BICOM

It was announced yesterday that an area of West Bank land in the Etzion region would be appropriated by Israel as state land, leading to a debate in Israel over the wisdom of the move.

Haaretz reports that Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank announced that 988 acres of land in the Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem would come under Israeli government administration. Widespread media reports say that the decision leaves the door open for the construction of a new residential area called Gvaot, which has been mooted since 2000.

The land in question had previously been listed as survey land, precluding it from housing construction. The Jerusalem Post reports that the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said it had changed the status following instructions from the political echelon, as a response to the kidnap and murder of three Jewish Israeli teenagers in the Gush Etzion area in June.

It is widely expected that the Etzion region will remain under Israeli control in any future peace agreement. Indeed, Gvaot was included among the territorial swaps that the Palestinians explicitly agreed to during final status negotiations under the Annapolis process in 2008.

Nonetheless, last night the US State Department said the announcement was “counterproductive to Israel’s stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians” adding, “We urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision.”

Writing in Maariv, Moshe Saville, Deputy Chairman of the Etzion Bloc Council defended the announcement, saying that, “Settlement in the Etzion Bloc is part of the consensus that exists in Israel.” However, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel’s chief negotiator in recent peace talks, criticised the announcement explaining it “could deflect attention on to us and cause criticism of us” at a time “when we need to mobilize the world to prevent processes against Israel and work together with moderate forces.” Labour MK Shelly Yachimovich told Israeli Army Radio that although the Etzion bloc is part of the Israeli consensus, the announcement’s timing was detrimental to working closely with the Palestinian Authority and other potential regional partners.