U.S. urges Israel to reverse planned W.Bank land appropriation

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The United States sees Israel's an**uncement on Sunday of a land appropriation for possible settlement construction in the occupied West Bank as "counterproductive" to peace efforts and urges the Israeli government to reverse the decision, a State Department official said. Israel laid claim to nearly a thousand acres (400 hectares) in the Etzion settlement bloc near Bethlehem, a move which an anti-settlement group termed the biggest appropriation in 30 years and a Palestinian official said would cause only more friction after the Gaza war. "We have long made clear our opposition to continued settlement activity," the U.S. " This an**uncement, like every other settlement an**uncement Israel makes, planning step they approve and construction tender they issue is counterproductive to Israel's stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians." "We urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision," the official said in Washington.

أكثر... (https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/u-sees-latest-israeli-an**uncement-land-appropriation-occupied-211346937.html)