30 may 2014
A number of fanatic Israeli settlers invaded the Ush Ghrab area, east of Beit Sahour, apparently preparing to install a new illegal settlement outpost. The area, a former military base, is subject to frequent attacks by soldiers and settlers.
Local sources said a large number of settlers invaded the area, and started preparing for what seems to be yet another “new settlement outpost”, in an attempt to push the Palestinians away, especially since a public recreation park has been set up by the Palestinians.
Ush Ghrab area is legally and officially Palestinian property, but the army and fanatic Israeli groups are trying to confiscate it, and prevent the Palestinian from entering it.
Background;
In April 2006, the Israeli army unilaterally withdrew from their post at Ush Ghrab. Residents in the quiet residential neighborhood rejoiced; but short-lived joy turned to deep concern when Israel imposed a military control order for the entire area.
The Beit Sahour Municipality stepped in and successfully had the order lifted. Israel granted permits for the development of a community recreational park; but the application permits for a children’s hospital funded by Cure International had been repeatedly denied and plans for the hospital at Ush Ghrab had to be abandoned.
Construction of the “peace park” began that April. Shortly thereafter, Israeli protesters began to demonstrate against its existence and against the presence of Palestinians on “their land.”
In 2008 Women in Green, an Israeli settler organization, began to arrange activities in the area they call Shdema in preparation for the establishment of a Jewish settlement.
The group claims that Beit Sahour municipality is illegally building the community center on part of their “rightful Jewish land”. Knesset members Arieh Eldad and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdore Lieberman, who live in settlements supported settler efforts.
In spite of Israeli events held at the abandoned military buildings, off limits to Palestinians, then Prime Minister Salam Fayyad inaugurated the Ush Ghrab Park in 2008.
In October 2009, park construction materials purchased with a loan from USAID were confiscated by the Israeli military.
They were never returned. In January 2010, the park was vandalized: the Star of David, Hebrew writing and “Israel is Jewish” were spray painted over the park walls.
Shortly before March 2010, rumors circulated that another Jewish settlement was to be built on the former military site at Ush Ghrab. Local Palestinians feared re-occupation of the land Israel had agreed to turn over to the local municipality.
The army’s decision to allow illegal Israeli settlers to install a settlement outpost on city land used as a public park infuriated local residents.
Local sources said a large number of settlers invaded the area, and started preparing for what seems to be yet another “new settlement outpost”, in an attempt to push the Palestinians away, especially since a public recreation park has been set up by the Palestinians.
Ush Ghrab area is legally and officially Palestinian property, but the army and fanatic Israeli groups are trying to confiscate it, and prevent the Palestinian from entering it.
Background;
In April 2006, the Israeli army unilaterally withdrew from their post at Ush Ghrab. Residents in the quiet residential neighborhood rejoiced; but short-lived joy turned to deep concern when Israel imposed a military control order for the entire area.
The Beit Sahour Municipality stepped in and successfully had the order lifted. Israel granted permits for the development of a community recreational park; but the application permits for a children’s hospital funded by Cure International had been repeatedly denied and plans for the hospital at Ush Ghrab had to be abandoned.
Construction of the “peace park” began that April. Shortly thereafter, Israeli protesters began to demonstrate against its existence and against the presence of Palestinians on “their land.”
In 2008 Women in Green, an Israeli settler organization, began to arrange activities in the area they call Shdema in preparation for the establishment of a Jewish settlement.
The group claims that Beit Sahour municipality is illegally building the community center on part of their “rightful Jewish land”. Knesset members Arieh Eldad and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdore Lieberman, who live in settlements supported settler efforts.
In spite of Israeli events held at the abandoned military buildings, off limits to Palestinians, then Prime Minister Salam Fayyad inaugurated the Ush Ghrab Park in 2008.
In October 2009, park construction materials purchased with a loan from USAID were confiscated by the Israeli military.
They were never returned. In January 2010, the park was vandalized: the Star of David, Hebrew writing and “Israel is Jewish” were spray painted over the park walls.
Shortly before March 2010, rumors circulated that another Jewish settlement was to be built on the former military site at Ush Ghrab. Local Palestinians feared re-occupation of the land Israel had agreed to turn over to the local municipality.
The army’s decision to allow illegal Israeli settlers to install a settlement outpost on city land used as a public park infuriated local residents.
Palestinians protested Wednesday in front of the United Nations office in Ramallah against the latest wave of home demolitions and displacement of the Palestinian Bedouin community in the village of Abu al Jaj. The community was evicted on May 21, 2014, rendering 71 Palestinians homeless.
The demonstration demanded the United Nations and international community end their silence on the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Jordan Valley.
The demonstrators handed a letter addressed to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [PDF] asking for immediate and effective action.
They also called upon international civil society to boycott the Hyundai Motor Company due to the company's involvement in the displacement of communities in the Jordan Valley.
The eviction in Abu al Jaj is the latest episode in an ongoing policy of displacement and population transfer, particularly in the West Bank's Jordan Valley.
The United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has documented the demolition of 2,603 structures and displacement of 4,325 Palestinians from their homes between 2009-2013 . The majority of these demolitions have occurred in the Jordan Valley and in Area C.
Since the beginning of 2014, 611 people have already been displaced in the West Bank, and 308 structures were demolished.
The demonstration demanded the United Nations and international community end their silence on the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Jordan Valley.
The demonstrators handed a letter addressed to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [PDF] asking for immediate and effective action.
They also called upon international civil society to boycott the Hyundai Motor Company due to the company's involvement in the displacement of communities in the Jordan Valley.
The eviction in Abu al Jaj is the latest episode in an ongoing policy of displacement and population transfer, particularly in the West Bank's Jordan Valley.
The United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has documented the demolition of 2,603 structures and displacement of 4,325 Palestinians from their homes between 2009-2013 . The majority of these demolitions have occurred in the Jordan Valley and in Area C.
Since the beginning of 2014, 611 people have already been displaced in the West Bank, and 308 structures were demolished.
