المكتب الوطني للدفاع عن الارض ومقاومة الاستيطان منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية
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By : Madeeha Aaraj
Using all kinds of deception, Netanyahu cheats the International Community, and continues to build new settlements in the West Bank, and denies being old settlements, even though some of which are classified as random ones, and Netanyahu refuses to give them a town name fearing European and the international community’s criticisms. Some of these settlements were built in the first decade of the 21st century, such as the settlements of Novi Furat and Alon, which are part of the settlement of Kfar Adumim, adding we are not building new settlements, especially, after former PM Olmert pledged not to do so at the Annapolis Conference in 2007, but this is untrue as Israel allows building new settlements near the existing ones.
At the same time, settlement activity has continued at an accelerated pace since the new US administration came to power. Israeli War Minister, Avigdor Lieberman has announced that 11,000 housing units are under construction in the settlements. “He toured the settlement of Karnei Shomron and looked closely at the construction in Judea and Samaria,” he wrote in his Twitter account, confirming that 11,000 other houses in the stages of building approval.”
Within the context of the disclosure of the ongoing settlement projects, the settlement council Gush Etzion confirmed the completion of planning for the construction of 14,864 new settlement units in the settlements of Gush Etzion, located between Bethlehem and Hebron. Head of the settlement council said the new construction would triple the number of settlers in Gush Etzion. He added that the construction of settlement units has been planned for a year and a half, with the construction of 1,100 settlement units in the settlement of Tzurim and 600 in the Magdal Oz settlement, 1,107 units in the settlement of Ga’out and 1200 units to be connected geographically between Beit Ayin and Magdal Oz, NIS 18.9 million was spent for lanning process.
On the other hand, the so-called custodian of property in the Israeli Ministry of Justice helps settlers ‘organizations in East Jerusalem to judaize Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhood, where the company owned by the far-right activist. In Silwan, plots of land were also sold to representatives of the Ateret Cohnim Society, which receives support from the Custodian of Property to transfer ownership of the land on which hundreds of Palestinians live. The occupied city of Jerusalem and the town of Silwan and the old town of occupied East Jerusalem are subjected to a fierce settlement attack, the latest of which is the seizure by settlers of an old and historic property located in the Darwish area in the Old City of Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, the Alad settlement group seized two apartments and a plot of land in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Al Aqsa Mosque, owned by the Fiteha family that live in the United States. The house is about 160 m2, with an area of 800 m2, planted with olive trees and figs.
Moreover, the Israeli settlement plans to judaize the Jordan Valley, thus the Israeli Knesset Member, Avi Dichter, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee accompanied by the Chairman of the Jordan Valley Settlements Council toured the Jordan Valley area, saying they know the Jordan Valley very well, we have visited the area hundreds of times in the framework of military service. Every time we visit the area, we become convinced that the Jordan Valley should be the eastern border of the State of Israel.”
In the Nablus governorate, under the pretext of enabling the settlers to organize a sports marathon, the Israeli occupation forces prevented farmers in East Nablus villages from picking olive fruits in the Najmeh area along the road leading to the settlement of Itamar and Alon Moreh.
As for the Khan Al-Ahmar, the Israeli occupation army continues its preparations to demolish the village and forcibly evict its citizens, and to change it into military barracks by gathering hundreds of soldiers with their weapons. Settlers continue their provocations and share roles with the Israeli government by opening sewage to nearby settlements and throwing stones on the cars passing by and the charges against the citizens of the village to find justification for the occupation army to break into it. Noting that the US administration’s spokesperson, Heather Noert said, “Israeli court decision to evacuate the illegal Bedouin area is acceptable to the US government.
Contrary to the anomalies expressed by the US State Department, Amnesty International said that the demolition of the village of Khan al-Ahmar, east of occupied Jerusalem, and the forced displacement of its inhabitants constitute a war crime that would make the Israeli government completely contemptuous of the Palestinians. Adding “This action is not only unjust, but also illegal.” The National Bureau condemned those statements describing them as direct incitement to the destruction and displacement of the citizens of the Red Khan, and disregarded the international will that rejects the Israeli decision.
A list of Israeli Occupation and Settlers’ Assaults over the Last Week, Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Demolishing a commercial facility in the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, under the pretext of not having a lisence.
- A group of settlers broke into a house belonging to Adib Joudeh in al-Sa’adiya neighborhood in the Old City of Jerusalem and confiscated it.
- Attacking the Jerusalemite young man, Osama al-Shawish, causing him bruises. Also a number of Palestinian citizens were injured by settler groups while attacking their shops.
Hebron:
- Burning a residential building in the old town of Hebron, settlers burned the house of Izz al-Din al-Sharbati, located in Qantara al-Hamam, in the middle of the market in the old town. It has 4 apartments inhabited by a Palestinian family.
- Confiscating a caravan belonging to the son of Ahmed Okasha Mashamra and arrested him. They also seized a residential tent in the village of Halawah in Mafasir Yatta, inhabited by Isma’il Shehada Abu ‘Aram and his family.
Ramallah:
- Uprooting 40 olive trees from the villages of Tirmessya, Mughir and Abu Falah.
- Running over a Palestinian worker, Naseef Saleh Khalifa in Jerusalem, while on his way back to his home.
- A number of citizens were suffocated, and large areas of land planted with olive trees were burned in the area of Abu-Limon during the Israeli occupation forces’ suppression of the weekly march of Bil’in village, moreover, preventing the participants from entering their land through the iron gate to harvest their olives.
- Five young men were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets and gas bombs in Mazra’a al-Gharbiya village, north of Ramallah.
Nablus:
- Bulldozing land in Khirbet Yanoun, east of ‘Aqraba village, south of Nablus, in which more than 200 donums were razed.
- More than 100 settlers gathered at the junction of the town of Lubban amid military guard, closing the road for an hour.
- Stealing the fruits of olives in Burin village, south of Nablus.
- Breaking into the Sebastia town northwest of Nablus in the archaeological area and in the square columns, and performed the Talmudic prayers there.
Salfeet:
- Buldozing a landfill located west of the city of Salfit, called “Batn Al-Hamam to establish new factories.
- Breaking into the northern town of Kafr al-Deek and provoked farmers during the olive harvest, and threatened them not to enter the land.
Jenin:
- No permits were given to people to harvest their olive trees, especially, in the lands behind the separation wall that constitute the majority of the land, people are afraid of losing their olive season for the current year.
