Israel has carried out a new land appropriation in the occupied West Bank, the Haaretz daily said Sunday, in a move likely to complicate efforts to extend troubled peace talks with the Palestinians.
Haaretz said that the Defense Ministry has declared nearly 250 acres (100 hectares) of territory in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc just south of Jerusalem "state land."
Asked about the report, the ministry declined to comment, but said it may make an announcement in the coming days.
The left-leaning newspaper said that the appropriation was the largest in years, and could eventually lead to the expansion of several settlements and authorization of a settler outpost built without Israeli government permission in 2001.