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 in its last session that was held on Nov. 9, 2021, the UN Security Council failed to pass a resolution condemning Israeli settlements despite the international consensus that settlements contravene international law and the relevant Security Council resolutions itself, including resolution 2334 issued by the Council. This utter failure of the Security Council gives the Israeli occupation cover and support to continue its crimes against the Palestinian people and to continue its settlement plans without deterrence, as the occupation government is proceeding with its settlement projects frantically and in a race against time to establish additional facts on the ground that prevent any possibility of establishing a Palestinian state, and continues to besiege.
Within the context, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Michael Link, issued a joint statement with the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Rajagopal, in which they affirmed that the Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories is “war crimes”, and the international community must treat it as such. The two experts strongly condemned the recent announcement by the Israeli authorities to go ahead with their plans to build thousands of new housing units in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Settlement activities to create demographic realities on the ground to enhance permanent presence, and to consolidate foreign political control and illegal claim to sovereignty, are inconsistent with basic principles of humanitarian and human rights law. In their joint statement, they described the Israeli settlements as an occupation machine intended to plant settlers in order to tear the relationship between the indigenous Palestinian people and their lands and deny their right to self-determination.” The two UN experts called on the international community to support the ongoing investigation into Israeli settlements by the Office of the Prosecutor in the International Criminal Court.
On the other hand, the occupation government, headed by Bennett, managed to approve the state budget for the year 2022 for 2 consecutive years with a majority of 61 votes out of 120, which gives the government immunity from the possibility of overthrowing it and stability that allows it to continue its aggressive policy against the Palestinian people, including continuing the settlement attack on various fronts in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem. The general budget approved for the year 2021 amounts to NIS 438 billion, with an additional item called a special spending budget for security purposes up to NIS 8.9 billion, making the security share the largest in the state budget.
It is known that a good share of the security budget is allocated not only to provide security for the settlements and settlers, but also to develop infrastructures in the service of the occupation forces, settlers’ herds and settlements. In this context, Israeli Minister of Construction and Housing, Zeev Elkin said that he will work in every way to strengthen settlements and double the number of settlers in the Jordan Valley areas in particular and in the West Bank in general, and that he will present to the government a plan for approval to build 1,500 settlement units in the Jordan Valley settlements.
He considered that these settlements constitute the eastern security belt of Israel, and that there is a very broad consensus on such a step, and that this plan will be multi-year in the existing settlements and is not ready for immediate implementation.
On the other hand, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office decided to name the two new settlements, Asif and Mater, for their establishment in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. He had decided about a month ago to double the number of settlers in the Golan Heights within 5 years, and the competent circles are working on preparing building plans. The two settlements will be built on the site of two military bases vacated by the Israeli army.
Director-General of the relevant ministries, led by the Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office, toured the Golan Heights, in which Yair Hersh from the Ministry of the Interior, Abaad Friedman from the Ministry of Construction and Housing, Lior Schilt, Director-General of the Ministry of Energy, Naama Kaufman, Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, and Ron Malacha from the Ministry of Agriculture participated. Economy, Shlomi Heisler, Head of the Organization Department, Yinki Quint, Director General of the Israel Lands Authority, and others. The tour dealt with the development of large projects in the fields of employment, infrastructure, education, transportation, renewable energy and others in the Golan Heights.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Confiscating an endowment land in the western area of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in the Naqa basin in the western area of the neighborhood on the 1967 border which is inhabited by 40 Palestinian families, in addition to closing the land with metal plates with the aim of turning it into a car garage for benefit of the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli “National Insurance Institute.”
- Forcing a Jerusalemite family to demolish their own house using manual equipment, handed them a violation of 32,000 NIS under the pretext of not having a building permit.
- Notifying a Jerusalemite citizen of demolishing his own house in the Jabal Al-Mukaber in the occupied Jerusalem, under the pretext of not having a building permit. Storming the Al-Safih area in the Beit Safafa, and demolishing an external balcony with an area of 40 m2 of the house of the Jerusalemite, Muhammad Hussain Juma Salman.
Ramallah:
- Storming lands in the village of Al-Tira, west of Ramallah, under the pretext of being in area “C”, prevented the land reclamation and confiscated a caterpillar belonging to Iyad Al-Sheikh from the town of Bedouin northwest of Jerusalem.
- Damaging tires of a number of vehicles, and writing racist slogans in the industrial area of Al-Bireh.
Hebron:
- Establishing a new Israeli outpost north of the Beit Ummar town within the Israeli settlement plans to build 40 Israeli outposts with the aim of robbing citizens’ lands.
- Demolishing 2 agricultural rooms and a bird pen, in the Khirbet Al-Taybeh in the town of Tarqumiya, with the aim of displacing residents from their lands to implement new settlement plans.
- Notifying to stop work in seven houses of bricks and tin, in several areas in the Masafer Yatta.
- More than 200 settlers attacked a children’s park in a gathering of the Nawaja family near the village of Susiya, east of Yatta, attempted to destroy its games.
- Attacking the homes of citizens in the Khallet Shaab Al-Qandour area, east of the town of Surif, and opening fire towards the houses belonging to the Ghaneimat family in addition to throwing stones, torched a mobile house as well.
Bethlehem:
- Attacking the citizens while they were picking olives in the town of Taqu`, east of Bethlehem, in the Rakhma area, forced them to leave their lands as well.
- Erecting a communications tower in the area of Moaskar “Ush Ghorab”, which is located on the lands of Beit Sahour, with the aim of expansionary works and the looting of more lands.
- Demolishing three inhabited houses with an area of 80 m2 for each, in the village of Al Walaja, west of Bethlehem, under the pretext of not having a building permit.
- Uprooting olive seedlings on lands in the town of Battir, west of Bethlehem in the “Marah Madour” area east of the town under the pretext of being in “state lands”.
Nablus:
- Storming the area of the Al Nab’a Al-Sofli well in the village of Madama, and sabotaging it.
- Injuring 3 civilians who sustained fractures and bruises, as a result of an Israeli settler attack against the Palestinian homes in Burin village, south of Nablus.
- Attacking farmers and olive pickers in the village of Qaryiot, south of Nablus under the pretext of being in B area, prevented them from picking the olives, detained them, stealing their agricultural equipment in addition to expel them from their lands.
- Attacking the olive pickers in the Al-Lhaf area, north of Hawara, which causes the injury of the citizen Nasser Abu Al-Ezz with sustained fractures in his hand.
- Cutting down 45 olive trees from the lands of Burin, south of Nablus, from the lands south of Burin, near the “Yitzhar” settlement.
Jordan Valley:
- Dismantling and demolishing residential facilities, tents and sheep barns in the Um al-Jimal Gathering in the northern Jordan Valley, and seizing them.
