28 nov 2017
Eyewitnesses from the towns of Az-Zawiya and Deir Ballut, west of Salfit in the occupied West Bank, have reported that large-scale settlement expansion is taking place on the western land of the towns.
According to them, large apartment buildings of 10 to 20 floors or more are being built over a vast tract of land in the towns and behind the separation wall, where lands belonging to local farmers are located.
Part of these settlement construction activities are also taking place on land belonging to the nearby town of Kafr Qasim.
These settlement activities are part of an Israeli plan to expand its settlements in Salfit as a prelude to officially annexing them to its “territory,” which is known by the Palestinians as the 1948 occupied lands.
According to them, large apartment buildings of 10 to 20 floors or more are being built over a vast tract of land in the towns and behind the separation wall, where lands belonging to local farmers are located.
Part of these settlement construction activities are also taking place on land belonging to the nearby town of Kafr Qasim.
These settlement activities are part of an Israeli plan to expand its settlements in Salfit as a prelude to officially annexing them to its “territory,” which is known by the Palestinians as the 1948 occupied lands.
The Bedouin community in al-Baba Mountain, in the town of Al-Eizariya, occupied East Jerusalem, stands steadfast in face of Israeli plans which aim to evict them.
According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, not even the children are willing to wave their rights, repeating that al-Baba Mountain is “our land and we will still here.”
The Bedouin resident Khaled al-Basha, 45, said that they were shocked with the Israeli decision to evict the community as a whole.
Al-Basha described the decision as unjust and merciless.
The Israeli civil administration notified the community 10 days ago, of their impending eviction from their houses in Al-Eizariya, where 57 Palestinian Bedouin families (with a total of 300 members) reside.
The chairman of the Committee of Services of al-Baba Mountain, Attallah Mazarah, warned of the eviction order, which seeks to deport the entire community. He added that Israeli occupation authorities have already demolished some houses in the community, but the decision now states the intention to evict all.
He stressed that the inhabitants of Al-Baba, along with all Bedouin communities, will not accept a new deportation from their lands.
A lawyer of the community filed a petition with the Israeli civil administration, against the decision, last Wednesday, but the administration did not respond.
Mazarah called on the Palestinian Authority to adopt a strict stance against the Israeli policy.
An official from the Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem, Zakaria Ouda, said that the new Israeli measures in al-Baba are a part of the same old scheme which aims to evict the Bedouin communities, and to establish E1 settlement, which will include 12,000 settling units.
Ouda explained that the bigger plan seeks to connect 8 settlements in occupied Jerusalem, separating the northern parts of the West Bank from the south. The plan will, n effect, evict and isolate many Palestinian neighborhoods.
“It is part of the Israeli plans that are named by the Israeli occupation government as ‘Greater Jerusalem’, whose borders extend to the settlements of Gush Etzion in the south, Ma’ale Adumim to the east, and Giv’at Ze’ev in the north,” he said.
This is reportedly part of a major plan aimed at adopting the policy of ethnic cleansing within Jerusalem’s Palestinian population, in order to create a Jewish majority.
Oudah called on the Palestinian Authority to make use of its relations with other countries to stop this plan, and to exert pressure on Israel to end policies which seek to expel Palestinians from occupied Jerusalem.
The National Office for the Defense of Land and the Resistance of Settlements also warned of the plans for settlement and displacement in Jerusalem.
It was explained, in a documentary report issued Saturday, that the plan of evicting the Bedouin communities is one of the most dangerous ethnic cleansing plans in occupied Jerusalem.
The report stated that, if the Israeli occupation succeeds in evicting the Bedouin community, it will be able to isolate Jerusalem totally, from its Palestinian connection.
The Beduoin communities in occupied Negev were displaced from their lands in Tal Arar, Negev, in 1948, and have been residing in Palestinian lands near occupied Jerusalem. He noted that there are aerial photographs from the 1960s and 70s which prove their presence in al-Baba Mountain and all the Bedouin communities.
Israeli occupation authorities built the apartheid wall in 2003, leading to the reduction of livestock and water sources upon which the Bedouin community of al-Baba Mountain relied .
The demolition process has been raging in al-Baba compound for the last four years, reaching 52 demolitions, including a kindergarten, and involving the confiscation of residents’ vehicles, preventing them from renovating their homes and any expansion of the population.
