Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon yesterday approved a scheme to include the seized church of Beit Al-Baraka into the illegal Gush Etzion settlement, south of the West Bank, Israeli media reported.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said the plan will help expand the settlement bloc by 40 dunams (0.04 square kilometres).
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According to the paper, the church was purchased by Jewish American millionaire Irving Moskowitz through a Norwegian woman who claimed she was member of an American church.
The Israeli military wing for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) issued a statement which said: “The addition of Bayit-Al-Barka to the auspices of the regional council of Gush Etzion was evaluated according to the existing criteria which had been established by the relevant professional parties. It was ratified by the executive branch of government and was finalised in accordance with their directive.”
The head of the Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine Hanna Amira said in remarks to Quds Press that the decision intends to include the vital region along the Bethlehem-Hebron road to the Gush Etzion settlement, and separate the southern part of the West Bank from its centre.
“We will fight the decision by various means, including the organisation of protests and sit-ins as well as through legal channels,” he added.
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