By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report , that talks on new elections for the Israeli Knesset comes in the midst of a health crisis that coincides with the start of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in the occupation state, as Netanyahu faces charges of corruption, fraud and breach of trust. The split among his party’s figures led by Gideon Sa’er, who leads the new party under the name ‘New Hope – Israel Unity’, as he presents himself as a competitor in the battle to win the votes of the extreme right and the voices of the settlers, who master the situation in the upcoming elections. The Israeli Minister of Settlement, Tzachi Hanegbi has declared his government will move forward with implementing the vision based on bringing more than a million Jews to settlements in the West Bank, after the law was passed in the first reading at the Knesset on the legalization of outposts.
In implementation of this vision to bring in a million settlers, the Israeli Minister of Transportation, Miri Regev, approved the construction of a huge settlement bypass road ‘the Laban bypass road’ in the northern West Bank, which confiscates thousands of agricultural donums. NIS 76 million were allocated to cover its expenses. The approval of the Laban bypass project comes within the approval of the start of construction of huge bypass roads in the north and south of the West Bank, while the Israeli government agreed to transfer a security financial grant for the West Bank settlements, allocating NIS 34.5 million shekels for that, while NIS 5.5 million were allocated to support local authorities in those Settlements.
Moreover, in settlement plans, the so-called Israel Lands Administration published a tender for the construction of 290 settlement units in the “Gilo Settlement” south of the occupied East Jerusalem, after the Israeli District Planning Committee approved the construction plan in last Nov. 2019. The new settlement units will be built in an adjacent area along the planned route of the Jerusalem light rail currently under construction, which will greatly facilitate the connection between Gilo and West Jerusalem, in addition to a plan to build 253 other settlement units in the same settlement.
In Jerusalem, the occupation municipality’s bulldozers excavated and bulldozed the martyrs’ cemetery on the eastern side of the Yosufiya Cemetery, for the second consecutive week, including the remains of martyrs from the Iraqi and Jordanian armies in preparation for the implementation of a a route for the biblical garden” in the vicinity of the old walls of Jerusalem, and they also demolished the cemetery wall adjacent to the Lion Gates, and removed its archaeological stairs.
Out of the context, the US Customs Administration announced that it will place trade-marks that indicate the country of origin of the imported goods, especially, produced in the West Bank i.e. in Area C, under the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement ‘the Oslo Agreement’, signed on Sep. 28, 1995, The area known as’ H2 ‘under the Israeli-Palestinian Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron and related documents ‘the Hebron Protocol’ signed on Jan. 17, 1997, must be marked with a mark indicating its origin is Israel, an Israeli product ‘or’ Made in Israel. The announcement indicated that the policy would also include goods produced in Palestinian villages within Area C, where Israel exercises civilian and security control.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem: Attacking Jerusalemites homes and vehicles in the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood north of Jerusalem.
- Forcing the family of the Palestinian, Suheir Ghaith to demolish their own small house in the Wadi Qadum area in Silwan under the pretext of not having a building permits, otherwise the have to pay a fine of tens of thousands of NIS in case of being demolished by the Israeli bulldozers.
- Demolishing the house of Kazem Abu Shafe in the Al-Bustan Neighborhood in the Silwan town.
- Demolishing barns, commercial facilities and garages in the Sawahra, Jabal al-Mukaber and al-Izriyah towns east of occupied Jerusalem under the pretext of not having a building permit.
- Bulldozing lands in the Wadi Al-Rabba neighborhood in the Silwan to build an Israeli neighborhood for French Jews in the upper Wadi al-Rabba Neighborhood.
- The Ir Amim Association submitted a petition to the Central Court in Jerusalem against the tender to establish a Jewish visitor center in the Batn Hawa Neighborhood in Silwan, and demanded to stop the tender published by the Israeli government company, Yami ‘East Jerusalem Development Company’.
Bethlehem: Attacking the Palestinian cars with stones under the Israeli protection on the main street in Tuqu town, east of Bethlehem.
