Israel expands Jordan Valley footprint as Blinken visits Israel

The government expanded its footprint in the Jordan Valley as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Israel on Friday.

“This is another dramatic and important step for the settlement of the Jordan Valley and Judea and Samaria,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) said.

He spoke after the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria announced that it had classified an additional 800 hectares (1,977 acres) of land in the Jordan Valley, located over the Green Line, as state land.

The classification of the additional state land was authorized by Smotrich, through his role in the Defense Ministry, and with the oversight of the Civil Administration.

He noted that the declaration follows one made earlier this month that classified as state land 300 hectares in the area of Ma’aleh Adumin.

“While there are those in Israel and in the world who seek to undermine our right to Judea and Samaria and the country in general, we promote settlement through hard work and in a strategic manner all over the country,” Smotrich stated.

The declaration of territory in Area C of the West Bank as state land is a bureaucratic step that opens the door for the development of that land.

According to left-wing NGO Peace Now, Israel has classified more territory in Area C as state land this year than it has done in at least the last 25 years. No such classifications were made in 2023.

Biden administration doubles down on opposition to settlements

The move comes as the Biden administration has doubled down on its opposition to Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank. The administration has underscored its stance on this issue, rescinding a declaration made during the Trump administration that settlements were not inconsistent with international law.

The Biden administration declared precisely the opposite – that settlement activity was inconsistent with international law, a de-facto statement that it holds such activity to be illegal. This would include making declarations of state land.

Peace Now said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Smotrich “are determined to fight against the entire world and against the interests of the people of Israel for the benefit of a handful of settlers who receive [hundreds of hectares] as if there were no political conflict to solve or war to end.

“The announcement of the declaration on the eve of the visit by the US secretary of state is yet another provocation against the American government,” it argued.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the latest move was “a continuation of the extermination and displacement of [their] people from their homeland,” adding that “the international failure to protect [their] people is complicity and cover for Israel’s ongoing evasion of punishment.”

Jerusalem Post Staff and Reuters contributed to this report.