18 dec 2013
Khalil Tafakji, head of the Mapping and Geographic Information Systems Department of the Arab Studies Society in Jerusalem, said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) was planning to tighten its control of occupied Jerusalem. The expert told the PIC on Wednesday that the sacred sites in Jerusalem stretch at a large area from Jabal al Masharef and the Hadassah Hospital to Augusta Victoria Hospital, and include areas of Isawiya, Sheikh Jarrah and Jabel Mukaber.
Tafakji added that the second area includes Sheikh Jarrah, the Israeli hotels area, the rear area of the U.S. Consulate and the area of Masrara.
The third area, he pointed out, is located in the Jabel Mukaber. It is a large place that overlooks the Old City and with an important strategic value.
The Israeli Jerusalem Committee, while discussing the repercussions of the last storm, proposed a new scheme that includes the seizure of a large area of Palestinian lands in the eastern part of the city of Jerusalem, which had been previously classified as sacred zones.
Concerning the IOA decision to build a military academy in Jabal al Masharef (Mount Scopus), the settlement affairs expert said: "Lawyer Hosni Abu Hussein has been informed over two months ago that the Israeli government has postponed the project to establish a military academy in the region."
He pointed out that the Jerusalemite Civic Coalition has rejected the IOA project to establish military colleges in the area, which was surprisingly accepted by the Israeli government’s legal advisor.
Tafakji noted that the new IOA plan includes restoring historic buildings, establishing walls around the historical places, and renewing the historic statues, and aims at tightening the Israeli control over the Old City of Jerusalem and its surroundings.
Tafakji added that the second area includes Sheikh Jarrah, the Israeli hotels area, the rear area of the U.S. Consulate and the area of Masrara.
The third area, he pointed out, is located in the Jabel Mukaber. It is a large place that overlooks the Old City and with an important strategic value.
The Israeli Jerusalem Committee, while discussing the repercussions of the last storm, proposed a new scheme that includes the seizure of a large area of Palestinian lands in the eastern part of the city of Jerusalem, which had been previously classified as sacred zones.
Concerning the IOA decision to build a military academy in Jabal al Masharef (Mount Scopus), the settlement affairs expert said: "Lawyer Hosni Abu Hussein has been informed over two months ago that the Israeli government has postponed the project to establish a military academy in the region."
He pointed out that the Jerusalemite Civic Coalition has rejected the IOA project to establish military colleges in the area, which was surprisingly accepted by the Israeli government’s legal advisor.
Tafakji noted that the new IOA plan includes restoring historic buildings, establishing walls around the historical places, and renewing the historic statues, and aims at tightening the Israeli control over the Old City of Jerusalem and its surroundings.
The Israeli Military Forces handed 10 demolishing summons to residents in the town of Barta’a Al Sharqiyah, south of Jenin behind the apartheid wall. The forces broke into the town accompanied with Israeli civil organizing and management personnel who raided the citizens’ houses then handed them the demolishing summons on the pretext of building without permits.
The demolishing summons were given to; Mohammed, Emad, Azzam, Saher, Ma’moon , and Mohammed Qabha, Abdul Raheem and Mansour Mas’ood, Aamer Khallouf and Aatef Amarneh.
The number of demolishing summons given by the IMF reached 32, the citizens called on the humanitarian and international organizations to move urgently to stop the occupation aggressive campaign of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing in the border towns.
The demolishing summons were given to; Mohammed, Emad, Azzam, Saher, Ma’moon , and Mohammed Qabha, Abdul Raheem and Mansour Mas’ood, Aamer Khallouf and Aatef Amarneh.
The number of demolishing summons given by the IMF reached 32, the citizens called on the humanitarian and international organizations to move urgently to stop the occupation aggressive campaign of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing in the border towns.
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) decided to confiscate 10 dunums of agricultural lands in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus. Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, reported that the Israeli liaison department in Nablus on Tuesday officially notified its Palestinian counterpart of the confiscation order.
He added that the confiscated land is located between the village and the illegal Israeli settlement outpost of Esh Kodesh.
Daghlas added that the Israeli forces told the Palestinian side that the farmers are not allowed to access the confiscated land along with an area of more than 500 dunums around it.
"This means," he said, "they are confiscating 500 more dunums."
He added that the confiscated land is located between the village and the illegal Israeli settlement outpost of Esh Kodesh.
Daghlas added that the Israeli forces told the Palestinian side that the farmers are not allowed to access the confiscated land along with an area of more than 500 dunums around it.
"This means," he said, "they are confiscating 500 more dunums."
17 dec 2013
Israeli authorities confiscated ten dunams and restricted access to 500 dunams of private agricultural Palestinian land in the village of Qusra south of Nablus on Tuesday, an official said.
Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that the Israeli liaison department in Nablus officially notified its Palestinian counterpart of the confiscation order.
The land, he added, is located between the village and an illegal Israeli settlement outpost called Esh Kodesh.
Daghlas added that the Israelis told their Palestinian counterparts that farmers were not allowed access to an area of more than 500 dunams around the confiscated land.
"This means," he said, "they are confiscating 500 more dunams."
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that the Israeli liaison department in Nablus officially notified its Palestinian counterpart of the confiscation order.
