Dr. Jad Isaac, head of the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem said on Wednesday that Israel is planning to build a new Jewish settlement on the land of the West Bank town of Beit Sahour east of Bethlehem.
Dr. Isaac’s comment came in a meeting organized by the municipality of Beit Sahour and the Ministry of Local Governments in the Palestinian Authority with the residents of the lands threatened to be confiscated for the settlement to be built on.
He urged the land owners to provide the municipality with their land deeds so that the lawyer can act and try to stop the confiscation.
The land projected for confiscation is 3666 Dunams (916 acres) where as the area of the town of Beit Sahour is close to 4500 Dunams (1225 acres).
The Israeli army has already built a crossing point on the eastern entrance of the town and is planning to build a permanent military base close to it.
This would block Bethlehem area from the rest of the West Bank from its east and northern sides.
