Israel to take over West Bank land

Israel on 31 August 2014 announced to take over West Bank land. The area will be named as Gevaot.  

The land portion is located south of Bethlehem. The seizure of the land is said to be the largest seizure by Israel in last 30 years.

Israel will expropriate 4 sq km (1.5 sq miles) of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Israel Government planned to build on the land, while Palestinian officials claimed that the land include many olive groves.

The move was a response to the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers in the area in June 2014.

The Palestinian Government claimed this seizure as illegal. Palestinians demanded that a diplomatic action should be taken against Israel.

The Palestinians want their state back which include all land captured by Israel in 1967. Currently, some 500000 Jews now live in more than 200 settlements and outposts in the West Bank - including East Jerusalem.

Comment

United Nations (UN) said that the seizure of such a large swathe of land risks paving the way for further settlement activity.

Further, UN declared the seizure of land is illegal under international law and runs totally counter to the pursuit of a two-state solution.

Also, other governments like UK and US called on Israel to reverse it.