West Bank, MINA – Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the seizure of 24,000 dunums (5,930.5 acres) in the occupied West Bank, classifying it as state land, the Palestine Information Center reported.
Israel’s Channel 14 said the announcement was a dramatic move, expected to affect regional planning and change the face of the region.
“At the right time, today we are completing the complicated process of declaring 24,000 dunums of new state land in the West Bank,” Smotrich said.
“This process creates a chain of settlements, builds a land bank for Israel to develop settlements, infrastructure and roads, and ensures that we will continue to strengthen settlements, and we will remain here,” he added.
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In a tweet, Smotrich wrote: “More than 23,000 dunums of land for the benefit of settlements in Yosh. We establish the facts on the ground and thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state!”
According to Channel 14, the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, east of occupied Jerusalem, will be expanded by about 2,600 dunums (642 hectares) southward to create a chain of settlements linked to the illegal settlement of Kedar.
Other illegal settlements such as Migdal Oz and Susya in the southern West Bank and Yafit in the Jordan Valley will also be expanded.
The declaration covers almost half of the land declared as “state land” since 1993, when the Oslo Accords were signed.
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In a major advisory opinion in July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem “illegal” and called for the settlements to be dismantled and compensation paid to Palestinians. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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