The land, he added, is located between the village and an illegal Israeli settlement outpost called Esh Kodesh.
Daghlas added that the Israelis told their Palestinian counterparts that farmers were not allowed access to an area of more than 500 dunams around the confiscated land.
"This means," he said, "they are confiscating 500 more dunams."
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Agricultural lands in Jeftlek village in Jordan Valley were swamped from water that leaked from a neighboring Israeli settlement established on Palestinian lands.
A pond exploded in the Israeli settlement on Monday, which led to the flow of water toward Jeftlek village, flooding more than 100 agricultural acres.
The agricultural crops were completely submerged and damaged while the Israeli settlers did not care less about what happened.
Dozens of greenhouses in the village were also damaged as a result of the storm weather that hit the area.
A pond exploded in the Israeli settlement on Monday, which led to the flow of water toward Jeftlek village, flooding more than 100 agricultural acres.
The agricultural crops were completely submerged and damaged while the Israeli settlers did not care less about what happened.
Dozens of greenhouses in the village were also damaged as a result of the storm weather that hit the area.
Israeli military authority Tuesday notified 10 residents of the village of Barta'a al-Sharqiyeh, south of Jenin, of its intention to demolish their homes under the pretext they were built without permission, according to a local official.
Head of the village council, Tawfiq Kabaha, told WAFA that Israeli forces along with staff from the military government’s planning department handed 10 residents notices for the demolition of their homes, some of which are still under construction while other are already inhabited.
Head of the village council, Tawfiq Kabaha, told WAFA that Israeli forces along with staff from the military government’s planning department handed 10 residents notices for the demolition of their homes, some of which are still under construction while other are already inhabited.
Ex Army general: No instructions to halt legislation.
The Prawer Plan may not be shelved after all, reports +972.
Just four days after the co-author of the Prawer law, Benny Begin, announced the halting of the bill which would see the internal displacement of some 40,000 Bedouin in the Negev, the former Israeli army general who heads the unit which is to implement the “relocation” told Haaretz, Monday, that he has not received any instructions to shelve the plan and is continuing efforts towards its implementation.
Major General (res.) Doron Almog added that Begin can claim whatever he wants, but that the bill is still in the legislative process. According to Israel Radio, Minister of Agriculture Yair Shamir (son of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and a member of right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party) is taking over the responsibility of overseeing the Prawer Plan from Benny Begin.
The Prawer Plan may not be shelved after all, reports +972.
Just four days after the co-author of the Prawer law, Benny Begin, announced the halting of the bill which would see the internal displacement of some 40,000 Bedouin in the Negev, the former Israeli army general who heads the unit which is to implement the “relocation” told Haaretz, Monday, that he has not received any instructions to shelve the plan and is continuing efforts towards its implementation.
Major General (res.) Doron Almog added that Begin can claim whatever he wants, but that the bill is still in the legislative process. According to Israel Radio, Minister of Agriculture Yair Shamir (son of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and a member of right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party) is taking over the responsibility of overseeing the Prawer Plan from Benny Begin.
16 dec 2013
x-general overseeing implementation of bill says he has not received any instructions to halt legislation process.
The Prawer Plan may not be shelved after all. Just four days after the co-author of the proposed law, Benny Begin, announced the halting of the bill that would see the internal displacement of some 40,000 Bedouin in the Negev, the former IDF general who heads the unit which is to implement the “relocation” told Haaretz Monday that he has not received any instructions to shelve the plan and is continuing efforts towards its implementation. Major General (res.) Doron Almog added that Begin can claim whatever he wants, but that bill is still in the legislative process.
Also, according to Israel Radio, Minister of Agriculture Yair Shamir (son of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir) and a member of right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party is taking over responsibility for overseeing the Prawer plan from Benny Begin.
Read +972′s full coverage of the Prawer Plan
According to the Israeli NGO Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights, the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee indeed convened Monday to discuss how to proceed with the bill, despite the fact that schools and many public buildings were still closed in Jerusalem due to the snowstorm. MK Miri Regev, who heads the committee, corroborated what Almog said, insisting the government has not requested the bill be pulled.
Bimkom, who cooperated with Bedouin community leaders on developing an alternative plan to that of the government’s, maintains that the current plan is discriminatory and that the logical solution is recognition of Bedouin rights to the lands they currently live on, in accordance with Israel’s standard zoning regulations.
It is worth noting that when Benny Begin, who co-authored the bill, announced its shelving Thursday, he didn’t do so informally. Begin’s announcement was part of an official press conference held at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, where he stood at a podium with the insignia of the Prime Minister’s Office. This begs the question: where exactly is the Prime Minister’s Office in all this? Why has Netanyahu himself not weighed in on the issue? Is this some kind of game?
UPDATE, 6:05 P.M.: Haaretz reports that although the Prime Minister’s Office has remained mum since Begin announced the shelving of the plan – officials in the PMO confirmed Monday a statement attributed to Netanyahu, expressing the need to proceed with finding a solution to this important issue for all residents of the Negev. Officials in the Knesset added that it is preferable to continue making changes to current bill rather than tossing it and starting afresh.
