Israel says will seize West Bank land; demolishes EU structures

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Thu Jan 21, 2016 2:30pm EST

Israel says will seize West Bank land; demolishes EU structures

JERUSALEM | BY MAAYAN LUBELL

Israel confirmed on Thursday it was planning to appropriate a large tract of fertile land in the occupied West Bank, close to Jordan, a move likely to exacerbate tensions with Western allies and already drawing international condemnation.

In an email sent to Reuters, COGAT, a unit of Israel's Defence Ministry, said the political decision to seize the territory had been taken and "the lands are in the final stages of being declared state lands".

The appropriation, covers 154 hectares (380 acres) in the Jordan Valley close to Jericho, an area where Israel already has many settlement farms built on land Palestinians seek for a state. It is the largest land seizure since August 2014.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon denounced the move and Palestinian officials said they would push for a resolution at the United Nations against Israel's settlement policies.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

In a development likely to further upset Europe, Israeli forces demolished six structures in the West Bank funded by the EU's humanitarian arm. The structures were dwellings and latrines for Bedouins living in an area known as E1 - a particularly sensitive zone between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-idUSKCN0UZ11P

[Little Tich]

1. I wonder what David Keyes would say about this?

This is one of the many things Israel does that he'll have to explain away and justify to the world. It seems as if his new job won't be easy.