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Israel seizes land in West Bank

Xinhua, March 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israel has appropriated a large tract of fertile land in the occupied West Bank during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's recent visit to Israel, officials and local media said Tuesday.

Israel's coordinator of the government's activities in the West Bank confirmed that about 2,300 dunams (about 568 acres) were declared as "state lands" by Israel.

He added that the move was made following "a decision by the political echelon and in agreement with the examination of professional bodies".

The coordinator declined to comment on the timing of the expropriation but Israel's Army Radio reported it took place on March 10, as Biden was concluding his two-day visit to Israel.

The appropriation means that under Israeli law, the land is now a property of the Israeli government. The region is located deep in the West Bank, a territory that Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War.

The move came after Israeli forces have been stepping up the demolitions of Bedouin shacks and buildings in the area over the past months.

According to Peace Now, an Israeli settlement watchdog, Israeli authorities have already approved several plans for this region, including the construction of 1,045 housing units, as well as trade and tourism facilities.

The group said this was the largest confiscation of land since 2014, believing the government isn't trying to calm the current six-month-long Israeli-Palestinian violence but rather to add "fuel to the fire and to send a clear message to Palestinians that it has no intention to work towards peace".

The appropriation is expected to also trigger international condemnation.

In January, the Defense Ministry announced plans to appropriate 1,500 dunams (about 370 acres) in the same region, which was widely blamed by the world, including the United Nations and the United States.

The Israeli policy of expanding the West Bank settlements is opposed by the international community and constitutes a violation of international law. Endit