U.S. condemns Israeli expropriation of West Bank land

The Israeli West Bank settlement of Efrat is seen on Sept. 1. Israel said it would expropriate 988 acres of Palestinian land around Bethlehem, and allowed 45 days for any appeal. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)

By Anne Gearan September 2 at 8:18 PM, WashPost

The United States levied unusually harsh criticism at Israel on Tuesday, denouncing plans to seize a large tract of West Bank land for Israeli homes.

The State Department called on Israel to reverse its announced plan to appropriate nearly 1,000 acres in the occupied West Bank.

“We are deeply concerned about the declaration of a large area as ‘state land’ to be used for expanded settlement building,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. “We call on the Government of Israel to reverse this decision.”

The language was more pointed than U.S. spokesmen typically use, and the specific call to reverse an already declared decision was also unusual.

(More here.)