29 may 2014
Palestinians in the village of Kufr al-Deek in the northern occupied West Bank awoke on Sunday to see Israeli earth-movers busily flattening the top of a nearby hill. Locals say it is their privately-owned land and that the Israeli government is preparing to build a new Jewish settlement outpost there.
They fear it will help consolidate a bloc of Israeli towns, plunging almost halfway into the occupied territory, which they say will deny them a viable future state.
"(Israel) wants to link up their colonies, from Ariel to the coast and they need our land to do it," said villager Ismail Taha, hoarse from shouting at the dozens of Israeli soldiers who prevented him and other residents from reaching the work site on Monday.
They say a pair of settlers began squatting on the hillside last week and fear it will be the nucleus of a new community.
"It's stealing, and we have no means to defend ourselves. While they have biased courts, police and an army, we have no money and no power. We're peaceful, but over our dead bodies will they succeed in taking our land," Taha said.
Twin corridors of around two dozen Jewish settlements housing almost 50,000 settlers extend between the settlement city of Ariel's 20,000 residents and Israel's coastal plain.
Israel and the United States believe the communities in the Ariel settlement bloc, founded mostly in the 1980s, are now too large and well-established to be evacuated in any future peace agreement - a prospect rendered even more distant by the collapse of U.S.-backed peace talks with the Palestinians last month amid mutual blame.
Palestinian officials have entertained the idea for swapping those lands for others in Israel during closed-door negotiations, but publicly say that they are entitled to a state in all of Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem - lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
The settlers, who number well over half a million in total, cite religious and cultural ties to the land.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Ariel area, which he calls the "Tel Aviv suburbs," and other settlement blocs around Jerusalem and Bethlehem will stay put.
Peace Now, an Israeli watchdog group, said Netanyahu's government had advanced plans to build almost 14,000 new settler homes on occupied land in the 9-month period of peace talks which began last July.
The International Court of Justice deems the settlements illegal. While the European Union has said it "deplores" them and the United States calls them "illegitimate," countries have taken few obvious steps to slow their spread.
"STATE LAND"
Israel has declared the 300-dunam (74-acre) tract traversed with olive trees and dirt paths "state land," a label it has applied to much of the other lands upon which settlements and their connected farming lands have been historically built.
"The present case refers to declared state lands on which approved works are taking place lately for the agricultural development of the region. The works are under constant supervision and monitoring," the Israeli government body responsible for the occupied West Bank told Reuters.
Residents of Kufr al-Deek and other villages disagree with the "state land" claim and say settlement activity is expanding.
They point out ruined Palestinian cisterns and modest homes on the hill they say Israeli forces demolished in recent months. Looking out on the horizon, the string of nearby settlements appear to be growing, with a whole hillside next to one being flattened ahead of apparent planned construction and settler portacabins pouring down the hillside of another.
"Kufr al-Deek is 300 years old and look how small it is. Just one of the settlements there, built in 1985, is already twice its size. Tell me, where can we build our state?" villager Ahmed Ali said.
They fear it will help consolidate a bloc of Israeli towns, plunging almost halfway into the occupied territory, which they say will deny them a viable future state.
"(Israel) wants to link up their colonies, from Ariel to the coast and they need our land to do it," said villager Ismail Taha, hoarse from shouting at the dozens of Israeli soldiers who prevented him and other residents from reaching the work site on Monday.
They say a pair of settlers began squatting on the hillside last week and fear it will be the nucleus of a new community.
"It's stealing, and we have no means to defend ourselves. While they have biased courts, police and an army, we have no money and no power. We're peaceful, but over our dead bodies will they succeed in taking our land," Taha said.
Twin corridors of around two dozen Jewish settlements housing almost 50,000 settlers extend between the settlement city of Ariel's 20,000 residents and Israel's coastal plain.
Israel and the United States believe the communities in the Ariel settlement bloc, founded mostly in the 1980s, are now too large and well-established to be evacuated in any future peace agreement - a prospect rendered even more distant by the collapse of U.S.-backed peace talks with the Palestinians last month amid mutual blame.
Palestinian officials have entertained the idea for swapping those lands for others in Israel during closed-door negotiations, but publicly say that they are entitled to a state in all of Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem - lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
The settlers, who number well over half a million in total, cite religious and cultural ties to the land.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Ariel area, which he calls the "Tel Aviv suburbs," and other settlement blocs around Jerusalem and Bethlehem will stay put.
Peace Now, an Israeli watchdog group, said Netanyahu's government had advanced plans to build almost 14,000 new settler homes on occupied land in the 9-month period of peace talks which began last July.
The International Court of Justice deems the settlements illegal. While the European Union has said it "deplores" them and the United States calls them "illegitimate," countries have taken few obvious steps to slow their spread.
"STATE LAND"
Israel has declared the 300-dunam (74-acre) tract traversed with olive trees and dirt paths "state land," a label it has applied to much of the other lands upon which settlements and their connected farming lands have been historically built.
"The present case refers to declared state lands on which approved works are taking place lately for the agricultural development of the region. The works are under constant supervision and monitoring," the Israeli government body responsible for the occupied West Bank told Reuters.
Residents of Kufr al-Deek and other villages disagree with the "state land" claim and say settlement activity is expanding.
They point out ruined Palestinian cisterns and modest homes on the hill they say Israeli forces demolished in recent months. Looking out on the horizon, the string of nearby settlements appear to be growing, with a whole hillside next to one being flattened ahead of apparent planned construction and settler portacabins pouring down the hillside of another.
"Kufr al-Deek is 300 years old and look how small it is. Just one of the settlements there, built in 1985, is already twice its size. Tell me, where can we build our state?" villager Ahmed Ali said.
Jewish vandals slash tires in Haifa district
Israeli soldiers demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib, in the Naqab (Negev), for what amounts to the 69th consecutive time, on Thursday, say witnesses. The previous evening, suspected Jewish vandals slashed the tires of eight Palestinian-owned vehicles in Baqa-Gharbia town, pre-1948 occupied Palestine.
