Isr. Army Minister, Gantz Denies Palestinian Building New Housing Units in Area ( C ) By: Madeeha Al-A’raj

The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report , that two weeks ago, the Israeli Army Minister Benny Gantz had decided in response to US proposals regarding confidence-building measures between the Palestinians and the Israelis, to allow the Palestinians to build 800-1,000 housing units in Area C. A source close to Gantz said that he agreed to his allies from the Yamina party and the Minister of Interior, Ayelet Shaked’s requestn to reconsider approving the construction of 50 housing units in the Khirbet Beit Zakaria village near Bethlehem, considering that a sensitive area, and that building in it cuts off ties of the settlements there . The right-wing parties, Yamina and Tikva Hadasha, criticized Gantz following the approval of construction works in Palestinian villages and towns, and decided not to publicly attack Gantz in order not to stir up tumultuous disagreements within the government before the Knesset vote on the budget.

It became clear that his announcement is no more covering up the decision to build 2,200 housing units for settlers in a large number of settlements and the so-called random outposts, as well as deceiving the international public opinion that the occupation authorities allow Palestinians to build in the area C, which is -dir-ectly under Israeli control, although it was clear that the announcement might end as in the past as a pre-prepared maneuver for external marketing and not for implementation, especially as the Palestinians have previous experiences in the Israeli government headed by Netanyahu announced in 2019 to allow to build 900 housing units for the Palestinians, but the Civil Administration allowed only the building of 6 housing units in 2020. Statistics issued by the Civil Administration of the occupation indicate that it granted only 21 building permits to Palestinians out of 1,485 applications submitted between 2016 - 2018, while it issued 2147 demolition orders against Palestinians .

As for the municipality of the occupation in Jerusalem, it began to establish a park on the land of Karam Al-Mufti in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood for the benefit of a nearby settlement outpost. the municipality had previously said that the park would be on an area of 25 dunams, at a cost of NIS 28 million, to be opened within two years. The park includes seating areas, playgrounds, sports facilities, including those accessible to people with disabilities, walking and cycling paths, shaded seating complexes, a café, public toilets, a sports field, a fountain, and vast areas for sports.

At the same time, the Moshe Leon’s municipality announced the completion of the inauguration of the first phase of the Judaization ‘American Street’ project, which links the settlement of ‘Givat Hamatos’ south of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives in central occupied Jerusalem, to reach south and north of Jerusalem on a parallel road alternative to the Jerusalem road. The project consists of 3 phases-;- the first phase has been completed, while the second phase is about to be completed soon. As for the third phase, it is subject to planning, especially as it will pass through an area crowded with Palestinian citizens near the Silwan town, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces began to bulldoze large areas in the Qalqilia Governorate to implement a settlement plan aimed at expanding settlement road n 55, which links the cities of Qalqilya and Nablus. Under this plan, which was announced in 2019, the occupation authorities will seize about 166 dunums of lands from the town of Azzoun, the village of al-Nabi Elias and the city of Qalqilya in the east of the governorate. The former Israeli PM, Netanyahu, opened the bypass road in Nabi Elias, known as ‘55’ in early 2018 as part of a huge settlement plan that is being implemented on the land, which are roads designated for settlers only. This plan came within the framework of a major plan aimed at protecting the settlements and linking them to each other within a settlement plan that the occupation seeks to implement.

List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Forcing a citizen to demolish his own house in the Ain Al-Lawza neighborhood in Silwan, otherwise he will be paying a fine of NS 100,000 under the pretext of not having a building permit, and another citizen in the Deir Al-Suna in the Jabal AL-Mukaber under the sam pretext, as well as forcing a Jerusalemite to demolish his own house in the Khallet Al-Ain in the town of Al-Tur in Jerusalem.
- Demolishing a nursery in the Al-Safih area of Beit Safafa.
- Storming the courtyards of Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and performed public provocative prayers.
- Wounding a young Jerusalemite, Ahmed Al-Salaymeh, from the Al-Salam neighborhood in the Anata Al-Jadeda.

Hebron:
- Wounding Jihad Hussein Eseifan, 40 in an attack by the Israeli settlers from the “Kiryat Arba” settlement, in the Wadi Al-Hussain neighborhood.
- Order to stop work on 2 houses, a roof, and a sheep-barn in the Tha’ala community in the Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.
- Photographing several houses in the areas of Khallet Al-Dabaa, Maghair Al-Ubaid, and Saroura in the Masafer Yatta.
- Handing demolition notices to 3 citizens and photographing 3 other homes in the areas of the Ma’in and the Khalidiya in the Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron under the pretext of not having a building permit.
- Notifying to demolish 4 houses in the town of Carmel, south of Hebron and photographed the house of Ali Hammad.
Nablus:
- Closing the road between Jenin and Nablus, and attacking citizens vehicles near the entrance to the town of Sebastia.
- Attacking the homes of citizens in the town of Asira Al-Qibliya, south of Nablus which leads to clashes between the occupation forces and the residents of the village.
- Demolishing a house under construction in the town of Yatma, south of Nablus for the second time.
Salfit:
- Handing over a notice to stop work on a building materials company in the Hares village, west of Salfit.
- Demolishing an agricultural room on the lands of Deir Ballut town, west of Salfit in the Khalat Al-Abhar area, west of the town, and an agricultural room in the lands of Deir Ballout town.
Tulkarm:
- Demolishing a livestock facility and a water tank near the forests of the town of Qafeen, north of Tulkarm, arrested its owner, Nidal Abdel Rahim Ajoli, 40, who was ing inside, beaten his cousin Rashwan Nasr El-Din Ajoli while he was trying to get the sheep out of the facility.
The Jordan valley:
- Dismantling solar cells in the Yerza area and confiscated it, bulldozed a 3-km long road, demolished agricultural room in the Attof village, cut down olive trees in Bardala village in the northern Jordan Valley, handed two orders under the item “Giving a final chance” in preparation for the demolition of the homes and sheep-barn under the pretext of military training during the 22nd, 25th and 31st of this month.

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