2 apr 2019
By Jonathan Cook
The 350,000 Palestinian inhabitants of occupied East Jerusalem are caught between a rock and hard place, as Israel works ever harder to remove them from the holy city in which they were born, analysts and residents warn.
That process, they say, has only accelerated in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision a year ago to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, effectively endorsing the city as Israel’s exclusive capital.
“Israel wants Palestinians in Jerusalem to understand that they are trapped, that they are being strangled, in the hope they will conclude that life is better outside the city,” said Amneh Badran, a politics professor at Jerusalem’s Al Quds university.
Since Israel seized the eastern part of Jerusalem in 1967 and then illegally annexed it in 1981, it has intentionally left the status of its Palestinian population unresolved.
Israeli officials have made Palestinians there “permanent residents,” though, in practice, their residency is easily revoked. According to Israel’s own figures, more than 14,500 Palestinians have been expelled from the city of their birth since 1967, often compelling their families to join them in exile.
Further, Israel finished its concrete wall slicing through East Jerusalem three years ago, cutting some 140,000 Palestinian residents off from the rest of the city.
A raft of well-documented policies – including house demolitions, a chronic shortage of classrooms, lack of public services, municipal underfunding, land seizures, home evictions by Jewish settlers, denial of family unification, and police and settler violence – have intensified over the years.
At the same time, Israel has denied the Palestinian Authority, a supposed government-in-waiting in the West Bank, any role in East Jerusalem, leaving the city’s Palestinians even more isolated and weak.
All of these factors are designed to pressure Palestinians to leave, usually to areas outside the wall or to nearby West Bank cities like Ramallah or Bethlehem.
“In Jerusalem, Israel’s overriding aim is at its most transparent: to take control of the land but without its Palestinian inhabitants,” said Daoud Alg’ol, a researcher on Jerusalem.
Like others, Mr Alg’ol noted that Israel had stepped up its ‘Judaization’ policies in Jerusalem since the US relocated its embassy. “Israel is working more quickly, more confidently and more intensively because it believes Trump has given his blessing,” he said.
Demographic concerns dominated Israel’s thinking from the moment it occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, and subordinated it to the control of Jewish officials in West Jerusalem – in what Israel termed its newly “united capital”.
City boundaries were expanded eastwards to attach additional Palestinian lands to Jerusalem and then fill in the empty spaces with a ring of large Jewish settlements, said Aviv Tartasky, a researcher with Ir Amim, an organization that campaigns for equal rights in Jerusalem.
The goal, he added, was to shore up a permanent three-quarters Jewish majority – to ensure Palestinians could not stake a claim to the city and to allay Israeli fears that one day the Palestinians might gain control of the municipality through elections.
Israel has nonetheless faced a shrinking Jewish majority because of higher Palestinian birth rates. Today, Palestinians comprise about 40 per cent of the total population of this artificially enlarged Jerusalem.
Israel has therefore been aggressively pursuing a twin-pronged approach, according to analysts.
On one side, wide-ranging discriminatory policies – that harm Palestinians and favor Jewish settlers – have been designed to erode Palestinians’ connection to Jerusalem, encouraging them to leave. And, on the other, revocation of residency rights and the gradual redrawing of municipal boundaries have forcibly placed Palestinians outside the city – in what some experts term a “silent transfer” or administrative ethnic cleansing.
Israel’s efforts to disconnect Palestinians from Jerusalem are most visibly expressed in the change of Arabic script on road signs. The city’s Arabic name, Al Quds (the Holy), has been gradually replaced by the Israeli name, Urshalim, transliterated into Arabic.
The lack of services and municipal funding and high unemployment mean that three-quarters of Palestinians in East Jerusalem live below the poverty line. That compares to only 15 per cent for Israeli Jews nationally.
Despite these abysmal figures, the municipality has provided four social services offices in the city for Palestinians, compared to 19 for Israeli Jews.
Only half of Palestinian residents are provided with access to the water grid. There are similar deficiencies in postal services, road infrastructure, pavements and cultural centers.
Meanwhile, human rights groups have noted that East Jerusalem lacks at least 2,000 classrooms for Palestinian children, and that the condition of 43 per cent of existing rooms is inadequate. A third of pupils fail to complete basic schooling.
But the biggest pressure on Palestinian residents has been inflicted through grossly discriminatory planning rules, said Mr Tartasky.
In the areas outside the wall, Palestinians have been abandoned by the municipality – and receive no services or policing at all.
Israel’s long-term aim, said Mr Tartasky, had been exposed in a leak of private comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2015. He had proposed revoking the residency of the 140,000 Palestinians outside the wall.
