المكتب الوطني للدفاع عن الارض ومقاومة الاستيطان منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية
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By: Madeeha Araj,
The National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlement said that the Israeli army and its affiliated organs are not only involved in the crime of forging the Palestinian documents which prove their ownership of the land, but also confiscate and allocate those lands for settlement purposes. The Jerusalem District Court issued a ruling last month alleging that the Mitzpeh Kramim outpost northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank was built on settler land.
The occupation authorities claimed before the court at the time that they had handed over the land to the “Settlement Brigade” by mistake, saying it did not know that the land was stil under its control. The court decided at the time not to continue construction work in the settlement outpost, but the Supreme Court’s decision did not prevent the “the Brigade” from continuing settlement activities, and providing banks with documentation to enable settlers to obtain housing loans. Those loan documents show the names of the settlers and their access to loans from Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank.
The National Bureau issued a report on the role of Israeli banks in financing settlements, in which he pointed out that the seven largest banks in Israel support the settlements and participate in financing, and make huge profits from behind. He added that the large banks in Israel provide services that help to support and maintain illegal settlements through financing of construction in the occupied West Bank. They provide settlement services and participate in the construction of housing units expand settlements through access to property rights in new construction projects, and sponsor projects until their completion. Those banking activities facilitate the illegal transfer of Jewish residents.
Within the context of the ongoing Judaization, the Israeli Ministry of Communications and the Israel Railways Company, in the presence of Israeli PM Netanyahu and Minister of Communications, Yisrael Katz, inaugurated the rapid train line between Jerusalem and Ben Gurion International Airport in a $ 2 billion project, travels at 160 kilometers p/h and the airport, which is located 40 kilometers away. The railway passes through land occupied by Israel in the 1967 war near the village of Beit Surik on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Netanyahu said during the ceremony: “This is a historic moment … I always believed that Jerusalem can be linked to a train network”.
Following-up the file of the Khan Al-Ahmar, the Israeli government continues its defiance of the international community and goes ahead with its plans to annex the Palestinian territories and expand settlements at the expense of the people of the Khan. The Israeli occupation forces handed over notices to the residents of the Khan Al-Ahmar to demolish their homes by 1-10-2018. The National Bureau said that the Israeli position is to implement policies of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians.
International condemnation of the policy of ethnic cleansing practiced by the occupying Power in and around Jerusalem and in the Palestinian areas of the Jordan Valley is growing. In this regard, Head of the delegation of the European Parliament for Relations with Palestine, Nkels Slikotis said that the Israel forcible deportation of the village of “Al Khan Al-Ahmar” is “a serious violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention that amounts to a war crime.” “We express our sincere solidarity with the Palestinian people and their decades-long struggle for freedom, justice and equality.” “We express our sincere solidarity with the Palestinian people and their decades-long struggle for freedom, justice and equality, support the Palestinian right to self-determination and oppose the rule of Israeli occupation, colonialism and Apartheid in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2334. France also assured that the demolition of the Khan Al-Ahmar is a clear violation of the international law in accordance to a statement issued by the Elysee Palace, the meeting between French President, Makron and his counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Paris.
Within a statistics of the settlement activities, the first half of this year, 2018 has witnessed accelerated construction of settlement units in the West Bank settlements. According to statistics published by the newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth,” the second quarter of this year began the construction of 794 housing units compared to 279 units in the first quarter of the same year. Since the beginning of the year, the West Bank has witnessed the construction of 1,073 settlement units, a 31% increase compared to last year, and the construction of 818 settlement units begin in the same period.
A list of Israeli Occupation and Settlers’ Assaults over the Last Week, Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Bulldozing the main road leading to the village of Nabi Samuel northwest of Jerusalem.
- Storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the performance of talmudic rituals in parts of it under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, 50,000 settlers conducted a ritual there.
- Preventing restoration work at the Dome of the Rock.
Hebron:
- Running over the child, Mounir Abdullah Gharib, 16, from Tel Rumeida neighborhood in the center of Hebron, he was admitted to the Alia Governmental Hospital in Hebron.
- Storming the Old City of Hebron, hindering the passage of the citizens and causing a state of terror among the children and merchants.
- Confiscating a Palestinian mobile home in the town of “Mussafer Yatta”, south of Hebron, and its equipment.
- Broke into a land belonging to several families of Khalil in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron and erected tents to celebrate the “Jewish Day”. Prevented Palestinian residents living in theRE from reaching their homes.
- Forcing the owners of shops in the area of Bab Al-Zawiya and Beer-Sabea St. and the entrance of Shuhada Street in the center of Hebron to close their shops to facilitate the arrival of settlers. In Samou, settlers raided an archaeological site from the Roman era, they performed Talmudic rituals at the site, and uprooted 6 fruitful olive trees in the Hamra area south of Hebron.
Bethlehem:
- Storming the Jabal Ruwaysat, Khallet al-Samak, Nabat al-Hdaf in the village of Al-Walaja, west of Bethlehem, and announcing a settlement plan in Jabal Ruwaysat, which includes the construction of 3,700 settlement units, in addition to the seizure of 5 dunums.
- Storming the “Solomon’s Pools” in the town of Al-Khader south of Bethlehem, and the performance of Talmudic rites.
Ramallah:
- Starting the construction of a new settlement in the “Beit-Eil” settlement on the land of Palestinian citizens north of the city of Al-Bireh. The new settlement units were built 10 years after the project was approved by the government. The occupation forces began to bulldoz the land in preparation for the construction of 300 new settlement units.
Nablus:
- Burning 3 donums in the town of Lubn al-Sharqiya, south of Nablus, planted with olives. They also burnt a farm in Sebastia village northwest of Nablus after they stormed the town and opened fire and tear gas bombs.
- About 1450 settlers broke into the tomb of Yosif Tomb, east of Nablus, and performed Talmudic rituals. The Israeli occupation forces closed the main 60-road south-east of Nablus, and prevented citizens from passing through under the pretext of organizing a marathon for settlers.
Qalqilia:
- A decision to confiscate a 2500 meters east of the village of Jeet south of Qalqilya for military purposes.
Jordan Valley:
- Notifying a number of families in the Aqabat Jabr Refugee camp on the southern entrance to the city of Jericho, and threatened them with bulldozing, demolishing and displacing their families within the coming few weeks. The houses are owned by, Musa Salem Karshan, 140 meters, Ali Hassan Kershan, 100 meters, Mamdouh Hassan Karshan, 110 meters, Yousuf Hassan Karshan, 100 meters, Salem Salem Karshan, 150 meters and Nayef Hassan Al-Karashan, 140 meters.