The Israeli Civil Administration offered the residents of Jabal al-Baba material temptations to transfer to them the so-called “Jerusalem Gate” on the land of Abu Dis residents, but they were refused.
The last attempt was about a month ago, when Israeli forces demolished four houses and tried to get signatures from the population, to find an alternative for them. But, the citizens refused, and, so, Israeli authorities began issuing eviction orders and deportations for the entire community.
According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, not even the children are willing to wave their rights, repeating that al-Baba Mountain is “our land and we will still here.”
The Bedouin resident Khaled al-Basha, 45, said that they were shocked with the Israeli decision to evict the community as a whole.
Al-Basha described the decision as unjust and merciless.
The Israeli civil administration notified the community 10 days ago, of their impending eviction from their houses in Al-Eizariya, where 57 Palestinian Bedouin families (with a total of 300 members) reside.
The chairman of the Committee of Services of al-Baba Mountain, Attallah Mazarah, warned of the eviction order, which seeks to deport the entire community. He added that Israeli occupation authorities have already demolished some houses in the community, but the decision now states the intention to evict all.
He stressed that the inhabitants of Al-Baba, along with all Bedouin communities, will not accept a new deportation from their lands.
A lawyer of the community filed a petition with the Israeli civil administration, against the decision, last Wednesday, but the administration did not respond.
Mazarah called on the Palestinian Authority to adopt a strict stance against the Israeli policy.
An official from the Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem, Zakaria Ouda, said that the new Israeli measures in al-Baba are a part of the same old scheme which aims to evict the Bedouin communities, and to establish E1 settlement, which will include 12,000 settling units.
Ouda explained that the bigger plan seeks to connect 8 settlements in occupied Jerusalem, separating the northern parts of the West Bank from the south. The plan will, n effect, evict and isolate many Palestinian neighborhoods.
“It is part of the Israeli plans that are named by the Israeli occupation government as ‘Greater Jerusalem’, whose borders extend to the settlements of Gush Etzion in the south, Ma’ale Adumim to the east, and Giv’at Ze’ev in the north,” he said.
This is reportedly part of a major plan aimed at adopting the policy of ethnic cleansing within Jerusalem’s Palestinian population, in order to create a Jewish majority.
Oudah called on the Palestinian Authority to make use of its relations with other countries to stop this plan, and to exert pressure on Israel to end policies which seek to expel Palestinians from occupied Jerusalem.
The National Office for the Defense of Land and the Resistance of Settlements also warned of the plans for settlement and displacement in Jerusalem.
It was explained, in a documentary report issued Saturday, that the plan of evicting the Bedouin communities is one of the most dangerous ethnic cleansing plans in occupied Jerusalem.
The report stated that, if the Israeli occupation succeeds in evicting the Bedouin community, it will be able to isolate Jerusalem totally, from its Palestinian connection.
The Beduoin communities in occupied Negev were displaced from their lands in Tal Arar, Negev, in 1948, and have been residing in Palestinian lands near occupied Jerusalem. He noted that there are aerial photographs from the 1960s and 70s which prove their presence in al-Baba Mountain and all the Bedouin communities.
Israeli occupation authorities built the apartheid wall in 2003, leading to the reduction of livestock and water sources upon which the Bedouin community of al-Baba Mountain relied .
The demolition process has been raging in al-Baba compound for the last four years, reaching 52 demolitions, including a kindergarten, and involving the confiscation of residents’ vehicles, preventing them from renovating their homes and any expansion of the population.
The Israeli Civil Administration offered the residents of Jabal al-Baba material temptations to transfer to them the so-called “Jerusalem Gate” on the land of Abu Dis residents, but they were refused.
The last attempt was about a month ago, when Israeli forces demolished four houses and tried to get signatures from the population, to find an alternative for them. But, the citizens refused, and, so, Israeli authorities began issuing eviction orders and deportations for the entire community.
27 nov 2017
Israeli soldiers invaded, Monday, a Palestinian graveyard in Kafr Aqab town, north of occupied East Jerusalem, and surrounded a graveyard before starting digging work in the cemetery and some of its graves.
Media sources in the town said dozens of soldiers surrounded and isolated the graveyard, before sending bulldozers and digging machines into it.
They added that the army prevented the Palestinians, and media outlets, from entering the graveyard, or its surrounded areas.