“At the moment, the government is discussing putting these residents under the responsibility of the army,” Mr Tartasky said.
That would make them equivalent to Palestinians living in Israeli-controlled areas of the West Bank and sever their last connections to Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, on the inner side of the wall, Palestinian neighborhoods have been tightly constrained, with much of the land declared either “scenic areas” or national parks, in which construction is illegal, or reserved for Jewish settlements. The inevitable result has been extreme overcrowding.
In addition, Israel has denied most Palestinian neighborhoods’ masterplans, making it all but impossible to get building permits.
“The advantage for Israel is that planning regulations don’t look brutal – in fact, they can be presented as simple law enforcement,” said Mr Tartasky. “But if you have no place to live in Jerusalem, in the end you’ll have to move out of the city.”
An estimated 20,000 houses – about 40 per cent of the city’s Palestinian housing stock – are illegal and under threat of demolition. More than 800 homes, some housing several families, have been razed since 2004.
As well as the large purpose-built Jewish settlements located on Palestinian land in East Jerusalem, several thousand extremist settlers have taken over properties inside Palestinian neighborhoods, often with the backing of the Israeli courts.
Mr Tartasky noted that Israel has been accelerating legal efforts to evict Palestinians from their homes over the past year, with close to 200 families in and around the Old City currently facing court battles.
When settlers move in following such evictions, Ms Badran said, the character of the Palestinian neighborhoods rapidly changes.
“The settlers arrive, and then so do the police, the army, private security guards and municipal inspectors. The settlers have a machine behind them whose role is to make life as uncomfortable as possible for Palestinians. The message is: ‘You either accept your subjugation or leave’.”
In Silwan, where settler groups have established a touristic archaeological park in the midst of a densely populated Palestinian community just outside the Old City walls, life has been especially tough.
Mr Alg’ol, who lives in Silwan, noted that fortified settler compounds had been established throughout the area, many dozens more Palestinian families were facing evictions, excavations were taking place under Palestinian homes, closed-circuit TV watched residents 24 hours a day, and the security services were a constant presence. Many hundreds of children had been arrested in recent years, usually accused of stone throwing.
Israel’s newest move is the announcement of a cable car to bring tourists from West Jerusalem through Palestinian neighborhoods like Silwan to the holy sites of the Old City.
Mr Tartasky said touristic initiatives had become another planning weapon against Palestinians. “These projects, from the cable car to a series of promenades, are ways to connect one settlement to the next, bisecting Palestinian space. They strengthen the settlements and break apart Palestinian neighborhoods.”
Mr Alg’ol’s family was one of many in Silwan that had been told their lands were being confiscated for the cable car and a new police station.
“They want to turn our community into an archaeological Disneyland,” he said. “And we are in the way. They plan to keep going until we are all removed.”
- Jonathan Cook is a Nazareth-based journalist and winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism
The 350,000 Palestinian inhabitants of occupied East Jerusalem are caught between a rock and hard place, as Israel works ever harder to remove them from the holy city in which they were born, analysts and residents warn.
That process, they say, has only accelerated in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision a year ago to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, effectively endorsing the city as Israel’s exclusive capital.
“Israel wants Palestinians in Jerusalem to understand that they are trapped, that they are being strangled, in the hope they will conclude that life is better outside the city,” said Amneh Badran, a politics professor at Jerusalem’s Al Quds university.
Since Israel seized the eastern part of Jerusalem in 1967 and then illegally annexed it in 1981, it has intentionally left the status of its Palestinian population unresolved.
Israeli officials have made Palestinians there “permanent residents,” though, in practice, their residency is easily revoked. According to Israel’s own figures, more than 14,500 Palestinians have been expelled from the city of their birth since 1967, often compelling their families to join them in exile.
Further, Israel finished its concrete wall slicing through East Jerusalem three years ago, cutting some 140,000 Palestinian residents off from the rest of the city.
A raft of well-documented policies – including house demolitions, a chronic shortage of classrooms, lack of public services, municipal underfunding, land seizures, home evictions by Jewish settlers, denial of family unification, and police and settler violence – have intensified over the years.
At the same time, Israel has denied the Palestinian Authority, a supposed government-in-waiting in the West Bank, any role in East Jerusalem, leaving the city’s Palestinians even more isolated and weak.
All of these factors are designed to pressure Palestinians to leave, usually to areas outside the wall or to nearby West Bank cities like Ramallah or Bethlehem.
“In Jerusalem, Israel’s overriding aim is at its most transparent: to take control of the land but without its Palestinian inhabitants,” said Daoud Alg’ol, a researcher on Jerusalem.
