Israeli plan for land takeover in West Bank

"Haaretz" has revealed a document prepared by Israel's civil administration aimed at increasing the state-ownership of West Bank lands. The document enables increased construction not only around settlement blocs like Ariel, Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion, but also in strategic areas like the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea, the Israeli newspaper quoted on Friday a military source as saying. The document, which was written by the head of Israel's civil administration in June, was immediately followed by a procedure stipulating that the custodian of government property is authorized to take possession of lands whose ownership is undefined. Building settlements on private Palestinian land, as in the case of most illegal outposts, constitutes a violation of international law and a government decision, the newspaper added.