OneWorld.net (U.S.)

MIDDLE EAST 10/10/2007 3.34 ISRAEL ORDERS PALESTINIAN LANDS TO BE CONFISCATED

Israel has ordered the confiscation of 110 hectares of land belonging to five Palestinian villages located between East Jerusalem and the West Bank, fueling Palestinian allegations that this is a prelude to a complete annexation of the settlement of Maale’h Adumim to Jerusalem.

The Israeli press said that the move is needed in order to build a new road between Jerusalem and Jericho, which would permit the development of the ‘E-1’ area. The intended E-1 project, already proposed in 2004, was abandoned due to Palestinians’ resistance.

The lands confiscated from the villages of Abu Dis, al-Shawareh, al-Sharqiya, Nabi Moussa e Khan al-Amer, make up a line which, if annexed to Israeli territory would end up splitting the West Bank, making the emergence of a Palestinian state even more difficult – not that the current prospects are that good to begin with.

The Israeli deputy prime minister Haim Ramon, told "Ha'aretz" that the government did not inform him of the expropriation plans: the decision comes just as Palestinian and Israeli leaders are working on a 'joint document' draft to present to the allegedly forthcoming peace conference next November, the issue of Israeli settlements (by all accounts of international law illegal) has broken many attempts at peace talks.

The Palestinian reaction was swift. Head negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the Israeli government's decision asking the government to renounce it in order to miss 'a project of peace'. [AB]