Area near Jericho (illustration)
Area near Jericho (illustration)Flash 90

Israel is set to demarcate more than 1,500 dunams (370 acres) of land near Jericho (Yericho) in Judea, not far from the Dead Sea, as state land.

The land, some of which has been tended to over the past 20 years by Jewish residents of the area, is located north of the town of Almog.

This is the largest demarcation of land since August 2014. More details are scheduled to be available later on Wednesday, reports Army Radio.

The move was ratified by the political echelon of government and will soon be finalized, following a thorough examination of the land by experts in the field in the coming weeks.

“This is a very sensitive issue which will likely garner harsh critique from Europe and the United States, and of course from the Palestinian Authority,” said the report.

In a statement made by the Coordination of Government Activity in the Territories (COGAT) branch of the IDF, the spokesperson said, "in conjunction with the decision made by the political echelon of Israel, and experts in the field, these lands were permitted to be announced as state owned land, and are currently undergoing the final steps in that process.”