A/HRC/28/44 declaration was made in response to the killing of the three Israeli teenagers in June 2014.19 The affected areas are adjacent to the Green Line within the boundaries of five existing Palestinian villages. Once the process is complete (see A/69/348, paras. 18-21 and A/68/513, para. 20), it is expected that the area will be incorporated into the Gush Etzion Regional Council, possibly as a new illegal settlement.20 This action reportedly constitutes the largest appropriation of Palestinian land in 30 years. 21 13. The settler population continued to grow during the period under review. According to the official umbrella organization representing settlements (quoting figures obtained from the Ministry of the Interior), during the first six months of 2014, the settler population grew by 2 per cent and is expected to grow to 4 per cent by the end of the year, twice the nationwide population growth rate of Israel.22 A report issued in 2014 indicated that, over the past two decades, the population in Israeli settlements had grown by 240 per cent, outstripping growth rates within Israel.23 Estimates of the current settlement population in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, range between 500,000 and 650,000 (A/HRC/25/38, para. 8). 14. In past reports, the Secretary-General noted that Israel played a leading role in the construction and expansion of settlements, including through the granting of benefits and incentives to settlers (see A/68/513). During the period under review, public funds continued to be allocated to settlements. In October 2014, the Israeli cabinet reportedly approved the allocation of some $34.7 million to the settlement division of the World Zionist Organization for the purposes of “developing agricultural and rural settlement”. 24 Although it was not specified which part of this amount would be invested in settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (ibid., para. 9), it might be surmised that the final amount would be considerable, given the role of the division in assisting the Government in establishing Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.25 Reportedly, in 2012, the Government invested more per capita in settlements than within Israel, mainly for education and welfare services.26 15. With regard to action intended to counter the growth of settlements, the European Union decided to ban dairy and other products of animal origin produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, which reportedly was to come into force in January 2015.27 In a statement issued on 6 June 2014, the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 6 Chaim Levinson and Jack Khoury, “Israel appropriates massive tract of West Bank land”, 31 August 2014. See Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Humanitarian Bulletin Monthly Report, June – August 2014. The Head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council is reported as having stated that “the announcement paves the way to establishing the new city of Gva’ot”; see Elior Levy and Itay Blumental, “Israel recognizes 4,000 dunam in gush Etzion as state land”, ynetnews.com, 31 August 2014. According to Peace Now, Gva’ot was established as a military base in 1984. Peace Now, “Unprecedented land confiscation of 4,000 dunams near Bethlehem”, 31 August 2014. Josef Federman, “Israel’s settler group in the West Bank boast strong population grown”, CTV news, 16 September 2014. Dr. Shlomo Swirski and Etty Konor-Atias, “Inequality in Central Government Transfers to Municipalities”, Adva Center, 9 September 2014. Nimrod Bousso, “Israel to allocate $35m to World Zionist Organization’s settlement division”, Haaretz, 23 October 2014. See Talya Sason, Summary of the Opinion concerning Unauthorized Outposts, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 March 2005. Swirski et al., “Inequality in Central Government Transfers” (see footnote 23). Gianluca Mezzofiore, “EU bans Israeli dairy products made in occupied West Bank settlements from January”, International Business Times, 10 October 2014.