Jerusalem Churches Defend Its Waqf From Being Leaked To Settlement Societies

By: Madeeha Araj,
The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , that the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights following the 6-Day War in 1967, changed the face of the Palestinian territories due to looting and confiscating of land to establish settlements, where the West Bank was divided into military, state land and nature reserve ones over the years. Thus, the West Bank witnessed settlement expansion that lasted until the number of settlements exceeded 158 as well as hundreds outposts, which the occupation Government vowed to legitimize them. There are 24 settlements in Jerusalem, 30 in Ramallah, 30 in Hebron, 21 in Bethlehem, 15 in Jericho, 16 in Tubas, 8 in Jenin, 6 in Nablus, 12 in Salfeet, 15 in Qalqilia and 8 in Tulkarm. Adding that the number of settlers is 750,000, of whom 250,000 in Jerusalem and 500,000 in the West Bank. Moreover, Netanyahu recently appointed settler leader, Avi Roh, as assistant army minister for settlement affairs, who unlimitedly support settlers.

The Israeli occupation authorities continue to carry out their settlement projects by confiscating Palestinian lands, the last of which was its decision last week to confiscate 511 dunums of land belonging to the villages of Burin, Araq Burin and Kafr Qalil, south of Nablus as it put-forward a plan to seize the basin n. 15 in the areas named Khallet Sheikh Ahmed and Mashaleh, from the the villages of Burin, Irak Burin and Kafr Qalil, in order to expand the settlement of "Bracha." While the settlement association "Kern Kiemt" seized 4-dunum of land belonging to Beit Jala town, and put barbed wire around them as well as "caravans" helped by groups of the Association "Alkakal", it also put signs in Khallet Dalia in the Nahalin town to create a settlement road and connecting it with Road n. 60 that surrounded the Betir, Husan, Nahalin and Wadi Fukin villages, which extends to link Bitar Illit settlement.

Israel ignores the international stances that reject settlement including the stance announced by the EU regarding the Ministry of Settlement s tender last week to build 805 settlement units in occupied Jerusalem, which is illegal under international law, and stressed that "the policy of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem undermines the possibility of the so-called two-state solution, and consider Jerusalem as the capital of 2 states, as well as achieving a lasting and just peace.

The Israeli occupation authorities and the municipality of Moshe Li on spare no effort to encourage the expropriation of Palestinian land and property, including the Islamic and Christian Waqf by means of collusion with suspicious settlement Associations in the city. The c Israeli court is dealing with a suit filed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, against the approval of an Israeli court for the seizure of the properties in Hebron Gate in favor of a settlement association. The Patriarchate proved that all measures are taking place in illegal and twisted ways.

On the other hand, Jerusalem witnessed the incursions into the palaces of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers following the decision of the Supreme Court and the Israeli police to allow the "flag dance" march in the streets of the Old City that was called by the Jewish "organizations of the Temple" to invade the Mosque coincided with their celebrations of what they call "Jerusalem Unification" in reference to the anniversary of Israel s occupation of the eastern part of Jerusalem.

Within the context, Israeli Internal Security Minister, Gilad Arad said that his mission is to ensure the Jews enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque freely in spite of confrontations with Muslim worshipers in the Aqsa Mosque, adding, it will remain open before all, especially, the Jews, who commemorate the unification of Jerusalem, saying the Israeli police is doing its best to allow entry of the Jews. In his speech, in commemoration of the occupation of Jerusalem, Yoli Ildeshtine said, the reality in Jerusalem is "not sound and undemocratic, and non-Jewish ", which is considered an invitation by him to return to the project of temporal and spatial division in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, adding: "We will not allow Muslims to do what they want."

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