RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Court documents show that Israel's defense minister wants to remove hundreds of Palestinians from eight hamlets in a West Bank area the military has designated a firing zone, prompting new allegations of an Israeli land grab.
The firing zone spans several thousand acres near Israel.
Israel says most of the people being ordered to leave have permanent homes elsewhere.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak's position was presented this week to Israel's Supreme Court, which is weighing the Palestinians' fate.
Shlomo Lecker, a lawyer representing some of the Palestinians, said Tuesday that his clients own much of the land in the firing zone. Lecker says the attempt to move them is part of a campaign to solidify Israel's control over parts of the occupied lands it wants to retain.