المكتب الوطني للدفاع عن الارض ومقاومة الاستيطان منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية
مقالات مشابهة
By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that the Israeli cabinet approved last week a plan by the Occupation Army Minister, Yisrael Katz to pave new roads around occupied Jerusalem to connect existing settlements there, specifically, around the Ma’ale Adumim Settlement. His plan includes the construction of two main roads; the first is connecting the Al-Eizariya and Al-Za’im towns, designated merely for the Palestinians, avoiding the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc. The second is ‘Alternative Road 80, it is a bypass route east of Ma’ale Adumim, connecting Al-Eizariya to the area near the Khan al-Ahmar village, east of occupied Jerusalem. Noting that, both the roads will be funded by the robbed Palestinian clearance funds, of which NIS 335,000,000 was allocated to build the road between the villages of al-Eizariya and al-Za’im, and NIS 10,000,000 for the alternative road 80.
According to the ‘Times of Israel’ Newspaper, the Israeli PM Netanyahu’s office praised the approved plan, considering it a step that will ease traffic between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, and promote future Israeli construction in the E1 area. As for the security dimensions, Netanyahu said, ‘This project aims to enhance Israel’s security.’ Adding, ‘We continue to strengthen the security of Israeli citizens and develop our settlements. The new roads will benefit all residents of the area by facilitating traffic jam, enhancing security and a sense of safety, and creating a strategic transportation corridor linking Jerusalem, Ma’ale Adumim, and the Jordan Valley.’ Katz confirmed Netanyahu’s statements, emphasizing the geographical connection between the city and the settlement that this project will achieve. Israeli FM Smotrich also seconded the plan saying, ‘It improves the infrastructure of Israeli settlements and connect them to each other, but didn’t disclose that the cost will be paid through Palestinian clearance funds, especially as the tunnel planned for this road is for the benefit of the Palestinians alone.’
Noting that, the road was previously supported by Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home Party, who was then Army Minister in Netanyahu’s 2020’s government. The name of the road was ‘Fabric of Life’ a strange name as the Israeli army portrayed it as a road that enhances the ‘Palestinian lifestyle’ and connects the north of the West Bank with its south, but according to experts and analysts the opposite is right, the plan actually aims to fragment the West Bank, control Palestinian movement, prevent them from accessing large areas of the West Bank, and reinforce the de facto annexation of the settlements surrounding Jerusalem as part of the project ‘Greater Jerusalem.’
In preparation to re-launch this plan and annex the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc and expand toward E1, the Occupation Government withdrew in June 2024 the building and planning’s powers in the Jerusalem wilderness from the Palestinian Authority, thus removing its authority over about 3% of area ‘B’, and transferring it to the Occupation Army through the ‘Civil Administration’’. The ‘E1’ i.e. ‘East One’ is one of the most important occupation settlement plan to Judaize Jerusalem, and create a geographical contiguity between the occupation settlements in the northeast of Jerusalem, located on an area of 12km2 extending between the settlement of ‘Ma’ale Adumim’ and the center of occupied Jerusalem, on the borders of Jerusalem towns, such as, Anata, Issawiya, Az-Zaim, Al-Eizariya, and Abu Deis.
This ‘Fabric of Life’ road is being implemented in two phases: the first was actually completed in 2017 – 2020, and the second has now been referred for implementation. In its northern section, the road connects the Az-Zaim and Anata that consists of two parallel lines separated by a wall. The first is for Palestinians and allows passage from Az-Zaim to Anata and then continuing north towards Ramallah. The second is for settlers and provides a northern entrance to Jerusalem, connecting it to the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc, which means imposing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians between the north and south of the West Bank, preventing them from using road no. ‘1’, that connects the Ma’ale Adumim settlement to Jerusalem, and facilitates the annexation of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement to the city of Jerusalem, and advances the construction plan in the ‘E1’ settlement project, which includes the construction of more than 12,000 settlement units.
