23 apr 2016
The Israeli authorities on Saturday delivered notices to the Palestinian village of Jalud in the northern occupied West Bank, alerting residents that 5,000 dunams (1,250 acres) of private land were slated for confiscation in what appeared to be the retroactive legalization of illegal outposts in the area.
Officials from Jalud’s local council told Ma’an that the military identified areas of the Palestinian village expected to lose land to the confiscation as Khallat al-Wusta, Shieb Khallat al-Wusta, and Abu al-Kasbar.
However, the illegal outposts of Adei Ad, Esh Kodesh, Ahiya, and Kidah have already been established in the areas, marking the confiscation as Israel’s most recent retroactive legalization of unauthorized settlement construction.
Israel’s High Court of Justice last year declared its intention to retroactively formalize the string of outposts, established in violation of both Israeli and international law, according to the UN.
Jalud officials told Ma’an that the notice delivered to the Nablus-area village was signed by Israeli army’s head of Central Command Roni Numa, who said he believed “certain steps are needed to prevent terror attacks” and he as a result gave orders to confiscate the land “for security reasons.”
The land will be declared as “state land” and fall under full control of the Israeli military, the officials added.
A spokesperson for Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) was not immediately available for comment on the confiscation notice.
A PA official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, Ghassan Daghlas, told Ma’an that confiscation orders like those delivered to Jalud aim solely to expand illegal settlements, despite citing alleged security concerns.
“Security reasons are just a tool to cover up land robberies for settlement construction,” Daghlas said.
Daghlas warned that the retroactive confiscation would pave the way for continuing settlement expansion in the area, ultimately connecting the illegal outposts with the adjacent Shilo settlement via Alon Road, a bypass highway intended only for Israeli settler and military use.
Daghlas told Ma’an that Jalud’s local council had filed complaints to Israel’s High Court against settlement activity on their private land, which settlers have taken over and harvested illegally after the Israeli army designated the areas as closed military zones.
Some 12 illegal settlements and 27 settlement outposts are located in the Nablus district housing around 23,000 of the "most extremist settlers in the Palestinian territory," according to Daghlas.
The UN in January warned the Israeli authorities against legalizing the four outposts near Jalud, which have been widely acknowledged by the international community and Israel itself as a hotbed for both unlawful settlement activity and settler violence, coming as a detriment to Palestinian locals.
Outside of the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, Palestinians living in the area have been forced to implement voluntary night guards in order to protect against settler attacks launched by outpost residents.
Israel has recently stepped up land confiscation in the occupied West Bank, with settlement watchdog Peace Now last month warning that Israel has not confiscated such large swathes of land for the purpose of settlement expansion since the pre-Oslo period in the 1980s.
Following Israel’s confiscation of land south of Jericho last month, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said the "systematic land grab" constituted "a flagrant violation of international law."
"The Israeli government is not interested in peace," Hamdallah said. "It rather implement(s) a policy designed to prevent the formation of a contiguous Palestinian state."
Officials from Jalud’s local council told Ma’an that the military identified areas of the Palestinian village expected to lose land to the confiscation as Khallat al-Wusta, Shieb Khallat al-Wusta, and Abu al-Kasbar.
However, the illegal outposts of Adei Ad, Esh Kodesh, Ahiya, and Kidah have already been established in the areas, marking the confiscation as Israel’s most recent retroactive legalization of unauthorized settlement construction.
Israel’s High Court of Justice last year declared its intention to retroactively formalize the string of outposts, established in violation of both Israeli and international law, according to the UN.
Jalud officials told Ma’an that the notice delivered to the Nablus-area village was signed by Israeli army’s head of Central Command Roni Numa, who said he believed “certain steps are needed to prevent terror attacks” and he as a result gave orders to confiscate the land “for security reasons.”
The land will be declared as “state land” and fall under full control of the Israeli military, the officials added.
A spokesperson for Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) was not immediately available for comment on the confiscation notice.
A PA official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, Ghassan Daghlas, told Ma’an that confiscation orders like those delivered to Jalud aim solely to expand illegal settlements, despite citing alleged security concerns.
“Security reasons are just a tool to cover up land robberies for settlement construction,” Daghlas said.
