24 june 2020

Israeli settlers today seized a large tract of Palestinian land in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Issawiya, according to local sources.
The sources confirmed that settlers fenced off dozens of dunums of land planted with olive trees, which belong to the Palestinian residents of al-Tur and Issawiya.
For the residents of Issawiyeh, a Palestinian village of some 20,000, and other parts of occupied East Jerusalem, military raids, land grab and demolitions are a daily reality.
The village is plagued by poor infrastructure, residents are constantly harassed by the Israeli Border Police and anyone, including children, run the risk of arbitrary arrest.
Israeli police and municipality staff frequently hand out fine notices for various violations, such as improperly maintained vehicles, severely disrupting Palestinian residents’ lives.
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
Settlers' violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.
There are almost 834,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The sources confirmed that settlers fenced off dozens of dunums of land planted with olive trees, which belong to the Palestinian residents of al-Tur and Issawiya.
For the residents of Issawiyeh, a Palestinian village of some 20,000, and other parts of occupied East Jerusalem, military raids, land grab and demolitions are a daily reality.
The village is plagued by poor infrastructure, residents are constantly harassed by the Israeli Border Police and anyone, including children, run the risk of arbitrary arrest.
Israeli police and municipality staff frequently hand out fine notices for various violations, such as improperly maintained vehicles, severely disrupting Palestinian residents’ lives.
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
Settlers' violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.
There are almost 834,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Proceeding with their massive demolition spree of Palestinian structures, Israeli forces today tore down a house under construction in the village of Beit Sira, west of Ramallah city.
Hamed Hamdan, head of Beit Sira village council, told WAFA that a large Israeli force escorted two bulldozers into the village, where the heavy machineries demolished the under-construction house purportedly for being built without a license. video
The house, which belongs to Ahmad Abu Safia, who received a demolition notice several days ago, was located close to the permanent military checkpoint leading to Route 443.
Route 443 is the main traffic artery linking the West Bank hub of Ramallah with Beit Sira, Beit Liqya, Kharbatha al-Misbah, Beit 'Ur at-Tahta, Beit 'Ur al-Fuqa, Saffa and at-Tira. It also serves as the main road linking Jerusalem with the West Bank colonial settlement bloc of Modi'in and Tel Aviv in central Israel.
Israel has banned Palestinians whose land and villages the road traverses from accessing it, reserving it effectively for Jews only. Prior to Israel’s seizure of the road, it had been a main artery for Palestinian traffic south of Ramallah
The demolition triggered confrontations, during which soldiers opened fire towards local protestors. No injuries were reported though.
Israel demolishes Palestinian houses and structures almost on a daily basis as a means to achieve “demographic control” of the occupied territories.
Israel denies planning permits for Palestinians to build on their own land or to extend existing houses to accommodate natural growth, particularly in Jerusalem and Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and falls under full Israeli military rule, forcing residents to build without obtaining rarely-granted permits to provide shelters for their families.
In contrast, Israel argues that building within existing colonial settlements is necessary to accommodate the “natural growth” of settlers. Therefore, it much more easily gives the estimated 550,000 Jewish Israeli settlers there building permits and provides them with roads, electricity, water and sewage systems that remain inaccessible to many neighboring Palestinians.
Hamed Hamdan, head of Beit Sira village council, told WAFA that a large Israeli force escorted two bulldozers into the village, where the heavy machineries demolished the under-construction house purportedly for being built without a license. video
The house, which belongs to Ahmad Abu Safia, who received a demolition notice several days ago, was located close to the permanent military checkpoint leading to Route 443.
Route 443 is the main traffic artery linking the West Bank hub of Ramallah with Beit Sira, Beit Liqya, Kharbatha al-Misbah, Beit 'Ur at-Tahta, Beit 'Ur al-Fuqa, Saffa and at-Tira. It also serves as the main road linking Jerusalem with the West Bank colonial settlement bloc of Modi'in and Tel Aviv in central Israel.
Israel has banned Palestinians whose land and villages the road traverses from accessing it, reserving it effectively for Jews only. Prior to Israel’s seizure of the road, it had been a main artery for Palestinian traffic south of Ramallah
The demolition triggered confrontations, during which soldiers opened fire towards local protestors. No injuries were reported though.
Israel demolishes Palestinian houses and structures almost on a daily basis as a means to achieve “demographic control” of the occupied territories.
