By: Madeeha Araj,
Israel government continues its crimes through uprooting and displacing the Red Khan’s people from their land last week, but the people and others volunteers as well as peace loving people from the West Bank expressed their anger against the settlement plan known as E1, which aims at connecting Ma’aleh Adumim settlement with the settlement of Kfar Adumim in occupied Jerusalem and expanding the city’s borders. The displacement project separates the mid and the south of the West Bank from its north, it extends over an area of 12,443 dunums . It displaces all Bedouin communities and replaces them with moreover than 100,000 settlers . The plan was put forward in 1994 by Rabin, and was approved by Netanyahu’s first government on 1997.
The targeted Red Khan has 181 people, 53% of whom are children , 95% are refugees registered with UNRWA . It has Etarat School that was built by the Italians and the EU, where about 180 students are studying in it as it serves 5 Bedouin communities. The occupation authorities plan to displace the residents of the Red Khan and other Bedouin communities, transferring them to Nu’aymah village near Abu Dis. The danger is still there despite the fact that residents and human rights organizations have received a letter, which stated stopping the demolition until July 11th.
The occupation government deals with all C areas as vital ones for carrying out its settlement projects through leveling the village of the Red khan, establishing a large airport in the area and a network of hotels, roads, railway and industrial and commercial zones, achieving the so-called “Greater Jerusalem” plan, where the evacuation of Bedouin communities is intended to facilitate the annexation of the”Ma’ale Adumim” settlement bloc to Jerusalem, joining the settlements of the north, such as the settlement of Givat Zeev and the Gush Etzion to Jerusalem, thus changing the geographical and demographic boundaries for the benefit of settlement in Jerusalem.
The Planning Committee and the Municipality of the Occupation used 6 plans in Jerusalem to build housing units. Six building plans were carried out on the land of Beit Hanina and Hizma. A number of settlement units in those plans were built, 1500 were approved in the settlement of Ramat Shlomo on the Shu’fat land.
In Jerusalem, Moriah company has launched a project to build bridges, tunnels and roads for the American Street project, which will take over 1,200 dunums of Jabal Mukaber, Sheikh Sa’ad and Sawahrah Sharqiya with a length of 11.5 meters, which will lead to the demolition of 57 homes. The Knesset’s Interior and Environment Quality Committee approved a project to allow the construction of residential buildings in Silwan in the area of the national park. The aim is to revive a large construction plan for the Alad Society, which aimed at building 200 housing units on the site.
On the level of infrastructure and improving services, the Israeli government allocated NIS 30,000,000 to develop and improve the telephone and postal network in all West Bank settlements, and construct railways to serve the settlers for 457 kilometers.
For his part, transportation Minister Yisrael Katz and Education Minister Naftali Bennett have called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to seize the historic opportunity of the current US administration to organize construction in the West Bank and to legitimize settlement outposts built near major settlements over the last 20 years.
At least NIS 37,000,000 has been transferred to “Amana Association” to establish illegal settlement in the West Bank. According to the Israeli Peace Movement, “Amana” received US $ 12 and 15 million for the “establishment and development of settlements in the Binyamin Regional Council. It also received NIS 34.5 million from the Settlement Council to be used in building at the Amona and Migron, and the nine homes evacuated in the settlement of Ofra.
A list of Israeli Occupation and Settlers’ Assaults over the Last Week, Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Demolishing of 3 nurseries and shops in the town of Hazma east of Jerusalem in addition to the shop of Al-Seyuri under the pretext of not having a license, 20 houses in the area of Abu Al-Nawar Bedouin village east of Al-Eizariya.
- Conducting a survey of the Red Khan area, which is under threat of demolition.
- Demolishing commercial and agricultural facilities in the city of Jerusalem and a roof of commercial shop in the town and a 300-meter borax.
Hebron :
- Wounding 2 citizens as they were attacked by settlers in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in the center of Hebron.
- Confiscating a house and a drinking water well in Al-Juwaya area south of Hebron being unlicensed.
- Setting up a new road in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron.
- Calling for the departure of a Palestinian family where the settlers wrote offensive slogans and hung them at the entrance of their house.
Bethlehem:
- Uprooting 20 olive trees owned by Ahmed Rizq ‘Issa, in the area of “Ein al-Qaysis” from the lands of al-Khader.
- Destructing part of the retaining walls.
- Uprooting 350 fruitful trees from the lands of al-Khader, west of Bethlehem Governorate, and arresting 5 youths from the town this morning
Ramallah:
- Pouring waste-water in Palestinian farmers’ fields in the village of Tormosaya east of Ramallah.
Salfit:
- Preventing residents from entering their lands behind the wall to take care of their agricultural land, olive fields and other trees north of Salfit, as well as in the towns of Al-Zawia and Mashaa to the west of the governorate.
- Expelling farmers from their land to be confiscated for the settlement of Ariel, north of Salfit, the second largest settlement in the West Bank.
Nablus:
- Preventing farmers from the village of Jalud south of Nablus from harvesting wheat in their land, forcing them to leave their land.
- Establishing a wooden tent on the land of the citizens in the village of Auref south of Nablus, and attacking and burning scores of dunums planted with olives and almonds, they also broke into a number of houses in the village, amid heavy firing of live bullets.
Jordan Valley:
- Orders to demolish more than 50 construction in the areas of Beit Dajan and Froush Beit Dajan east of Nablus. They are divided into several directions, including water wells, water basins and animal parks, houses for citizens, temporary tents. The notifications state that these facilities are located in C areas.
- Demolishing a pool to collect water in the Frseia area of the northern of the valley that was established by the supporting institutions for the benefit of the citizens.