, domicide, Judaization of land
This announcement came on the same day US State Secretary Antony Blinken arrived to "Israel" to discuss the war on Gaza.
Relations with Netanyahu tense
Last month, Washington imposed sanctions on two settler outposts in the West Bank, and on several Israeli settlers involved in aggression against Palestinians.
Analysts suggested that this serves as further provocation to the administration of US President Joe Biden, as relations with the current government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been tense in the past months.
The Israeli settler colonial project in the occupied West Bank aims to dissect and split apart historic Palestinian towns and cities through the installment of permanent Israeli settlements or farms that are illegally built on stolen Palestinian land.
Read more: UN rights chief, France, Spain condemn Israeli settlement expansion
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday that the Israeli financial system is facilitating the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and entrenching the occupation of Palestinian territories.
The US sanctioning of the illegal settlements will affect donations from non-governmental organizations and individuals who seek to finance "Israel's" colonial project in the West Bank.
The newspaper conducted an investigation that revealed the pathways utilized by Israeli settlers to obtain mortgage loans, financed by the Israeli government, and build colonial outposts in the occupied territory. One such loan to construct a residential building in areas under the control of the "Israeli Land Authority" was awarded to the far-right leader of the Regavim organization, Yehuda Eliyahu.
