Israel to seize West Bank land for settlement projects

Israeli authorities have issued orders to confiscate around 75 acres of Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank for settlement projects, a Palestinian official said Monday.

"The villagers were told that their lands will be used as a cemetery and a school for two neighbouring Jewish settlements," said Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official in charge of settlement issues in northern West Bank.

Daghlas said the villagers would turn to an Israeli court to appeal against the orders, Xinhua reported.

The orders came as the ongoing US-mediated Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are on the verge of collapse due to grave differences on core issues, including settlement activity.

The talks resumed last July after a three-year halt over Israeli settlement expansion.

The issue of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories is viewed by the international community, including the US, as a hurdle to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Since last July, Israel has planned to build more than 11,700 new settler units in its 137 West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements.