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Israel's land grab endangers Abbas' peace plan

Israel’s largest land grab in 30 years on the heels of the Gaza war threatens to head off Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ presentation of a new peace plan.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a special cabinet meeting at the Ashkelon Shore regional council in Bat Hadar August 31, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT HEADSHOT) - RTR44EIQ

No sooner did the war on the Gaza Strip disappear from the headlines, all the old headlines appeared. More Israeli confiscation of West Bank land reminds the Palestinians of the root of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict: land.

The largest land grab in 30 years announced Aug. 31 covers nearly 4,000 dunums (1.5 square miles) south of Bethlehem. Despite the fact that a brutal 51-day war on Gaza nominally resulted from the deaths of three Israeli settlers, Israel radio said that the land grab was revenge for the killings back in June.

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