Daghlas warned that the retroactive confiscation would pave the way for continuing settlement expansion in the area, ultimately connecting the illegal outposts with the adjacent Shilo settlement via Alon Road, a bypass highway intended only for Israeli settler and military use.
Daghlas told Ma’an that Jalud’s local council had filed complaints to Israel’s High Court against settlement activity on their private land, which settlers have taken over and harvested illegally after the Israeli army designated the areas as closed military zones.
Some 12 illegal settlements and 27 settlement outposts are located in the Nablus district housing around 23,000 of the "most extremist settlers in the Palestinian territory," according to Daghlas.
The UN in January warned the Israeli authorities against legalizing the four outposts near Jalud, which have been widely acknowledged by the international community and Israel itself as a hotbed for both unlawful settlement activity and settler violence, coming as a detriment to Palestinian locals.
Outside of the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, Palestinians living in the area have been forced to implement voluntary night guards in order to protect against settler attacks launched by outpost residents.
Israel has recently stepped up land confiscation in the occupied West Bank, with settlement watchdog Peace Now last month warning that Israel has not confiscated such large swathes of land for the purpose of settlement expansion since the pre-Oslo period in the 1980s.
Following Israel’s confiscation of land south of Jericho last month, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said the "systematic land grab" constituted "a flagrant violation of international law."
"The Israeli government is not interested in peace," Hamdallah said. "It rather implement(s) a policy designed to prevent the formation of a contiguous Palestinian state."
Israeli forces on Friday raided the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, issuing five demolition orders and threatening indictments against their Palestinian homeowners, amid a surge of demolitions in the area.
Fakhri Abu Diyab, a member of a Silwan-based committee formed to fight such demolitions in Silwan, told Ma’an that the Israeli authorities delivered demolition orders for five homes belonging to the Abu Rajab and Awwad families in the al-Bustan area, which were constructed over 30 years ago.
The Jerusalem municipality’s local affairs court previously asked the homeowners to provide testimony at a hearing, but the homeowners did not attend, according to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center.
The notices delivered Friday were issued as final warnings to the homeowners, threatening that if they did not appear in court, indictments would be filed against them under Article 212.
Abu Diyab added that while Israeli forces raid Silwan every Friday and Saturday and deliver demolition orders, the notices issued this week threatening indictment were a new development.
“It is threatening to use article 212,” Abu Diyab told Ma’an, because the article allows the public prosecution to demolish houses without providing clear reasons, and to punish homeowners with fines or prison time.
Article 212 is invariably used when the state fails to provide enough evidence to convict the building owner for construction without a license, or in cases where it is not able to order a fine or a demolition order under article 205.
Daniel Sidelman from the Jerusalem Terrestrial organization said that the “aggressive” move by the Israeli authorities threatening indictments under article 212 is not unprecedented “but far from routine.”
Abu Diyab highlighted that the increase of notices suggests that the municipality is planning to move forward with controversial development plans in the neighborhood, which have been frozen for years following international pressure.
Sidelman agreed that targeting the al-Bustan area was a “particularly troubling and ominous indication” that the municipality is planning to go forward with plan.
“The communities (in Silwan) are at risk in ways other communities are not at risk. They are constantly targeted by (Israeli) settlers and authorities, and the distinction between settlers and the Israeli authorities has been completely blurred,” Sidelman told Ma’an.
The municipality began issuing demolition orders and indictments to homes in al-Bustan in 2005 as part of the Israeli authorities plan to establish the Jewish site “King David’s Garden” in Silwan and around the "Holy Basin," which includes many Christian and Muslim holy sites.
In 2009 the municipality announced its intention to demolish 88 homes in al-Bustan, to displace some 1,500 people. Article 212 was cited as the legal justification for many of these demolitions.
Elsewhere in Silwan on Friday, Israeli forces raided the al-Abbasiya, Bir Ayyub, and Wadi Hilweh neighborhoods while municipality workers photographed structures. Authorities also hung a demolition order on a six-story building belonging to the al-Zir family, which is home to 30 people, according to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center.
Silwan is one of many Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem that is seeing an influx of Israeli settlers at the cost of home demolitions and the eviction of Palestinian families.The area has also recently come under heightened presence of Israeli military forces.
