Israeli army to expropriate 200 dunams in Bethlehem

Israeli occupation army has issued orders to expropriate 200 dunams of private Palestinian land in Al-Khader Neighbourhood of Bethlehem, Quds Press reported, Tuesday.

Ahmed Salah, the coordinator of the National Committee Against Settlement in Al-Khader, said that the Israeli expropriation orders target private Palestinian lands in an area known as Jabal Zaqandah.

Salah said that the Israeli occupation authorities plan to expand an illegal settlement onto this land.The Israeli army claim that they seize Palestinian lands for military purposes and then give it to settlement councils.

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According to Peace Now, an Israeli NGO watchdog, there are 129 Israeli government-approved settlements and 101 unapproved ones in the occupied West Bank. The total number of settlers is about more than 400,000.

In Jerusalem, according to the NGO, there are 25 settlements with a total number of about 215,000 settler inhabitants.Settlements are illegal according to the international law. The UN has issued several resolutions demanding that Israel stop its settlement activities. Israel has always rejected all such resolutions.