The Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee filed an appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court yesterday denouncing the Israeli government’s seizure of 1,200 dunams (297 acres) of Palestinian-owned land south of the Bethlehem district, in the southern occupied West Bank

The head of the committee, Hassan Bureija, told the Voice of Palestine radio that the Israeli government granted 1,182 dunams (292 acres) of Palestinian land to the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing as a foundation for building an illegal Israeli outpost in the area.

According to settlement watchdog Peace Now, in the two years since United States President Trump took office some 14,454 units have been approved in the occupied West Bank, more than three times the amount that was approved in the year and a half before his inauguration (4,476 units).

Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.

The estimated 196 government recognised Israeli settlements scattered across the Palestinian territory are all considered illegal under international law.

 

Source: Middle East Monitor