Like others, Mr Alg’ol noted that Israel had stepped up its ‘Judaization’ policies in Jerusalem since the US relocated its embassy. “Israel is working more quickly, more confidently and more intensively because it believes Trump has given his blessing,” he said.
Demographic concerns dominated Israel’s thinking from the moment it occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, and subordinated it to the control of Jewish officials in West Jerusalem – in what Israel termed its newly “united capital”.
City boundaries were expanded eastwards to attach additional Palestinian lands to Jerusalem and then fill in the empty spaces with a ring of large Jewish settlements, said Aviv Tartasky, a researcher with Ir Amim, an organization that campaigns for equal rights in Jerusalem.
The goal, he added, was to shore up a permanent three-quarters Jewish majority – to ensure Palestinians could not stake a claim to the city and to allay Israeli fears that one day the Palestinians might gain control of the municipality through elections.
Israel has nonetheless faced a shrinking Jewish majority because of higher Palestinian birth rates. Today, Palestinians comprise about 40 per cent of the total population of this artificially enlarged Jerusalem.
Israel has therefore been aggressively pursuing a twin-pronged approach, according to analysts.
On one side, wide-ranging discriminatory policies – that harm Palestinians and favor Jewish settlers – have been designed to erode Palestinians’ connection to Jerusalem, encouraging them to leave. And, on the other, revocation of residency rights and the gradual redrawing of municipal boundaries have forcibly placed Palestinians outside the city – in what some experts term a “silent transfer” or administrative ethnic cleansing.
Israel’s efforts to disconnect Palestinians from Jerusalem are most visibly expressed in the change of Arabic script on road signs. The city’s Arabic name, Al Quds (the Holy), has been gradually replaced by the Israeli name, Urshalim, transliterated into Arabic.
The lack of services and municipal funding and high unemployment mean that three-quarters of Palestinians in East Jerusalem live below the poverty line. That compares to only 15 per cent for Israeli Jews nationally.
Despite these abysmal figures, the municipality has provided four social services offices in the city for Palestinians, compared to 19 for Israeli Jews.
Only half of Palestinian residents are provided with access to the water grid. There are similar deficiencies in postal services, road infrastructure, pavements and cultural centers.
Meanwhile, human rights groups have noted that East Jerusalem lacks at least 2,000 classrooms for Palestinian children, and that the condition of 43 per cent of existing rooms is inadequate. A third of pupils fail to complete basic schooling.
But the biggest pressure on Palestinian residents has been inflicted through grossly discriminatory planning rules, said Mr Tartasky.
In the areas outside the wall, Palestinians have been abandoned by the municipality – and receive no services or policing at all.
Israel’s long-term aim, said Mr Tartasky, had been exposed in a leak of private comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2015. He had proposed revoking the residency of the 140,000 Palestinians outside the wall.
“At the moment, the government is discussing putting these residents under the responsibility of the army,” Mr Tartasky said.
That would make them equivalent to Palestinians living in Israeli-controlled areas of the West Bank and sever their last connections to Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, on the inner side of the wall, Palestinian neighborhoods have been tightly constrained, with much of the land declared either “scenic areas” or national parks, in which construction is illegal, or reserved for Jewish settlements. The inevitable result has been extreme overcrowding.
In addition, Israel has denied most Palestinian neighborhoods’ masterplans, making it all but impossible to get building permits.
“The advantage for Israel is that planning regulations don’t look brutal – in fact, they can be presented as simple law enforcement,” said Mr Tartasky. “But if you have no place to live in Jerusalem, in the end you’ll have to move out of the city.”
An estimated 20,000 houses – about 40 per cent of the city’s Palestinian housing stock – are illegal and under threat of demolition. More than 800 homes, some housing several families, have been razed since 2004.
As well as the large purpose-built Jewish settlements located on Palestinian land in East Jerusalem, several thousand extremist settlers have taken over properties inside Palestinian neighborhoods, often with the backing of the Israeli courts.
Mr Tartasky noted that Israel has been accelerating legal efforts to evict Palestinians from their homes over the past year, with close to 200 families in and around the Old City currently facing court battles.
When settlers move in following such evictions, Ms Badran said, the character of the Palestinian neighborhoods rapidly changes.
“The settlers arrive, and then so do the police, the army, private security guards and municipal inspectors. The settlers have a machine behind them whose role is to make life as uncomfortable as possible for Palestinians. The message is: ‘You either accept your subjugation or leave’.”
In Silwan, where settler groups have established a touristic archaeological park in the midst of a densely populated Palestinian community just outside the Old City walls, life has been especially tough.