Earlier this month, two Palestinian-owned buildings in Silwan were issued demolition orders, and it is estimated at least 18 Palestinian families are currently at risk of displacement due to recent demolition orders, Abu Diyab told Ma’an at the time.
Silwan residents -- like most Palestinians in Jerusalem -- have long engaged in efforts to prevent their displacement by the Israeli government, which has aimed to establish a Jewish majority since Israel first illegally occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.
Palestinians' ability to build homes or expand existing structures legally is severely limited by the Jerusalem municipality, and more than 3,000 Palestinian structures have been demolished since 1967, according the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in February said the Israeli authorities were escalating demolitions in Silwan in particular, and the Israeli National Council for Planning and Building recently approved a massive building project planned by Israeli settlement organization Elad in Silwan.
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said the approval was a clear sign that Israel was "deliberately isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian environs and indigenous people and transforming it into an exclusively Jewish city."
Lily Leach contributed reporting from Bethlehem.
Fakhri Abu Diyab, a member of a Silwan-based committee formed to fight such demolitions in Silwan, told Ma’an that the Israeli authorities delivered demolition orders for five homes belonging to the Abu Rajab and Awwad families in the al-Bustan area, which were constructed over 30 years ago.
The Jerusalem municipality’s local affairs court previously asked the homeowners to provide testimony at a hearing, but the homeowners did not attend, according to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center.
The notices delivered Friday were issued as final warnings to the homeowners, threatening that if they did not appear in court, indictments would be filed against them under Article 212.
Abu Diyab added that while Israeli forces raid Silwan every Friday and Saturday and deliver demolition orders, the notices issued this week threatening indictment were a new development.
“It is threatening to use article 212,” Abu Diyab told Ma’an, because the article allows the public prosecution to demolish houses without providing clear reasons, and to punish homeowners with fines or prison time.
Article 212 is invariably used when the state fails to provide enough evidence to convict the building owner for construction without a license, or in cases where it is not able to order a fine or a demolition order under article 205.
Daniel Sidelman from the Jerusalem Terrestrial organization said that the “aggressive” move by the Israeli authorities threatening indictments under article 212 is not unprecedented “but far from routine.”
Abu Diyab highlighted that the increase of notices suggests that the municipality is planning to move forward with controversial development plans in the neighborhood, which have been frozen for years following international pressure.
Sidelman agreed that targeting the al-Bustan area was a “particularly troubling and ominous indication” that the municipality is planning to go forward with plan.
“The communities (in Silwan) are at risk in ways other communities are not at risk. They are constantly targeted by (Israeli) settlers and authorities, and the distinction between settlers and the Israeli authorities has been completely blurred,” Sidelman told Ma’an.
The municipality began issuing demolition orders and indictments to homes in al-Bustan in 2005 as part of the Israeli authorities plan to establish the Jewish site “King David’s Garden” in Silwan and around the "Holy Basin," which includes many Christian and Muslim holy sites.
In 2009 the municipality announced its intention to demolish 88 homes in al-Bustan, to displace some 1,500 people. Article 212 was cited as the legal justification for many of these demolitions.
Elsewhere in Silwan on Friday, Israeli forces raided the al-Abbasiya, Bir Ayyub, and Wadi Hilweh neighborhoods while municipality workers photographed structures. Authorities also hung a demolition order on a six-story building belonging to the al-Zir family, which is home to 30 people, according to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center.
Silwan is one of many Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem that is seeing an influx of Israeli settlers at the cost of home demolitions and the eviction of Palestinian families.The area has also recently come under heightened presence of Israeli military forces.
Earlier this month, two Palestinian-owned buildings in Silwan were issued demolition orders, and it is estimated at least 18 Palestinian families are currently at risk of displacement due to recent demolition orders, Abu Diyab told Ma’an at the time.
Silwan residents -- like most Palestinians in Jerusalem -- have long engaged in efforts to prevent their displacement by the Israeli government, which has aimed to establish a Jewish majority since Israel first illegally occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.
Palestinians' ability to build homes or expand existing structures legally is severely limited by the Jerusalem municipality, and more than 3,000 Palestinian structures have been demolished since 1967, according the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in February said the Israeli authorities were escalating demolitions in Silwan in particular, and the Israeli National Council for Planning and Building recently approved a massive building project planned by Israeli settlement organization Elad in Silwan.