When news broke last week that the plan was being shelved, Bedouin citizens, human rights groups and others critics of the plan – including right-wing lawmakers – expressed cautious celebration, hailing it as a victory, since no one thought it was a possibility that the bill be scrapped.
However, as was pointed out in these pages, ”the current Israeli government did not wake up overnight and decide to take seriously the grievances of its Bedouin constituents.” It appears the news today is evidence of the fact that those who oppose the transfer of the Bedouin community from their current homes still have a very long and winding struggle ahead.
Related:
Bill to displace Israel’s Bedouin to be scrapped, Prawer architect says
What’s next for Bedouin in a post-Prawer Israel?
The Prawer Plan may not be shelved after all. Just four days after the co-author of the proposed law, Benny Begin, announced the halting of the bill that would see the internal displacement of some 40,000 Bedouin in the Negev, the former IDF general who heads the unit which is to implement the “relocation” told Haaretz Monday that he has not received any instructions to shelve the plan and is continuing efforts towards its implementation. Major General (res.) Doron Almog added that Begin can claim whatever he wants, but that bill is still in the legislative process.
Also, according to Israel Radio, Minister of Agriculture Yair Shamir (son of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir) and a member of right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party is taking over responsibility for overseeing the Prawer plan from Benny Begin.
Read +972′s full coverage of the Prawer Plan
According to the Israeli NGO Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights, the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee indeed convened Monday to discuss how to proceed with the bill, despite the fact that schools and many public buildings were still closed in Jerusalem due to the snowstorm. MK Miri Regev, who heads the committee, corroborated what Almog said, insisting the government has not requested the bill be pulled.
Bimkom, who cooperated with Bedouin community leaders on developing an alternative plan to that of the government’s, maintains that the current plan is discriminatory and that the logical solution is recognition of Bedouin rights to the lands they currently live on, in accordance with Israel’s standard zoning regulations.
It is worth noting that when Benny Begin, who co-authored the bill, announced its shelving Thursday, he didn’t do so informally. Begin’s announcement was part of an official press conference held at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, where he stood at a podium with the insignia of the Prime Minister’s Office. This begs the question: where exactly is the Prime Minister’s Office in all this? Why has Netanyahu himself not weighed in on the issue? Is this some kind of game?
UPDATE, 6:05 P.M.: Haaretz reports that although the Prime Minister’s Office has remained mum since Begin announced the shelving of the plan – officials in the PMO confirmed Monday a statement attributed to Netanyahu, expressing the need to proceed with finding a solution to this important issue for all residents of the Negev. Officials in the Knesset added that it is preferable to continue making changes to current bill rather than tossing it and starting afresh.
When news broke last week that the plan was being shelved, Bedouin citizens, human rights groups and others critics of the plan – including right-wing lawmakers – expressed cautious celebration, hailing it as a victory, since no one thought it was a possibility that the bill be scrapped.
However, as was pointed out in these pages, ”the current Israeli government did not wake up overnight and decide to take seriously the grievances of its Bedouin constituents.” It appears the news today is evidence of the fact that those who oppose the transfer of the Bedouin community from their current homes still have a very long and winding struggle ahead.
Related:
Bill to displace Israel’s Bedouin to be scrapped, Prawer architect says
What’s next for Bedouin in a post-Prawer Israel?
15 dec 2013
Bedouins still under threat
Alternative Information Center (AIC) - The Israeli government has officially announced that parliamental discussions in the Knesset concerning the Prawer plan will be halted. This is to say that the government has backed away from attempts to pass the "Prawer law", in their displacement of Arab residents from the Naqab (Negev).
Defeat of the Prawer law doesn't necessarily bring tidings of peace to the Naqab. The government will continue its war of attrition on Arab citizens in the Naqab through the courts where, because of a series of unjust laws, the state always wins. In the drawer and in stages of implementation is an entire series of plans to "judaise the Naqab". It is expected that, following defeat of the law, home demolitions will increase.
In light of the defeat, the threats are increasing against the Bedouins. The Bedouins will not be offered compensation of land, but only land for rent; in time, they are threatening, they will move to deport people from their villages. What doesn't go with force will go with more force.
Hithabrut-Tarabut reports: "About this must be said: one whose stick of oppression was broken in a demonstration should not attempt to wave an even bigger stick. The threat is indeed real: the state truly knows how to create suffering. But if the only thing they are offering is dispossession, without decorations - they should not expect less resistance to that garnered by the Prawer law."
Hithabrut-Tarabut is a joint Arab-Jewish social movement seeking to address the most burning issue – the division in Israeli oppositional politics between struggles against the occupation and struggles against inequality and for social justice within Israel itself.
(Originally translated from Hebrew by AIC.)
Alternative Information Center (AIC) - The Israeli government has officially announced that parliamental discussions in the Knesset concerning the Prawer plan will be halted. This is to say that the government has backed away from attempts to pass the "Prawer law", in their displacement of Arab residents from the Naqab (Negev).
Defeat of the Prawer law doesn't necessarily bring tidings of peace to the Naqab. The government will continue its war of attrition on Arab citizens in the Naqab through the courts where, because of a series of unjust laws, the state always wins. In the drawer and in stages of implementation is an entire series of plans to "judaise the Naqab". It is expected that, following defeat of the law, home demolitions will increase.
