“Israeli” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that 170 dunams (170,000 m2) of Palestinian land near Gush Etzion as “state land,” meaning that the land will be used to further expand “Israeli” settlements in the West Bank.

Smotrich said he has been working on advancing “declarations of state land” in the West Bank over the last year, which he describes as “very important processes in the campaign for open spaces.”

In March, around 8,000 dunams (eight km2) of land in occupied Palestinian territories in the Jordan Valley was seized by “Israeli” authorities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned “the decision of an extremist minister in the Israeli government to seize 8,000 dunums (eight km2) of land in the occupied Palestinian territories in the Jordan Valley”.

The ministry's spokesman, Ambassador Dr. Sufyan Al-Qudah, reaffirmed the Kingdom's rejection and absolute condemnation of the “Israeli” government's continued violations of all rules of international law, relevant Security Council resolutions, and accepted international references.

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