Israel intends to demolish six residential towers of approximately 140 apartments, in Kafr Aqab; most of the apartments are already inhabited by dozens of families, who are still fighting legal battles in Israeli courts, but the army is now rushing to demolish them, before the appeals are ruled on by Israeli courts.
Media sources in the town said dozens of soldiers surrounded and isolated the graveyard, before sending bulldozers and digging machines into it.
They added that the army prevented the Palestinians, and media outlets, from entering the graveyard, or its surrounded areas.
Israel intends to demolish six residential towers of approximately 140 apartments, in Kafr Aqab; most of the apartments are already inhabited by dozens of families, who are still fighting legal battles in Israeli courts, but the army is now rushing to demolish them, before the appeals are ruled on by Israeli courts.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed on Monday Beit Einoun town, east of al-Khalil, and demolished a Palestinian-owned facility.
Local sources affirmed that IOF soldiers stormed the area accompanied with a military bulldozer and started demolishing a store for being built without Israeli permit.
1,023 Palestinian-owned facilities were demolished in 2016 in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem including 488 houses.
Local sources affirmed that IOF soldiers stormed the area accompanied with a military bulldozer and started demolishing a store for being built without Israeli permit.
1,023 Palestinian-owned facilities were demolished in 2016 in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem including 488 houses.
26 nov 2017
Israel’s High Court on Sunday ruled for demolishing the homes of two Palestinian detainees from Jenin’s southern town of Qabatiya, in the northern occupied West Bank.
A PIC news correspondent said the Israeli court turned down an appeal filed by the families of prisoners Youssef Kmeil and Mohamed Abu al-Rub to cancel the demolition verdict.
The court ruled that the prisoners’ family homes be demolished by the end of November.
Earlier this month, Israeli soldiers broke into the prisoners’ homes and handed over demolition orders to their families.
Both Kmeil and Abu al-Rub are charged with carrying out an anti-occupation attack which left an Israeli settler dead in an industrial zone in Kafr Kasem, in 1948 Occupied Palestine (Israel).
A PIC news correspondent said the Israeli court turned down an appeal filed by the families of prisoners Youssef Kmeil and Mohamed Abu al-Rub to cancel the demolition verdict.
The court ruled that the prisoners’ family homes be demolished by the end of November.
Earlier this month, Israeli soldiers broke into the prisoners’ homes and handed over demolition orders to their families.
Both Kmeil and Abu al-Rub are charged with carrying out an anti-occupation attack which left an Israeli settler dead in an industrial zone in Kafr Kasem, in 1948 Occupied Palestine (Israel).
The Israeli occupation authorities forced the Palestinian citizen Jamal Abu Teir to demolish his own home in Occupied Jerusalem.
On Thursday, the occupation authorities threatened to fine Abu Teir in case he does not demolish his 40-square-meter home.
Abu Teir said he demolished his home lest he be forced to pay demolition fees, estimated at 50,000 shekels.
The demolished building had been home to Abu Teir along with his wife and three sons.
Abu Teir added that he built the home so as to afford his newly-wed son a decent place to live in, before it was reduced to mounds of rubble.
According to Abu Teir, the move makes part of collective punishment policies pursued by the Israelis against Palestinians living in Occupied Jerusalem.
On Thursday, the occupation authorities threatened to fine Abu Teir in case he does not demolish his 40-square-meter home.
Abu Teir said he demolished his home lest he be forced to pay demolition fees, estimated at 50,000 shekels.
The demolished building had been home to Abu Teir along with his wife and three sons.
Abu Teir added that he built the home so as to afford his newly-wed son a decent place to live in, before it was reduced to mounds of rubble.
According to Abu Teir, the move makes part of collective punishment policies pursued by the Israelis against Palestinians living in Occupied Jerusalem.
Crews from the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem municipality on Sunday distributed demolition orders against a number of Palestinian structures in al-Isawiya village to the northeast of Occupied Jerusalem.
The Palestinian activist, Mohammed Abu al-Hummus, said that the Israeli crews, accompanied by a military force, stormed the village and notified the demolition of two residential buildings and a barn.
Abu al-Hummus told Quds Press that the municipality crews took photos of some residential and commercial facilities and handed summonses to a number of al-Isawiya residents, pointing out that such practices are witnessed in the village on a daily basis.
