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 Israeli Occupation Government headed by PM Bennett continues the annexation and settlement expansion policy, as the previous Netanyahu government approved the construction of 9000 housing units on the Qalania Airport land in Jerusalem, the spokesman for the military authority that supervise the civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories since June 1967 announced mid-last week that the Higher Planning Committee in the Civil Administration has approved the construction of some 3000 settlement units in settlements established in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which means ending the two-state solution, and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian State.
The approval comes despite the US opposition towards settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, and the public statements made by officials in the White House in this regard, as the spokesman of the secretary f state said, “We are very concerned about the Israeli government’s plan to build thousands of settlement units, and we oppose this settlement expansion, which is completely incompatible with what he called efforts to reduce the level of tension and harms the prospects for a two-state solution.
Under the plan, 1,800 settlement units out of the 3,144 received a final permit to start settlement construction, while a plan has been pushed to build 1,344 settlement units that require additional permits. The settlement units are to be distributed among about 30 settlements and outposts in the West Bank and Jerusalem; Kfar Etzion 292 units, Har Brakhah 286 units, Talmon 224 units, Alon Shavut 105 units, Karnei Shomron 83 units. Moreover, the ministry announced the marketing of 1,500 new settlement units in the Jordan Valley during the next 5 years.
Wide international condemnation to this Israeli move, as the United Nations expressed its deep concern, stressing that all settlements are illegal, as well as 12 EU’s countries, along with Russia and Britain, called on Israel to immediately refrain fm building 3,000 new settlement units in the West Bank. In a joint statement to spokesmen for the foreign ministries of: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden, they stated their strong opposition to the settlement expansion policy, which violates international law and undermines efforts for a two-state solution.
They renewed the demand for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 with all its provisions in order to restore confidence and create the necessary conditions for consolidating peace.
At the same time, the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem approved last week a large settlement plan in Wadi Al-Joz Neighborhood to build offices and shops on a 230,000 m2. The plan appears to be developmental to the neighborhood, while in fact it is a settlement, as it strengthens the Jewish presence in the area. Moshe Leon, mayor of the occupation municipality in Jerusalem named the plan as “Silicon Valley” hoping to attract investors who support the Israeli economy in Jerusalem, knowing that the plan faces multiple problems as it targets lands that are mostly private ones.
On the other hand, it is inferred from the data provided by the Civil Administration to the Center for the Defense of the Individual “HaMoked” about the year 2020 that the Israeli army rejected 73% of Palestinian farmers’ requests to cultivate their lands.
Furthermore, data provided by the Civil Administration as part of a petition based on the Jerusalem Freedom of Information Law showed that Palestinian farmers had submitted 8,015 application forms to get entry permits to their lands in the seam area, but only 2,187 of these applications i.e. 27% were approved, while 5,831 applications i.e. 73% were rejected due to security reasons, the data reveal that only 0.9% of the rejected applications i.e. less than 1% were rejected on security grounds, and bureaucratic reasons. Adding that the army decided, that there was no “agricultural need” to cultivate plots of land called “plots of less than the minimum area” i.e. less than 330m2
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Forcing 2 Jerusalemite families to demolish their own houses in the Wadi Al-Joz area, otherwise they will pay high fines under the pretext of not having a building permit.
- Bulldozing works in the Yusufiyah cemetery, demolishing parts of the tombstones with the aim of turning the cemetery into a biblical garden as part of an Israeli project, and to provide a path for settlers and tourists to the place.
- Notifying 2 brothers of demolishing their homes, with an area of 50 meters each, in the Abu Al-Nawwar community, east of occupied Jerusalem.
Hebron:
- Notifying 2 citizens to stop construction in their homes in the village of Al-Tuwani in the Masafer Yatta, knowing that the houses are located within the structural plan of the village.
- Conducting survey and photographing operations on the land of Arif Jaber, in the Al-Baqa’a area, opposite the “Khardina” settlement, east of Hebron in preparation of seizing it.
- Demolishing a solidarity tent in the village of Al-Mafqarah, east of Yatta, and seizing it.
- Notifying to stop construction in four houses in the town of Idna, west of Hebron, knowing that these houses are inhabited for nearly three years.
- Seizing a caterpillar during its work in the lands of the town of Samou’, south of Hebron.
- Erecting 3caravans in the Masafer Yatta , adjacent to the Susiya settlement.
Bethlehem:
- About 400 Israeli settlers stormed the lands of the “Khalat Al-Nahla” area near the village of Wadi Rahal, south of Bethlehem, raising Israeli flags.
- Setting up 6 mobile caravans, and a number of tents in that area.
- Uprooting 25 olive seedlings in the “Al-Hariqa” area, southeast of Al-Masara, southwest of Bethlehem.
- Notifying a number of farmers to stop working on their agricultural lands in the village of Artas
- Notifying to stop the construction of a house under construction located in the “Wadi Abu Ker” area, east of the town of Nahalin, west of Bethlehem, in addition to seizing a concrete pump and mixer.
- Notifying a citizen of the bulldozing of an agricultural road which is 6 meters wide and 2 km long in the “Fateeh” area, adjacent to the main street in the village of Al-Masara.
Ramallah:
- Attacking 3 families while picking their olives in the Turmusaya town, torching cars and damaging their tiers in addition to the injury of a citizen, who sustained burns after being sprayed with pepper gas.
- Demolishing 4 commercial stores under construction in the Deir Qadis village, west of Ramallah.
Nablus:
- Notifying to stop the construction of 12 houses under construction, under the pretext of being in C area in the Duma village, south of Nablus.
- Attacking the olive pickers on the road between Aqraba and Yanun, south of Nablus, which is closed for more than 20 years as well as stealing olive fruits from the citizens’ lands and attacking them.
- Damaging of Palestinian farmers’ vehicles near the Salem village, east of Nablus.
- Preventing the farmers from accessing the olive fields near the outpost of “Aviva” under the pretext of not having prior coordination.
- Assaulting the Red Cross crew in the village of Burin, south of Nablus, and attacking them with pepper gas.
Salfeet:
- Attacking a Palestinian from the town of Qarawat Bani Hassan, while grazing his sheep in the Khirbet Shehadeh area, west of the town of Deir Istiya, as well as attacking his sheep and attempting to steal them.
- Bulldozing works in the vicinity of the settlement of “Havat Yair”, as barns were erected more than two months ago.
The Jordan valley:
- Removing facilities and rooms in the Al-Maleh School in the Wadi Al-Maleh in the northern Jordan Valley, closing the area and banned movement, in addition to dismantle 2 classrooms and removed facilities and games in the yard surrounding the school.
- Issuing an order to extend a settlement water line between the settlements of “Rotem” and “Bekoot”, which are built on citizens’ lands in the northern Jordan Valley leading to the seizure of more lands of citizens in the areas of Al-Farisiyah, Ein Al-Hilweh, Wadi Al-Faw, Samra, and to the west of Makhoul, Al-Hadidiya, and the eastern Al-Baqi`ah Plain, with a length of more than 12 km.