Israel denies planning permits for Palestinians to build on their own land or to extend existing houses to accommodate natural growth, particularly in Jerusalem and Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and falls under full Israeli military rule, forcing residents to build without obtaining rarely-granted permits to provide shelters for their families.
In contrast, Israel argues that building within existing colonial settlements is necessary to accommodate the “natural growth” of settlers. Therefore, it much more easily gives the estimated 550,000 Jewish Israeli settlers there building permits and provides them with roads, electricity, water and sewage systems that remain inaccessible to many neighboring Palestinians.
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Going on a massive demolition spree of Palestinian structures, Israel today demolished a house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina.
WAFA correspondent reported that Israeli police escorted a bulldozer into the neighborhood, where the heavy machinery tore down a house belonging to Sharhabil Alqam. The structure was demolished under the pretext of lacking a building permit. The Silwan-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center posted a video showing scores of police cordoning the house off as the demolition was proceeding. Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem. At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal colonial settlements in East Jerusalem for Jews |
with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.
Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as "residents" whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.
They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel's separation wall.
Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as "residents" whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.
They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel's separation wall.
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Israeli forces today cut down dozens of olive trees belonging to Bardala village in the northern Jordan Valley, according to a local municipal source.Ziad Sawafta, head of Bardala village council, told WAFA that Israeli forces escorted a bulldozer into the village, and destroyed some 85 olive trees belonging to three Palestinian farmers. video
The Jordan Valley, which is a fertile strip of land running west along the Jordan River, is home to about 65,000 Palestinians and makes up approximately 30% of the West Bank. Since 1967, when the Israeli army occupied the West Bank, Israel has transferred at least 11,000 of its Jewish citizens to the Jordan Valley. Some of the settlements in which they live were built almost entirely on private Palestinian land. The Israel military has also designated about 46 percent of the Jordan Valley as a closed military zone since the beginning of the occupation in June |
1967, and has been utilizing the pretext of military drills to forcefully displace Palestinian families living there as part of a policy of ethnic cleansing and stifling Palestinian development in the area.
Approximately 6,200 Palestinians live in 38 communities in places earmarked for military use and have had to obtain permission from the Israeli authorities to enter and live in their communities.
In violation of international law, the Israeli military not only temporarily displaces the communities on a regular basis, but also confiscates their farmlands, demolishes their homes and infrastructure from time to time.
Besides undergoing temporary displacement, the Palestinian families living there face a myriad restrictions on access to resources and services.
Meanwhile, Israel exploits the resources of the area and generates profit by allocating generous tracts of land and water resources for the benefit of settlers.
Israel has announced that it would illegally annex the highly strategic Jordan Valley on July 1.
Approximately 6,200 Palestinians live in 38 communities in places earmarked for military use and have had to obtain permission from the Israeli authorities to enter and live in their communities.
In violation of international law, the Israeli military not only temporarily displaces the communities on a regular basis, but also confiscates their farmlands, demolishes their homes and infrastructure from time to time.
Besides undergoing temporary displacement, the Palestinian families living there face a myriad restrictions on access to resources and services.
Meanwhile, Israel exploits the resources of the area and generates profit by allocating generous tracts of land and water resources for the benefit of settlers.
Israel has announced that it would illegally annex the highly strategic Jordan Valley on July 1.

Israeli forces Wednesday morning ordered a Palestinian to evict his plot of land in al-Khader town, located to the south of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, local sources said.
Ahmad Salah, an activist, told WAFA that Israeli forces handed Rizq Salah a notice, ordering him to evict his 2-donum plot of land, planted with olive trees, adjacent to the encroaching colonial settlement of El'azar and gave him seven days to do so.
He noted that the Salah, the landowner, reclaimed his land, and planted it with olive trees.
This is not the first time for Salah’s land to be leveled. Israeli forces had razed it back in 2006, and destroyed Salah’s water well.
Located 4 kilometers to the west of Bethlehem city, al-Khader has a population of some 12,500 and occupies a total area of 8,280 dunams.
Under the Oslo Accords, an agreement made 25 years ago that was supposed to last just five years towards a self-governing country alongside Israel, the Palestinian Authority was given ed control over a small pocket of land occupying some 1,200 dunams, accounting for almost 14.5 percent of the village’s total area. In contrast, Israel maintains control over the remainder, classified as Area C.
Since the start of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967, like so many other villages in Palestine, al-Khader has been subjected to almost continual land theft for Israeli settlements, bypass roads, and military installations.