The Israeli municipality on Saturday forced a Jerusalemite citizen to demolish his own house in Umm Tuba town to the south of Occupied Jerusalem for allegedly being unlicensed.
The Jerusalemite citizen Jamal Abu Teir told Quds Press that the municipality notified him on Thursday of the demolition of his house that was built two years ago on an area of 40 square meters.
Abu Teir said that he found himself forced to raze his house with his own hands to avoid paying the demolition expenses which may amount to 40,000 shekels.
The Palestinian activist, Mohammed Abu al-Hummus, said that the Israeli crews, accompanied by a military force, stormed the village and notified the demolition of two residential buildings and a barn.
Abu al-Hummus told Quds Press that the municipality crews took photos of some residential and commercial facilities and handed summonses to a number of al-Isawiya residents, pointing out that such practices are witnessed in the village on a daily basis.
The Israeli municipality on Saturday forced a Jerusalemite citizen to demolish his own house in Umm Tuba town to the south of Occupied Jerusalem for allegedly being unlicensed.
The Jerusalemite citizen Jamal Abu Teir told Quds Press that the municipality notified him on Thursday of the demolition of his house that was built two years ago on an area of 40 square meters.
Abu Teir said that he found himself forced to raze his house with his own hands to avoid paying the demolition expenses which may amount to 40,000 shekels.
Israeli settlers residing in Leshem outpost leveled on Saturday Palestinian lands in Kafr al-Deek town, in an attempt to grab hold of cultivated tracts in favor of illegal settlement expansion.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli settlers bulldozed Palestinian lands in Salfit’s western town of Kafr al-Deek, paving the way for the construction of more settlement units in Leshem outpost.
Researcher Khaled Maali said hundreds of dunums of Palestinian land in the area were bulldozed to expand Leshem settlement.
He added that sometime earlier settlement units were built on a drill site formerly used by the Jordanian army in the area.
Maali also said Leshem outpost was established in 1985. Construction works resumed in 2010 to expand the settlement and have not stopped ever since.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli settlers bulldozed Palestinian lands in Salfit’s western town of Kafr al-Deek, paving the way for the construction of more settlement units in Leshem outpost.
Researcher Khaled Maali said hundreds of dunums of Palestinian land in the area were bulldozed to expand Leshem settlement.
He added that sometime earlier settlement units were built on a drill site formerly used by the Jordanian army in the area.
Maali also said Leshem outpost was established in 1985. Construction works resumed in 2010 to expand the settlement and have not stopped ever since.
24 nov 2017
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) intends anew to carry out wide demolitions in Susya village, south of al-Khalil, at the pretext they are unlicensed.
According to Haaretz newspaper, the high court of justice is mulling over the approval of a plan to remove large parts of Susya village.
Haaretz said that attorney general Avichai Mandelblit believes that there is no legal obstacle preventing Israel from carrying out demolitions in the village.
It affirmed that the Israeli government would demolish 15 Palestinian homes in the village without waiting for the high court’s verdict.
According to Haaretz newspaper, the high court of justice is mulling over the approval of a plan to remove large parts of Susya village.
Haaretz said that attorney general Avichai Mandelblit believes that there is no legal obstacle preventing Israel from carrying out demolitions in the village.
It affirmed that the Israeli government would demolish 15 Palestinian homes in the village without waiting for the high court’s verdict.
The Israeli authorities on Thursday demolished two Palestinian homes in Lod city in the central district of Israel (the 1948 occupied lands) at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
Member of the Lod municipal council Abdul-Kareem Zabarqa stated that a large number of police forces stormed a neighborhood in the city and encircled two houses belonging to a local resident called Suleiman Zabarqa before bulldozers embarked on knocking them down.
“What happened today in Lod city was part of Israel’s systematic demolition policy that targets the homes of Palestinians despite their suffering from a severe housing crisis in light of their inability to buy or build other homes,” Quds Press quoted the municipal official, Zabarqa, as saying.
The municipality of Lod (headed by Yair Revivo) has chosen the policy of demolition instead of organizing and licensing the unlicensed houses in the city,” he said.
Several Israeli reports have talked about an Israeli plan to bring more Jews to live in Lod city and impose housing restrictions on the Palestinians in order to create a demographic reality in favor of the Jews.