The villagers of al-Araqib, near Beer Sheba, have called upon the international community and all relevant human rights organizations to intervene and stop the systematic measures against them, by the Israeli government, WAFA reports.
Violations against the Bedouin community are frequent and ongoing. By such attacks, Israeli authorities seek to displace the residents living in the area as prelude to seizing their land for the benefit of settlement expansion.
According to local sources, a number of Jewish vandals, most likely belonging to a "Price Tag" gang, punctured the tires of 8 civilian Palestinian-owned cars parked at al-Qasmi college, Baqa-Gharbia town, where they defaced the bodies of the vehicles with sharp tools.
After the vandals carried out the attack, Al Ray Reports, they escaped from the area in a Toyota car, according to witnesses.
“Price Tag” attacks come from a group of Jewish militant civilians which carries out destructive and intimidating actions directed against Palestinians and their property, Al Ray further reports, including mostly land but also mosques and vehicles in the West Bank, and increasingly in Israel itself.
Attacks of this particular nature were included in the US State Department's 2013 Country Reports on Terrorism, published April 30 of this year.
Israeli soldiers demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib, in the Naqab (Negev), for what amounts to the 69th consecutive time, on Thursday, say witnesses. The previous evening, suspected Jewish vandals slashed the tires of eight Palestinian-owned vehicles in Baqa-Gharbia town, pre-1948 occupied Palestine.
The villagers of al-Araqib, near Beer Sheba, have called upon the international community and all relevant human rights organizations to intervene and stop the systematic measures against them, by the Israeli government, WAFA reports.
Violations against the Bedouin community are frequent and ongoing. By such attacks, Israeli authorities seek to displace the residents living in the area as prelude to seizing their land for the benefit of settlement expansion.
According to local sources, a number of Jewish vandals, most likely belonging to a "Price Tag" gang, punctured the tires of 8 civilian Palestinian-owned cars parked at al-Qasmi college, Baqa-Gharbia town, where they defaced the bodies of the vehicles with sharp tools.
After the vandals carried out the attack, Al Ray Reports, they escaped from the area in a Toyota car, according to witnesses.
“Price Tag” attacks come from a group of Jewish militant civilians which carries out destructive and intimidating actions directed against Palestinians and their property, Al Ray further reports, including mostly land but also mosques and vehicles in the West Bank, and increasingly in Israel itself.
Attacks of this particular nature were included in the US State Department's 2013 Country Reports on Terrorism, published April 30 of this year.
26 may 2014
An Israeli military force at dawn Monday raided Idna town west of al-Khalil south of the Occupied West Bank. According to Palestinian security sources, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) set up a military checkpoint at the main entrance to the town while several military patrols carried out raids into the area.
In a related event, violent clashes broke out as IOF raided Al-Amari refugee camp in Ramallah. Blasts were heard around the camp.
Along the same line, Sidi Bou’ez settlers attacked Palestinians’ lands and damaged several grapes south of Bethlehem in the Occupied West Bank after having released sheep herds in the land. More than 120 fruitful grapes have been knocked down in the process, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlement in Khader village, Ahmad Salah, documented.
Settlers dug an absorption hole in the area and damaged Palestinians’ crops. The area has been frequently targeted by settler attacks and confiscations under heavy shield by IOF, Salah added.
In another event, IOF denied Palestinian farmers and citizens’ access into Daher Sobh area, north of Kafr Ad-Dik, west of Salfit, where bulldozing procedures have been going on for three days in a row.
According to Kafr Ad-Dik native Mahmoud Al-Ahmad tear gas canisters and rubber bullets were fired on Sunday by IOF on Palestinian citizens, who rushed to save their lands from Israeli razing procedures.
The Israeli Occupation Authorities are claiming land ownership under authorization of Israeli courthouses after having issued an order since 1985 outlawing such razing operations in Daher Sobh. Such violations present flagrant breaches to international laws prohibiting Israeli settlement in the area, Researcher Khaled Maali stated.
In a related event, violent clashes broke out as IOF raided Al-Amari refugee camp in Ramallah. Blasts were heard around the camp.
Along the same line, Sidi Bou’ez settlers attacked Palestinians’ lands and damaged several grapes south of Bethlehem in the Occupied West Bank after having released sheep herds in the land. More than 120 fruitful grapes have been knocked down in the process, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlement in Khader village, Ahmad Salah, documented.
Settlers dug an absorption hole in the area and damaged Palestinians’ crops. The area has been frequently targeted by settler attacks and confiscations under heavy shield by IOF, Salah added.
In another event, IOF denied Palestinian farmers and citizens’ access into Daher Sobh area, north of Kafr Ad-Dik, west of Salfit, where bulldozing procedures have been going on for three days in a row.
According to Kafr Ad-Dik native Mahmoud Al-Ahmad tear gas canisters and rubber bullets were fired on Sunday by IOF on Palestinian citizens, who rushed to save their lands from Israeli razing procedures.
The Israeli Occupation Authorities are claiming land ownership under authorization of Israeli courthouses after having issued an order since 1985 outlawing such razing operations in Daher Sobh. Such violations present flagrant breaches to international laws prohibiting Israeli settlement in the area, Researcher Khaled Maali stated.
25 may 2014
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement that the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) launched on May 19 a wave of demolition procedures in six residential communities in “Area C” over the eastern hills of Occupied Jerusalem, within and around the so-called E1 settlement project. According to the statement, the demolition streak covered Nakhila, Ksara, Khan Al-Ahmar, and Al-Aziriya among a series of other Palestinian towns and villages.
13 buildings were demolished under the pretext of illegal construction permits. 37 Palestinian citizens, including 23 children, were displaced as a result, while 50 more natives were harmed in a way or another, OCHA further documented.