Israel has constructed Efrat and NeveDaniyyel colonial settlements on an area of 6,329 dunums of Palestinian land, including a portion confiscated from al-Khader. It has also constructed a section of the apartheid wall, isolating some 5,620 dunums of the town’s land for colonial settlement activities and pushing the villagers into a crowded enclave, a ghetto, surrounded by walls, settlements and military installations.
It has confiscated more land for the construction of a tunnel and a crossing, controlling Palestinian movement from Bethlehem city and the western countryside villages.
Ahmad Salah, an activist, told WAFA that Israeli forces handed Rizq Salah a notice, ordering him to evict his 2-donum plot of land, planted with olive trees, adjacent to the encroaching colonial settlement of El'azar and gave him seven days to do so.
He noted that the Salah, the landowner, reclaimed his land, and planted it with olive trees.
This is not the first time for Salah’s land to be leveled. Israeli forces had razed it back in 2006, and destroyed Salah’s water well.
Located 4 kilometers to the west of Bethlehem city, al-Khader has a population of some 12,500 and occupies a total area of 8,280 dunams.
Under the Oslo Accords, an agreement made 25 years ago that was supposed to last just five years towards a self-governing country alongside Israel, the Palestinian Authority was given ed control over a small pocket of land occupying some 1,200 dunams, accounting for almost 14.5 percent of the village’s total area. In contrast, Israel maintains control over the remainder, classified as Area C.
Since the start of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967, like so many other villages in Palestine, al-Khader has been subjected to almost continual land theft for Israeli settlements, bypass roads, and military installations.
Israel has constructed Efrat and NeveDaniyyel colonial settlements on an area of 6,329 dunums of Palestinian land, including a portion confiscated from al-Khader. It has also constructed a section of the apartheid wall, isolating some 5,620 dunums of the town’s land for colonial settlement activities and pushing the villagers into a crowded enclave, a ghetto, surrounded by walls, settlements and military installations.
It has confiscated more land for the construction of a tunnel and a crossing, controlling Palestinian movement from Bethlehem city and the western countryside villages.
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Israeli forces demolished Wednesday morning a Palestinian house in Beitunia town, west of Ramallah city, said local sources.
Sources confirmed that a large Israeli force raided the town and cordoned off the area surrounding the house as two bulldozers demolished the structure, reducing it to rubble. video video The house, which belong to Abdul-Aziz Froukh, was located near the section of Israel’s apartheid wall. It was demolished purportedly for lacking a construction permit. Located three kilometers to the west of Ramallah, Beitunia has a population of some 28,000 and occupies a total area of 21,127 dunams. Under the Oslo Accords, an agreement made 25 years ago that was |
supposed to last just five years towards a self-governing country alongside Israel, 3,759 dunams of the town’s land, accounting for 17.8 percent of the village’s total area, were classified as Area A, and 472 dunums, accounting for just 2 percent, were classified as Area B. In contrast, Israel maintains control over the remainder, classified as Area C.
Since the start of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967, like so many other villages in Palestine, Beitunia has been subjected to almost continual land theft for Israeli settlements, bypass roads, and military installations.
Israel has constructed Beit Horon and Givat Zeev colonial settlements on an area of some 4,000 dunums of Palestinian land, including a portion confiscated from Beitunia. It has also seized some 520 dunams for the establishment of Ofer military base and detention center, south of the town, and further lands for the construction of settler-only bypass roads 443 and 436.
It has also constructed a section of the apartheid wall, which extends for 12.7 kilometers on the town’s land, isolating some 12,773 dunums of the town’s land for colonial settlement activities and pushing the villagers into a crowded enclave, a ghetto, surrounded by walls, settlements and military installations.
Since the start of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967, like so many other villages in Palestine, Beitunia has been subjected to almost continual land theft for Israeli settlements, bypass roads, and military installations.
Israel has constructed Beit Horon and Givat Zeev colonial settlements on an area of some 4,000 dunums of Palestinian land, including a portion confiscated from Beitunia. It has also seized some 520 dunams for the establishment of Ofer military base and detention center, south of the town, and further lands for the construction of settler-only bypass roads 443 and 436.
It has also constructed a section of the apartheid wall, which extends for 12.7 kilometers on the town’s land, isolating some 12,773 dunums of the town’s land for colonial settlement activities and pushing the villagers into a crowded enclave, a ghetto, surrounded by walls, settlements and military installations.
23 june 2020

Israeli forces today stole archaeological artifacts from Beit Ummar town, located to the north of the West Bank city of Hebron, said a local media activist.
