A New Wave of Settlement & Judaization Projects in Jerusalem & Governorate of Bethlehem

By: Madeeha Al-A’raj

The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report , that Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories has recently increased, especially, in the Jordan Valley, and in the Governorates of Bethlehem and Jerusalem, where settlement organizations continue registering the confiscated lands in their names´-or-in the name of the so-called Jewish National Fund. Last week, the Bethlehem Governorate witnessed a settlement attack as the Fund announced the completion of annexation and registration of 526 dunums of land in the Nahaleen town southwest of Bethlehem in favor of the “Gush Etzion settlement complex”, 700 dunums of agricultural land located in Al-Oqban in the vicinity of Jabal Al-Frdees, fetched a number of mobile homes “caravans” near the village on an area of 50 acres, and uprooted trees and installed dozens of electric columns, aiming to displace about 800 people living there.
. In the context of implementing the settlement plan announced by Israeli PM Netanyahu last February, which requires building 5,200 new settlement units, 2200 of which will be established in the “Har Homa settlement”, which is located on the lands of Jabal Abu Ghneim, besides 3000 settlement units in the settlement Givat Hamtus. New settlement units were also unveiled in various areas of the occupied Jerusalem Governorate, and marketing of 1700 settlement units in Givat Hamtous settlement, as well as the marketing of a new housing project in (Nov Zion) settlement located on the lands of Jabal Mukaber, southeast of the old city of Jerusalem Occupied. The project will have 216 new housing units in 12 six-storey buildings, and marketers describe the area as being close to the High Commissioner Park overlooking the old city of Jerusalem.
Also, in Jerusalem, the Israeli Nature Authority crews demolished 3 warehouses in the Wadi Hilwa neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which were -convert-ed into a part of the CEDEM project, and transferred to the Elad settlement society. The land area is approximately 1,000 m2, knowing that the area is a strategic one.
Moreover, settlers continue violation activities in the various governorates of the West Bank, throwing stones at roads, setting fires on lands and properties, attacking productive projects, sabotaging them, and recently attacking of a quarry in the village of Juma in, southwest of Nablus. Knowing that more than 750,000 settlers are living in more than 158 settlements, and about 230 outposts built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
On the other hand, a new report of the Protection of Civilians issued by “OCHA” showed that the occupation State denies international calls, and the international calls that urging it to stop the demolitions of Palestinian homes in the West Bank, and the confiscation of their lands, describing that as a violation of international laws, where the new report monitored the demolition of 31 buildings owned by Palestinians during the last two weeks under the pretext of lacking building permits issued by the Israeli authorities. In the context, the UN Human Rights Rapporteur in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Michael Link, stressed that Israel s practices towards the Palestinian people are an affront to justice and the rule of law, and criticized Israel s continued policy of punishing the Palestinian homes in a punitive manner, and that was in 1967, Israel destroyed more than 2000 Palestinian house.

List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week,Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
• Forcing -Jerusalemite to self-demolish their homes in the Khallet Abed, Jabal Al-Mukaber, in occupied Jerusalem, and imposing fines on them under the pretext of building without a permit.
• Hindering the work of volunteers in the occupied Jerusalem during the cleaning of the Bab al-Rahma Cemetery adjacent to the eastern wall of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
• Demolishing a 90m2 house in the Sheyah neighborhood of Jabal Al-Mukaber, southeast of Jerusalem.
• Storming of the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, led by the radical rabbi “Yehuda Glick”, performed Talmudic rituals.
Bethlehem:
• Demolishing a house belonging to Moh’d Mostafa Abu Amous in the village of Shushala, south of Al-Khader under the pretext of not having a permit, and notices were handed to stop construction in three houses in Beit Sakarya, southwest of Bethlehem, belonging to the family of Moh’d Ibrahim Atallah, under the same pretext.
• Demolishing notices of 3 houses and barracks for livestock and a water well in Al-Walajah village, west of Bethlehem under the pretext of not having a permit.
Nablus:
• Closing the Nablus Jenin main road near the settlement of evacuated Homesh settlement.
• Attacking a quarry in the village of Jama in, wrote racist slogans, and burned “Bager” excavators and a bulldozer at the site.
Salfeet:
• Uprooting more than 200 olive trees in the Derestia town, northwest of Salfeet, and prevented residents from accessing the site.

• A 180m2 house in Qarawat Bani Hassan, west of Salfit, was demolished under the pretext of building without a permit.

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