Israel to expropriate 400 hectares of West Bank land

[shaayecanaan]

"On the instructions of the political echelon... 4,000 dunams at Gevaot (settlement) is declared as state land," the Israeli army's civil affairs department said on Sunday.

According to a government spokesman in Tel Aviv, the Palestinian owners of the land have 45 days to contest the decision to Israel's Military Appeals Committee.

Israeli advocacy group Peace Now said on Sunday the seizure of Palestinian land by Israel was the biggest in three decades and is likely to threaten a two-state solution to the conflict. The group also said Israel was likely to use the land, located in the outpost of Gevaot near Bethlehem, to expand housing units in a nearby settlement.
The announcement comes days after Israeli government and Palestinian militants agreed to a ceasefire, ending nearly two months of fighting in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

http://www.dw.de/israel-to-expropriate-400-hectares-of-west-bank-land/a-17891802

This is the largest theft of privately owned Palestinian land by the Israelis in a long time.

It is ironic that at the same time Israel is granting concessions to Hamas it is kicking Mahmoud Abbas in the balls. This will certainly reinforce sentiment on the Palestinian side that there is no sense in trying to seek reconciliation with the Israelis.