Mr Alg’ol, who lives in Silwan, noted that fortified settler compounds had been established throughout the area, many dozens more Palestinian families were facing evictions, excavations were taking place under Palestinian homes, closed-circuit TV watched residents 24 hours a day, and the security services were a constant presence. Many hundreds of children had been arrested in recent years, usually accused of stone throwing.
Israel’s newest move is the announcement of a cable car to bring tourists from West Jerusalem through Palestinian neighborhoods like Silwan to the holy sites of the Old City.
Mr Tartasky said touristic initiatives had become another planning weapon against Palestinians. “These projects, from the cable car to a series of promenades, are ways to connect one settlement to the next, bisecting Palestinian space. They strengthen the settlements and break apart Palestinian neighborhoods.”
Mr Alg’ol’s family was one of many in Silwan that had been told their lands were being confiscated for the cable car and a new police station.
“They want to turn our community into an archaeological Disneyland,” he said. “And we are in the way. They plan to keep going until we are all removed.”
- Jonathan Cook is a Nazareth-based journalist and winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism
Elad (Ir David) Association, which is active in Judaizing the Occupied City of Jerusalem, has taken over the Peace Forest in the holy city with the connivance of the Israeli government, according to Haaretz newspaper.
Haaretz affirmed that Elad was recently working on having the status of the Peace Forest as a public place revoked in order to promote and carry out settlement projects despite the fact that some lands in this forest are owned by Palestinian citizens.
According to a report by the newspaper on Monday, the Israeli government signed many cooperation agreements with Elad in camera to impose Israel’s control over Palestinian real estate and tracts of land in Jerusalem.
Haaretz affirmed that Elad was recently working on having the status of the Peace Forest as a public place revoked in order to promote and carry out settlement projects despite the fact that some lands in this forest are owned by Palestinian citizens.
According to a report by the newspaper on Monday, the Israeli government signed many cooperation agreements with Elad in camera to impose Israel’s control over Palestinian real estate and tracts of land in Jerusalem.
Israeli soldiers demolished, Tuesday, a Palestinian home, owned by a lawyer in Bir ‘Ona area, in Beit Jala city, west of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.
Hasan Breijiyya, the head of the office of the “Colonization& Wall Resistance Commission” in Bethlehem, said a large military force invaded the area, before the bulldozers demolished the home. video
He added that the soldiers closed the entire area, and prevented the Palestinians from entering or leaving it, before demolishing the property.
The demolished property is owned by a lawyer, identified as Basima Issa, and was a three-story building; the Israeli army claimed that the home was built without a permit from the Israeli “Civil Administration Office,” which is run by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank.
Breijiyya stated that the area has been subject to frequent Israeli violations, including the demolition of homes and other structures, as Israel is trying to illegally annex it for the construction and expansion of its colonies, built in occupied Palestine in direct violation of International Law.
Hasan Breijiyya, the head of the office of the “Colonization& Wall Resistance Commission” in Bethlehem, said a large military force invaded the area, before the bulldozers demolished the home. video
He added that the soldiers closed the entire area, and prevented the Palestinians from entering or leaving it, before demolishing the property.
The demolished property is owned by a lawyer, identified as Basima Issa, and was a three-story building; the Israeli army claimed that the home was built without a permit from the Israeli “Civil Administration Office,” which is run by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank.
Breijiyya stated that the area has been subject to frequent Israeli violations, including the demolition of homes and other structures, as Israel is trying to illegally annex it for the construction and expansion of its colonies, built in occupied Palestine in direct violation of International Law.
1 apr 2019
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday at dawn, several Palestinian governorates in various parts of the occupied West Bank, searched and ransacked homes and workshops, and abducted eleven Palestinians, in addition to shooting one during ensuing protests.
Media sources said the soldiers invaded ‘Anata town, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, before storming a blacksmith workshop, and confiscated machines and tools while violently searching it.
In Jenin city, in northern West Bank, the soldiers shot and injured a young man, after the army invaded the city, and opened fire at dozens of protesters. The army also claimed that some protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at the military jeeps.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded ‘Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem, searched homes and abducted Bara’ Ahmad Hourani, 21, and Tareq Ahmad Abu Srour, 20.
In Hebron, in southern West Bank, the soldiers abducted Ahmad Nidal Abu Ghazi and Jihad Emad at-Teety, from the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, in addition to Ahmad al-Bayed and Ahmad Salama Abu Ras, 21, from Doura town.
Also in Hebron, the soldiers invaded Ethna and the ath-Thaheriyya towns, and installed roadblocks at Hebron’s northern and southern roads, in addition to the main entrances of Sa’ir and Halhoul towns, before searching many cars, and interrogated dozens of Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
Media sources said the soldiers invaded ‘Anata town, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, before storming a blacksmith workshop, and confiscated machines and tools while violently searching it.
