‘Israel’ to seize large tracts of Palestinian-owned land in Bethlehem

Bethlehem (QNN)- Israeli occupation authorities approved on Tuesday a decision to seize large tracts of a Palestinian-owned land in Beit Jala town, sandwiched between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, in favor of illegal settlement expansion.

The Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission said that the occupation authorities issued an order to confiscate two and a half dunams (2500 square metres) of a Palestinian-owned land located at the western entracne of Beit Jala town.

The decision aims at widening the Tunnels Road bypassing Bethlehem from the west and connecting Jerusalem to the illegal settlements of Har Gilo.

The Tunnels Road was paved in 1995. Its effect was immediate: within 6 years the population of the settlements along the road doubled, and in ten years tripled (from 15,515 settlers in 1995 to 30,853 settlers in 2001 and 45,870 in 2006).

There are nearly 700,000 Israeli settlers living now in 256 illegal settlements and outposts scattered across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

Doubling the size will also enable doubling of the number of illegal settlers who will move to the Bethlehem area in the settlements of “Gush Etzion.”