Israel plans to annex a large part of the historic West Bank, according to a government document, as settlers overnight erected a new illegal settlement, even as the country faces pressure to curb settler violence in the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli Civil Administration has announced that it intends to take over large parts of Sebastia, an important archaeological settlement in the West Bank.
Peace Now, an organization that monitors settlements, said the area includes about 450 acres, making it Israel's largest ever acquisition of land of archaeological significance.
The move comes as Israeli settlers celebrated the establishment of a new, unauthorized settlement near Bethlehem, and a Palestinian lawyer said a West Bank activist had been arrested and hospitalized.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said Israel may have committed war crimes when it forcibly expelled 32 Palestinians from three refugee camps in the West Bank this year.
The Israeli order, published on November 12, lists the parcels of land it intends to seize in the Sebastia area. Peace Now, which provided the document to the AP, said the popular archaeological site, where thousands of olive trees grow, belongs to the Palestinians.
Israel announced plans to turn the site into a tourist attraction in 2023. Excavation has already begun and the government has allocated more than $9,24 million to develop the settlement, according to Peace Now and another human rights organization.
The order gives the Palestinians 14 days to file an appeal against this decision.
The largest piece of historic land that Israel had previously taken was an area of 70 acres in Susya, a village in the southern West Bank, says Peace Now. /Telegraph/