The area, historically a home for 18 residential communities, comprising around 2,800 people in toto, has been declared by IOA a priority-zone, paving the way for the execution of an Israeli official scheme to deport most of the native communities in the Area C in favor of Israeli settlement expansions.
The plan includes projected attempts to encircle the area within the Ma’ale Adumim’s wall. E1 is among the largest illegal settlement projects in Occupied West Bank aiming at dividing up the West Bank into two parts and detaching the eastern part of Occupied Jerusalem from the Occupied West Bank, once and for all
On May 18, the IOA confiscated three residential tents, funded by relief volunteers, and a set of construction materials near Nablus. 27 citizens, including 18 children, were forced out of their native soil for the third time within a period of three weeks, OCHA reported.
IOA issued orders to stop construction processes and cut off 15 more buildings, 8 among which were funded by international donors, within the same area during this week. IOA arbitrary orders targeted also 8 sheep sheds in al-Khalil, the statement concluded
13 buildings were demolished under the pretext of illegal construction permits. 37 Palestinian citizens, including 23 children, were displaced as a result, while 50 more natives were harmed in a way or another, OCHA further documented.
The area, historically a home for 18 residential communities, comprising around 2,800 people in toto, has been declared by IOA a priority-zone, paving the way for the execution of an Israeli official scheme to deport most of the native communities in the Area C in favor of Israeli settlement expansions.
The plan includes projected attempts to encircle the area within the Ma’ale Adumim’s wall. E1 is among the largest illegal settlement projects in Occupied West Bank aiming at dividing up the West Bank into two parts and detaching the eastern part of Occupied Jerusalem from the Occupied West Bank, once and for all
On May 18, the IOA confiscated three residential tents, funded by relief volunteers, and a set of construction materials near Nablus. 27 citizens, including 18 children, were forced out of their native soil for the third time within a period of three weeks, OCHA reported.
IOA issued orders to stop construction processes and cut off 15 more buildings, 8 among which were funded by international donors, within the same area during this week. IOA arbitrary orders targeted also 8 sheep sheds in al-Khalil, the statement concluded
Israeli newspaper Hayom, according to the Palestinian News Network (PNN), reports that Naftali Bennett, Israeli Minister of Economy and head of the Jewish Home Party, has suggested in an article he wrote for the Wall Street Journal to demolish a portion of the Israeli "separation wall" in a move to annex Area C to the state of Israel, as well as giving its residents full Israeli citizenship.
According to the plan, Palestinian authorities would be left with Areas A and B to build their state.
Bennett wrote that many Israelis think the wall is the reason for the decrease in terrorist activities in Israel; however, he would argue that the true impetus behind the decrease is Israeli military intelligence, and because the army enjoys complete freedom of movement in the West Bank.
Therefore, the PNN reports, he concludes that Israel will be safer and better off without the wall.
According to the plan, Palestinian authorities would be left with Areas A and B to build their state.
Bennett wrote that many Israelis think the wall is the reason for the decrease in terrorist activities in Israel; however, he would argue that the true impetus behind the decrease is Israeli military intelligence, and because the army enjoys complete freedom of movement in the West Bank.
Therefore, the PNN reports, he concludes that Israel will be safer and better off without the wall.
The Israeli Authorities announced the illegal annexation of 3000 Dunams of privately owned Palestinian lands belonging to residents of the Salfit district, in central West Bank.
Jamal Tawfiq of the Land Defense Committee in Salfit told the Maan News Agency that the soldiers bulldozed and uprooted large areas in Thaher Sabha Mountain area, north of Kufur Ed-Deek village.
Tawfiq said the army officially informed the Palestinians the area has been declared a “closed military zone”, an order Israel enforces before the illegitimate confiscating of Palestinian lands.
The lands in question belong to the villagers of Kufur Ed-Deek, Sarta, Bedya and Broqeen.
Tawfiq said that Israel tried to confiscate the area in 1985, but the residents managed to obtain an Israeli court order against the confiscation in 1990, and the army today claimed it gained a court ruling allowing the theft of Palestinian lands in the area.
On Thursday morning [May 22, 2014] Several Israeli military jeeps, accompanied by armored bulldozers, invaded Palestinians lands and olive orchards in Kufur Ed-Deek, west of the central West bank city of Salfit, bulldozed lands and uprooted several olive trees.
Member of the Kufur Ed-Deek Local Council, Mousa Qassoul, stated that several jeeps, accompanied by two armored bulldozers, invaded Thaher Soboh area, west of Kufur Ed-Deek, uprooted the trees, and started the removal of an old, unused, settlement road, the WAFA News Agency has reported.
Qassoul said the attack comes in an attempt to illegally confiscate the lands for settlement activities, as the army is preparing for a new illegal settlement outpost between the town and Bedya nearby village.
Jamal Tawfiq of the Land Defense Committee in Salfit told the Maan News Agency that the soldiers bulldozed and uprooted large areas in Thaher Sabha Mountain area, north of Kufur Ed-Deek village.
Tawfiq said the army officially informed the Palestinians the area has been declared a “closed military zone”, an order Israel enforces before the illegitimate confiscating of Palestinian lands.
The lands in question belong to the villagers of Kufur Ed-Deek, Sarta, Bedya and Broqeen.
Tawfiq said that Israel tried to confiscate the area in 1985, but the residents managed to obtain an Israeli court order against the confiscation in 1990, and the army today claimed it gained a court ruling allowing the theft of Palestinian lands in the area.
On Thursday morning [May 22, 2014] Several Israeli military jeeps, accompanied by armored bulldozers, invaded Palestinians lands and olive orchards in Kufur Ed-Deek, west of the central West bank city of Salfit, bulldozed lands and uprooted several olive trees.
Member of the Kufur Ed-Deek Local Council, Mousa Qassoul, stated that several jeeps, accompanied by two armored bulldozers, invaded Thaher Soboh area, west of Kufur Ed-Deek, uprooted the trees, and started the removal of an old, unused, settlement road, the WAFA News Agency has reported.