Over 30 percent of the population in Lod is Palestinians and their number is rising, and such demographic situation has aroused fears among Israeli decision-makers, who have increased their efforts to obliterate the Palestinian identity of Arab towns in Israel.
Member of the Lod municipal council Abdul-Kareem Zabarqa stated that a large number of police forces stormed a neighborhood in the city and encircled two houses belonging to a local resident called Suleiman Zabarqa before bulldozers embarked on knocking them down.
“What happened today in Lod city was part of Israel’s systematic demolition policy that targets the homes of Palestinians despite their suffering from a severe housing crisis in light of their inability to buy or build other homes,” Quds Press quoted the municipal official, Zabarqa, as saying.
The municipality of Lod (headed by Yair Revivo) has chosen the policy of demolition instead of organizing and licensing the unlicensed houses in the city,” he said.
Several Israeli reports have talked about an Israeli plan to bring more Jews to live in Lod city and impose housing restrictions on the Palestinians in order to create a demographic reality in favor of the Jews.
Over 30 percent of the population in Lod is Palestinians and their number is rising, and such demographic situation has aroused fears among Israeli decision-makers, who have increased their efforts to obliterate the Palestinian identity of Arab towns in Israel.
Over the past month, the Israeli state has informed three Palestinian communities that it intends to expel them from their homes and land.
According to Israeli human rights center B’Tselem, the notification was made by leaving orders on the roadside.
In the northern Jordan Valley, on 9 November, 2017, the state notified two communities – Umm a-Jamal and Ein al-Hilweh – that they must leave their homes within eight days. These communities total 20 families, five of whom live in the area on a seasonal basis.
The total number of residents is 130, including 66 youths and children under the age of 18.
In the Ma’ale Adumim area, on 16 November 2017 the state informed the residents of Jabal al-Baba that they must leave their homes within eight days.
This community numbers about 60 families, and has a total of 284 residents, including 151 youths and children under the age of 18, according to the PNN.
Israel has acted for years to expel communities around the West Bank. In the past, its efforts were based mainly on military orders concerning planning and building. However, the proceedings concerning such orders are protracted and require the precise mapping of the land and buildings, as well as the issuing of separate demolition orders for each building.
Now the state has found a new mechanism it hopes will enable it to circumvent such proceedings and accelerate the expulsion of residents: the Order concerning Unauthorized Buildings (Temporary Provision) (Judea and Samaria) (No. 1539), 5744-2003.”
This order was originally intended for the expulsion of settlers from “outposts” established around the West Bank, although the state very rarely used it for this purpose.
The order allows the military commander to declare an area in the West Bank a “confined area,” and to order the eviction of all property in that area.
On this basis of this order, GOC Central Command Major-General Roni Numa signed the new orders concerning the Palestinian communities.
It seems that Israel is so confident in its ability to expel entire villages without incurring judicial or international criticism that it is no longer bothering to create even the illusion of legal proceedings. However, the difference between the proceedings is purely technical.
The planning and building proceedings never stopped the state; even if they managed to postpone expulsion, they never removed the threat of expulsion from thousands of people.
Over many years, thousands of Palestinians in dozens of communities have lived under a constant and real threat.
The state has refused to regulate their status, allow them to connect to the water and electricity infrastructure, establish educational institutions for their children, pave roads to their living areas, and maintain a reasonable living routine.
The state has recently declared its intention to expel two additional communities over the coming months – Susiya, in the southern Hebron Hills, and Khan al-Ahmar, close to Ma’ale Adumim.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that in the absence of opposition from the American Administration, these communities will be expelled by April 2018. The expulsion proceedings against these communities have continued for years before the Supreme Court, which has refrained from prohibiting their expulsion.
Whatever the proceedings used by the state in its attempt to expel Palestinian residents from their homes, the crime is the same: the forcible transfer of a protected population, which amounts to a war crime.
This is the case whether the violence used is direct or indirect, physical or administrative. Whether the expulsion is undertaken by force or by creating an intolerable reality that forces the residents to leave their homes and land – the essence is the same. All those involved in committing this crime – including the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, the justices who approve the expulsion, and the GOC who signs the orders – bear personal liability.
