Israel confirmed Thursday that it plans to seize a large plot of fertile Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank near Jericho, a move expected to draw even more worldwide rebuke. This means that several Israeli businesses found in the settlements will be affected as well by the said ban that is viewed to be a collective punishment.
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The settlements are seen as major stumbling blocks toward peace efforts since they are built on land the Palestinians view as part of their future state.
COGAT confirmed the plans were in their “final stages”, and said they were in accordance with a political ratification.
Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk.
The military ordered Palestinian labourers to leave their workplaces in some settlements as the violence spread from streets and bus stops in the West Bank and Israel to within the usually well-protected Israeli enclaves.
In December, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that key Israeli policies – including control over Area C and settlement activity – were “imperiling” the viability of a two-state solution.
“The European Commission adopted this morning a document determining the status of products from territories occupied by Israel since June 1967”, said an official source at the EU. Gen. Lior Carmelli, announced though that the ban is not applicable to those who work in industrial zones in the West Bank.
Daniel Shapiro says that Israel’s stated support for the establishment of a Palestinian state becomes increasingly hard with its expansion of settlements.
The 1990s Oslo accords divided the West Bank into zones known as Areas A, B and C.
“Israel is stealing land specially in the Jordan Valley under the pretext it wants to annex it”, she told Reuters. Shapiro added that Israel had also legalized some West Bank outposts despite pledges to the United States not to do so.
Sunday’s killing and another stabbing of a pregnant woman inside an Israeli settlement on Monday further boosted tensions after months of unrest, raising fears of an escalation in violence as well as a harsh Israeli crackdown on Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to address the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.
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Settlement businesses benefit from unrestricted access to Palestinian land, water and receive government subsidies. About 350,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem and 2.7 million in West Bank.