In Jenin city, in northern West Bank, the soldiers shot and injured a young man, after the army invaded the city, and opened fire at dozens of protesters. The army also claimed that some protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at the military jeeps.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded ‘Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem, searched homes and abducted Bara’ Ahmad Hourani, 21, and Tareq Ahmad Abu Srour, 20.
In Hebron, in southern West Bank, the soldiers abducted Ahmad Nidal Abu Ghazi and Jihad Emad at-Teety, from the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, in addition to Ahmad al-Bayed and Ahmad Salama Abu Ras, 21, from Doura town.
Also in Hebron, the soldiers invaded Ethna and the ath-Thaheriyya towns, and installed roadblocks at Hebron’s northern and southern roads, in addition to the main entrances of Sa’ir and Halhoul towns, before searching many cars, and interrogated dozens of Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
31 mar 2019
The Israeli occupation army on Sunday notified Palestinian citizens of its intent to demolish two homes in Yatta, south of al-Khalil, at the pretext of unlicenced construction.
Local official Rateb al-Jabour said Israeli soldiers stormed al-Juwaya area in the east of Yatta and delivered home demolition notices, adding that families live in these homes.
According to Jabour, one of the houses is composed of two stories and belongs to Eid al-Nawaj’ah and Mousa Shawahin.
Israeli Authorities Deliver Demolition Orders Near Hebron
2 Palestinian structures were ordered to be demolished, by Israeli authorities, in the southern West Bank city of Yatta, in the Hebron district, Ma’an News Agency reported Sunday.
The two buildings, one the home of Abed al-Mutleb al-Nuajaa, the other a barn for livestock, belonging to Mousa Hassan al-Shuwaheen, using the steel structure for shelter for his sheep.
Local sources verified that the reason for the demolition orders was lack of building permits, which Israel uses as a pretext for demolishing Palestinian homes, to make room for illegal colonists and their settlements.
According to the report, nearly all Palestinian applications for building permits in land classified Area C are denied. Area C, under full Israeli military control makes up 60 % of the occupied West Bank.
Rateb al-Jbour, a local coordinator opposing the Israeli separation wall, said that 10 demolition notices have recently been handed out to homes and other structures in the area.
It is estimated that 550,000 Israeli colonists live in the occupied Palestinian territories, while Israel’s unfaltering determination to displace the indigenous Palestinians, and replace them with illegal colonists.
Local official Rateb al-Jabour said Israeli soldiers stormed al-Juwaya area in the east of Yatta and delivered home demolition notices, adding that families live in these homes.
According to Jabour, one of the houses is composed of two stories and belongs to Eid al-Nawaj’ah and Mousa Shawahin.
Israeli Authorities Deliver Demolition Orders Near Hebron
2 Palestinian structures were ordered to be demolished, by Israeli authorities, in the southern West Bank city of Yatta, in the Hebron district, Ma’an News Agency reported Sunday.
The two buildings, one the home of Abed al-Mutleb al-Nuajaa, the other a barn for livestock, belonging to Mousa Hassan al-Shuwaheen, using the steel structure for shelter for his sheep.
Local sources verified that the reason for the demolition orders was lack of building permits, which Israel uses as a pretext for demolishing Palestinian homes, to make room for illegal colonists and their settlements.
According to the report, nearly all Palestinian applications for building permits in land classified Area C are denied. Area C, under full Israeli military control makes up 60 % of the occupied West Bank.
Rateb al-Jbour, a local coordinator opposing the Israeli separation wall, said that 10 demolition notices have recently been handed out to homes and other structures in the area.
It is estimated that 550,000 Israeli colonists live in the occupied Palestinian territories, while Israel’s unfaltering determination to displace the indigenous Palestinians, and replace them with illegal colonists.
30 mar 2019
A Palestinian family demolished their own home and steel structures, on Friday evening, in the Pisgat Zeev illegal Israeli settlement, that is built on Palestinian lands of the Hizma village north of occupied Jerusalem, upon order by the Israeli High Court.
Youssef Askar, family member, said that the family began to demolish their structures upon receiving an order by the Israeli High Court allowing them until mid-April to carry out the demolition themselves.
The family would be fined by Israel and forced to pay demolition fees, if the demolition is carried out by Israel.
Asmar added that the Israeli authorities have attempted to seize control over the land, on which the family property is built, for 35 years.
The Israeli authorities reportedly claim that the land was previously confiscated, however, when the family proved ownership in Israeli courts, they were told that the land belongs to the Custodian of Absentee Property.
