Israel expropriated West Bank land during end of Biden visit

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel expropriated a large stretch of land in the West Bank as Vice President Joe Biden was ending a visit to Israel last week, according to a copy of the land declaration obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.The land seizure, reported earlier by Israeli media, has already drawn a sharp rebuke from the United States.COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees Palestinian civilian affairs, confirmed Wednesday that about 580 acres (235 hectares) near the West Bank city of Jericho were declared government land.Officials said the decision was enacted Sunday. However, the declaration was signed last Thursday, the same day Biden left the region, according to the land document provided by anti-settlement group Peace Now.Responding to Israeli media reports about the move, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that it was “the latest step in what appears to be an ongoing process of land expropriations, settlement expansions and legalizations of outposts that is fundamentally undermining the prospects for a two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”We strongly oppose any steps that accelerate settlement expansion, which raise serious questions about Israels long-term intentions,” Kirby said.

 

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