In light of the defeat, the threats are increasing against the Bedouins. The Bedouins will not be offered compensation of land, but only land for rent; in time, they are threatening, they will move to deport people from their villages. What doesn't go with force will go with more force.
Hithabrut-Tarabut reports: "About this must be said: one whose stick of oppression was broken in a demonstration should not attempt to wave an even bigger stick. The threat is indeed real: the state truly knows how to create suffering. But if the only thing they are offering is dispossession, without decorations - they should not expect less resistance to that garnered by the Prawer law."
Hithabrut-Tarabut is a joint Arab-Jewish social movement seeking to address the most burning issue – the division in Israeli oppositional politics between struggles against the occupation and struggles against inequality and for social justice within Israel itself.
(Originally translated from Hebrew by AIC.)
14 dec 2013
Serious land subsidence incidents were reported in Silwan town, south of occupied Jerusalem, the Wadi Hilwe information center said. The center said in a press release on Saturday that heavy snow and rainfall softened up land, leading to some roads caving in, which revealed the extent of damage inflicted on the holy city as a result of the incessant Israeli occupation authority’s diggings and excavations.
It said that the most serious land collapse occurred in Hawsh Abu Tayih in the town, which includes more than 40 houses. Dozens of Jerusalemites live in those houses, mostly children, the center warned.
The center also pointed out that subsidence was seen along the main road of Wadi Hilwe trekked by all residents of Silwan, adding that cracks were seen in a number of buildings in the same area.
The center said that the land is sinking more rapidly in Wadi Hilwe where the IOA is concentrating its diggings underneath it to complete the construction of a network of tunnels.
It said that the most serious land collapse occurred in Hawsh Abu Tayih in the town, which includes more than 40 houses. Dozens of Jerusalemites live in those houses, mostly children, the center warned.
The center also pointed out that subsidence was seen along the main road of Wadi Hilwe trekked by all residents of Silwan, adding that cracks were seen in a number of buildings in the same area.
The center said that the land is sinking more rapidly in Wadi Hilwe where the IOA is concentrating its diggings underneath it to complete the construction of a network of tunnels.
13 dec 2013
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The Israeli regime is carrying out large-scale Nazi-style ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank by destroying the Palestinian properties, an analyst tells Press TV.
“In my opinion, this type of large-scale ethnic cleansing is nothing more than what I would call...Israeli style and I think that in its inhumanity and in its callous displacement of indigenous population, I would call it Nazi-like in its extreme disregard for human life for the rule of law,” Bruce Katz said on Friday. He said the Zionist regime is pushing ahead with its “brazen continuation of ethnic cleansing which has really gone on since 1948.” On Wednesday, the United Nations denounced Israel for demolition of |
Palestinian homes and displacement of their residents in the West Bank.
Katz said the Israeli actions are stalling the move towards peace in the Middle East. “I think that there can be no advancement toward any peace process in the Middle East unless there is a regime change in Israel,” he added.
Rights groups say Tel Aviv’s demolitions are aimed at grabbing more land for construction of illegal settlements and launching military projects in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Katz described the Israeli regime as an “illegitimate one,” saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is wreaking havoc in Israel as well where the level of poverty has increased drastically under his rule.”
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts made to establish peace in the Middle East.
The Israeli regime has recently announced plans to build about 5,000 more illegal settlement units on the occupied Palestinian land.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.
Katz said the Israeli actions are stalling the move towards peace in the Middle East. “I think that there can be no advancement toward any peace process in the Middle East unless there is a regime change in Israel,” he added.
Rights groups say Tel Aviv’s demolitions are aimed at grabbing more land for construction of illegal settlements and launching military projects in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Katz described the Israeli regime as an “illegitimate one,” saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is wreaking havoc in Israel as well where the level of poverty has increased drastically under his rule.”
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts made to establish peace in the Middle East.
The Israeli regime has recently announced plans to build about 5,000 more illegal settlement units on the occupied Palestinian land.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.
The Israeli Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration rejected Tuesday a Palestinian request to legalize a West Bank house under the pretext the structure was too close to a main road. On Monday, however, the same administration had approved the expansion of the illegal settlement Ofra after revoking the same ban that was then upheld in Tuesday’s decision, the Haaretz reported.
Despite claims that the decision was “purely professional,” Haaretz pointed out that observers maintain the move was political, saying it was “aimed at pushing Palestinians off their land.”
On Tuesday, the request for a retroactive building permit, which would have canceled a demolition order the house is currently facing, was denied to Palestinians in Beit Ummar, northwest of Hebron, due to a regulation that houses must be more than 120 meters away from Route 60.
Due to the rejection the house may now be demolished at any time.
However, one day previously, the same administration reduced the permitted distance to 80 meters from the road in order to accommodate the construction of 50 new illegal Israeli homes in the settlement of Ofra.
When Tuesday’s appeal came, the administration upheld the 120 meter requirement.
Haaretz concluded noting that the administration declined to comment.