More details, the new settlement road between the Az-Zaim and Al-Eizariya towns will divert Palestinian traffic around these two towns and others away from settlement road no. 1, which extends from East Jerusalem to Haifa on the Mediterranean coast. This will prevent Palestinians from passing around the areas within the targeted settlement bloc, and will force their movement between the north and south of the West Bank to pass through a single tunnel that will forever separate the north and south of the West Bank for Palestinians. The construction of this road will eliminate the need for military checkpoints in Az-Zaim and Al-Eizariya, and will effectively transform road no. 1 into a road reserved for Israelis only.
During the construction phase, this road will split communication between the 25 Bedouin communities in the Jerusalem Wilderness and the Palestinian towns, which means isolating the Palestinian Bedouin communities from the towns of Al-Eizariya, Abu Dis, and Hizma completely, and will facilitate the evacuation of Khan al-Ahmar, Jabal al-Baba, Wadi Jamal, and other Bedouin communities in the Jerusalem Wilderness by the occupation. In addition, this road encroaches on hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land, and its construction requires the demolition of structures in towns of area B, as is the case with Al-Eizariya. In terms of population and demographics, the establishment of this settlement project will facilitate the increase in the number of settlers in the Israeli settlements east of Jerusalem, while simultaneously threatening more than 1,500 Palestinian Bedouins in the Jabal al-Baba area. In addition, it will confiscate large areas of private Palestinian land, which will harm the livelihoods and grazing of the Bedouin communities living in this area.
Within the context, the Israeli ‘Peace Now’ Movement explained in a statement that ‘the establishment of a separate road network for Israelis and Palestinians will enable the Occupation Army to remove the military checkpoint erected on the lands of the Az-Zaim town east of Jerusalem, and to soon move it to the east of the Kfar Adumim settlement, built on the lands of the Abu Deis town.
The Movement stressed that preventing Palestinians from entering Ma’ale Adumim will enable Israel to annex the land easily in the future, and close off a large area in the central West Bank to Palestinians by diverting their transportation to a special bypass road, turning the Ma’ale Adumim area into an integral part of Jerusalem. It believes that the road, which the Israeli government has decided to allocate NIS 335,000,000 between the Eizariya and Az-Za’im towns, is an apartheid road that closes off the heart of the West Bank to Palestinians, allowing Israel to seize large areas of Palestinian land by diverting Palestinian traffic to a special bypass road, annexing the entire Ma’ale Adumim area to Israel, and facilitating the construction in E1.’
In response to the Israeli government’s allegations, the Movement noted that ‘contrary to official government claims, this road doesn’t contribute to improving Palestinian transportation, but rather aims only to facilitate the annexation of about 3% of the West Bank, to Israel.’
In Jerusalem, the Occupation Municipality also began approving a plan to expand settlements and establish new ones in occupied East Jerusalem, which includes a total of 2,200 settlement units. This exceptional number of settlement plans is to be discussed in a single session, which indicates a new phase in the ongoing acceleration of settlement activity in East Jerusalem. The plan includes: ‘Givat Shaked East’ in Beit Safafa, ‘Nove Rachel’ in Sur Baher and Um Tuba, ‘Nof Zion and Nof Zahav’ in Jabel Mukaber, in addition to ‘Gilo North and Har Hatzofim in Mount Scopus. This means that since the beginning of 2025, building plans have been promoted in East Jerusalem that include 11,575 settlement units, including the plans mentioned above. Some of these plans were frozen for several years, but brought back on track after the Trump’s administration took office.
In addition, the Israeli Occupation Authorities have re-proposed an old plan to build 9,000 settlement units on the land of the Qalandia Airport, Jerusalem. The Israeli organization Ir Amim, specialized in Jerusalem affairs, stated that, ‘a renewed discussion is taking place of a large-scale settlement plan to build 9,000 settlement units on the land of the Jerusalem International Airport (Qalandia Airport) and its surroundings, covering an area of 1,263 dunams.’ Added, ‘this plan is known as ‘764936 Atarot,’ that was proposed previously but appeared again beginning of this year.
According to available data, the plan is still not opened for official objections yet. The targeted area includes lands with various ownerships, some of which are classified as State land, others claimed by the Jewish National Fund, in addition to private land and areas with mixed ownership. Moreover, maps show the buildings there that are to be demolished, which reflects the potential impact of the project on the Palestinian population and the urban structure of the area.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Torching land belonging to (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah.
