'Israel' to seize 616,000 sqm of Palestinian land in West Bank
The step, if endorsed, comes as part of an Israeli plan to prop up illegal Israeli settlements across Palestine.
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A view of “Givat Zeev”, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank (AFP)
“Israel” announced that it will seize thousands of square meters of Palestinian-owned land in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian activist Ghassan Daghlas said, on Monday, that Israeli authorities issued a military order to seize 616 dunams (616,000 square meters) of Palestinian-owned land in the villages of Qaryout and Al-Lubban Ash-Sharqiya, As-Sawiya town, and other nearby areas for the expansion of the nearby illegal “Eli” settlement.
The "Eli" settlement, he added, began as a cluster of mobile homes constructed on a nearby hill back in 1984 and has since expanded at the price of seizing Palestinian properties to become one of the biggest settlements in the occupied West Bank.
While the Israeli occupation continues its efforts to further Judaize occupied Al-Quds and destroy its Islamic and Christian identities, the so-called “Local Planning Committee” of the Israeli occupation municipality in the occupied Al-Quds has announced plans for the construction of more than 100 settler units in the occupied East Al-Quds neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
The committee gave the go-ahead for the construction of 135 illegal settler apartments in the Israeli settlement “Ma'alot Dafna” on Monday.
A 12-story skyscraper with 135 flats will be constructed in its place, replacing a 5-story structure with 26 residential units.
“Israel” has increased its illegal settlement construction activities in defiance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which deemed settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Al-Quds "a flagrant violation under international law," emboldened by former US president Donald Trump's unwavering support.
It is worth noting that the Israeli occupation settlements set up on Palestinian land are deemed illegal by the majority of the world, even the United Nations, though that only includes the occupied West Bank, not recognizing Palestine's sovereignty over the rest of the country except for the Gaza Strip.
