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Why is Jewish settlement in the West Bank controversial?

FILE: Palestinian men work at a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement.

Palestinian men work at a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement. Source: AAP

Groups that monitor Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank say Israel has taken over large swathes of land this year, as the war in Gaza rages on.


Analysts who monitor Israeli settlement activity say all signs point to further expansion.

So far this year, the government has designated more than 2,700 acres of West Bank territory as state land.

That number is already more than in previous years in just three months.

The figures come from the Israeli non-governmental organization Peace Now. The

U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Israel has also built hundreds of physical barriers; including checkpoints, roadblocks, and a 700-kilometer-long barrier wall that mostly crosses the West Bank.

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