Rights group says Israel settlers seize more land in West Bank

Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli authorities and settlers have seized more land in the occupied West Bank for security zones, a human rights group said on Thursday.

The Israeli B'Tselem group said around 12 settlements east of the barrier had been marked under an official "Special Security Area" (SSA) plan, blocking Palestinian farmers from reaching their fields.

The report said the overall area of some settlements in the plan had more than doubled.

The Israeli army said the security zones had been set up to counter repeated Palestinian attacks.

"The use of these zones has been approved a number of times by the Israeli Supreme Court. Any building in these zones is illegal," the army said.

The group said it could give only a rough estimate of the total territory closed to Palestinians but that at least 1,126 acres had been "unofficially annexed" outside the 12 settlements.

Half of the seized land was privately owned by Palestinians, it said.

A group representing settlers in the area, Yesha settler's council, said taking control of the areas was a necessary security measure.

"It must be clear to B'Tselem that if their demands are heeded, it will be easier to murder Jews," Yishai Hollander said.