Egypt criticizes Israeli expropriation plans in West Bank

Israel had on Sunday announced that it will expropriate 988 acres of Palestinian territory around Bethlehem, and allowed for appeal within 45 days.

“This is not a positive step — it contradicts international law and will have negative consequences on the peace process”, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement read.

Last week, Egypt had brokered a long-term peace deal between Hamas and Israel to end the violent 50-day war between the two. Negotiators from both parties are set to return to Cairo within a month and discuss crucial issues like Hamas’ demands for an airport and a sea port, the release of prisoners and Israel’s demand for complete demilitarization of Gaza.

In its statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry did not mention the truce but insisted that the Israel’s planned expansion will be “an obstacle” to any two-state solution between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Human rights group Amnesty International also condemned the planned Israeli expansion, saying that it “appears to be the largest land grab in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1980”.

“Israel’s strategy of illegally confiscating land for settlements in the West Bank must stop once and for all”, Amnesty International’s Philip Luther said.

On Sunday, the department in the Israeli army tasked with administering civil affairs in the occupied territories said, “On the instructions of the political echelon… 4,000 dunams at Gevaot (settlement) is declared as state land”.

It added that the move stemmed from political decision-making considering the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teens in the same region, known as the Gush Etzion settlement bloc.

Palestinians have urged diplomatic action against Israel; Israeli peace campaigners have said that the expropriation is the biggest land grab in over three decades.

“As far as we know, this declaration is unprecedented in its scope since the 1980s and can dramatically change the reality in the Gush Etzion and the Bethlehem areas”, Israeli activist group Peace Now said on Sunday.