Israeli settlers move into homes near Jericho

Israeli settlers moved into eight houses just outside Jericho's city limits in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, settler representative Hanan Greenwood said, while Palestinian officials said the sale documents were forged.

An AFP reporter saw families with children moving into homes on the outskirts of the city, near the Hasmonean Palaces site. Greenwood said the houses were bought by Nachala, a right-wing Israeli organisation that funds new settlements in the West Bank and supports Israel annexing the territory.

Hussein Hamayel, governor of the Jericho region, said the land is owned by the Palestinian Authority and cannot be sold. He called the promoted sale a forgery and settler propaganda.

The land is in Area C, which under the Oslo Accords is under full Israeli control. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law, alongside more than three million Palestinians.

Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said around 30 settlers took over the houses and, during the move, assaulted and robbed two Israeli activists and shot a Palestinian man in the leg. The group warned that settlers living close to Palestinian homes could increase displacement and friction.