Washington on Wednesday condemned a planned Israeli move to appropriate West Bank land near Jericho, saying the action called into question Jerusalem’s commitment to a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
The Defense Ministry said earlier in the day that officials approved the expropriation of some 370 acres West Bank agricultural land near the Palestinian city of Jericho, the largest such move since August 2014.
“We strongly oppose any steps that could accelerate settlement expansion and we believe they’re fundamentally incompatible with a two-state solution and call into question frankly the Israeli government’s commitment to a two-state solution,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
The area, part of which has been worked in recent years by Israeli farmers, is situated north of the West Bank settlement of Almog, in the Jordan Valley, according to an Army Radio report on Tuesday.