Settlements called land grab

Using maps and leaked official documents, Peace Now movement said the land in question amounted to 61sq km.

The group said that 86.4 per cent of Maale Adumin, a large settlement in East Jerusalem, was built on privately owned Palestinian land.

More than 3,400 buildings across the West Bank are constructed on the land that is privately owned by Palestinians, the group said.

Israel claims to have annexed some of the land used for settlement building as “state land”, although its occupation of the all Palestinian land remains illegal under international law.