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said the approval was a clear sign that Israel was "deliberately isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian environs and indigenous people and transforming it into an exclusively Jewish city."
Lily Leach contributed reporting from Bethlehem.
Israeli settlers of Ariel illegal settlement continue to bury their dead in a Palestinian-owned land in Salfit, Palestinian locals revealed.
Local activist Khaled Maali affirmed that Israeli settlers established a Jewish cemetery at the expense of Palestinian private lands owned by Shaheen, Shtayyeh, and Bani Nimra families.
Some settlers refused to bury their dead in the cemetery for fear of any possible evacuation.
Maali pointed out that Ariel settlement, university, and cemetery are all illegal facilities under international law as they were built on Palestinian occupied lands.
Local activist Khaled Maali affirmed that Israeli settlers established a Jewish cemetery at the expense of Palestinian private lands owned by Shaheen, Shtayyeh, and Bani Nimra families.
Some settlers refused to bury their dead in the cemetery for fear of any possible evacuation.
Maali pointed out that Ariel settlement, university, and cemetery are all illegal facilities under international law as they were built on Palestinian occupied lands.
22 apr 2016
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) on Friday notified the demolition of a Palestinian home in Silwan town, in eastern Occupied Jerusalem.
Local sources quoted the Palestinian citizen Khaled al-Zeir as stating that Israeli municipal crews, escorted by army officers, stormed his family home in Silwan and pasted an administrative demolition order on its entrance gate under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces broke into the four-storey building and wreaked havoc on it before they arrested one of its native inhabitants.
The Israeli occupation authorities have been attempting to seize a land tract owned by the same citizen and covering an overall area of 16 dunums under the pretext that it contains historical monuments.
Local sources quoted the Palestinian citizen Khaled al-Zeir as stating that Israeli municipal crews, escorted by army officers, stormed his family home in Silwan and pasted an administrative demolition order on its entrance gate under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces broke into the four-storey building and wreaked havoc on it before they arrested one of its native inhabitants.
The Israeli occupation authorities have been attempting to seize a land tract owned by the same citizen and covering an overall area of 16 dunums under the pretext that it contains historical monuments.
The Israeli authorities have seized 115 dunams (28 acres) as "state land" in the northern occupied West Bank, Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said Thursday.
The watchdog confirmed earlier media reports that in its latest publication of amendments to past land seizures, Israel has confiscated 115 dunams in the village of al-Zawiya in the Salfit district -- in addition to 1,264 dunams (312 acres) already declared "state land" in the area.
The amendments, carried out by Israel's Blue Line Team, also said that 213 dunams (53 acres) were no longer considered "state land," although 30 dunams (7 acres) of this land has already been expropriated by Israel for the construction of a highway.
According to Peace Now, the latest land seizure takes place where a large new industrial zone -- Shaar HaShomron -- is being built inside occupied Palestinian territory.
The industrial zone is likely to fall under the jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council, which represents illegal settlements in the northern West Bank.
Peace Now noted that until recently, Israel's Blue Line Team, which makes amendments to state land declarations "inaccurately issued" in the 1980s and 1990s, was able to seize Palestinian land without landowners being given the chance to take legal action.
After landowners, together with Israeli human rights groups Bimkom and Yesh Din, petitioned the Israeli state, a new procedure was announced that would allow them to challenge the amendments.
However, this procedure does not allow for legal appeals to be made, but rather allows the landowners to submit "reservations."
Israeli seizures of Palestinian land have come under the spotlight in recent weeks, after Israel last month declared 2,342 dunams (580 acres) of land to the south of Jericho as "state land" to pave the way for the construction of 358 housing units in the illegal settlement of Almog.
The land grab followed another of around 5,000 dunams (1,240 acres) in Bethlehem district in 2014. Peace Now said it marked a return to an Israeli government policy not seen since the pre-Oslo period in the 1980s.
"Instead of trying to calm the situation, the government is adding fuel to the fire and sending a clear message to Palestinians, as well as to Israelis, that it has no intention to work towards peace and two states," the watchdog said.
The watchdog confirmed earlier media reports that in its latest publication of amendments to past land seizures, Israel has confiscated 115 dunams in the village of al-Zawiya in the Salfit district -- in addition to 1,264 dunams (312 acres) already declared "state land" in the area.