- Demolishing a number of facilities that provided livelihoods for scores of families during their raid on Abu Hindi lands east of the Abu Deis town, in addition to handing over a demolition order to a car wash, giving its owner 48 hours to carry out the self-demolition, otherwise the occupation forces would do that at his own.
- Forcing Jerusalemite, Moh’d Ali Abu Suwai to self-demolish his home in the Silwan town after the occupation municipality threatened him with a fine of NIS 75,000.
- Demolishing a horse barn in the Issawiya town, and razed land in the western part of the town, this is threatened for confiscation in favor of the ‘French Hill settlement’. They also demolished a residential room and a barn for sheep and chickens, each measuring 100 square meters, belonging to Ziad Al-Fuhaidat, in Anata.
- Establishing a new settlement outpost near the Hathrura Manual settlement in Khan al-Ahmar, where they set up residential caravans and began preparing the infrastructure, in an attempt to expand settlement control and connect the surrounding settlements within the ‘E1 settlement’.
- Demolishing the home of Khalil al-Obeidi, which was built more than 40 years ago, as well as some residential and agricultural facilities in the Jaba’ town.
- Handing over mass demolition orders to the residents of the Yatatwa Neighborhood in the Anata town, including many residential homes and livestock facilities in the area.
Hebron:
- Attacking the homes of citizens in Khirbet Um al-Simsim, south of the Ad-Dahriya town, and assaulted a family, set fire to a sheep pen, and attempted to burn the sheep before withdrawing from the area, and in the Shaab Al-Batm village, settlers demolished an agricultural room belonging to citizen Jihad Ahmed Saleh Jabareen. Assaulting citizens, destroyed their contents, and detained families in Khirbet Janba in Masafer Yatta, attacked the school in the village, smashing its windows and monitoring cameras, and tore up school books. They also destroyed two vehicles belonging to citizens Ali Moh’d al-Jabareen and Issa Yunis Abu Aram.
- Chasing shepherds In Tal-Ma’in, and and in Wadi al-A’our in the southern part of Hebron, injured citizen Huthaifa Ghaith while he was plowing his land. They released dogs on him, he sustained injuries all over his body and was taken to the hospital. They also smashed the windows of his vehicle.
- Erecting settlement caravans and carried out extensive excavation and bulldozing work in the citizens’ lands in Khirbet Um al-Khair in Masafer Yata.
- Attacking citizens while they were in their homes and lands, using clubs and stones. resulted in the injury of young man Ala’a Shuaib al-Hathalin, his child Rashid al-Hathalin, elderly woman Khadra al-Hathalin, and another woman. They were all transferred to the hospital by Red Crescent crews to receive treatment.
- Notifying to demolish 12 homes in the Tarqumiya town, in the Shaab al-Bir area, which is several kilometers away from the settlements of Telem and Adora, all of which are inhabited by residents.
Bethlehem:
- Notifying citizen Hanan Mahdi Al-Razem to pay NIS 18,000 as the cost of demolishing her home, which she demolished at her own expense 8 years ago in the Al-Walaja village.
- Attacking shepherds in the Al-Minya desert, east of Bethlehem, and attempted to seize about 200 sheep belonging to citizen Awni Shalaldeh, before the residents were able to confront them and recover them.
- Seizing an area of 57.79 dunums of citizens’ lands in the Bethlehem Governorate, specifically the lands of the Al-Khader, Artas, Bethlehem, and Beit Umar areas in the Hebron Governorate, through what is called a “military order for seizure for military purposes, numbered (T/3/25)” with the aim of creating a buffer zone around the Efrat settlement, which is built on citizens’ lands in the governorate, with the aim to prevent citizens from accessing vast areas under the pretext of the military order, which paves the way for permanent control over them in the future. Maps of the issued military order indicate that the buffer zone that the occupying state wants to create around the settlement also surrounds the neighborhood to be built, in addition to two settlement outposts that have been converted into neighborhoods, to the north of the Amra settlement, namely the neighborhoods of Givat Hadgan and Givat Hatamar.
