More at the Times of Israel, "Israel to announce major land appropriation in Jordan Valley."
And at the Los Angeles Times, "Israel plan could lead to more Jewish settlements in occupied West Bank":
In a move that could lead to construction of more Jewish settlements, Israel plans to annex 370 acres of agricultural land in the occupied West Bank near the city of Jericho.I'm sure they did.
The land has been under Israeli control since the Six Day War of 1967 and was already being farmed by members of the neighboring Etzion settlements, which are widely considered to be illegal under international law.
Formal annexation would continue a pattern of Israeli expansion that has been condemned by the U.S. and other world powers because it dampens the prospects for creation of a Palestinian state, which they view as the best hope for a lasting peace.
Israeli Army Radio quoted a defense ministry report describing the plan as “a very sensitive issue which will likely garner harsh critique from Europe and the United States, and of course from the Palestinian Authority.”
The Cabinet is expected to quickly approve the plan, which was authorized in a declaration signed Wednesday morning by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, the radio station reported.
The defense ministry and the prime minister’s office declined to comment. But the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories — the Israeli military body that oversees the occupied West Bank — confirmed the plan.
It would be the largest annexation since August 2014, when Israel incorporated nearly 1,000 acres in the West Bank in response to the nearby kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers months earlier.
Palestinian leaders quickly condemned the new plan...
More.
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