Israel announced a land appropriation in the occupied West Bank that an anti-settlement group termed the biggest in 30 years, drawing a U.S. rebuke. Some 988 acres in the Etzion Jewish settlement bloc near Bethlehem were declared "state land, on the instructions of the political echelon" by the military-run Civil Administration on Sunday. "We urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision,” a State Department official said in Washington, calling the move "counterproductive" to efforts to achieve a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israel Radio said the step was taken in response to the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teens by Hamas militants in the area in June. The notice published on Sunday by the Israeli military gave no reason for the land appropriation decision. Peace Now, which opposes Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank, territory the Palestinians seek for a state, said the appropriation was meant to turn a site where 10 families now live adjacent to a Jewish seminary into a permanent settlement.
IN-DEPTH
- Hamas Admits to Kidnapping and Killing Israeli Teens
- Teen Allegedly Beaten by Israeli Cops Back in U.S.
- Israeli Settlements in Hebron Hills Threaten Age-OId Livelihoods
