Israel claims more land in occupied West Bank

JERUSALEM // Israel has carried out a new land appropriation in the occupied West Bank in a move that could complicate efforts to extend peace talks with the Palestinians.

The defence ministry declared nearly 100 hectares of territory in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc just south of Jerusalem “state land”.

The land appropriation was the largest in years and could eventually lead to the expansion of several settlements and authorisation of a settler outpost built without Israeli government permission in 2001.

The measure, which falls short of annexing the land to Israel, is based on an Israeli interpretation of an Ottoman-era law that allowed the confiscation of tracts that had not been planted or cultivated for several years in a row.

Haaretz newspaper, which reported the move yesterday, said the leaders of nearby Palestinian villages that claimed the land as theirs were informed of the move last week and have 45 days to appeal.

Israel had threatened to impose sanctions against the Palestinians in response to the April 1 signing by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas of 15 international conventions and agreements during the current crisis in peace negotiations. It was not clear whether the appropriation was part of those sanctions.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, accused Israel of trying to destroy chances for peace through a “frantic escalation” of settlement activity.

“This is the real face of the Israeli government,” she said. “This is a government hostile to peace moves and it’s taking steps which have a longer-term strategy.”

Speaking before the appropriation was made public, Israel’s chief peace negotiator, Tzipi Livni said she was optimistic the statehood negotiations would be extended beyond the original April 29 deadline for a deal.

“I believe that we are close enough to a decision on the part of both leaderships, encouraged by the Americans, to continue the negotiations.”

Ms Livni has been meeting her Palestinian counterpart Saeb Erekat in an intensive push over the past few days to try to salvage the talks.

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, suggested that Israel’s publication on April 1 of a tender for 708 homes for settlers in East Jerusalem was nearly caused the talks to completely collapse since beginning in July.

Israel’s anti-settlement Peace Now movement said at least 90 of the 120 Jewish settlements built in the occupied West Bank since its capture in a 1967 war are on “state land”.

Most countries regard the settlements as illegal.

Palestinians seek a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and fear settlements will deny them a viable country. Israel cites historical and Biblical links to the West Bank and Jerusalem and says Gush Etzion is one of the enclaves it intends to keep in any future peace deal.

Citing Mr Abbas’s signing of UN human rights conventions, Israel said on Wednesday it was limiting its contacts with Palestinian officials, although Ms Livni could continue to meet negotiators.

Announcing another sanction a day later, an Israeli official said Israel would deduct debt payments from tax transfers which the Palestinian Authority routinely receives, and limit the self-rule government’s deposits in Israeli banks.

For his part, Mr Abbas has accused Israel of violating a commitment to release two dozen prisoners at the end of March, including Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, when the negotiations resumed. This is the last group of 104 prisoners Israel pledged to free as a confidence-building measure.

* Reuters