Muhammad Awad confirmed that Israeli forces stormed the northeastern part of the town, known as Ath-Thaghra, where they unearthed and stole a number of Arab and Islamic-era artifacts. video
In December 2018, Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Israel has exhibited some 40,000 artifacts looted from the occupied West Bank at a Jerusalem museum.
Stolen by looters and unauthorized dealers in antiquities from sites in the occupied territories, Syria and Iraq, the items were confiscated by the Archeology Department of the Israeli Civil Administration, the name Israel gives to the body administering its military occupation of the West Bank.
The move prompted a small group of Israeli human rights activists to gather outside the Bible Lands Museum on January 30, 2019 in protest of the display of the archaeological artifacts at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem.
Israel has been using archaeology as a key tool in reinforcing its bogus territorial claims to historic Palestine, including “Judea and Samaria”, the Jewish nationalist name used to refer to the occupied West Bank, and give them a veneer of historical and religious legitimacy.
There are almost 834,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Muhammad Awad confirmed that Israeli forces stormed the northeastern part of the town, known as Ath-Thaghra, where they unearthed and stole a number of Arab and Islamic-era artifacts. video
In December 2018, Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Israel has exhibited some 40,000 artifacts looted from the occupied West Bank at a Jerusalem museum.
Stolen by looters and unauthorized dealers in antiquities from sites in the occupied territories, Syria and Iraq, the items were confiscated by the Archeology Department of the Israeli Civil Administration, the name Israel gives to the body administering its military occupation of the West Bank.
The move prompted a small group of Israeli human rights activists to gather outside the Bible Lands Museum on January 30, 2019 in protest of the display of the archaeological artifacts at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem.
Israel has been using archaeology as a key tool in reinforcing its bogus territorial claims to historic Palestine, including “Judea and Samaria”, the Jewish nationalist name used to refer to the occupied West Bank, and give them a veneer of historical and religious legitimacy.
There are almost 834,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israeli forces seized today the equipment of a smith workshop belonging to a Palestinian resident in the town of al-Sawahreh to the southeast of occupied Jerusalem, according to a local activist.
Media activist Mohammed Hijazi told WAFA a large military force raided the town of al-Sawahra and seized equipment from a smith workshop belonging to local resident 'Orwa Ja’afreh.
Israeli forces also raided and searched a car repair shop belonging to local resident Nouh Za’atreh in the town of Abu Dis to the southeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Media activist Mohammed Hijazi told WAFA a large military force raided the town of al-Sawahra and seized equipment from a smith workshop belonging to local resident 'Orwa Ja’afreh.
Israeli forces also raided and searched a car repair shop belonging to local resident Nouh Za’atreh in the town of Abu Dis to the southeast of occupied Jerusalem.

Crews of the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem demolished today a Palestinian-owned house in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan under the pretext of being built without an Israeli permit.
The Silwan-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center said that the Israeli municipality crews, accompanied by Israeli special forces and police, raided the neighborhood, surrounded the house owned by Mohammad Rajabi before proceeding to demolish it. video video
Rajabi said the municipality crews were demolishing the house manually because the bulldozers were unable to access it.
He said the municipality issued the demolition order against his house, which was built two months ago, and did not give him the right to appeal the order.
An Israeli court last week gave the family until Sunday to demolish their own house, otherwise the municipality would demolish it and fine them over $30,000.
Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem say they are forced to build without a permit because it is impossible to get one from the all-Israeli municipality, particularly due to an Israeli policy aimed at keeping the city’s Palestinian population to a bare minimum while multiplying its Jewish residents by building thousands of housing units in settlements built illegally on confiscated Palestinian land.
The Silwan-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center said that the Israeli municipality crews, accompanied by Israeli special forces and police, raided the neighborhood, surrounded the house owned by Mohammad Rajabi before proceeding to demolish it. video video
Rajabi said the municipality crews were demolishing the house manually because the bulldozers were unable to access it.
He said the municipality issued the demolition order against his house, which was built two months ago, and did not give him the right to appeal the order.
An Israeli court last week gave the family until Sunday to demolish their own house, otherwise the municipality would demolish it and fine them over $30,000.
Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem say they are forced to build without a permit because it is impossible to get one from the all-Israeli municipality, particularly due to an Israeli policy aimed at keeping the city’s Palestinian population to a bare minimum while multiplying its Jewish residents by building thousands of housing units in settlements built illegally on confiscated Palestinian land.
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