Despite claims that the decision was “purely professional,” Haaretz pointed out that observers maintain the move was political, saying it was “aimed at pushing Palestinians off their land.”
On Tuesday, the request for a retroactive building permit, which would have canceled a demolition order the house is currently facing, was denied to Palestinians in Beit Ummar, northwest of Hebron, due to a regulation that houses must be more than 120 meters away from Route 60.
Due to the rejection the house may now be demolished at any time.
However, one day previously, the same administration reduced the permitted distance to 80 meters from the road in order to accommodate the construction of 50 new illegal Israeli homes in the settlement of Ofra.
When Tuesday’s appeal came, the administration upheld the 120 meter requirement.
Haaretz concluded noting that the administration declined to comment.
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Cracks, erosions and landslides expanded on Wednesday in main street of Wadi Hilweh after it rained for several hours on the city of Jerusalem and due to the Israeli excavations in the area.
Locals of Wadi Hilweh explained that the cracks and erosions occurred in the main street of Wadi Hilweh near “Al-Ein” mosque. It is the same area that suffered collapses last week and the Jerusalem municipality claimed that it made the necessary repairs and claimed that the cracks occurred because of the sewer extensions; the locals pointed out that landslide occurred in several areas of the street. The locals also confirmed that the cracks and landslide are due to the Israeli excavations carried out by “Elad” settlement group and Antiquities Authority underneath the town of Silwan; note that |
there is a tunnel that connects Ein Silwan with the courtyards of Dung Gate underneath the area where the cracks and landslide occurred and they plan to connect it with the Wailing Wall.
The residents explained that a large amount of soil has been removed from the street without making any repairs or renovations.
The residents explained that a large amount of soil has been removed from the street without making any repairs or renovations.
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The information center of Wadi Hilwa district in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday reported the occurrence of some fissures and cave-ins on Wadi Hilwa street, south of the Aqsa Mosque, as a result of the ongoing Israeli diggings. Wadi Hilwa street is the main road connecting between the center of Jerusalem and the neighborhoods of Silwan district, and it is considered the closest to the Aqsa Mosque.
More than once, this road has seen subsidence incidents and fissures, and even the walls of many Palestinian houses in the area sustained cracks because of the tunnel diggings carried out underground by the Israeli occupation authority and settlement groups. |
The center pointed that the heavy rains widened the cave-ins and fissures that happened to the road.
Residents from the neighborhood also said that the same area had suffered similar incidents last week and the Israeli municipal office claimed then that the damage caused by a leakage in the sanitation network underground and that they made the needed repairs.
The residents affirmed that there a tunnel being built by the Israeli antiquities authority and Gilad settlement society beneath their neighborhood, adding that this tunnel reaches Al-Maghariba Gate area.
Residents from the neighborhood also said that the same area had suffered similar incidents last week and the Israeli municipal office claimed then that the damage caused by a leakage in the sanitation network underground and that they made the needed repairs.
The residents affirmed that there a tunnel being built by the Israeli antiquities authority and Gilad settlement society beneath their neighborhood, adding that this tunnel reaches Al-Maghariba Gate area.
The Israeli army's civil administration recently approved construction plans for Jewish settlers in an area close to Ofra settlement in the West Bank and prevented a Palestinian family from living on their own land in the same area, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz stated on Thursday. "The civil administration on Tuesday rejected a request to legalize a Palestinian house, claiming it was too close to a main West Bank road.
A day earlier, it approved the construction of homes in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, after revoking the very ban on which the Tuesday decision was based," Haaretz stated.
According to the newspaper, human rights groups believes that the administration's planning is politically motivated and aimed at pushing the Palestinians off their land.
The request that a retroactive building permit be issued for the Palestinian house in Beit Ummar, a village 11 kilometers northwest of Al-Khalil city, was rejected on Tuesday by the administration’s planning and licensing committee, headed by architect Daniel Halimi.
The administration had previously issued a demolition order for the Palestinian house, which was denied a construction permit.
Halimi, wrote in his decision that regulations forbids the building of houses less than 120 meters away from Route 60, as it both obstructs the traffic and disturbs the people living near the road. "The rejection made it possible to demolish the house," he said.
However, on Monday the administration decided exactly the opposite regarding homes belonging to Jewish settlers.
"The Israeli administration is in the process of legalizing some of Ofra's illegal construction, in terms of a new master plan it has drawn up for the settlement. Ofra was built without a master plan, as required, and most of its houses were built without permits on private Palestinian land," the newspaper emphasized.
The new plan is aimed at legitimizing some 200 illegal houses and authorizing the construction of some 50 new homes for Jewish settlers. However, these houses in question are less than 120 meters from Route 60.
Bedouin face eviction as Israel builds new towns
Some 50 years after Israeli authorities gave them the land, the Bedouin of Umm al-Heiran village face eviction to make way for two modern towns.
Located in the Negev desert, the village is home to some 150 Palestinian Bedouin families -- 1,000 inhabitants -- who live in small, concrete buildings, relying on solar panels for electricity and raising livestock.
But more than half a century of calling Umm al-Heiran home now looks set to end.
On Nov. 10, the Israeli cabinet approved the establishment of two new communities in the Negev -- Kesif and Hiran -- that will almost exclusively cater to Jews.
