Israel : Ethnic Cleansing in Occupied Jerusalem, Laundering Settlement Outposts in OPT By: Madeeha Al-A’raj

The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report , that in a new decision issued in favor of the settlers associations that seek to Judaize the old town of Jerusalem and its surroundings by the Israeli occupation courts, the Central Court in Jerusalem rejected last week an appeal submitted by Palestinian families living in a building in the Batn Al-Hawa Neighborhood in Silwan in the occupied Jerusalem since 1963. Nevertheless, it decided according to the appeal submitted by the settlement association “Ateret Cohanim” to expel 87 inhabitants, including children from there within 2 weeks. The appeal came in response to claims filed by settlers, demanding the evacuation of the expulsion of its Palestinian residents, claiming that the site was belonging to Jews before the Nakba in 1948.

Some of the Palestinian families living in the Batn AlHawa owned real estate in Israel before 1948, but the Israeli occupation confiscated it under the “absentee property law”, claiming that their owners were not there in 1948, and prevented them -restore- their belongings. The Central Court’s refusal of the appeal means expelling residents of the 30-family including children under 18, as well as a NIS 600,000 fine that Dweik s family must pay. In the same way, settlers are seeking to seize real estate elsewhere in the occupied Jerusalem. A month and a half ago, Israeli Reconciliation Court’s Judge in Jerusalem, Dorit Weinshtaen, issued an order of expulsion of four Palestinian families of 25 people, in the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood, following a suit filed by the Settlement Company Nahat Shamoun, claiming that the property was owned by Jews before 1948. The judge decided that the police would expel the Palestinian families. Thus, citizens fear that the settlers will try to execute the order of expelling the Palestinian families before the elected US president, Joe Biden, took office on Jan. 20th.

In additional step that would reinforce Israel s control on the West Bank, the occupation government intends to legalize scores of settlement outposts scattered throughout the West Bank and exploit the remaining period in Trump’s Administration to execute its settlement plans aiming at annexing wide areas of the West Bank due to impose a defacto position on the ground. Israeli settlement Minister, Tsahi Hanegbi pledged in a speech before the Knesset last week after agreeing with the occupation PM Netanyahu to settle the situations of 70 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and turn them into settlements before the departure of the current US President Trump. The move, which was blessed by the West Bank settlement Council, called for its implementation on the ground as quickly as possible by setting up a crew to settle the conditions of dozens of outposts. Hanegbi told the Israeli Knesset that Netanyahu has approved the government’s vote on a law to legalize random West Bank settlement outposts, and confirmed that his ministry would draft a government resolution aimed at strengthening all legal procedures that would lead to the organization of young settlements.

Regarding the settlement plans, the Israeli settlements Council in the West Bank submitted a new settlement plan to expand the “Karni Shamron Settlement” which confiscates more than 70 dunums of the Haja and Jinsafout villages east of Qalqilya, aiming at changing the allocation of an agricultural area and a road to trade, tourism, buildings and public institutions to emergency and rescue areas, new streets, stands and an open public area, while the official of settlements in northern the occupied West Bank revealed that the area is under construction. He added, the project includes the construction of 32 settlement units inside the Shafi Shomron settlement in western Nablus.
At the same time, the occupation municipality in Jerusalem revealed a part of a settlement project plan that targets Qalandia and the lands of “Jerusalem airport” with about 9,000 settlement units, through the implementation of the main part of the infrastructure development of expanding roads and raising the efficiency of “Atrot industrial zone.” The plan was approved last week, according to which public places, pavements, parking, electricity infrastructure and roads were allocated with the allocating of about NIS 50,000,000.

The Settlement Subcommittee of the Civil Administration announced the detailed structural of the project on 46/4/1/420 for the settlement of Ma aleh Adumim on an area of 105 dunums to build 63 settlement units in the name of “Kali Sher Neighborhood” on the lands of the village of Eizariya at the site known as (Al-Qaroha) and about a detailed structural plan n 9/1/404 for the settlement of “Eliezer” built on the lands of the village of (Al Khader) in the well-known site (Wadi Al Hindi) on an area of 107 donums. The project aims to establish a residential area and an open public area. It also put forward a detailed structural plan no. 611 for the “Evinat Settlement”, which is built on the lands of the village of (Al-Obidiya) at the well-known site (Tarabi) located near the Dead Sea on an area of 15.5 donums, aiming at the establishing and building 31 settlement units and open areas.

List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau

Jerusalem: Launching a donation campaign on Facebook on the eve of the “Lights Festival / Hanukat” from the Al-Aqsa Mosque yards.

Ramallah: Bulldozing the 50 donums lands belonging to Numan Nofal in the Ras Karkar village, west of Ramallah, to build a sewage line from the settlements adjacent to the Ras Abu Zaiton area, northeast of the village.
** Chopping hundreds of grapes and a number of olive trees and destroyed the equipment’s of an agricultural room in the Tormoaia town, north of Ramallah.
Storming the Al-Mughair village northeast of Ramallah.

Bethlehem:Attacking citizen, Mohanad Salah and his elderly father in the Shoushahla village, south of the Al-khader town in Bethlehem during grazing their sheep in the village.
** Notifying citizen Ahmed Rizq Issa to stop construction in a water well in the Wad Al-Abiar area near the Efrat settlement, under the pretext of not having a building permit, and seized a drilling machine as well. Besides notifying citizen, Arafat Mohammad Abu Rizq to stop construction in his house in the Hai Sanei area in the Ein Gweiza area northwest of the Walajeh village, under the same pretext.

Nablus:Attacking a group of boys while they were near the sit-in tent rejecting the new settlement outpost on Beit Dajan lands, and fired bullets at them, and kidnapped child Noor Riyad Mishati on the northeastern side of the town lands. The people rushed to rescue the boy, Mishati following calls through the mosque s loudspeakers, before he was released at a later time.
** Storming the archaeological site in the Sebastia town, north of Nablus under strict Israeli protection, fired tear gas and sound bombs as well.

Salfeet:Uprooting 45 olive trees belonging to Yousef Sabra in the Khirbt Al-Fakhakher. Knowing that the area is always targeted by settlers.
Confiscating an agricultural caravan in the Khilat Alian area, west of Salfeet belonging to Maan Assai.

Tulkarm:Bulldozing lands in the Faroon town.
** Carrying out settlement work in the land adjacent to the Apartheid wall in order to establish a tower´-or-camp on the town’s land behind the wall.

The Jordan valley:Notifying 17 families from the Arab Ka’bna Gatherings to demolish their houses in the Al-Marajat road east of Ramallah under the pretext of being a military zone.
** Demolishing two houses and barns in the Fasayil village, in the central Palestinian Valleys, north of Jericho, belonging to the Al-Swarka and Al-Nawara families.
** Breaking into the Khirbet Yerza in the northern valleys, and photographed the houses. Moreover they storm the Hamsa Al-Fawqa and Sahl Um Al-Qaba of the Wadi Al-Maleh.
** Expelling more than 10 Palestinian families in the “Boroj” and “Al-Meta” areas under the pretext of conducting military training.

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