By: Madeeha Araj,
Israel continues to flagrantly disrespect the International Law and the resolutions of international legitimacy, and insists on the policy of ethnic cleansing and displacement in the West Bank, especially in Jerusalem and its surroundings to serve its settlement project. Thus, international and legal organizations are reacting to this policy. As for the Judaization of Jerusalem, as part of the Israeli efforts to facilitate the movement of settlers from the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim and settlements in the Jordan Valley, a decision was made by Israeli Minister of Communications, Yisrael Katz to open a new tunnel connecting Ma’aleh Adumim and the French Hilltop settlement, to be completed by the end of 2022.
The Israeli High Court heard a petition filed by some 130 residents of the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan against their expulsion from their land. Residents filed a lawsuit against the Ateret Cohnim Association, which transferred the land to the settlers claiming that the land on which the houses were built is “Amiriyeh”, i.e. a governmental one in the Ottoman period. It has an area of 5 dunums and 200 meters. The residents demanded that they stop the deportation process, as the houses are inhabited by 84 families, about 1,200 people
In a follow-up of the so-called Israeli High Court’s decision to demolish the Al-Khan Al-Ahmar village and forcibly evict its Palestinian Bedouin, Amnesty International called on the Israeli Authorities to immediately abolish the demolition plans being a war crime, whom the Palestinian Communities pay its price, and to stop the construction of illegal settlements as a first step towards the evacuation of settlers from these settlements.
At the same time, a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian Territories (OCHA) said that attempts to uproot the Khan were made to create a connected area between Ma’aleh Adumim and East Jerusalem. Demolition of property on a large scale constitutes a grave violation of the 4th Geneva Convention and may amount to a war crime. International Humanitarian Law also prohibits the deportation of the population of any occupied territory.
Within the same context, Human Rights Organizations have called on the Israeli occupation authorities to immediately cancel a military order signed by the Israeli military commander on April 17, 2018, paving the way for mass demolitions of Palestinian buildings in Area C under the pretext of building without a permit, and that the Civil Administration’s inspectors and staff can carry out demolitions only ninety-nine hours after the issuance of an order, and prevent affected people from filing appeal to the judicial authorities, to object to the demolition orders.
It has become clear that 3 areas south of Hebron are threatened by displacement and ethnic cleansing, where the army had already evacuated residents from one of those areas in 1999 under the pretext of being a “firing zone” since the 1980s. In the 1980s, the Civil Administration deported hundreds of Bedouins from the Jahalin tribe from their areas to establish the Ma’ale Adummim settlement and then expanding it. After 51 years of setback and the defeat of 1967, the Israeli occupation continues its plans of annexing Palestinian land and the forced displacement of the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
For its part, the so-called Israeli Civil Administration legitimizes the settlement outpost of Uday Aad, located on the lands of the Tormasya, Mughayir, Jalud and Qaryut villages, in the southeast of Nablus. The Israeli Public Prosecution informed the High Court that it consistent on that.
In the adoption of racist projects, the Knesset’s Constitution and Law Committee approved in the first reading a law that impose fines on those demanding the boycott of the occupying power or settlements. The proposal was approved despite the opposition of the government and the legal adviser to the Knesset. A fine of NIS 100,000 is to be paid by anyone boycotts Israel or settlements, and it will be NIS 500,000 if it is proven that the procedure has been done systematically.
A list of Israeli Occupation and Settlers’ Assaults over the Last Week, Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Preventing a decision to stop the construction of the iron wall in the Bab al-Rahma cemetery adjacent to the eastern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque to Judaize the cemetery.
- Large number of Israeli occupation soldiers carried out Talmudic rituals in the Al- Al-Aqsa Mosque, a meeting for some extremist organizations was held to increase the frequency of invasion of Al-Aqsa.
Ramallah:
- The Israeli occupation authorities issued a decision to annex Palestinian land near the military post on the eastern entrance of the village of Nabi Saleh, northwest of Ramallah. The decision issued by the Commander of the Central Region of the Israeli Army includes “placing the hand” on 496 meters of land adjacent to the military tower. Eyewitnesses reported that the settlement of “BeiT Aryeh continued to devour the land north of Ramallah for the construction of new apartments and infrastructure on the expense of farmers and shepherd land. The farmer, Mustafa Ibrahim, from the West Bank town of Laban north of Ramallah said that the razing operations is continued. The so-called Supreme Planning Council at the Civil Administration of the Israeli Army approved last Wednesday the construction of 1500 new settlement units, including the establishment and construction of 650 settlement units In the settlement of Beit Ariyeh as part of a settlement plan to complete the settlement strip separating the northern West Bank from its south and center.
- Demolition notices for 7 houses were demolished in Beit Sira village, west of Ramallah. The Israeli occupation forces stormed the village with a large military force, and the owners of the houses were notified of the demolition under the pretext of building without a permit.
Hebron:
- Killing citizen, Rami Sabarneh, 30, from Beit Ummar town, by an extremist settler near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron for allegedly attempting to carry out an attack.
- Expanding the “Njihout” settlement on the land of the citizens in the village of Fqeqis village west of Dura, as the Israeli occupation authorities has decided to expand the settlement through the confiscation of 210 dunums in front of that settlement and the placement of two mobile homes in the targeted area.
- Seizing a Palestinian house in the old town of Hebron in the al-Sahla Street protected by Israeli occupation army. Settlers stormed the house that was closed since 2001.
- Invading a house on Shuhada Street, and forcing its members to stay in one room after smashing its windows. The Israeli occupation authorities gave 3 families living in Al-Shuhada Street in Hebron for 4 hours to evacuate the house before welding them. Local sources said that the houses belong to the families of Samer, Musa and Amer Zahida.
- Attacking residents of Tal Armeida neighborhood in the center of Hebron, where settlers attacked the lady, Um Majed Ramadan and trying to storm her house.
Nablus:
- Attacking a man, Salim Jamil ‘Ameer, 80, while he was working in his farm in the Urif village, south of Nablus, moderately wounding him. Agricultural lands were razed near the town of Beita south of Nablus in the Jabal Sabeeh area, noting that the settlers had established a few months ago the outpost of “Abitar” settlement in the same area. Settlers confiscated 5 dunums of the village owned by Hamad Saleh Jazi.
Qalqilia:
- Preventing citizen Abdullah Radwan from reclaiming his land called Dhera Al-Hama, and threatened to seize his equipment if he continued the work and handed him over an order to summon before the Civil Administration in the Eyal settlement.
Jenin:
- Israeli Occupation Forces have stopped construction of the Amurayh School in the Yabed town, south of Jenin under the pretext of being located in Area C. They confiscated construction equipment from the school, photographed it from various quarters.
Tulkarm:
- The Israeli occupation forces have prevented 1,000 of citizens and farmers from Qafeen entering their land behind the wall, which constitutes the majority of the town’s land, under the pretext of throwing stones.
Jordan Valley:
- Under the pretext of military exercises, notifications to expel 5 families living in Himsa Al-Foqa area, where Yasser, Abdullah, Adel, Tayseer and Sanad from the Abu Kabbash family, were received orders to evacuate their homes under the pretext of military training, Israeli forces detained five families living in Hamsa al-Fawqa area in the northern Jordan Valley after they were expelled from the pastures located in the border area of Sakut. A landmine of the remnants of the occupation army exploded, a flock of cows belonging to Fayez Yousef Daraghmeh were killed and some injured, assaulted their owners and took them to an unknown.