Israel unveils big West Bank land seizure as Antony Blinken visits
- About 1,980 acres in the northern Jordan Valley has been declared ‘state land’, said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
- US secretary of state met Netanyahu in Tel Aviv for talks that highlighted differences between Israel and Washington over conduct of war with Hamas
The Israeli government announced on Friday it was confiscating 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank, which activists called the largest such seizure in decades.
An area of about 1,980 acres in the northern Jordan Valley has been declared “state land”, said far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has vowed to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which are regarded as illegal under international law.
Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said the seizure was the single largest since the 1993 Oslo Accords, and that “2024 marks a peak in the extent of declarations of state land”.
Blinken said on Friday that an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah would risk “further isolating” Israel and damage its long-term security.
Speaking as he departed Israel, Blinken told reporters he had “candid conversations”, referring to meetings with officials including Netanyahu.