LONDON: Israeli settlers established a new illegal outpost in the northern Jordan Valley region of the occupied West Bank on Monday, while the Israeli army plans to confiscate dozens of acres of land owned by Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Mutaz Besharat, a Palestinian Authority official responsible for Jordan Valley affairs in the Tubas Governorate, said that settlers began building the outpost in Khirbat Al-Hadidiya after the military ordered the construction of a road.
On Monday, the Israeli army issued a military order to seize almost 19 acres of Palestinian-owned land in the towns of Al-Za’im and Al-Issawiya, located east of occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli forces conducted search-and-arrest raids in West Bank towns overnight, detaining 16 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club. Troops stormed homes in Nablus, Ramallah, El-Bireh, Tulkarm, Bethlehem and Jenin, arresting “wanted” individuals and attacking residents and property, according to Wafa news agency.
All settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law. Excluding East Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, about 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, alongside about 3 million Palestinians.
