Though a source briefed on the decision told there was presently no intention for construction there, Israel on Thursday acquired numerous tracts of land bordering a major Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank.
According to a statement from Israel’s Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, the tracts totaled 2,640 dunams, or 652 acres. According to the Israeli source, they will now be included in the Maale Adumim settlement, which is located east of Jerusalem.
Among the areas that Israel took control of during the 1967 Middle East conflict is the West Bank, where Palestinians are pursuing statehood with help from other countries. The colonies are unlawful in the eyes of most world powers. Israel contests that, arguing that the West Bank is a security bulwark and asserting historical claims to it.
The religious-nationalist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has encouraged the settlements, causing a rift with the US while the allies unite in support of Israel’s conflict with Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on February 24 that Washington considered West Bank settlements to be against international law, going back to a US stance that had been reversed by the Trump administration at the time.
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