Qassoul said the attack comes in an attempt to illegally confiscate the lands for settlement activities, as the army is preparing for a new illegal settlement outpost between the town and Bedya nearby village.
23 may 2014
A mosque was demolished Thursday in Wadi al-Na'am village in the Negev to the south of the 1948 occupied lands by Israeli bulldozers under police protection. The demolition of the mosque raised fears among the villagers that their homes could be demolished next.
The execution of such demolition comes just a few days after an administrative demolition order had been put up on the mosque’s walls as part of a wider Israeli plan to displace more than 60,000 Palestinian Arab citizens from the Negev.
The plan aims at evacuating the Negev from its native inhabitants in favor of Israeli settlers, municipalities and military camps.
The execution of such demolition comes just a few days after an administrative demolition order had been put up on the mosque’s walls as part of a wider Israeli plan to displace more than 60,000 Palestinian Arab citizens from the Negev.
The plan aims at evacuating the Negev from its native inhabitants in favor of Israeli settlers, municipalities and military camps.
Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said he intends to submit a draft law expanding the boundaries of occupied Jerusalem, to include the settlement blocs of Maaleh Adumim and the Gush Etzion.
The Likud Party official said his plan aims at what he called “preserving the Jewish identity” of occupied Jerusalem.
He said that, as Israel will be marking “Jerusalem Day”, (47 years since it illegally annexed occupied Jerusalem), it will also be promoting a plan that would expand the borders of Jerusalem, and strengthen its “Jewish identity”.
Katz will also support declaring what he called “The Greater Jerusalem”, after declaring settlement blocs and settlements, including those far from Jerusalem, as part of the “Greater capital of Israel”, the Israel Today News Website said.
It added that Maaleh Aumim settlement block, Gush Etzion settlement block, Betar Illit and Givat Zeev settlements will be part of the jurisdiction of Jerusalem.
He said this plan aims at creating a centralized council that protects the independence of each settlement, but Jerusalem will be a metropolis, similar to “Greater Paris”, and “Greater London”.
His plan comes amidst deadlocked Palestinian-Israeli political talks, and amidst a serious increase in draft laws that target occupied Jerusalem, in addition to laws calling for annexing Area C in the occupied West Bank to become part of the state.
Meanwhile, Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel said he expects the settler popular, in the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, to witness a %50 increase in population by the year 2019.
The plan is another Israeli blow to political talks, that have repeatedly failed due to Israel’s ongoing violations, settlement activities, and aims at a further isolation of the Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem, and various areas of the West Bank.
* Area C of the occupied West Bank is around %74 of the entire occupied territories, and falls under complete Israeli military occupation, security control, and is largely used for the illegal construction and expansion of Jewish-only settlements, in direct violation of International Law.
Under the Wye River Agreement, Israel was supposed to withdraw from an additional %13 of the occupied West Bank, which could have effectively reduced Area C to around %61, but Israel’s governments continued to violate agreements signed with the Palestinian Authority.
While the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and Israel are supposed to be holding talks on Israel’s full withdrawal from all of the occupied territories, including occupied East Jerusalem, and while talks were “progressing" in the 1990’s and various agreements were signed”, Israel launched one of the most massive waves of illegal construction and expansion of Jewish settlements through illegal annexation of Palestinian lands and private property.
Around 99% of Area C are under heavy restrictions by Israel, off-limited to the Palestinians, as Israel’s settlements occupy around 68%, 21% are closed Israeli military zones, and around 9% is allocated for “natural reserves”.
It is virtually impossible for the Palestinians in Area C to obtain construction permits from the Israeli Authorities, while construction and expansion of Jewish settlements have been encouraged and supported by Israel’s different governments.
The illegal Israeli Annexation Wall came to further isolate the occupied territories, preventing hundreds of thousands of villagers and farmers from entering their own land, isolated behind the Wall, while many Palestinian communities have been totally encircled, and isolated, by the Wall.
The Likud Party official said his plan aims at what he called “preserving the Jewish identity” of occupied Jerusalem.
He said that, as Israel will be marking “Jerusalem Day”, (47 years since it illegally annexed occupied Jerusalem), it will also be promoting a plan that would expand the borders of Jerusalem, and strengthen its “Jewish identity”.
Katz will also support declaring what he called “The Greater Jerusalem”, after declaring settlement blocs and settlements, including those far from Jerusalem, as part of the “Greater capital of Israel”, the Israel Today News Website said.
It added that Maaleh Aumim settlement block, Gush Etzion settlement block, Betar Illit and Givat Zeev settlements will be part of the jurisdiction of Jerusalem.
He said this plan aims at creating a centralized council that protects the independence of each settlement, but Jerusalem will be a metropolis, similar to “Greater Paris”, and “Greater London”.
His plan comes amidst deadlocked Palestinian-Israeli political talks, and amidst a serious increase in draft laws that target occupied Jerusalem, in addition to laws calling for annexing Area C in the occupied West Bank to become part of the state.
Meanwhile, Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel said he expects the settler popular, in the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, to witness a %50 increase in population by the year 2019.
The plan is another Israeli blow to political talks, that have repeatedly failed due to Israel’s ongoing violations, settlement activities, and aims at a further isolation of the Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem, and various areas of the West Bank.
* Area C of the occupied West Bank is around %74 of the entire occupied territories, and falls under complete Israeli military occupation, security control, and is largely used for the illegal construction and expansion of Jewish-only settlements, in direct violation of International Law.
Under the Wye River Agreement, Israel was supposed to withdraw from an additional %13 of the occupied West Bank, which could have effectively reduced Area C to around %61, but Israel’s governments continued to violate agreements signed with the Palestinian Authority.
While the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and Israel are supposed to be holding talks on Israel’s full withdrawal from all of the occupied territories, including occupied East Jerusalem, and while talks were “progressing" in the 1990’s and various agreements were signed”, Israel launched one of the most massive waves of illegal construction and expansion of Jewish settlements through illegal annexation of Palestinian lands and private property.