Askar pointed out that they had built their home out of cement and steel on the 2-dunam land between 1982 and 1985, in addition to a warehouse and a steel structure used for agricultural purposes.
Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in East Jerusalem, though the Jerusalem municipality has claimed that compared to the Jewish population, they receive a disproportionately low number of permit applications from Palestinian communities, which also see high approval ratings.
For Jewish Israelis in occupied East Jerusalem's illegal settlements, the planning, marketing, development, and infrastructure are funded and executed by the Israeli government.
By contrast, in Palestinian neighborhoods, all the burden falls on individual families to contend with a lengthy permit application that can last several years and cost tens of thousands of dollars.
According to Daniel Seidemann of the NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem, "since 1967, the Government of Israel has directly engaged in the construction of 55,000 units for Israelis in East Jerusalem; in contrast, fewer than 600 units have been built for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the last of which were built 40 years ago.
So much for (Jerusalem Mayor Nir) Barkat's claim 'we build for everyone.'"
Youssef Askar, family member, said that the family began to demolish their structures upon receiving an order by the Israeli High Court allowing them until mid-April to carry out the demolition themselves.
The family would be fined by Israel and forced to pay demolition fees, if the demolition is carried out by Israel.
Asmar added that the Israeli authorities have attempted to seize control over the land, on which the family property is built, for 35 years.
The Israeli authorities reportedly claim that the land was previously confiscated, however, when the family proved ownership in Israeli courts, they were told that the land belongs to the Custodian of Absentee Property.
Askar pointed out that they had built their home out of cement and steel on the 2-dunam land between 1982 and 1985, in addition to a warehouse and a steel structure used for agricultural purposes.
Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in East Jerusalem, though the Jerusalem municipality has claimed that compared to the Jewish population, they receive a disproportionately low number of permit applications from Palestinian communities, which also see high approval ratings.
For Jewish Israelis in occupied East Jerusalem's illegal settlements, the planning, marketing, development, and infrastructure are funded and executed by the Israeli government.
By contrast, in Palestinian neighborhoods, all the burden falls on individual families to contend with a lengthy permit application that can last several years and cost tens of thousands of dollars.
According to Daniel Seidemann of the NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem, "since 1967, the Government of Israel has directly engaged in the construction of 55,000 units for Israelis in East Jerusalem; in contrast, fewer than 600 units have been built for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the last of which were built 40 years ago.
So much for (Jerusalem Mayor Nir) Barkat's claim 'we build for everyone.'"
Illegal Israeli colonialist settlers invaded, Friday, Palestinian olive orchards and grazing lands in the al-Farisiyya area in the West Bank’s Northern Plains.
Human Rights activist Aref Daraghma said the colonists invaded the lands, located near the illegal Rotem colony, which was built on stolen Palestinian lands.
He added that the colonists planted dozens of olive saplings in the grazing lands, which raised fears that they intend to illegally annex them to their colony.
It is worth mentioning that the colonists usually invade and uproot Palestinian farmlands and orchards in the area, and several parts of the occupied West Bank, in addition to flooding other lands with wastewater mixed with chemicals.
On Friday evening, Israeli soldiers invaded Nahhalin town, west of Bethlehem, and fired many gas bombs and concussion grenades in the town’s center.
Human Rights activist Aref Daraghma said the colonists invaded the lands, located near the illegal Rotem colony, which was built on stolen Palestinian lands.
He added that the colonists planted dozens of olive saplings in the grazing lands, which raised fears that they intend to illegally annex them to their colony.
It is worth mentioning that the colonists usually invade and uproot Palestinian farmlands and orchards in the area, and several parts of the occupied West Bank, in addition to flooding other lands with wastewater mixed with chemicals.
On Friday evening, Israeli soldiers invaded Nahhalin town, west of Bethlehem, and fired many gas bombs and concussion grenades in the town’s center.
26 mar 2019
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Tuesday notified the family of martyr Omar Abu Laila of their intent to demolish its house in az-Zawiya town, west of Salfit in the West Bank.
The IOF gave the family of Abu Laila until March 31, 2019 to file a petition against the military demolition order.
In press remarks, the mother of Abu Laila said that a large number of Israeli soldiers stormed her house at 02:30 am, tore Omar’s pictures and handed her a demolition notice before leaving.
Last Tuesday, Omar Abu-Laila, 19, was killed in a shootout in the West Bank village of Abwein near Ramallah.
The IOF launched a manhunt for Abu Laila after he managed to kill on March 17 two settlers, including a soldier, and wounded others in retaliation for Israel’s crimes and violations against the Palestinians and their holy sites.
