المكتب الوطني للدفاع عن الارض ومقاومة الاستيطان منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية
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By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report , that the Judicial system in Israel is mostly directed by the Israeli political and security figures, especially, the ongoing conflict between the Israeli government and settlers from one side, and the Palestinians and the cases related to them from the other. They also use it to legalize and confiscate more and more of the Palestinian lands, and then transfer them to the favor of settlement activities. Besides, the Israeli Government’s policy that encourages settlers to setting up outposts in many places of the West Bank, the last were the establishment of settlement outpost north of Burin village, and another in Jabal al-Najma, south of Nablus in the Jaloud village.
The Court also declared that 224 donums of the Palestinian Kafr Aqab’s lands are ‘State lands’, and that the court’s judges refused the Palestinians’ appeal against that. Accordingly, the settlers have started to legalize the settlement outposts in Jerusalem and its surroundings, where the Israeli Public Prosecutor’s Office justified the seizure of these lands, saying that photographs taken from the air in 1969-1980 showed that the land was not cultivated during these years, despite the fact that the Palestinian landowners confirmed that they had cultivated the land even before the 1967’s occupation.
Furthermore, the Israeli Minister of Settlement, Tsahi Hanegbi pledged during a speech at the Knesset 2 weeks ago, to settle the situations of 70 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and turn them into settlements before the US President Trump leaves office. A crew of settlers was formed to settle the conditions of dozens of outposts, knowing that the 124 outposts that were constructed in the West Bank have been set up in the 1990s, and that the 132 large West Bank settlements were established with the Israeli government’s approval.
At the same time, the occupation authorities declared recently the approval of plans to build 1481 new settlement units on the area of 1357, they also approved the establishment of a natural reserve on 500 donums in conjunction with measures to transfer land ownership to the State properties. In a declaration issued by the Israeli Civil Administration, the so-called settlement Subcommittee announced the entry into force of the detailed 3/3/1/31 structural plan of the settlement of Maale Ephraim, located on the land of Majdal Bani Fadel village, the structure plan No. 2/24/227 of the Kfar Adumim settlement, located on the land of the village of Anatas.
Recreation areas, sports and public institutions are set up, the structural plan n 1/3/216 of the ‘Gbot Hadashah’ settlement on the land of a village of Beit Ijza on 900 donums for the establishment of a residential area and an open public area, the detailed structure plan n 70/5/410 of the settlement of Efrat that located 209 of Artas lands, and 70,3 donums for the establishment of commercial, tourist and public buildings, and the structural plan n 4/1/6/411 of the settlement of Nukdim, located on the lands of Arab village of Al-Ta’amra at the site of ‘Abu Mhehr forest, and Al-Rajabi’ on 49 donums for the establishment of 105 settlement units, and the Road map n 1/2/414 of the settlement of ‘Asfir’, which is located on the lands of the village of Saeer on 198 dunums for the construction of 200 settlement units. And finally the implementation of the structural plan n 12/8/115 of the ‘Elvis Menché settlement’ on the 26-dunum area of Azun village, to establish a road.
Worth mentioning that, the international organization of ‘AMPACT’ for human rights policies based in the British capital London, accused international companies OF encouraging Israeli settlement in the Palestinian areas, saying that these companies compete with an international group of companies to win a tender for a big project in an Israeli settlement, established in a way other than the international law. Moreover, a discussion is taking place currently to construct a waste-burning plant in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In another context, for the third week in row, confrontation took place between the Palestinian people and the Israeli soldiers at the village of Al-Mughaier, as the people there launched demonstrations against the settlement outpost near the lands of Kafr Malek village, while the eastern entrance of the Al-Mughaier is considered a way for the village lands near the settlement outpost. This means that the families are afraid that their lands be confiscated if the settlement outpost is built.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week , Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Demolishing the stairs near the Lions Gate that leads to the al-Aqsa Mosque to construct the path of the Torah Park.
- Demolishing a house in the Wadi Al-Jouz neighborhood in Jerusalem and imposed a fine of NIS 100,000 o its owner.
- Demolishing a house in the Sor Baher town belonging to Ayham Mohamad Shawkat Al-Khatib, under the pretext of not having a building permit.
- Forcing the citizen Fawaz Abdu to demolish his own house in the school area of Jabal al-Mukaber under the pretext of not having a building permit.
- Seizing 8 trucks used for transportation and wastewater drainage in the Al-Eizeriya town.
Hebron:
- Running over a teacher, Asma Al-Salaima and her son Majd, 5, while in their way to school near the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque.
- Destroying quantities of vegetables for farmers in the Al-Hijri Agricultural area on the bypass road between the Al-Fawar camp and Hebron.
- Demolishing a cave and agricultural home near the archaeological area of Tel Zif, north of Yatta, belonging to the Shatat family under the pretext of being near the settlement bypass road, and seized 3 caravans belonging to: Jamal Radwan Al-Qawasma, Mahmod Abu Asbeih and Rami Al-Muhtaseb.
- Breaking into the Al-jomjuma Mountain between the Halhul and Sair towns north of Hebron, destroyed a house under construction and rainwater well.
- Seizing a bulldozer belonging to Ahmad Abu Turk, while working in his land in the Biren area, on which the Beni Hayfer settlement was built.
Bethlehem:
- Attempting to set fire on the Basilica of All Nations at Gethsemane Church on the Mount of Olives.
- Demolishing a 200 m2 house at the Um Rakba area in the Al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem belonging to Mohamad Ya’qub Da’doa. The area is consistently subjected to the Israeli attack represented in the demolition of houses and the notifications of stopping construction.
Nablus:
- Breaking into the archeological site in the Sabsatia town, and then closed it.
- Demolishing 3 buildings in the Sabastia town.
- Demolishing a park under construction in the Burka village, belonging to the citizen Fouad Hajja.
- Bulldozing lands near the Jalod and Qaryut villages to establish 150 settlement units.
Salfeet:
- Bulldozing lands in the Ras area and the quarries in the west of Salfit, prevented the farmers from planting or extracting the rare red stone from it in an attempt to establish a new Israeli settlement.
- Bulldozing more than 1,000 dunums in the Ras Qara and Wad Abdul Rahman areas, north of Salfit, in order to establish 100s of housing units, and laboratories belonging to the Ariel University.
Qalqilya:
- Demolishing 2 commercial barns under construction in Qalqilya under the pretext of not having a building permit, the financial losses of the 2 were estimated at NIS 40,000.
Jenin:
- Notifying to demolish 3 houses under construction in the Yabad town under the pretext of being archaeological sites.
- Closing 3 water wells in the Al-Jalam and the Arana villages northeast of Jenin north of the West Bank under the pretext of not having a building permit.