The amendments, carried out by Israel's Blue Line Team, also said that 213 dunams (53 acres) were no longer considered "state land," although 30 dunams (7 acres) of this land has already been expropriated by Israel for the construction of a highway.
According to Peace Now, the latest land seizure takes place where a large new industrial zone -- Shaar HaShomron -- is being built inside occupied Palestinian territory.
The industrial zone is likely to fall under the jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council, which represents illegal settlements in the northern West Bank.
Peace Now noted that until recently, Israel's Blue Line Team, which makes amendments to state land declarations "inaccurately issued" in the 1980s and 1990s, was able to seize Palestinian land without landowners being given the chance to take legal action.
After landowners, together with Israeli human rights groups Bimkom and Yesh Din, petitioned the Israeli state, a new procedure was announced that would allow them to challenge the amendments.
However, this procedure does not allow for legal appeals to be made, but rather allows the landowners to submit "reservations."
Israeli seizures of Palestinian land have come under the spotlight in recent weeks, after Israel last month declared 2,342 dunams (580 acres) of land to the south of Jericho as "state land" to pave the way for the construction of 358 housing units in the illegal settlement of Almog.
The land grab followed another of around 5,000 dunams (1,240 acres) in Bethlehem district in 2014. Peace Now said it marked a return to an Israeli government policy not seen since the pre-Oslo period in the 1980s.
"Instead of trying to calm the situation, the government is adding fuel to the fire and sending a clear message to Palestinians, as well as to Israelis, that it has no intention to work towards peace and two states," the watchdog said.
21 apr 2016
3,500 Palestinians may be out of work after Israel closes three quarries just outside the village of Beit Fajar; COGAT says quarries are operated illegally on state land, but Palestinians claim that they own the land on which the quarries are located.
The future of the Palestinian town of Beit Fajar looks bleak after Israel's military forced the shutdown of some three dozen quarries in the area, endangering 3,500 jobs and paralyzing the dominant local industry.
Palestinian quarry owners and their lawyer say March 21 raids of the quarries by hundreds of Israeli soldiers and the confiscation of millions of dollars in equipment amount to collective punishment. The raids came four days after two Beit Fajar residents stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier.
The fate of the quarries also highlights Israel's policy of favoring Israeli settlement businesses in the occupied West Bank over those of local Palestinians, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said Thursday. Israel has not issued new licenses for Palestinian-run quarries in the West Bank since 1994, while giving operating permits to 11 Israeli-run quarries in the area, the group said.
The Israeli-administered quarries produce 25 percent of the quarrying materials for the Israeli and settlement economies, amounting to Israeli exploitation of natural resources in occupied territories in violation of Israel's obligations as an occupying power, HRW said.
"I think Israel wants to strike at the Palestinian economy," said Subhi Thawabteh, head of the Union of Stone and Marble in Palestine. "This is part of the Israeli pressure on the Palestinians. They want us to desert our land and fill it with Israeli settlers."
COGAT (Coordnator Of Government Activities in the Territories), the Israeli military body that deals with Palestinian civilian affairs, did not respond to requests for comment. COGAT wrote to HRW that the quarries operate unlawfully, on state land, and that they pose a safety and environmental hazard.
Roni Salman, a lawyer representing the Palestinian quarry owners, said he believes the raids amounted to "collective punishment of the people of Beit Fajar" for the attack carried out by the two village residents.
Human Rights Watch also noted that a previous raid of quarries by the military came three days after a Beit Fajar resident killed an Israeli woman in a West Bank attack in November.
Asked about the timing, COGAT wrote that the raids were carried out once resources were available and "as per priority."
Quarry owners said troops confiscated equipment in the past, but that the heavy machinery was usually returned after payment of heavy fines. This time, Israel had stiffer demands.
In a letter to HRW, it said that quarry owners will have to pledge to "cease illegal operations." They would also have to reimburse the military for the cost of confiscating equipment and pay retroactive royalties for extracting stones.
Salman, the lawyer, said he is trying to persuade quarry owners to appeal to Israel's Supreme Court to try to challenge Israel's overall policy.