The IOF gave the family of Abu Laila until March 31, 2019 to file a petition against the military demolition order.
In press remarks, the mother of Abu Laila said that a large number of Israeli soldiers stormed her house at 02:30 am, tore Omar’s pictures and handed her a demolition notice before leaving.
Last Tuesday, Omar Abu-Laila, 19, was killed in a shootout in the West Bank village of Abwein near Ramallah.
The IOF launched a manhunt for Abu Laila after he managed to kill on March 17 two settlers, including a soldier, and wounded others in retaliation for Israel’s crimes and violations against the Palestinians and their holy sites.
25 mar 2019
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Monday at dawn, at least five Palestinians from Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jenin governorates, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported.
The PPS office in Ramallah, in central West Bank, said the soldiers invaded the al-Jalazoun refugee camp, before breaking into and ransacking many homes, and abducted Mohammad Sami Nakhla, 21, and Mohammad Eyad Dweik, 18.
It added that the soldiers assaulted and injured Mohammad al-Masri, the father of two detainees, identified as Shafiq and Khaled, after storming and ransacking his home in the refugee camp.
In Bethlehem, the soldiers invaded the al-Khader town, south of the city, and abducted Moath Ahmad Mousa, 19, and Tha’er Saber Taqatqa, 22, after invading and searching their homes.
In Jenin, in northern West Bank, the soldiers abducted Yousef Emad Turkman, from Jenin refugee camp, after stopping him at a military roadblock, near Arraba town, south of Jenin.
In addition, the soldiers invaded Qalqilia city, stormed and ransacked the home of a political prisoner, identified as Raed Ahmad al-Hotari, before illegally confiscating his wife’s car in addition to 2000 Shekels.
It is worth mentioning that al-Hotari, 47, was taken prisoner on March 23rd, 2003, and was sentenced to life in prison.
In related news, the soldiers invaded Tayasir village, east of Tubas in northeastern West Bank, and ordered a Palestinian, identified as Mohammad Yousef Dibik, to halt the construction of a small water reservoir on his own property.
The PPS office in Ramallah, in central West Bank, said the soldiers invaded the al-Jalazoun refugee camp, before breaking into and ransacking many homes, and abducted Mohammad Sami Nakhla, 21, and Mohammad Eyad Dweik, 18.
It added that the soldiers assaulted and injured Mohammad al-Masri, the father of two detainees, identified as Shafiq and Khaled, after storming and ransacking his home in the refugee camp.
In Bethlehem, the soldiers invaded the al-Khader town, south of the city, and abducted Moath Ahmad Mousa, 19, and Tha’er Saber Taqatqa, 22, after invading and searching their homes.
In Jenin, in northern West Bank, the soldiers abducted Yousef Emad Turkman, from Jenin refugee camp, after stopping him at a military roadblock, near Arraba town, south of Jenin.
In addition, the soldiers invaded Qalqilia city, stormed and ransacked the home of a political prisoner, identified as Raed Ahmad al-Hotari, before illegally confiscating his wife’s car in addition to 2000 Shekels.
It is worth mentioning that al-Hotari, 47, was taken prisoner on March 23rd, 2003, and was sentenced to life in prison.
In related news, the soldiers invaded Tayasir village, east of Tubas in northeastern West Bank, and ordered a Palestinian, identified as Mohammad Yousef Dibik, to halt the construction of a small water reservoir on his own property.
24 mar 2019
Dozens of Palestinian students and teachers on Sunday suffered from their exposure to tear gas fumes after Israeli soldiers attacked them and their school in al-Khalil city.
According to local sources, Israeli soldiers intensively fired tear gas grenades at Palestinian students as they were entering al-Nahda School in the morning.
Several students and teachers received on-site medical assistance.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed and ransacked a Palestinian house in Jabel Johar neighborhood of al-Khalil city and stole a sum of money belonging to the homeowner, Hani al-Rajbi.
The IOF also raided two homes belonging to brothers from the family of al-Rajoub in Dura town, south of al-Khalil.
According to local sources, Israeli soldiers intensively fired tear gas grenades at Palestinian students as they were entering al-Nahda School in the morning.
Several students and teachers received on-site medical assistance.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed and ransacked a Palestinian house in Jabel Johar neighborhood of al-Khalil city and stole a sum of money belonging to the homeowner, Hani al-Rajbi.
The IOF also raided two homes belonging to brothers from the family of al-Rajoub in Dura town, south of al-Khalil.
21 mar 2019
Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes on Wednesday, at noon, in the South Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
Fouad al-Umour, coordinator of a local popular committee, reported that Israeli forces demolished a residential room belonging to local resident Issa Awad, in the Umm Tuba village, and seized a water tank and solar panels.