Around 99% of Area C are under heavy restrictions by Israel, off-limited to the Palestinians, as Israel’s settlements occupy around 68%, 21% are closed Israeli military zones, and around 9% is allocated for “natural reserves”.
It is virtually impossible for the Palestinians in Area C to obtain construction permits from the Israeli Authorities, while construction and expansion of Jewish settlements have been encouraged and supported by Israel’s different governments.
The illegal Israeli Annexation Wall came to further isolate the occupied territories, preventing hundreds of thousands of villagers and farmers from entering their own land, isolated behind the Wall, while many Palestinian communities have been totally encircled, and isolated, by the Wall.
21 may 2014
Settlers from Ariel on Wednesday used bulldozers to raze agricultural lands belonging to Palestinian farmers from the Salfit town of Kifl Haris, witnesses said.
The settlers also carried barbed wire with them and razed land north of Salfit in preparation to confiscate it, locals said.
A local activist who monitors settlement activities told Ma'an that Ariel settlement is expanding to the West and South and construction work has increased dramatically during the 9-month period of peace negotiations.
Ariel settlement is located 16.5 kilometers east of the green line in the center of the Salfit district, blocking Palestinian development in the area.
The illegal settlement also prevents natural contiguity between the northern and central West Bank.
The settlers also carried barbed wire with them and razed land north of Salfit in preparation to confiscate it, locals said.
A local activist who monitors settlement activities told Ma'an that Ariel settlement is expanding to the West and South and construction work has increased dramatically during the 9-month period of peace negotiations.
Ariel settlement is located 16.5 kilometers east of the green line in the center of the Salfit district, blocking Palestinian development in the area.
The illegal settlement also prevents natural contiguity between the northern and central West Bank.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) accompanied by military bulldozers stormed on Wednesday Jeftlek village, north of the Jordan Valley, and demolished 20 Palestinian facilities including tents and sheds. The IOF soldiers demolished sheds and tents belonging to Duayis family, local sources reported.
IOF soldiers deported many Palestinian families living in the village from their homes under the pretext of being located in area C.
6 homes and 12 sheds were demolished this morning, which led to the displacement of 50 family members, Aref Daraghmeh, a local leader, told the PIC reporter.
Israeli demolitions leave 25 homeless in Jordan Valley
Israeli forces on Wednesday demolished 20 structures belonging to a Palestinian family in the northern Jordan Valley, leaving 25 people homeless as a result.
Israeli civil administration forces reportedly arrived in the village of Jiftlik on Wednesday morning and demolished 20 structures belonging to the Deis family, 13 of which were residential steel structures while seven were steel structures used as barns for animals.
Spokesperson for the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Guy Inbar said that the "structures were built illegally without the permits needed," adding that the case had already gone to the Israeli high court and the residents were found to have lost.
"It gave them the possibility to demolish the structures by themselves, but after a months passed and they didn't, the civil administration went and enforced the law," he said.
In response to the incident, Jericho governor Majed al-Fityani condemned the Israeli practices of home demolition and said that Israel is "violating the rights and international laws against war crimes."
Al-Fityani added that these assaults "aim to damage the only source of living for farmers and citizens."
The governor demanded the international community "show some responsibility and stop Israel from committing these war crimes."
The majority of the Jordan Valley is under full Israeli military control, despite being within the West Bank. Palestinian residents are rarely given permits to build or repair their homes, while Jewish settlements have expanded greatly in recent years.
Israel has destroyed more than 248 Palestinian properties in the West Bank and East Jerusalem so far in 2014, displacing 492 people, according to UNOCHA.
The Jordan Valley is within the 61 percent of the occupied West Bank it is under full Israeli military control as "Area C."
Area C comprises the only contiguous piece of land connecting 227 Palestinian residential communities in areas A and B as well as about 150,000 Palestinian residents.
IOF soldiers deported many Palestinian families living in the village from their homes under the pretext of being located in area C.
6 homes and 12 sheds were demolished this morning, which led to the displacement of 50 family members, Aref Daraghmeh, a local leader, told the PIC reporter.
Israeli demolitions leave 25 homeless in Jordan Valley
Israeli forces on Wednesday demolished 20 structures belonging to a Palestinian family in the northern Jordan Valley, leaving 25 people homeless as a result.
Israeli civil administration forces reportedly arrived in the village of Jiftlik on Wednesday morning and demolished 20 structures belonging to the Deis family, 13 of which were residential steel structures while seven were steel structures used as barns for animals.
Spokesperson for the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Guy Inbar said that the "structures were built illegally without the permits needed," adding that the case had already gone to the Israeli high court and the residents were found to have lost.
"It gave them the possibility to demolish the structures by themselves, but after a months passed and they didn't, the civil administration went and enforced the law," he said.
In response to the incident, Jericho governor Majed al-Fityani condemned the Israeli practices of home demolition and said that Israel is "violating the rights and international laws against war crimes."
Al-Fityani added that these assaults "aim to damage the only source of living for farmers and citizens."
The governor demanded the international community "show some responsibility and stop Israel from committing these war crimes."
The majority of the Jordan Valley is under full Israeli military control, despite being within the West Bank. Palestinian residents are rarely given permits to build or repair their homes, while Jewish settlements have expanded greatly in recent years.
Israel has destroyed more than 248 Palestinian properties in the West Bank and East Jerusalem so far in 2014, displacing 492 people, according to UNOCHA.
The Jordan Valley is within the 61 percent of the occupied West Bank it is under full Israeli military control as "Area C."
Area C comprises the only contiguous piece of land connecting 227 Palestinian residential communities in areas A and B as well as about 150,000 Palestinian residents.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) entered southern Gaza on Wednesday morning and bulldozed tracts of land while Palestinian resistance fighters fired mortar shells at them. Local sources told the PIC reporter that IOF soldiers escorting four military bulldozers advanced 200 meters into eastern Qarara town, to the northwest of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip, and leveled land.