Underlying the dispute is a complex division of the West Bank into jurisdictions — a legacy of failed negotiations on Palestinian statehood on lands Israel captured in 1967, including the West Bank.
Israel retains full control over more than 60 percent of the West Bank, known as "Area C" and home to dozens of Israeli settlements with some 370,000 residents. The rest of the territory, where most Palestinians live, is under varying degrees of Palestinian self-rule.
Beit Fajar, near biblical Bethlehem, is located in autonomous territory, but the quarries are in Area C. Israel argues that the quarries are on state land, a designation critics say has routinely been used to take lands from Palestinians.
Human Rights Watch quoted three Palestinian quarry owners as saying they have repeatedly tried to prove ownership of the land, but have been rejected. Quarry owners also said they repeatedly asked for licenses, but were ignored or turned down.
"This is our land, it's in our village, not in Israel," quarry owner Abdel Moin al-Taweel said this week, after seeing two bulldozers and other heavy equipment confiscated.
Quarries and stone factories are the economic bedrock of Beit Fajar, employing some 3,500 people and producing an estimated $25 million a year.
Sari Bashi, the Israel and Palestine director at HRW, said the latest measures counter recent assurances by the military to facilitate Palestinian economic development.
"Instead, it is choking a Palestinian-run industry in the West Bank, while promoting the same industry in Israeli settlements," she said.
The future of the Palestinian town of Beit Fajar looks bleak after Israel's military forced the shutdown of some three dozen quarries in the area, endangering 3,500 jobs and paralyzing the dominant local industry.
Palestinian quarry owners and their lawyer say March 21 raids of the quarries by hundreds of Israeli soldiers and the confiscation of millions of dollars in equipment amount to collective punishment. The raids came four days after two Beit Fajar residents stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier.
The fate of the quarries also highlights Israel's policy of favoring Israeli settlement businesses in the occupied West Bank over those of local Palestinians, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said Thursday. Israel has not issued new licenses for Palestinian-run quarries in the West Bank since 1994, while giving operating permits to 11 Israeli-run quarries in the area, the group said.
The Israeli-administered quarries produce 25 percent of the quarrying materials for the Israeli and settlement economies, amounting to Israeli exploitation of natural resources in occupied territories in violation of Israel's obligations as an occupying power, HRW said.
"I think Israel wants to strike at the Palestinian economy," said Subhi Thawabteh, head of the Union of Stone and Marble in Palestine. "This is part of the Israeli pressure on the Palestinians. They want us to desert our land and fill it with Israeli settlers."
COGAT (Coordnator Of Government Activities in the Territories), the Israeli military body that deals with Palestinian civilian affairs, did not respond to requests for comment. COGAT wrote to HRW that the quarries operate unlawfully, on state land, and that they pose a safety and environmental hazard.
Roni Salman, a lawyer representing the Palestinian quarry owners, said he believes the raids amounted to "collective punishment of the people of Beit Fajar" for the attack carried out by the two village residents.
Human Rights Watch also noted that a previous raid of quarries by the military came three days after a Beit Fajar resident killed an Israeli woman in a West Bank attack in November.
Asked about the timing, COGAT wrote that the raids were carried out once resources were available and "as per priority."
Quarry owners said troops confiscated equipment in the past, but that the heavy machinery was usually returned after payment of heavy fines. This time, Israel had stiffer demands.
In a letter to HRW, it said that quarry owners will have to pledge to "cease illegal operations." They would also have to reimburse the military for the cost of confiscating equipment and pay retroactive royalties for extracting stones.
Salman, the lawyer, said he is trying to persuade quarry owners to appeal to Israel's Supreme Court to try to challenge Israel's overall policy.
Underlying the dispute is a complex division of the West Bank into jurisdictions — a legacy of failed negotiations on Palestinian statehood on lands Israel captured in 1967, including the West Bank.
Israel retains full control over more than 60 percent of the West Bank, known as "Area C" and home to dozens of Israeli settlements with some 370,000 residents. The rest of the territory, where most Palestinians live, is under varying degrees of Palestinian self-rule.
Beit Fajar, near biblical Bethlehem, is located in autonomous territory, but the quarries are in Area C. Israel argues that the quarries are on state land, a designation critics say has routinely been used to take lands from Palestinians.