- Attacking the citizens’ homes in the Beit Askaria area that is surrounded by the ‘Gush Etzion’ settlement complex in the lands south of Bethlehem.
- Attacking the Palestinian cars with stones on the Jabaa and Nahalin road, near the ‘Etzion’ Junction.
Ramallah: Attacking a number of villages in the east of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, and citizens ‘properties and homes in the outskirts of the Beitin village, east of Ramallah.
- Attacking the outskirts of the Burqa village, and attacked citizens’ homes and vehicles. Attacking the citizens’ homes in Al Mughayer village, north of Ramallah.
- Attacking a number of houses in the nearby Kafr Malik village, and the citizens’ vehicles on the Ramallah-Nablus road.
- Injuring a citizen as a result of being run over by an Israeli settler at the entrance to the Ni’lin town, west of Ramallah.
- Organizing a march near the Mikhmas town, northeast of Jerusalem, and deliberately attacked the Palestinian cars with stones, and tried to close the street adjacent to the Mikhmas town.
Nablus: Bulldozing lands in the Awarta town, south of Nablus, with the aim of expanding the Itamar settlement, which built on the citizens’ lands.
- Preventing the Palestinian from planting olive trees in the Jalod lands village south of Nablus, 200 meters away from the Jalod High School, under the pretext of being ‘State lands’.
- Attacking citizen Nasser Mohamed Samara Al Sheikh, causing bruises and wounds by settlers from the Yitzhar settlement, and he was admitted to Hawara Emergency for treatment.
- Stealing 50 olive trees in the lands of the Jalod village, south of Nablus. damaging a number of vehicles and wounded 3 citizens near the Tanib Junction on the road between Nablus and Tulkarm and the entrance to the Shaffi Shamron settlement.
- Dozens of Israeli settlers marched on the main street in the Hawara town, south of Nablus, and attacked citizens and their properties and vehicles.
- Closing the archeological site in Sabastia town north of Nablus, in preparation for seizing the land as the settlers are calling for weekly breaking into the site, under the Israeli protection.
- Attacking citizens’ vehicles with stones in the Wad Ali area near the eastern village of Al-Laban, south of Nablus.
Salfit: Uprooting a number of olive trees in the Khilat Abu Ola area, west of the Haris village, belonging to Amjad Sultan. Knowing that this is the second attack during this month, as they cut down and uprooted 10 olive and figs trees in the same area.
- Breaking into the Kifl Haris under strict Israeli protection, performed Talmudic rituals and chanted racist slogans, they also attacked the citizen’s house, Jalal Farid Bozih, with stones which led to the injury of two children ,11, and 13 years.
Jenin: Notifying the father of the martyr Mah’d Omar Sadiq Kamil, 17, to demolish his house in the Qabatiya town, south of Jenin.
- Taking measurements of the prisoner house, Mohammad Marwah Qabha, 36, in the Tura village in the Ya’bad area, west of Jenin claiming that the prisoner Kabha carried out an operation in which a female settler was killed, in the Rayhan Jungles.
- Injuring the citizen Jihad Khaled Abu Murad, 21, with an Israeli gas bomb, in the bypass road northeast of Jenin, admitted to Jenin Governmental Hospital.
Jordan Valley: Attacking the shepherds in the Ein-Hilweh area in the northern Jordan Valley, leading to the injury of Hilal Adel Daraghmeh in the head.
- Fencing lands in the Ein Al-Sakut area in the Jordan Valley and erected two iron gates at the entrance of the Sakut Spring, despite the so-called Israeli Supreme Court decision of returning the lands to their original owners after legal disputes in the Israeli courts lasted for about 3 years. The reclaimed lands have an area of about 3,500 donums out of ten thousand donams, which classified as closed military zones.
- Confiscating agricultural tractor during plowing a land in the Khirbet al-Hama in the northern Jordan Valley, belonging to Mamoun Foqha.