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 targeting the occupied city of Jerusalem by the Israeli Authorities is not limited to building settlements, expanding and isolating it from their Palestinian surroundings in the West Bank, but they also start a systematic invasion of the city and its neighborhoods, as part of their efforts to Judaize them, the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in a living example as they filed eviction lawsuits against 81 Palestinian families, who have been living in there for decades. The Batn al-Hawa does not differ from other neighborhoods, where settlement associations with the support of the Israeli occupation authorities and their judicial system are trying to control more real estate in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood, which is inhabited by more than 800 people out of about 60,000 Palestinian people, who are living in Silwan.
The people of Batn al-Hawa continue their legal battle against settlement through a petition they filed to the Israeli Central Court in Jerusalem against their forced displacement from their homes and an attempt to seize them in favor of the “Atirat Cohanim settlement Association”, the arm of the Israeli government that seizes the properties of Jerusalemites. The court decided in a session during last week decided to postpone the hearing on that.
The people of Batn al-Hawa do not count on the Israeli Court for their fairness in the petition submitted to it, as much as, they rely on gaining more time while awaiting political developments that could provide them with protection from the threat of forced displacement, which threatens 86 families in the neighborhood, comprising about 750 individuals, who live in 15 buildings, and it is well known that Israeli courts at all levels provide a legal cover for organized state violence aimed at achieving an illegal end, which is the forcible removal of a protected population from their homes in an occupied land.
It is known that the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood has been divided into about 50 sections, nine of which were transferred to the “Ataret Cohanim” association, five are inhabited by settlers, and others are inhabited by Palestinians, who are all the time are threatened to be evicted through imposing orders of fines and destruction. So far, the “Aterat Cohanim” association has filed eviction lawsuits against 81 families, and two Palestinian families imposed on them by a municipality. The occupation in Jerusalem has fined them, and issued orders to demolish part of their homes under the pretext of entering lands owned by the settlement association.
Within the context, the Israeli High Court gave the attorney general of the Israeli government, Avichai Mandelbit, until the eighth of next June to present his position in the file of evacuating Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
After the Israeli Supreme Court decided to postpone the deliberations on the case to the next month . Four Palestinian families had submitted a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court against a decision taken by the High and Central Courts to evict them from their homes in favor of settlers.
At the same time, one of the largest Israeli transportation projects in the occupied Jerusalem was revealed to Judaize the city and facilitate the movement of settlers in it including the construction of tunnels under three main junctions, namely the French Hill Junction, the Grave Junction and Coca-Cola Junction. The project is implemented through the construction of four underground tunnels, two of which are in two directions, each with two lanes, with a length of about 1.5 km. they extend from the Yigal Yadin road junction to Ma’ale Adumim settlement and vice versa. Moreover, Israeli bulldozers are digging two other tunnels near the aforementioned tunnels, each with two lanes in the same direction, with a length of 750 meters, heading to the Psgat Ze’ev settlement and vice versa.
These tunnels also aim at facilitating the movement of traffic to the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, the Dead Sea and the existing settlements in the area, and facilitating linking the streets with Highway 9 (Wadi Al-Arz). The cost of this project is NIS 1.2 billion, and its implementation is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2023.
On the other hand, the Regional Committee for Planning and Building approved the extension of the so-called Israeli army tunnel from the Damascus Gate area in East Jerusalem to Mandelbom Crossing. According to the plan, a 1.2 km long tunnel will be built starting from the Damascus Gate area and ending in Sderot Bar-Lev and Van Fasan Street in the hotel complex located near the American Colony Hotel in Sheikh Jarrah. The tunnel opening aims to find an exit for traffic from the Engineering Corps Tunnel, and to provide another exit from the hotels area in the northern direction.
The cost of implementation is about NIS 300 million. Planning is underway to expand the eastern tunnels heading to the Bethlehem area, which is about 12 km long, through the construction of a tunnel starting from the Rosemary neighborhood in the Gil settlement, and it reaches the “Eleazar settlement in Gush Etzion.” The plan includes the construction of two new tunnels alongside the existing tunnels, the construction of a bridge, the addition of two traffic lanes in each direction and a public transportation path.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Erasing slogans from the walls of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, including welcoming ones, bearing families’ names, and others saluting their steadfastness.
- Temple Group call for the demolition of the Al-Aqsa Mosque to construct the alleged temple in its place in addition to imposing the Israeli control over it and its annexation to the Ministry of Religious Services, they are also welcoming the renewal of allowing Jews to enter the Temple Mount.
Hebron:
- Attacking the livestock shepherds and their homes in the Khirbet Zanouta, east of Al-Dhahiryah, in an attempt to expel them in favor of the Israeli settlement.
- Attacking the citizen’s homes with stones in the areas of Wadi Al-Nasara and Wadi Al-Hassin.
- Torching more than 15 dunums in the Al-Kharouba area in the village of Tawana, planted with seasonal winter crops in the Masafer Yatta, under strict Israeli protection who fired bullets and sound bombs to expel the residents and farmers in favor of the Israeli settlement.
- Attacking the citizens houses with stones and throwing rubbish towards them in the Masafer Yatta, insulted their residents as well.
Bethlehem:
- Notifying of the removal of a street and the demolishing of a house and a barn in the Al-Fardis area, east of Bethlehem, the street has a length of 700 m in the “L’arollateh” area, in the Jabal Al-Fardis, which was established ten years ago and it serves about 30 families, and enable them to reach their homes in the besieged settlement area.
- Notifying of the demolition of a 50 m2 house, and a livestock barn in the Al-Fardis area, and it has to be done until next Sunday, or they will be paying a fine of 25,000 NIS.
- Seizing of 3 dunums of land in the Kisan village, east of Bethlehem.
Ramallah:
- Wounding the child, Nadim Samer Mazloum, 15, from the village of Al-Janiya, west of Ramallah, and his injuries were described as slight. It should be mentioned that the Talmon settlers constantly attack the Palestinian citizens and vehicles, throwing stones at vehicles, cutting roads at citizens, burning olive trees and stealing their crops.
- Injuring 10 citizens during an attack by settlers and the Israeli army against the residents of Ni’lin village, west of Ramallah. Where a group of settlers attacked a number of citizens in the Jabal Al-Alam area, which is threatened to be seized by the occupation authorities, and assaulted them with stones and sticks, which led to the injury of two citizens, one of whom was in the head, in addition to the injury of 8 citizens by the aggression of the occupation army.
Nablus:
- Bulldozing land in the mountains of Beit Furik town, east of Nablus, in the areas called “Al-Qa’dah”, “Sheikh Muhammad”, “Krum Al-Kharsa” and “Jabal Al-Shararba” of the town’s lands
- Handing over a notice to demolish three facilities in the Deir Sharaf, on the main road between Nablus and Tulkarm.
Salfit:
- Residents of the towns of Derastia and Qarawat Bani Hassan in Salfit , and Kafr Thulth in Qalqilya organized a sit-in strike at the end of the week in their lands threatened with confiscation in the area of Khirbet Shehadeh, with the presence of the mayors and the citizens. On the other hand, the Israeli settlers set up caravans and tents on their lands, opening fire at them as well under Israeli protection who fired bullets and stun grenades at them in an attempt to close the road leading to the area to prevent the activity and push the citizens to leave their lands.
Jenin:
- Placing cement cubes in the secondary roads leading to Yabad town, southwest of Jenin, and opening a road to a settlement outpost established on the town’s lands.
- Injuring two workers by bruises and wounds while being pursued by the Israeli army during their return from their work through the gate of Apartheid wall on the lands of the villages of Rummana and Zebda.
