Israeli forces closed the entrance of a Bethlehem-area village on Thursday in preparation for the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was arriving to the southern occupied West Bank to break ground on 1,100 new illegal settlement units in the area.
Ahmad Sukar, head of the Wadi Fukin village council, told Ma’an news agency that Israeli forces closed off the entrance of the village with dirt mounds, preventing Palestinian residents from passing through, in preparation for Netanyahu’s arrival.
Watch: Israel PM lays stone at a new settlement in occupied West Bank pic.twitter.com/Jlc1305qvU
— Press TV (@PressTV) August 3, 2017
Sukar said the closure was expected to be lifted around 2:00 p.m, after Netanyahu installed the first stone of the planned 1,100 illegal housing units to be built as an extension of the existing Beitar Illit settlement.
Since the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967, between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis have moved into Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international law.
Israel to build over 1,000 settlement units in West Bank https://t.co/LG6M9Uv2LM pic.twitter.com/2NNeggLwYa
— Henny A.J. Kreeft (@KhamakarPress) August 3, 2017
The estimated 196 government recognized Israeli settlements scattered across the Palestinian territory are all considered illegal under international law.
(Maan, PC, Social Media)