Israeli forces also detained local Awad Ibrahim Ali Awad, 22, from the village.
Al-Umour said that Israeli forces also demolished a house belonging to Ali Muhammad Abu Arram, in the Halaweh village.
The South Hebron Hills, known locally as Masafer Yatta, lie almost entirely in Area C, the 62 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli civil and security control since the 1993 Oslo Accords, Ma;an further reports.
Israeli authorities seek to displace Masafer Yatta residents, in order to seize their lands, as part of an Israeli settlement expansion plan in the West Bank.
Around 3,000 Israeli settlers live in illegal Jewish-only settlements in the Yatta region, according to the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ).
Masafer Yatta residents were expelled at the time of the establishment of a firing zone in the 1970s and were eventually allowed back following a long court battle, but are under the constant threat of being expelled or seeing their homes demolished.
Fouad al-Umour, coordinator of a local popular committee, reported that Israeli forces demolished a residential room belonging to local resident Issa Awad, in the Umm Tuba village, and seized a water tank and solar panels.
Israeli forces also detained local Awad Ibrahim Ali Awad, 22, from the village.
Al-Umour said that Israeli forces also demolished a house belonging to Ali Muhammad Abu Arram, in the Halaweh village.
The South Hebron Hills, known locally as Masafer Yatta, lie almost entirely in Area C, the 62 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli civil and security control since the 1993 Oslo Accords, Ma;an further reports.
Israeli authorities seek to displace Masafer Yatta residents, in order to seize their lands, as part of an Israeli settlement expansion plan in the West Bank.
Around 3,000 Israeli settlers live in illegal Jewish-only settlements in the Yatta region, according to the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ).
Masafer Yatta residents were expelled at the time of the establishment of a firing zone in the 1970s and were eventually allowed back following a long court battle, but are under the constant threat of being expelled or seeing their homes demolished.
19 mar 2019
Staff members from the Israeli Civil Administration delivered a stop-construction order to the Palestinian Equestrian Club building in Qalandiya village, north of the central occupied West Bank district of Jerusalem.
According to local sources, Israeli forces along with staff members from the Israeli Civil Administration stormed the area and delivered a stop-construction order to the Equestrian Club.
Sources confirmed that residents face a construction crisis as they have only been able to build in the center of the village, which makes up 150 dunams (37 acres) out of the original 4,000 dunams (988 acres).
Sources added that the order was issued under the pretext that the building was being built without the nearly-impossible to obtain Israeli permit.
Israel uses the pretext of building without a permit to carry out demolitions of Palestinian-owned homes on a regular basis.
Nearly all Palestinian applications for building permits in Area C are denied by the Israeli authorities, forcing communities to build illegally.
Meanwhile, the estimated 550,000 Jewish Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory are more easily given building permits and allowed to expand their homes and properties, despite living in settlements that violate international law.
According to local sources, Israeli forces along with staff members from the Israeli Civil Administration stormed the area and delivered a stop-construction order to the Equestrian Club.
Sources confirmed that residents face a construction crisis as they have only been able to build in the center of the village, which makes up 150 dunams (37 acres) out of the original 4,000 dunams (988 acres).
Sources added that the order was issued under the pretext that the building was being built without the nearly-impossible to obtain Israeli permit.
Israel uses the pretext of building without a permit to carry out demolitions of Palestinian-owned homes on a regular basis.
Nearly all Palestinian applications for building permits in Area C are denied by the Israeli authorities, forcing communities to build illegally.
Meanwhile, the estimated 550,000 Jewish Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory are more easily given building permits and allowed to expand their homes and properties, despite living in settlements that violate international law.
The Israeli municipal authority in Occupied Jerusalem on Tuesday demolished, without prior notice, a building under construction belonging to al-Razi School in Shu’fat refugee camp, northeast of the holy city.
Local sources said that Israeli troops stormed the camp and evacuated all the students, teachers and employees from the school before bulldozers embarked on knocking down the two-story annexe.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers closed the military road barrier at the entrance to the camp and prevented Palestinian citizens and vehicles from moving in both directions.
Al-Razi School, which serves a wide segment of Palestinian children from the camp, was in need for another building to accommodate more students.
Local sources said that Israeli troops stormed the camp and evacuated all the students, teachers and employees from the school before bulldozers embarked on knocking down the two-story annexe.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers closed the military road barrier at the entrance to the camp and prevented Palestinian citizens and vehicles from moving in both directions.
Al-Razi School, which serves a wide segment of Palestinian children from the camp, was in need for another building to accommodate more students.
