AN anti-settlement watchdog has said Israel has approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in more than three decades.
Peace Now said on Wednesday that authorities recently approved the appropriation of 12.7 square kilometres (nearly five square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley. The group’s data indicates it was the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo Accords at the start of the peace process.
The move, which was approved late last month but only publicised on Wednesday, comes after the seizure of eight square kilometres (roughly three square miles) of land in the West Bank in March and 2.6 square kilometres (one square mile) in February.
That makes 2024 by far the peak year for Israeli land seizure in the West Bank, Peace Now said.
The Palestinians view the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank as the main barrier to any lasting peace agreement and most of the international community considers them illegal or illegitimate.
Israel’s government considers the West Bank to be the historical and religious heartland of the Jewish people and is opposed to Palestinian statehood.
Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state.
Israel has built more than 100 settlements across the West Bank, some of which resemble fully developed suburbs or small towns.
They are home to more than 500,000 Jewish settlers who have Israeli citizenship. The 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule.
The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank but is barred from operating in 60% of the territory, where the settlements are located.
