CAIRO: Egypt on Tuesday strongly criticized an Israeli plan to confiscate Arab land outside east Jerusalem that has revived fears that the Jewish state wants to split the occupied West Bank in two.
The plan proves the correctness of reports that Israel is planning to go ahead with its scheme to separate the northern parts of the West Bank from its southern ones, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement.
The seizure covers 110 hectares (272 acres) of land in four Palestinian villages between east Jerusalem and the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim.
The Israeli army sought to justify the expropriation on military grounds and as measures designed to stop terrorist acts.
Zaki said the move was extremely worrying and appealed to the international community to get Israel to stop playing with the fate and destiny of people in the region by throwing the option of a just peace out the window.
Going ahead with this project is in total contradiction with efforts by all parties to resume serious political negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, he said.
In 2005, Israel – under US pressure – froze plans to connect Maale Adumim to east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want to make the capital of their promised state and which Israel has occupied since 1967.
The Palestinians heavily criticize the project because it would effectively split the West Bank and separate the territory from east Jerusalem.