In order to make way for the two new towns, the Bedouin village, which is currently unrecognized by the authorities, must first be removed.
"In order to build Hiran, (Israel) will accelerate the demolition of the unrecognized village of Umm al-Heiran in the Negev and evict its residents," said Suhad Bishara, a lawyer for the Arab-Israeli rights group Adalah.
The village is on some 1,700 acres of land an Israeli military governor gave to the Bedouin after the tribe of Abu al-Qiyaan was displaced in the 1950s.
Israeli plans to remove the village were first raised 10 years ago, and since then, the residents have been fighting a long legal battle with Adalah's help.
The Supreme Court has for now frozen demolition orders on Umm al-Heiran's structures pending the filing by Dec. 15 of additional documents by Adalah.
But should the court rule against them, their case will be lost.
"I was born here, it's my home and it's all I know," said Abd al-Rahman Abu al-Qiyaan, a 49-year-old father of more than a dozen children.
"We can't fight the state if it decides to evict us, but we just have to wait and see what happens," he told AFP.
"We built this village and developed its agriculture. Where will our children go?"
The villagers say they have no problem with Jewish Israelis moving into the area -- as long as they themselves are not forced to leave.
"This is a racist decision -- why can Jews live here but not me?" Abu al-Qiyaan asked.
The government says Umm al-Heiran's residents are to be moved to the nearby Bedouin village of Hura, which is already home to some 300 families.
Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel would provide "basic services" to Umm al-Heiran's residents, but that illegal construction would not be tolerated.
"There is no citizen in Israel who can build a house without a permit," Gendelman told AFP.
"We say to the Bedouins: we are with you in the provision of basic services, we are with you to resolve the land issue, but building must be done legally."
Ghiyahib Abu al-Qiyaan, 73, remembers the day when Israeli forces moved the family onto the land which would become Umm al-Heiran in 1956, eight years after the creation of the Israeli state.
"I was about 16 years old. Israeli patrols came and evicted us from our homes (in nearby Zubala) to make way for a kibbutz, and put us here without shelter, in the desert," she said.
"But we built and we've made it our home with the land they gave us."
Bishara said that while the military's actions were documented at the time, they were never enshrined in an official agreement.
Israel's legal position "is simply one of 'we gave them the land, and we can take it away,'" she said.
Israel is trying to regulate the ownership of land inhabited by Bedouins in the Negev, in many instances since before the foundation of the state in 1948.
On Thursday, an official announced that the government would drop another plan related to Negev Bedouins, the so-called Prawer Plan, that would have seen some 40 unrecognized Bedouin villages in the same area demolished and the evacuation of between 30,000 and 40,000 people.
Around 260,000 Bedouin live in Israel, more than half of them in unrecognized villages without utilities. Many live in extreme poverty.
A day earlier, it approved the construction of homes in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, after revoking the very ban on which the Tuesday decision was based," Haaretz stated.
According to the newspaper, human rights groups believes that the administration's planning is politically motivated and aimed at pushing the Palestinians off their land.
The request that a retroactive building permit be issued for the Palestinian house in Beit Ummar, a village 11 kilometers northwest of Al-Khalil city, was rejected on Tuesday by the administration’s planning and licensing committee, headed by architect Daniel Halimi.
The administration had previously issued a demolition order for the Palestinian house, which was denied a construction permit.
Halimi, wrote in his decision that regulations forbids the building of houses less than 120 meters away from Route 60, as it both obstructs the traffic and disturbs the people living near the road. "The rejection made it possible to demolish the house," he said.
However, on Monday the administration decided exactly the opposite regarding homes belonging to Jewish settlers.
"The Israeli administration is in the process of legalizing some of Ofra's illegal construction, in terms of a new master plan it has drawn up for the settlement. Ofra was built without a master plan, as required, and most of its houses were built without permits on private Palestinian land," the newspaper emphasized.
The new plan is aimed at legitimizing some 200 illegal houses and authorizing the construction of some 50 new homes for Jewish settlers. However, these houses in question are less than 120 meters from Route 60.
Bedouin face eviction as Israel builds new towns
Some 50 years after Israeli authorities gave them the land, the Bedouin of Umm al-Heiran village face eviction to make way for two modern towns.
Located in the Negev desert, the village is home to some 150 Palestinian Bedouin families -- 1,000 inhabitants -- who live in small, concrete buildings, relying on solar panels for electricity and raising livestock.
But more than half a century of calling Umm al-Heiran home now looks set to end.
On Nov. 10, the Israeli cabinet approved the establishment of two new communities in the Negev -- Kesif and Hiran -- that will almost exclusively cater to Jews.
In order to make way for the two new towns, the Bedouin village, which is currently unrecognized by the authorities, must first be removed.
"In order to build Hiran, (Israel) will accelerate the demolition of the unrecognized village of Umm al-Heiran in the Negev and evict its residents," said Suhad Bishara, a lawyer for the Arab-Israeli rights group Adalah.
The village is on some 1,700 acres of land an Israeli military governor gave to the Bedouin after the tribe of Abu al-Qiyaan was displaced in the 1950s.
