Sources talk about annexing the confiscated Palestinian lands to the “Maale Adumim” settlement (French)
Reuters quoted the Civil Administration of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and an informed source as saying that Israel confiscated 650 acres of Palestinian land near the Maale Adumim settlement, east of occupied Jerusalem.
The sources added that the confiscated areas will now be classified as part of the Maale Adumim settlement, but there is no plan to build on them currently, while Israeli media confirmed that the confiscated lands will be classified as state-owned land.
The occupation authorities are preparing to declare 7,000 dunums of state-owned land, in preparation for annexing it to the Jordan Valley settlements.
The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said - last Friday - that Israel intends to approve the establishment of more than 3,300 settlement units in the occupied West Bank within two weeks of announcing the decision.
She explained that the step would be the largest settlement project in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7th.
The Israeli authority added that the relevant committee will meet within two weeks to approve the establishment of 2,350 housing units in the Maale Adumim settlement, east of East Jerusalem, about 300 in the Kedar settlement, southeast of East Jerusalem, and 700 units in the Efrat settlement, south of occupied Jerusalem.
She said that the Israeli authorities announced the closure of part of the road leading to Al-Zaim checkpoint, east of East Jerusalem, to Palestinian movement for at least two weeks.
New settlements
The day before Tuesday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich pledged to continue expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank, defying international pressure on Israel to stop construction on the occupied Palestinian territories.
Smotrich announced approval for the construction of a new settlement called “Mishmar Yehuda” in “Gush Etzion,” a group of Jewish settlements located south of occupied Jerusalem. He said, “Israel will continue to allow the construction of more settlements. We will continue the settlement momentum throughout the country.”
Palestinians say the expansion of settlements across the West Bank is part of a deliberate Israeli policy to undermine their ambition to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Israeli "Peace Now Movement", which monitors settlement expansion, said - in a report issued last January - that there has been an unprecedented increase in settlement activities since the seventh of last October.
According to a report issued by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, just under 700,000 settlers currently live in 279 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, compared to 520,000 in 2012.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies