Israel's decision to appropriate this land, nearly 1,000 acres here in the occupied West Bank, isn't sitting well with at least one government official
Finance Minister Yair Lapid questions the timing.
SOUNDBITE: Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid
"We are at the end of a military operation, we face a sensitive international front, and had already experienced difficulty in preserving world support. What was the pressing need, now of all times, to create another crisis with the Americans and the international community?"
While Lapid says he supports settlements in the region, he's concerned about the manner in which the decision was made.
SOUNDBITE: Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid saying:
"This was a fait accompli which was not brought to the security cabinet and which at this time simply does damage to the state of Israel."
But in Jerusalem Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman is defending the government's position.
SOUNDBITE