Israeli plans to remove the village were first raised 10 years ago, and since then, the residents have been fighting a long legal battle with Adalah's help.
The Supreme Court has for now frozen demolition orders on Umm al-Heiran's structures pending the filing by Dec. 15 of additional documents by Adalah.
But should the court rule against them, their case will be lost.
"I was born here, it's my home and it's all I know," said Abd al-Rahman Abu al-Qiyaan, a 49-year-old father of more than a dozen children.
"We can't fight the state if it decides to evict us, but we just have to wait and see what happens," he told AFP.
"We built this village and developed its agriculture. Where will our children go?"
The villagers say they have no problem with Jewish Israelis moving into the area -- as long as they themselves are not forced to leave.
"This is a racist decision -- why can Jews live here but not me?" Abu al-Qiyaan asked.
The government says Umm al-Heiran's residents are to be moved to the nearby Bedouin village of Hura, which is already home to some 300 families.
Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel would provide "basic services" to Umm al-Heiran's residents, but that illegal construction would not be tolerated.
"There is no citizen in Israel who can build a house without a permit," Gendelman told AFP.
"We say to the Bedouins: we are with you in the provision of basic services, we are with you to resolve the land issue, but building must be done legally."
Ghiyahib Abu al-Qiyaan, 73, remembers the day when Israeli forces moved the family onto the land which would become Umm al-Heiran in 1956, eight years after the creation of the Israeli state.
"I was about 16 years old. Israeli patrols came and evicted us from our homes (in nearby Zubala) to make way for a kibbutz, and put us here without shelter, in the desert," she said.
"But we built and we've made it our home with the land they gave us."
Bishara said that while the military's actions were documented at the time, they were never enshrined in an official agreement.
Israel's legal position "is simply one of 'we gave them the land, and we can take it away,'" she said.
Israel is trying to regulate the ownership of land inhabited by Bedouins in the Negev, in many instances since before the foundation of the state in 1948.
On Thursday, an official announced that the government would drop another plan related to Negev Bedouins, the so-called Prawer Plan, that would have seen some 40 unrecognized Bedouin villages in the same area demolished and the evacuation of between 30,000 and 40,000 people.
Around 260,000 Bedouin live in Israel, more than half of them in unrecognized villages without utilities. Many live in extreme poverty.
12 dec 2013
The Israeli government has decided to discard a controversial draft law to relocate thousands of Bedouin residents from the Negev desert, the Ma'an News Agency has reported.
Benny Begin, an official who was charged with implementing the infamous "Prawer Plan", said that he has recommended to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "end the debate on the law", in the Knesset.
"The prime minister accepted this proposal", he announced at a Tel Aviv press conference, days after the plan emerged, as the coalition overseeing the project was divided on proposed legislation.
The news comes less than two weeks following worldwide protests held in resistance to the plan, during which police and soldiers clashed repeatedly with demonstrators in Israel, culminating in dozens of injuries and arrests across Israel and the West Bank.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan would have forcibly evicted nearly 40,000 Bedouins, destroying their communal and social fabric, and condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.
Other sources estimate the number to be closer to 70, 000.
Israel Drops Prawer Plan, Bedouins Still Face Displacement
The Israeli government has decided to discard a controversial draft law to relocate thousands of Bedouin residents from the Negev desert, the Ma'an News Agency has reported. The decision does not imply official recognition of the dozens of villages in the Negev.
Benny Begin, an official who was charged with implementing the infamous "Prawer Plan", said that he has recommended to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "end the debate on the law", in the Knesset.
"The prime minister accepted this proposal", he announced at a Tel Aviv press conference, days after the plan emerged, as the coalition overseeing the project was divided on proposed legislation.
The news comes less than two weeks following worldwide protests held in resistance to the plan, during which police and soldiers clashed repeatedly with demonstrators in Israel, culminating in dozens of injuries and arrests across Israel and the West Bank.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan would have forcibly evicted nearly 40,000 Bedouins, destroying their communal and social fabric, and condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.
Other sources estimate the number to be closer to 70, 000.
The decision does not mean, in any way, an end to the suffering of the Bedouin community in the Negev, and does not bring them any closer to being recognized as equal citizens, or just citizens.
It does not mean the recognition of dozens of villages and communities which existed before Israel was established in the historic land of Palestine in 1948. Therefore, Israel will continue to deprive them of basic services, such as infrastructure, water, sewage and electricity.
The Bedouins in the Negev will still be denied the right to build, buy or sell homes and property and, of course, will still be denied the right to vote or run in local government elections.
The Jewish Voice for Peace has reported that many Bedouin villages and homes are still facing the threat of demolition, including the Al-Araqeeb village that was demolished more than 60 times.
Benny Begin, an official who was charged with implementing the infamous "Prawer Plan", said that he has recommended to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "end the debate on the law", in the Knesset.
"The prime minister accepted this proposal", he announced at a Tel Aviv press conference, days after the plan emerged, as the coalition overseeing the project was divided on proposed legislation.
The news comes less than two weeks following worldwide protests held in resistance to the plan, during which police and soldiers clashed repeatedly with demonstrators in Israel, culminating in dozens of injuries and arrests across Israel and the West Bank.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan would have forcibly evicted nearly 40,000 Bedouins, destroying their communal and social fabric, and condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.