11/14/17 Netanyahu is Redefining Ethnic Cleansing, Not Pursuing Genuine Peace
According to Israeli human rights center B’Tselem, the notification was made by leaving orders on the roadside.
In the northern Jordan Valley, on 9 November, 2017, the state notified two communities – Umm a-Jamal and Ein al-Hilweh – that they must leave their homes within eight days. These communities total 20 families, five of whom live in the area on a seasonal basis.
The total number of residents is 130, including 66 youths and children under the age of 18.
In the Ma’ale Adumim area, on 16 November 2017 the state informed the residents of Jabal al-Baba that they must leave their homes within eight days.
This community numbers about 60 families, and has a total of 284 residents, including 151 youths and children under the age of 18, according to the PNN.
Israel has acted for years to expel communities around the West Bank. In the past, its efforts were based mainly on military orders concerning planning and building. However, the proceedings concerning such orders are protracted and require the precise mapping of the land and buildings, as well as the issuing of separate demolition orders for each building.
Now the state has found a new mechanism it hopes will enable it to circumvent such proceedings and accelerate the expulsion of residents: the Order concerning Unauthorized Buildings (Temporary Provision) (Judea and Samaria) (No. 1539), 5744-2003.”
This order was originally intended for the expulsion of settlers from “outposts” established around the West Bank, although the state very rarely used it for this purpose.
The order allows the military commander to declare an area in the West Bank a “confined area,” and to order the eviction of all property in that area.
On this basis of this order, GOC Central Command Major-General Roni Numa signed the new orders concerning the Palestinian communities.
It seems that Israel is so confident in its ability to expel entire villages without incurring judicial or international criticism that it is no longer bothering to create even the illusion of legal proceedings. However, the difference between the proceedings is purely technical.
The planning and building proceedings never stopped the state; even if they managed to postpone expulsion, they never removed the threat of expulsion from thousands of people.
Over many years, thousands of Palestinians in dozens of communities have lived under a constant and real threat.
The state has refused to regulate their status, allow them to connect to the water and electricity infrastructure, establish educational institutions for their children, pave roads to their living areas, and maintain a reasonable living routine.
The state has recently declared its intention to expel two additional communities over the coming months – Susiya, in the southern Hebron Hills, and Khan al-Ahmar, close to Ma’ale Adumim.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that in the absence of opposition from the American Administration, these communities will be expelled by April 2018. The expulsion proceedings against these communities have continued for years before the Supreme Court, which has refrained from prohibiting their expulsion.
Whatever the proceedings used by the state in its attempt to expel Palestinian residents from their homes, the crime is the same: the forcible transfer of a protected population, which amounts to a war crime.
This is the case whether the violence used is direct or indirect, physical or administrative. Whether the expulsion is undertaken by force or by creating an intolerable reality that forces the residents to leave their homes and land – the essence is the same. All those involved in committing this crime – including the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, the justices who approve the expulsion, and the GOC who signs the orders – bear personal liability.
11/14/17 Netanyahu is Redefining Ethnic Cleansing, Not Pursuing Genuine Peace
Three human rights organization said, on Thursday, that an Israeli law which allows expropriation of private Palestinian land in the occupied territory violates international law, despite justifications by the Israeli attorney general.
Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC), and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights based in Gaza issued a joint statement regarding the Israeli attorney general’s response to the petition against the Settlement Regularization Law that he submitted on Wednesday to the Israeli Supreme Court.
According to the Settlements Regularization Law, West Bank settlements built on privately-owned Palestinian land would be “legalized” by de facto expropriating the land, planning the settlements, and retroactively authorizing the housing already constructed on the land. The law would “regularize” these settlements in the West Bank with territories unilaterally annexed by Israel such as the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, in direct violation of international law.
“Although Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit maintains that the law should be repealed, his position is still problematic from the standpoint of international law,” said the three rights groups in a statement.
“In parallel to his opposition to the law, the AG noted that ‘validating’ the settlements is a worthy act and that the State of Israel now has a number of other tools at its disposal that allow it to ‘validate’ Israeli construction on private Palestinian land that was transferred to a settlement “in good faith.”
WAFA further reports that, in the attorney general’s response, he authorizes use of these tools including, amongst other measures, expropriation of Palestinian land for “public needs,” such “regulating” the construction of an access road to an illegal Israeli settlement outpost, said the statement.
