Israeli authorities have planned to build 2,300 new housing units to expand the illegal Gilo settlement on Palestinian land in southwestern occupied East Jerusalem, according to an Israeli non-profit organisation focused on affairs in Jerusalem.
The project represents another step towards further isolating occupied East Jerusalem from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, the Ir Amim organisation warned.
The plan calls for construction on Palestinian land confiscated under Israel's Absentees' Property Law, it said.
At least 6.9 acres of land included in the plan were stolen from their Palestinian owners and classified as "state land" before being allocated for illegal settlement expansion, the group said.
The area of stolen land could increase, as dozens of dunams within the plan remain classified as "unknown ownership", the organisation warned.
The site designated for construction includes extensive olive groves with ancient trees, some decades old, reflecting private Palestinian ownership of the land.
Implementing the project would likely lead to the uprooting of these trees once construction begins, the group said.
Illegal settlement expansion
In February, Israel announced the commencement of procedures to register land in Area C of the occupied West Bank in the name of the state, in accordance with the Absentees' Property Law.
The law allows for the registration of land in the state's name when Palestinians cannot prove ownership with official documents.
Hassan Breijieh, head of the International Law Department at the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, previously told Anadolu agency that the measure constitutes "the expropriation of Palestinian land and its registration in the name of the state, paving the way for its transfer to Israeli occupiers."
He warned that it threatens vast areas of unregistered land in the occupied West Bank.
At the end of June, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced an acceleration of illegal settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, saying his government had established 160 illegal settlement farms and approved the construction of more than 100 new illegal settlements.
The UN and most countries consider Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law and say they undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.
The Israeli Peace Now movement estimates there are approximately 500,000 illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank, in addition to about 250,000 others in settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.
Palestinians believe these projects are part of an accelerated Israeli policy aimed at expanding illegal settlements, confiscating land and imposing new realities on the ground.
