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Written by AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer
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Category: News News
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Published: 06 July 2010 06 July 2010
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Last Updated: 06 July 2010 06 July 2010
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Created: 06 July 2010 06 July 2010
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Although the actual buildings of the settlements cover just 1 percent of
the West Bank's land area, their jurisdiction and regional councils
extends to more than 42 percent, the group added.
Twenty-one percent of the land for these settlements was seized from
Palestinian landowners, much of it after Israel's Supreme Court outlawed
the practice in 1979.
Dani Dayan, chairman of the settlers council, said settlements control
just 9.2 percent of the West Bank, not 42 percent.
"It's a political report by an organization that has been taken over the
most radical anti-Israel elements," Dayan said. "The whole point is to
sabotage the meeting between (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu
and Barack Obama."
Netanyahu was en route Tuesday to Washington, where he was due to meet
with Obama later in the day to discuss advancing peacemaking and other
regional issues.
Some 300,000 Jews live in West Bank settlements and an additional
180,000 live in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. Israel captured
both territories from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the
Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians envision all three areas for a future state.