Israel seized a large stretch of land in the West Bank as US Vice President Joe Biden was ending a visit to Israel last week, according to a copy of the land declaration obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees Palestinian civilian affairs, confirmed on Wednesday that about 235 hectares near the West Bank city of Jericho were declared government land.
Officials said the decision was enacted on Sunday. However, the declaration was signed last Thursday, the same day Biden left the region, according to the land document provided by anti-settlement group Peace Now.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday that it was "the latest step in what appears to be an ongoing process of land expropriations."
"We strongly oppose any steps that accelerate settlement expansion, which raise serious questions about Israel's long-term intentions," Kirby said.
Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians seek to establish an independent state in those territories.
COGAT gave no reason for the latest land expropriation. Peace Now said such land tends to be used for Jewish settlement purposes.
