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Israel continues to expand in West Bank through new tourist route

The Israeli government approved the construction of a new tourist route that would pass through the West Bank to the Syrian Golan Heights, raising fears among Palestinians about Israel’s attempts to maintain a permanent presence in occupied territories.
A line of hikers walk towards a semi-permanent, plastic-wrapped structure in a hillside, Bedouin nomad settlement , near Nachal (or Nahal Og), in the Judean Desert, West Bank, Israel, February 13, 2016. . (Photo by Dan Porges/Getty Images)
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli government gave funding approval Nov. 26 for a new hiking trail for tourists and Israelis that passes through the West Bank and the Golan Heights, which were occupied by Israel in June 1967. It would be the first Israeli national trail that traverses the Golan Heights, which was seized from Syria, or the West Bank. 

The trail was proposed by Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, who approved the new path and will submit a final plan to the government within 120 days. The project is expected to cost $2.8 million.

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