Israel announced plans to expropriate 400 hectares of Palestinian land in the Bethlehem area in the south of the occupied West Bank. The military said the move stemmed from the June killing of three Israeli teenagers in the same area, known to Israelis as Gush Etzion settlement bloc. Israel blamed three Palestinians from the southern West Bank city of Hebron for the murders. The Etzion settlements council welcomed the announcement, adding, “The goal of the murderers of those three youths was to sow fear among us, to disrupt our daily lives and to call into doubt our right to the land. Our response is to strengthen settlement.” But settlement watchdog Peace Now expressed alarm, saying the declaration was proof that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “continues to put obstacles to the two-state vision and promote a one-state solution.”
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