Human Rights Watch quoted three Palestinian quarry owners as saying they have repeatedly tried to prove ownership of the land, but have been rejected. Quarry owners also said they repeatedly asked for licenses, but were ignored or turned down.
"This is our land, it's in our village, not in Israel," quarry owner Abdel Moin al-Taweel said this week, after seeing two bulldozers and other heavy equipment confiscated.
Quarries and stone factories are the economic bedrock of Beit Fajar, employing some 3,500 people and producing an estimated $25 million a year.
Sari Bashi, the Israel and Palestine director at HRW, said the latest measures counter recent assurances by the military to facilitate Palestinian economic development.
"Instead, it is choking a Palestinian-run industry in the West Bank, while promoting the same industry in Israeli settlements," she said.
Israeli soldiers invaded, earlier on Thursday morning, Abu Dis and the al-‘Ezariyya towns, in occupied Jerusalem, kidnapped one Palestinian, and injured at least twelve others during ensuing clashes.
The Israeli police said it uncovered two workshops, allegedly used for manufacturing weapons and explosives, in Abu Dis town east of occupied East Jerusalem.
It added that the workshops were uncovered in a joint operation with the army and security services, and that the search uncovered two caches of weapons and mentions. The Police also hinted that it intends to demolish the two facilities at a later time.
In addition, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (RCS) said its medics provided the needed treatment to twelve, who were injured by army fire, during clashes in Abu Dis and al-‘Ezariyya.
It said four Palestinians were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets, and eight others suffered severe effects of tear has inhalation.
The Israeli police said it uncovered two workshops, allegedly used for manufacturing weapons and explosives, in Abu Dis town east of occupied East Jerusalem.
It added that the workshops were uncovered in a joint operation with the army and security services, and that the search uncovered two caches of weapons and mentions. The Police also hinted that it intends to demolish the two facilities at a later time.
In addition, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (RCS) said its medics provided the needed treatment to twelve, who were injured by army fire, during clashes in Abu Dis and al-‘Ezariyya.
It said four Palestinians were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets, and eight others suffered severe effects of tear has inhalation.
20 apr 2016
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, demolished one home and injured at least eight Palestinians, including three with live fire; one of the wounded was among the abducted residents.
The soldiers surrounded the home of Hussein Abu Ghosh, 17, forced the family out and demolished the property’s inner walls, rendering it uninhabitable.
Abu Ghosh was killed by the army, along with another Palestinian on January 26, 2016, after stabbing an Israeli settler woman to death.
The second Palestinian, who was also killed in the same incident, has been identified as Ibrahim Allan, 22. The attack took place in Beit Horon Israeli colony.
The Abu Ghosh family home is on the third floor of a four-story building inhabited by Allan’s father, and his six brothers.
The invasion into the refugee camp was carried out by more than 40 armored vehicles and a military bulldozer.
Local sources said the soldiers also kidnapped a young man, identified as Hasan Sajdiyya, after shooting and injuring him.
Medical sources said the soldiers shot three young men with live rounds, and five others with rubber-coated steel bullets, while dozens of Palestinians suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Israeli military sources said two soldiers were injured during the clashes that took place in the refugee camp, after some protesters hurled a homemade explosive on an army vehicle.
The soldiers surrounded the home of Hussein Abu Ghosh, 17, forced the family out and demolished the property’s inner walls, rendering it uninhabitable.
Abu Ghosh was killed by the army, along with another Palestinian on January 26, 2016, after stabbing an Israeli settler woman to death.
The second Palestinian, who was also killed in the same incident, has been identified as Ibrahim Allan, 22. The attack took place in Beit Horon Israeli colony.
The Abu Ghosh family home is on the third floor of a four-story building inhabited by Allan’s father, and his six brothers.
The invasion into the refugee camp was carried out by more than 40 armored vehicles and a military bulldozer.
Local sources said the soldiers also kidnapped a young man, identified as Hasan Sajdiyya, after shooting and injuring him.
Medical sources said the soldiers shot three young men with live rounds, and five others with rubber-coated steel bullets, while dozens of Palestinians suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Israeli military sources said two soldiers were injured during the clashes that took place in the refugee camp, after some protesters hurled a homemade explosive on an army vehicle.