Ramallah:
- Plowing lands in the Sinjil town, where they unloaded an agricultural tractor in the Ma’arshiya Plain, and began plowing it, indicating their intention to seize the land, noting that the landowners have been banned from accessing the land since Oct. 7, 2023, after the occupation authorities declared it a military zone. The land is only 200 meters away from citizens’ homes, the area of agricultural land estimated at 8,000 dunams, and the town’s residents are prevented from entering or accessing it under military pretexts.
- Attacking d farmers in the villages of Al-Mughayyir and Abu Falah, expelled them from their lands. Meanwhile, the occupation bulldozers demolished agricultural facilities in the village of Deir Ammar, including facilities, agricultural rooms, and farms in the Khallet Al-Najjar and Al-Mayadeen areas west of the village. The bulldozers also destroyed water lines, irrigation networks, and roads in the area, to prevent farmers from working, cultivating, and reclaiming their lands. They also attacked farmers and vehicles near the village of Al-Mughayyir with stones. The occupation forces had attacked a Bedouin community in the southern part of the village, detained a number of its residents and abused them.
- Handing demolition orders for facilities, including vehicle repair shops in the Nei’lin and Qibia villages. The notices came against the backdrop of settlers carrying out incitement campaigns against Palestinian villages and towns.
- working at full speed to establish a settlement outpost in Area ‘B’ between Al-Mughayyir and Turmusayya. Noting that the area initially contained tents that were demolished twice previously, as the tents were replaced with caravans. Meanwhile, concrete pouring operations have begun in the area, reflecting the occupation’s continued attempts to impose a new settlement reality in the region.
Nablus:
- Attacking the Duma village, opened fire on residents and homes, and burnt 5 vehicles and 2 livestock, declared the village a closed military zone and prevented entry before storming it, and fired bullets and tear gas canisters.
- Steeling 5 horses in Khirbet al-Tawil, Beit Furik town, south of Nablus.
- Opening fire on farmer Moh’d Faraj while he was working on his land in the Wadi al-Jami’ area in the Talfeet village, forced him to leave, while others attacked farmer Muawiya Aqtash while he was working on his land in the town of Beita, forcing him to leave the area.
Salfeet:
- Attacking the home of Moh’d Damen Abdo in the Qira village, north of Salfeet, beating him, burning his vehicle in front of his house, and writing racist slogans at homes.
- Attacking citizens Khaled Ibdah Ibdah and Bassam Ali Ibdah, in the Wadi al-Ahmar area, north of the Marda village, cut down olive trees and removed the fence around them.
- Burning a wedding hall located between the Sanniriya and Bidya towns, west of Salfeet, and wrote racist and anti-Arab slogans on its walls, including ‘Death to Arabs’, and the ‘people of Israel are alive.’
Jordan Valley:
- Closing the Al-Auja Spring area and declared it a military zone, prevented Bedouin citizens from obtaining drinking water and watering their livestock. Noting that settlers had previously attacked citizens who were picnicking in the Al-Auja Spring area, assaulted them and sprayed them with hot pepper spray, which resulted in 5 of them being injured and suffering varying degrees of burns. Moreover, the settlers took a herd of sheep with them and released them to graze in the area to force the citizens who came for a picnic to leave.
- Demolishing residential structures belonging to Radi Khalil Zawahra and his son Khalil in the Al-Burj area in the northern Jordan Valley. They also demolished an agricultural barrack under construction for the citizen Jihad Suleiman Sawafta in Bardala in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Storming repeatedly the Arab Al-Malihat Community, where they released their livestock onto citizens’ property. They also destroyed fodder, bundles of hay and palm trees belonging to the citizen Moh’d Ali Ka’bneh, and terrorized the residents.
- Demolishing residential and agricultural facilities in the Ras al-Ahmar community and seized all residential and pastoral tents, properties, and facilities belonging to 5 families in the community, where 45 tents, 5 sheep pens with an area of 1,900m2, and 6 mobile bathrooms were demolished, and seized 2 water tankers, 2 trailers, 2 electricity generators, 8 solar energy systems, 12 water tanks, and 41 fodder tables.
