Israel is confiscating thousands of square meters of private Palestinian land in the northern West Bank in order to use it for settlement expansion.
The decision is in blatant violation of international law and in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions which condemns Israel’s land expropriation and settlement expansion policies in the occupied territories.
Press TV reports: Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit approved the expropriation of 45 dunams (45,000 square meters) of private Palestinian land between Jerusalem al-Quds and Nablus, approximately 49 kilometers (30 miles) north of Jerusalem al-Quds, on Monday to advance construction projects in Ofra settlement.
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On November 18, Palestinian chief negotiator and Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, said the Israeli regime is forcibly displacing the Palestinian population to advance its settlement expansion projects.
“Israel continues to forcibly transfer the Palestinian population for the sake of expansion and consolidation of its illegal colonial settlement activities on lands belonging to the State of Palestine,” he said in a statement.
“As a result of the international community’s failure to hold Israel accountable, Israeli war crimes continue to deny Palestine the right to exist. UN member states and international organizations must immediately assume their responsibilities, specifically those that fall under the Fourth Geneva Convention and Hague regulations, to protect the Palestinian nation. The United Nations must also fulfill its obligations in accordance with international law and resolutions, including Security Council Resolution 2334,” Erekat commented.
Less than a month before US President Donald Trump took office, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2334, calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem” al-Quds.
About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.
Niamh Harris
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