Israel’s West Bank settlements grew by twice the size of New York’s Central Park in 2012
By Chaim Levinson
Haaretz
Le grignotage inexorable de la terre palestinienne
▻http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-west-bank-settlements-grew-by-twice-the-size-of-new-york-s-central
Israeli settlements in the West Bank legally expanded by nearly 8,000 dunams (1977 acres) in 2012 - land equaling the entire city of Bat Yam and twice as big as Manhattan’s Central Park.
The adjustments were approved by military order, with the Israel Defense Forces’ GOC Central Command granting settlement municipalities jurisdiction over the new territories.
Although in recent years the practice of giving large swathes of land to settlements has been abandoned, creeping annexations are still under way. In 2012, settlement-controlled land grew from 530,931 to 538,303 dunams, a total increase of 7,372 dunams, according to a comparison of maps from 2011 and 2012 at the Civil Administration offices.
