المكتب الوطني للدفاع عن الارض ومقاومة الاستيطان منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية
Related Articles
By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report , that Israeli PM Netanyahu laid the foundation stone for a new settlement neighborhood in order to win the settlers’ vote in the 24th Knesset elections that took place last week, a small settlement outpost known as ‘Rivava’ built on Palestinian lands in the Deirestia village near Salfit, where he visited this settlement outpost a day before the elections. After a great tension with the settlers’ leadership, who attended the ceremony of laying the foundation stone for the abovementioned settlement that named ‘Nefeh Ahayad’ in reference to Rabbi Ahayad Ettinger, who was killed in an attack near the settlement of Ariel 2 years ago. Netanyahu promised the settler leaders to intensify the construction of the outposts and to meet their demands.
In his speech to settlers and their leaders, Netanyahu reminded them of his history of promoting settlements since he was a young man at the age of 18, and in the course of adulation to settlers to gain their support in his election campaign, he stressed the need to strengthen control over what he called ‘the land of Israel’, and to gain the strength to endure all pressures and challenges in order to keep it. He indicated that he and the Likud Party’s ministers all support legitimizing the settlement outposts completely, and he made a promise to the settlers that if a right-wing government is formed under his leadership, he will continue building in the settlements, calling on the attendees to turn out to the polls and elect him. He also made another visit to the settlement of Susiya in a step towards winning over the settlers’ votes, and to confirm that the settlement is a fixed doctrine for him and his party, he and a large number of settlers stormed the ancient Sosiya village in Masafir Yatta, south of Hebron, under the pretext of participating in the inauguration of an alleged archaeological site belonging to the settlement that located on the Palestinian land
As for the ongoing settlement plans, the Occupation Authorities distributed notices to seize 17 dunums and 497 meters of agricultural lands in the Al-Wajh area in the Sarta village, the Khirbet Qarqash area in the village of Burqin, and the areas of Khallet Hadeidah and Wadi Awad in the village of Haris, west of Salfit Governorate in order to establish an infrastructure and build roads linking a number of settlements in the area, where they intend to open a road linking the settlement of Barkan and the Samaria street.
At the international level, the Occupation Authorities exposed to international condemnations on its settlement policy. The United Nations called on the Israeli Occupation Authorities to immediately stop its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories and warned against continuing the demolition of Palestinian buildings and confiscation of their lands. This came according to the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Winsland, during a session of the Security Council, where he confirmed that Israel is continuing to build Settlements despite Security Council Resolution 2334, which calls for an immediate and complete cessation of settlements and respecting all their legal obligations in this regard, as the settlements do not have any legal legitimacy and represent a flagrant violation of the International Law.
Within the context, 550 international organizations issued an appeal to the United Nations calling for justice for the Palestinian people and an end to Israel’s impunity, and emphasized that the Palestinians suffer from a continuous catastrophe, against the backdrop of continued settlement colonialism and Israeli apartheid, represented in institutional repression, forced displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian people since the beginning of the Nakba in 1948. The appeal touched the policy of demolishing Palestinian homes and facilities, stressing that the Humsa al-Fawqa town has been subjected to demolitions over 6 times by the Israeli occupation authorities during the past five months. Currently, 11 Palestinian families residing in the Hamsa al-Fawqa, which is included in what the Israeli occupation authorities have declared as a ‘firing zone’ – are subject to the Israeli discriminatory Israeli system of permits and urban planning, which deprives these families and others from obtaining housings permits.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Demolishing 6 houses in Jerusalem under the pretext of not having building permits.
- Closing the main road linking the Beit Iksa village and Jerusalem with barbed wire, and preventing the citizens from moving on foot, knowing that the road has been closed before vehicles since 2006. It also should be noted that the village of Beit Iksa is surrounded by the apartheid wall, and is inhabited by nearly 2,000 people, and the Israeli occupation are attempting to seize it.
Ramallah:
- Uprooting about 2,400 almond seedlings in an area of 16 dunums and destroyed the fence surrounding it, belonging to 15 farmers in the village of Deir Nizam, northwest of Ramallah.
- Handing notices to stop working on the project of reclamation, cultivation and fencing the lands in the Deir Nizam village. Forcing the citizens to remove the fence placed in the vicinity of the valley in the village.
Hebron:
- Bulldozing lands in the Ain Al-Bayda area, south of Hebron, within the Israeli policy of displacement and ethnic cleansing against the people of the Masafer Yatta and their property in favor of the settlement expansion.
- Bulldozing lands in the Ain Al-Bayda area more than two weeks ago.
- One of the Israeli settlers was granted the right to lease an estimated 4,000 dunams of land, claiming to be State oublic land.
- Bulldozing lands despite the fact that citizens proved their ownership by official papers and submitting them to the Israeli courts.
Bethlehem:
- Bulldozing 3 dunams of land in the village of Kisan, adjacent to the settlement of ‘Ibi Hanahl Settlement’.
- Injuring a citizen from Al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem with bruises and wounds.
- Erecting a new military tower at the northern entrance to the town of Taqo’a to the east of Bethlehem, and it is the sixth tower in the area.
Salfeet:
- Preventing citizens from reclaiming their land in the Al-Wajh Al-Shami area in the town of Kafr Al-Dik, and seizing a bulldozer belonging to Ashraf Abdullah in the area.
- Surveying the citizens’ lands west of the Deirestia in the Kabara area adjacent to an Israeli army camp near the Yakir settlement with the aim of expanding the camp and its surroundings.
Jenin:
- Notifying to demolish a vehicle repair workshop within 72 hours near the junction of the Araba town, south of Jenin under the pretext of not having a building permit.
Jordan Valley:
- Storming the Khirbet Homsa Al-Fawqa in the Palestinian Valleys, knowing that the Khirbet was demolished five times last month.
- Plan to seize the Ain Helwa Spring in the northern Jordan Valley is about to be completed, besides preventing herdsmen from reaching the water spring.
