Israeli settlers move into homes near West Bank city

Israeli settlers move into homes near West Bank city

Israeli settlers moved into houses they say they purchased legally near the occupied West Bank city of Jericho this week, while Palestinian officials say the sale documents were forged.

An AFP reporter saw families with children moving into homes on the outskirts of the ancient city in the West Bank.

Palestinians fear that the new settlement outpost could bring an increased army presence and settler violence.

Several Palestinian communities in the greater Jericho area have already been driven from their homes by harassment from settlers over the past year.

The Israeli families moved into eight houses just outside Jericho's city limits on Wednesday, Hanan Greenwood, a settler representative, told AFP, near the ancient site known as the Hasmonean Palaces.

Hussein Hamayel, governor of the Jericho region, told AFP that the land in question is owned by the Palestinian Authority and cannot be sold.

"What is being promoted is a forgery, not a sale, and what is being circulated is settler propaganda," Hamayel said.