They said that resistance fighters fired four mortar shells at the invading troops and blasted an explosive device in one of the bulldozers.
The PIC reporter said that IOF opened artillery fire at areas east of Qarara and another area to the north west of the incursion area. No casualties were reported.
Reinforcements were sent to the invading force and sound of intermittent shooting was heard in the area as helicopter gunships hovered overhead, the reporter added.
They said that resistance fighters fired four mortar shells at the invading troops and blasted an explosive device in one of the bulldozers.
The PIC reporter said that IOF opened artillery fire at areas east of Qarara and another area to the north west of the incursion area. No casualties were reported.
Reinforcements were sent to the invading force and sound of intermittent shooting was heard in the area as helicopter gunships hovered overhead, the reporter added.
Settlers forge documents "signed" by Palestinians that allocates land for their use
AbdulLatif Simrin is no Jesus, but according to a lease presented by Jewish settlers as evidence to an Israeli court, the Palestinian man who died in 1961 sold them his land 50 years after his death - even by Holy Land standards, Simrin’s resurrection is beyond miraculous. First came cellular company towers, followed by caravans that started mushrooming atop the hill opposite Burqa, where the illegal outpost of Migron was established on Simrin’s and a few other Palestinian families’ private lands in 2002.
One of nearly 100 illegal outposts dotting the West Bank, established by Jewish settlers without Israeli government authorisation, Migron soon became one of the largest and most developed outposts at the time.
Representatives of AbdulLatif Simrin and others took their case to the Israeli Supreme Court, demanding the eviction of more than 50 Jewish families residing illegally on their lands.
During the trial, settlers presented a document allegedly signed in 2003 by AbdulLatif Simrin, who lived in California, selling them five acres of his land for $90,000.
The issue was that the illiterate farmer who used his thumbprint instead of a signature died without ever leaving Palestine, decades before he could have signed the document. In 2011, the court deemed the document forged and ordered the evacuation of Migron, since it was established on private Palestinian land.
However, Palestinians had little reason to celebrate. Not only did the settlers relocate to a nearby hilltop, a mere two kilometres away, creating a new settlement, but they also presented another document claiming they purchased a new plot from Burqa’s Yusef Nabbut in 2012, hindering the demolition of the outpost.
Nabbut’s son, 57-year-old Mohammed, insists his father could not have made the sale to the settlers or the alleged middleman.
"They got papers with his name written there and my father was an 85-year-old man who used his thumbprint," Nabbut said. Moreover, there are no records of the alleged middleman. "They made up names and IDs," he added.
In Ramallah, Mohammed Nazzal’s desk is a mess. The man who’s been in charge of the settlement file for the Palestinian government for nearly four years is always busy. He says his department is currently fighting in Israeli courts to prove Palestinian ownership of hundreds of acres of land across the occupied West Bank.
"The problem is that most Palestinian lands are not officially registered," Nazzal told Al Jazeera. "Even in cases of registered lands, forgery would take place and Palestinians won’t even realise it until they approach the Israeli Civil Administration for the documents - if they want to build on the land, or they see structures on it."
For the vast majority of unregistered lands, comprising more than 60 percent of the occupied West Bank, any registration needs to be published in local papers in accordance with the law before it becomes final.
Palestinian experts say those ads often appear in internal pages, in small fonts and are published during holidays. Even if they want to challenge them, the procedure is often very complicated for Palestinians, bearing in mind the lands in question are often under settlers’ control.
According to Nazzal, many acquisitions are conducted by development companies with Arabic names. "It’s part of the deception process," he said. The process, according to Nazzal, often includes the use of middlemen who either do not exist or are already on the run for selling lands to settlers. "They want the courts to believe they buy lands in good faith," Nazzal told Al Jazeera.
Settlers like David Haivri refute those accusations. Haivri said that Palestinians do sell lands to settlers, but because they fear for their well-being, "it makes sense to hear people retracting after they’ve made deals".
However, Palestinians and their advocates maintain settlers’ stories often do not hold water. "The frauds sometimes are ludicrous - someone who’s dead sold the land, the spelling of the last name is not correct," Reut Mor, the spokesperson for the Israeli NGO Yesh-Din told Al Jazeera.
Back in Burqa, Nabbut has been busy making shuttle visits to Israeli police centres for the Migron investigation. Despite the hustle, he’s persistent. "My father is dead and can’t defend himself," he said. "Land and honour are the same; we won’t give up on either." His visits finally paid off, as the Israeli police recently deemed the last document submitted by settlers as another forgery.
Neither Nabbut’s cry of foul play, nor settlers presenting such leases at legal crunch time is unique. On the contrary, presenting alleged purchases right before an evacuation is becoming more common, which begs the question: Why do settlers hold off on presenting proof of ownership until the very last minute?
The answer is simple, according to Mor: "It works." If the Israeli court is to decide on evacuation, it will exclude the structures on the plot in question. Regardless of the authenticity of the presented documents "that usually buy settlers quite a lot of time", she explained.
Although the whole settlement enterprise is illegal under international law, the Israeli legal system has managed to provide a fig leaf to the occupation by ordering the evacuation of outposts built on private Palestinian lands, while dealing with settlements as legal structures. As settlers secure a foothold in strategic West Bank places, they keep Palestinians away from their lands longer. That, in turn, makes it easier for Israel to declare private lands as "state" land, technically confiscating it and often to the benefit of the settlers.
Meanwhile, although it admits outposts are illegal, the Israeli government leaves them to flourish under its nose by providing them with basic services as well as protection. A 2005 report [PDF] shows the Israeli Housing Ministry spent millions of dollars on outposts, including around $1m in Migron.
To further complicate an already complicated situation, a recent Israeli report recommended the “legalisation” of most outposts in the occupied West Bank, even those built on private Palestinian lands, as Levy report of 2012 [PDF] concluded settlements do not breach international law because the West Bank is "not under military occupation".