“Adalah, JLAC, and Al Mezan emphasize that the AG’s position clashes directly with international law explicitly forbidding the construction of settlements and the transfer of the occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory – this is considered a war crime.
International law specifically bans harm to Palestinian property in the West Bank for the purposes of development and expansion of settlements.”
Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC), and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights based in Gaza issued a joint statement regarding the Israeli attorney general’s response to the petition against the Settlement Regularization Law that he submitted on Wednesday to the Israeli Supreme Court.
According to the Settlements Regularization Law, West Bank settlements built on privately-owned Palestinian land would be “legalized” by de facto expropriating the land, planning the settlements, and retroactively authorizing the housing already constructed on the land. The law would “regularize” these settlements in the West Bank with territories unilaterally annexed by Israel such as the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, in direct violation of international law.
“Although Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit maintains that the law should be repealed, his position is still problematic from the standpoint of international law,” said the three rights groups in a statement.
“In parallel to his opposition to the law, the AG noted that ‘validating’ the settlements is a worthy act and that the State of Israel now has a number of other tools at its disposal that allow it to ‘validate’ Israeli construction on private Palestinian land that was transferred to a settlement “in good faith.”
WAFA further reports that, in the attorney general’s response, he authorizes use of these tools including, amongst other measures, expropriation of Palestinian land for “public needs,” such “regulating” the construction of an access road to an illegal Israeli settlement outpost, said the statement.
“Adalah, JLAC, and Al Mezan emphasize that the AG’s position clashes directly with international law explicitly forbidding the construction of settlements and the transfer of the occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory – this is considered a war crime.
International law specifically bans harm to Palestinian property in the West Bank for the purposes of development and expansion of settlements.”
Israeli minister Naftali Bennett has reiterated his call for the occupied West Bank to be formally annexed, speaking on Monday evening at an event organised by pro-settler news site Arutz Sheva.
Education Minister and Diaspora Affairs Minister, Bennett declared that Israel has “a very rare opportunity now”, referring to US President Donald Trump.
“[There is] a President who thinks different, who thinks open,” Bennett told the audience, according to Days of Palestine.
“It’s not enough to move the embassy to Jerusalem. It’s now 50 years since we liberated Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. It’s time to recognize them as Israel. It’s time for sovereignty,” he added, using the term often used by the Israeli right to refer to annexation.
Describing himself, in his capacity as diaspora affairs minister, as “effectively the Minister of the Jews”, Bennett said: “We need to understand that the Jewish State is not only the state of the Israeli citizen, it’s a state where every Jew in the world has a stake here.”
Describing himself, in his capacity as diaspora affairs minister, as “effectively the Minister of the Jews”, Bennett said: “We need to understand that the Jewish State is not only the state of the Israeli citizen, it’s a state where every Jew in the world has a stake here.”
“Today, throughout the world”, Bennett continued, “there’s millions of Jews that need us to go and to reach out to them. And we’re doing more than we’ve ever done.”
Archive IMEMC post: 05/17/15 Bennett Wants to See Palestinians Become ‘Water Carriers and Wood Hewers’ for Jews
Education Minister and Diaspora Affairs Minister, Bennett declared that Israel has “a very rare opportunity now”, referring to US President Donald Trump.
“[There is] a President who thinks different, who thinks open,” Bennett told the audience, according to Days of Palestine.
“It’s not enough to move the embassy to Jerusalem. It’s now 50 years since we liberated Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. It’s time to recognize them as Israel. It’s time for sovereignty,” he added, using the term often used by the Israeli right to refer to annexation.
Describing himself, in his capacity as diaspora affairs minister, as “effectively the Minister of the Jews”, Bennett said: “We need to understand that the Jewish State is not only the state of the Israeli citizen, it’s a state where every Jew in the world has a stake here.”
Describing himself, in his capacity as diaspora affairs minister, as “effectively the Minister of the Jews”, Bennett said: “We need to understand that the Jewish State is not only the state of the Israeli citizen, it’s a state where every Jew in the world has a stake here.”
“Today, throughout the world”, Bennett continued, “there’s millions of Jews that need us to go and to reach out to them. And we’re doing more than we’ve ever done.”
Archive IMEMC post: 05/17/15 Bennett Wants to See Palestinians Become ‘Water Carriers and Wood Hewers’ for Jews