Watchdog fears seizure of more land in West Bank

JERUSALEM: An Israeli settlement watchdog has denounced a legal opinion by the attorney general (AG), saying it could pave the way for the seizure of more Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said in a legal opinion that Israel could, in certain circumstances, confiscate private Palestinian land for the benefit of Jewish settlements in occupied territories.

Settlement watchdog Peace Now denounced the development in a statement.

“It appears that the AG is attempting to remove the last legal (and moral) barrier on the road to turn theft and expulsion into a formal way of establishing settlements in the occupied territories,” it said.

Peace Now and other observers said Mandelblit’s opinion, which was made public on Wednesday, breaks with former positions on the confiscation of private Palestinian land for state use.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Its settlements are deemed illegal under international law and widely seen as the main obstacle to peace.

Mandelblit’s legal opinion is tied to Haresha, an “illegal outpost” west of the city of Ramallah, on the West Bank, said Peace Now.