Israeli authorities are planning to build 2,300 new housing units to expand the illegal Gilo settlement built on Palestinian land in southwestern East Jerusalem, an Israeli non-profit organization focused on affairs in Jerusalem said Wednesday, Anadolu reports.
The project represents another step toward further isolating East Jerusalem from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, the Ir Amim organization warned.
The plan calls for construction on Palestinian land confiscated under Israel’s Absentees’ Property Law, it said.
At least 28 dunams (6.9 acres) of land included in the plan were confiscated from their Palestinian owners and classified as “state land” before being allocated for settlement expansion, the group highlighted.
The area of confiscated land could increase, as dozens of dunams within the plan remain classified as “unknown ownership,” the organization warned.
