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Israel grabs even more Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley

May 10, 2017 at 9:43 am

Israel demolished Palestinian home in northern Jordan Valley on September 16th 2016 [Nedal Eshtayah/Wikipedia]

The Israeli occupation authorities have ordered the expropriation of thousands of acres of Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley, Quds Press reported on Tuesday.

#LandGrab

According to activist Mutaz Bsharat, Israeli forces raided the area and handed out written orders to the residents informing them that their land upon which illegal settlements are built has been designated as a military zone. “The new Israeli decision swallows thousands of acres of agriculture land in favour of Israeli settlement outposts,” he said. “This undermines Palestinian farmers’ access to their farmland.”

Meanwhile, he added, agriculture equipment was confiscated from Al-Beqeia in the Jordan Valley and moved to an Israeli army camp.

Read:  Israeli authorities renew order to confiscate Palestinian lands in Qalqiliya

The theft of Palestinian-owned land in the Jordan Valley is in line with Israel’s tactic of putting pressure on local residents in the hope that they will leave “voluntarily”. Such moves are known in Zionist terminology as “silent transfer”, allowing the Israeli colonists to claim that the Palestinians have abandoned their land of their own free will.

Israel considers the Jordan Valley to be a strategic area which is vital for its agriculture and military. Officials have always said that they will keep it as part of Israel in any future agreement with the Palestinians.