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 ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report that , the Israeli Knesset approved last week in a preliminary reading several laws that grant the fascist parties in the next government an unprecedented power to carry out the annexation plan of more lands in the occupied West Bank. The laws include the “Ben Gvir Law,” according to which the extremist Knesset member is granted wide police powers in order to interfere with their areas of influence and methods of work. The aforementioned law allows for the transfer of broad powers to the police in the West Bank for the first time since it was occupied in 1967.
As for the second law that was approved in the preliminary reading, it grants the ‘Religious Zionism Party’ led by Smotrich broad powers over security in the West Bank, after creating a position of minister in the Ministry of the Army, which will take some powers of the Minister of the Army in the West Bank. He will be responsible for the Civil Administration and the coordinator of government actions and Palestinian construction there, besides ratifying the legalization of settlement outposts and land confiscation.
The 2 laws are unprecedented in the history of the occupation since 1967, as security in the West Bank was exclusively the powers of the Minister of Army, in addition to that the methods of work of the occupation police and their areas of influence were the monopoly of the police inspector and the Prime Minister.
At the same time, 35 members of the Likud Party’s coalition including Netanyahu signed a proposal to abolish the disengagement law, which allows freedom of movement for Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and the abolition of this law allows for the strengthening of settlement construction in the northern West Bank. According to Israeli media outlets, although the government has not yet been formed, the members of the future coalition in the Knesset have put forward the 5-year law, and its main goal to return to settlements in the northern West Bank.
The bill was submitted by Knesset members, Yuli Edelstein from the Likud party and Orit Struck from the Religious Zionist party, who failed to pass the law in the previous Knesset session, as 35 members signed the draft resolution at the time, including Netanyahu himself. Attempts were made in the past to cancel the disengagement law, but the law in its new formulation comes within the coalition agreement between the Likud and Religious Zionism.
In terms of settlement activities, the city of Jerusalem is still in the focus of the occupation authorities. Settlement plans and projects ravage the occupied city of Jerusalem. By the end of the year 2022, the occupation authorities are intensifying their attack on occupied Jerusalem by approving more settlement plans in preparation for their implementation during the next year, especially under the new right-wing government headed by Netanyahu. A new settlement starts from the crossroads of the ‘Mishor Adumim settlement’, east of Jerusalem, and the Industrial Zone in the village of Al-Khan Al-Ahmar pass through the town of Hizma and the ‘Modi’in settlement’, reaching the ‘Gush Dan community’ inside the Green Line.
Moreover, the Occupation Municipality issued a decision to demolish a residential building belonging to the Al-Rajabi family in Silwan, which was built 30 years ago under the pretext of building without a permit. Demolition notices were also distributed to several houses in Al-Bustan Neighborhood under the same pretext. It was also said that the Jerusalemite Thaer Obaid was forced to demolish his house under construction in the town of Al-Isawiya under the same pretext, too. The Ghaith Sub-Laban family intends to file a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court against the court’s decision to evict her from her home in the Old City of Jerusalem in favor of an Israeli settlement association. The house is located in Aqabat al-Khalidiya in the Old City, and the Palestinian family has resided there since 1953, and for many years.
At the same time, the Israeli District Planning and Building Committee decided to deposit plans to build 1,250 settlement units in the ‘Gilo settlement’ south of occupied East Jerusalem. It was decided to construct 5 towers of 25-35 stores beside a building of 9 stories to become 750 settlement units instead of 178 in 6 residential buildings, and the plan states that among all apartments, about 150 apartments will be allocated within the small apartments.
Tenders were also revealed for the construction of 1,380 settlement units in 4 settlements in East Jerusalem, namely, Pisgat Ze’ev, Armon Hanatziv, French Hill and Eastern Talpiot. The Israeli Dan Real-estate company won in the months bids to build 600 settlement units in the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement, on the lands of Beit Hanina, north of East Jerusalem, and 240 settlement units in the Armon Hanatziv settlement on the lands of Jabal Mukaber, and 380 settlement units in the French Hill settlement, and 160 settlement units in the settlement Eastern Talpiot. At a time when the Finance Committee in the Israeli Knesset approved the transfer of NIS 50 million to carry out settlement works between occupied Jerusalem and Ramallah, and the amount allocated for the renewal and development of settlement Road 437 from the Hizma checkpoint to the settlements in Ramallah.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Ramallah:
- Notifications to halt construction of 2 houses in Ni’lin, west of Ramallah, in Jabal Al-Sawana area. It is indicated that the Jabal area is threatened with confiscation, and construction for Palestinians is prohibited there under the pretext that it is Area C.
Nablus:
- Attacking citizens’ vehicles with stones on Hawara Street.
- Demolishing a 130m2 house under construction in Frush Beit Dajan, east of Nablus.
- Expanding and bulldozing of the Yesh Kodesh settlement outpost built on the lands of Qusra, Jalud, and Qaryut villages, south of Nablus.
- Attacking Orif Secondary School for Boys, damaged the solar cells intended for electric power. Settlers also attacked a number of houses on the outskirts of the town of Hawara, south of Nablus, and broke the windows of cars.
Jenin:
- Threatening to demolish of greenhouses in Qarar Arbouna, Jalboun, and Faqqu’a along the Apartheid Wall.
- Demolishing a commercial facility in the village of Um Rayhan, located within the separation and racial expansion wall, near Ya`bad, containing several refrigerators for preserving meat. The losses are estimated at about NIS half million.
Jordan Valley:
- Seizing 2 agricultural tractors in Sahl Qaoun, west of Bardala village.
- Demolishing 4 inhabited houses in the village of Al-Jiftlik, north of Jericho, each with an area of between 120-150m2.
- Demolishing the only water line feeding the Al-Auja Spring community, north of Jericho that supplies about 1,200 citizens with water.
