JERUSALEM — An Israeli peace group said Tuesday that it had obtained government data showing that nearly 40% of land covered by Jewish settlements in the West Bank is privately owned by Palestinians, including big portions of blocs that Israel intends to keep under any future peace agreement.

Activists from Peace Now said digital mapping data it obtained indirectly from a government source showed a wide-scale land theft by Israel, which has long asserted that it respects private landownership in the West Bank.

"What we have here is a mess," said Dror Etkes, a coauthor who heads a Peace Now team that monitors the growth of settlements and their less-formal annexes, known as outposts. He said the data had been compiled by the civil administration, the Israeli military authority that deals with Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and passed to Peace Now through a third party.

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