Other sources estimate the number to be closer to 70, 000.
Israel Drops Prawer Plan, Bedouins Still Face Displacement
The Israeli government has decided to discard a controversial draft law to relocate thousands of Bedouin residents from the Negev desert, the Ma'an News Agency has reported. The decision does not imply official recognition of the dozens of villages in the Negev.
Benny Begin, an official who was charged with implementing the infamous "Prawer Plan", said that he has recommended to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "end the debate on the law", in the Knesset.
"The prime minister accepted this proposal", he announced at a Tel Aviv press conference, days after the plan emerged, as the coalition overseeing the project was divided on proposed legislation.
The news comes less than two weeks following worldwide protests held in resistance to the plan, during which police and soldiers clashed repeatedly with demonstrators in Israel, culminating in dozens of injuries and arrests across Israel and the West Bank.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan would have forcibly evicted nearly 40,000 Bedouins, destroying their communal and social fabric, and condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.
Other sources estimate the number to be closer to 70, 000.
The decision does not mean, in any way, an end to the suffering of the Bedouin community in the Negev, and does not bring them any closer to being recognized as equal citizens, or just citizens.
It does not mean the recognition of dozens of villages and communities which existed before Israel was established in the historic land of Palestine in 1948. Therefore, Israel will continue to deprive them of basic services, such as infrastructure, water, sewage and electricity.
The Bedouins in the Negev will still be denied the right to build, buy or sell homes and property and, of course, will still be denied the right to vote or run in local government elections.
The Jewish Voice for Peace has reported that many Bedouin villages and homes are still facing the threat of demolition, including the Al-Araqeeb village that was demolished more than 60 times.
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The United Nations has denounced Israel for demolition of Palestinian homes and displacement of its residents in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement on Wednesday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator James Rawley condemned the demolition of 30 Palestinian properties in the West Bank, saying it displaced some families for the second time in less than two weeks. "I am concerned about the destruction of Palestinian structures in the Jordan Valley yesterday (Tuesday)," Rawley said, adding, "The demolitions resulted in the displacement of 41 people, including 24 children, and affected another 20. Both refugee and non-refugee families were affected." "Some of the families were displaced for the second time this month and a number of donor-funded structures were among those demolished." |
Rights groups say Tel Aviv’s demolitions are aimed at grabbing more land for construction of illegal settlements and launching military projects in the occupied Palestinian territories.
"Demolitions often occur to facilitate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, with 60 percent of demolitions occurring in Palestinian communities close to settlement zones," 36 rights groups and charities, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, said in a joint statement last week.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
The Israeli regime has recently announced plans to build about 5,000 more illegal settlement units on the occupied Palestinian land.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.
The UN and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.
"Demolitions often occur to facilitate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, with 60 percent of demolitions occurring in Palestinian communities close to settlement zones," 36 rights groups and charities, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, said in a joint statement last week.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
The Israeli regime has recently announced plans to build about 5,000 more illegal settlement units on the occupied Palestinian land.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.
The UN and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.
Palestinian home demolished in East Jerusalem (archive)
Students in dorms at the University of Michigan were awakened to eviction notices on their doors, which said that they needed to vacate their rooms by December 13th, at which point the rooms would be demolished.
The notices also said that the charge for the demolition would be applied to their student accounts. Fortunately for the students, the notices turned out to be a hoax, posted on their doors by members of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, or SAFE.
The action was meant to bring attention to the plight of Palestinians, who regularly face demolition of their homes by Israeli military authorities. The Palestinians whose homes are demolished are then charged for the cost of demolition.
The students who received the eviction notices say they were shaken up by the experience, and relieved to find out that it was a hoax.
However, the student organizers with the SAFE coalition say they hope actions like this will help bring attention to the plight of the Palestinian people.
They say that, in the past month alone, 15,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem received eviction notices.
The homes of those who received the notices are set to be destroyed by Israeli authorities to make way for new housing units owned by the Israeli government.
The Palestinians evicted from their homes are not allowed to live in the new properties, and many remain homeless after the demolition of their homes.
Students in dorms at the University of Michigan were awakened to eviction notices on their doors, which said that they needed to vacate their rooms by December 13th, at which point the rooms would be demolished.
The notices also said that the charge for the demolition would be applied to their student accounts. Fortunately for the students, the notices turned out to be a hoax, posted on their doors by members of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, or SAFE.
The action was meant to bring attention to the plight of Palestinians, who regularly face demolition of their homes by Israeli military authorities. The Palestinians whose homes are demolished are then charged for the cost of demolition.
The students who received the eviction notices say they were shaken up by the experience, and relieved to find out that it was a hoax.
However, the student organizers with the SAFE coalition say they hope actions like this will help bring attention to the plight of the Palestinian people.
They say that, in the past month alone, 15,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem received eviction notices.
The homes of those who received the notices are set to be destroyed by Israeli authorities to make way for new housing units owned by the Israeli government.
The Palestinians evicted from their homes are not allowed to live in the new properties, and many remain homeless after the demolition of their homes.