News / Palestine

Israel to expropriate private Palestinian land in central West Bank

Saturday, 28 April 2018 3:42 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 28 April 2018 4:18 PM ]

This picture taken on April 27, 2018, shows Palestinians from Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem al-Quds watching as Israeli forces replace the collapsed sections of the controversial Israeli separation wall, dividing the camp from the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev (L) after it collapsed the day before due to heavy rainfall and floods. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli authorities have decided to confiscate thousands of square meters of private Palestinian land in the central West Bank in blatant violation of international law and defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions that condemn the Tel Aviv regime’s land expropriation and settlement expansion policies in the occupied territories.

Ahmad Salah, coordinator of the Anti-Settlement Committee in the Palestinian town of al-Khader, said on Saturday that Israeli authorities had handed notifications to the residents of the town, located 5 kilometers west of Bethlehem, and were planning to expropriate 42 dunams (42,000 square meters) of private Palestinian land.

Less than a month before US President Donald Trump took office, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2334, calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem” al-Quds.

About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

This picture taken on April 27, 2018, shows the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev (foreground) built in East Jerusalem al-Quds and Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp behind the controversial Israeli separation wall. (Photo by AFP)

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.

This as there have been regular anti-US protests by Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since December 6, when Trump declared that Washington recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and was moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the city. Many say Trump's move has effectively killed any chances of further negotiations.

The dramatic shift in Washington’s Jerusalem al-Quds policy drew fierce criticism from the international community, including Washington's Western allies, and triggered protests against the US and Israel worldwide.

The UN General Assembly later voted by a resounding majority to reject Trump's Jerusalem al-Quds move.

Israel lays claim to the whole of Jerusalem al-Quds, but the international community views the ancient city’s eastern sector as occupied land.

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