In recent years, six illegal outposts were "legalised", by being turned into settlements, while eight more are in the process, according to Yesh-Din.
In total, settlements and the related infrastructure leave Palestinians with less than half of the West Bank.
Burqa lost two-thirds of its land to settlements and outposts. Although the Israeli authorities promised to remove the structures from Nabbut’s land by May 21, he remains wary.
"I’ll believe it when I see it," he said.
Source: Al Jazeera
AbdulLatif Simrin is no Jesus, but according to a lease presented by Jewish settlers as evidence to an Israeli court, the Palestinian man who died in 1961 sold them his land 50 years after his death - even by Holy Land standards, Simrin’s resurrection is beyond miraculous. First came cellular company towers, followed by caravans that started mushrooming atop the hill opposite Burqa, where the illegal outpost of Migron was established on Simrin’s and a few other Palestinian families’ private lands in 2002.
One of nearly 100 illegal outposts dotting the West Bank, established by Jewish settlers without Israeli government authorisation, Migron soon became one of the largest and most developed outposts at the time.
Representatives of AbdulLatif Simrin and others took their case to the Israeli Supreme Court, demanding the eviction of more than 50 Jewish families residing illegally on their lands.
During the trial, settlers presented a document allegedly signed in 2003 by AbdulLatif Simrin, who lived in California, selling them five acres of his land for $90,000.
The issue was that the illiterate farmer who used his thumbprint instead of a signature died without ever leaving Palestine, decades before he could have signed the document. In 2011, the court deemed the document forged and ordered the evacuation of Migron, since it was established on private Palestinian land.
However, Palestinians had little reason to celebrate. Not only did the settlers relocate to a nearby hilltop, a mere two kilometres away, creating a new settlement, but they also presented another document claiming they purchased a new plot from Burqa’s Yusef Nabbut in 2012, hindering the demolition of the outpost.
Nabbut’s son, 57-year-old Mohammed, insists his father could not have made the sale to the settlers or the alleged middleman.
"They got papers with his name written there and my father was an 85-year-old man who used his thumbprint," Nabbut said. Moreover, there are no records of the alleged middleman. "They made up names and IDs," he added.
In Ramallah, Mohammed Nazzal’s desk is a mess. The man who’s been in charge of the settlement file for the Palestinian government for nearly four years is always busy. He says his department is currently fighting in Israeli courts to prove Palestinian ownership of hundreds of acres of land across the occupied West Bank.
"The problem is that most Palestinian lands are not officially registered," Nazzal told Al Jazeera. "Even in cases of registered lands, forgery would take place and Palestinians won’t even realise it until they approach the Israeli Civil Administration for the documents - if they want to build on the land, or they see structures on it."
For the vast majority of unregistered lands, comprising more than 60 percent of the occupied West Bank, any registration needs to be published in local papers in accordance with the law before it becomes final.
Palestinian experts say those ads often appear in internal pages, in small fonts and are published during holidays. Even if they want to challenge them, the procedure is often very complicated for Palestinians, bearing in mind the lands in question are often under settlers’ control.
According to Nazzal, many acquisitions are conducted by development companies with Arabic names. "It’s part of the deception process," he said. The process, according to Nazzal, often includes the use of middlemen who either do not exist or are already on the run for selling lands to settlers. "They want the courts to believe they buy lands in good faith," Nazzal told Al Jazeera.
Settlers like David Haivri refute those accusations. Haivri said that Palestinians do sell lands to settlers, but because they fear for their well-being, "it makes sense to hear people retracting after they’ve made deals".
However, Palestinians and their advocates maintain settlers’ stories often do not hold water. "The frauds sometimes are ludicrous - someone who’s dead sold the land, the spelling of the last name is not correct," Reut Mor, the spokesperson for the Israeli NGO Yesh-Din told Al Jazeera.
Back in Burqa, Nabbut has been busy making shuttle visits to Israeli police centres for the Migron investigation. Despite the hustle, he’s persistent. "My father is dead and can’t defend himself," he said. "Land and honour are the same; we won’t give up on either." His visits finally paid off, as the Israeli police recently deemed the last document submitted by settlers as another forgery.
Neither Nabbut’s cry of foul play, nor settlers presenting such leases at legal crunch time is unique. On the contrary, presenting alleged purchases right before an evacuation is becoming more common, which begs the question: Why do settlers hold off on presenting proof of ownership until the very last minute?
The answer is simple, according to Mor: "It works." If the Israeli court is to decide on evacuation, it will exclude the structures on the plot in question. Regardless of the authenticity of the presented documents "that usually buy settlers quite a lot of time", she explained.
Although the whole settlement enterprise is illegal under international law, the Israeli legal system has managed to provide a fig leaf to the occupation by ordering the evacuation of outposts built on private Palestinian lands, while dealing with settlements as legal structures. As settlers secure a foothold in strategic West Bank places, they keep Palestinians away from their lands longer. That, in turn, makes it easier for Israel to declare private lands as "state" land, technically confiscating it and often to the benefit of the settlers.
Meanwhile, although it admits outposts are illegal, the Israeli government leaves them to flourish under its nose by providing them with basic services as well as protection. A 2005 report [PDF] shows the Israeli Housing Ministry spent millions of dollars on outposts, including around $1m in Migron.
To further complicate an already complicated situation, a recent Israeli report recommended the “legalisation” of most outposts in the occupied West Bank, even those built on private Palestinian lands, as Levy report of 2012 [PDF] concluded settlements do not breach international law because the West Bank is "not under military occupation".
In recent years, six illegal outposts were "legalised", by being turned into settlements, while eight more are in the process, according to Yesh-Din.
In total, settlements and the related infrastructure leave Palestinians with less than half of the West Bank.
Burqa lost two-thirds of its land to settlements and outposts. Although the Israeli authorities promised to remove the structures from Nabbut’s land by May 21, he remains wary.
"I’ll believe it when I see it," he said.
Source: Al Jazeera