4 nov 2019
Likud MK Sharren Haskel
Sharren Heskel's bill, if implemented, would bring the Jordan Valley territory under full Israeli sovereignty, permit Palestinians living in area to apply for Israeli citizenship within decade, provided they meet certain criteria
A Likud MK is pushign legislation to hold Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyhau to a campaign pledge to annex parts of the West Bank.
Sharren Haskel was to set propose a bill on Monday that would calls for the eastern side of the Jordan Valley to be brought under full Israeli sovereignty.
Several days before the election campaigns officially kicked off, Netanyahu called a press conference at which he stated that when re-elected, he would work to implement full sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, citing security concerns.
Blue and White officials scoffed at the statement, saying: "The citizens of the Jordan Valley are not props for Netanyahu's propaganda."
The party added: "Blue and White already stated that the Jordan Valley is eternal part of Israel. Netanyahu was the person behind a plan to hand over the territory (to the Palestinians) back in 2014."
Haskel's bill proposal would permit Palestinian residents in the territory to apply for Israeli citizenship within ten years of its implementation, provided they were not charged in the past with any security offenses and have not publicly called for a boycott against Israel.
"It's time to make the residents of the Jordan Valley legal Israeli citizens, thus kick-starting the development and prosperity of the region," said Haskel on Sunday.
"The communities of the Jordan Valley and their residents are a strategic resource of the highest order for Israel," she said.
"There is a wide consensus today about the region, following the long-awaited U.S. president's recognition of the Golan Heights as under Israeli sovereignty. It is time to do the same with the Jordan Valley.
"After Blue and White leader Benny Gantz proposed to do the same, I call upon him and my fellow party members to support my proposal."
New Right MK Ayelet Shaked proposed a similar bill Sunday, regarding the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements and Ma'ale Adumim settlement in the West Bank.
"We have in our hands a diplomatic window of opportunity and the support of the U.S. for such an action, an opportunity that will not last for long. We must not hesitate or delay," said Shaked on Sunday.
Sharren Heskel's bill, if implemented, would bring the Jordan Valley territory under full Israeli sovereignty, permit Palestinians living in area to apply for Israeli citizenship within decade, provided they meet certain criteria
A Likud MK is pushign legislation to hold Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyhau to a campaign pledge to annex parts of the West Bank.
Sharren Haskel was to set propose a bill on Monday that would calls for the eastern side of the Jordan Valley to be brought under full Israeli sovereignty.
Several days before the election campaigns officially kicked off, Netanyahu called a press conference at which he stated that when re-elected, he would work to implement full sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, citing security concerns.
Blue and White officials scoffed at the statement, saying: "The citizens of the Jordan Valley are not props for Netanyahu's propaganda."
The party added: "Blue and White already stated that the Jordan Valley is eternal part of Israel. Netanyahu was the person behind a plan to hand over the territory (to the Palestinians) back in 2014."
Haskel's bill proposal would permit Palestinian residents in the territory to apply for Israeli citizenship within ten years of its implementation, provided they were not charged in the past with any security offenses and have not publicly called for a boycott against Israel.
"It's time to make the residents of the Jordan Valley legal Israeli citizens, thus kick-starting the development and prosperity of the region," said Haskel on Sunday.
"The communities of the Jordan Valley and their residents are a strategic resource of the highest order for Israel," she said.
"There is a wide consensus today about the region, following the long-awaited U.S. president's recognition of the Golan Heights as under Israeli sovereignty. It is time to do the same with the Jordan Valley.
"After Blue and White leader Benny Gantz proposed to do the same, I call upon him and my fellow party members to support my proposal."
New Right MK Ayelet Shaked proposed a similar bill Sunday, regarding the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements and Ma'ale Adumim settlement in the West Bank.
"We have in our hands a diplomatic window of opportunity and the support of the U.S. for such an action, an opportunity that will not last for long. We must not hesitate or delay," said Shaked on Sunday.
Israel seized 2522 dunums in the occupied West Bank in favor of the construction of illegal settlements, said municipal sources and a cartographer.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la told WAFA that several Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the nearby illegal settlement of Eli, and were shocked to find Israeli military orders informing them of Israel’s plan to seize their olive groves, which occupy an area of 2,000 dunams (494 acres).
Meanwhile, Israeli forces posted military orders to seize 372 dunams (92 acres) of land in the southern West Bank district of Hebron.
Palestinian cartographer Abdul-Hadi Hantash told WAFA that the so-called “commander of the Israeli military” issued a military order to seize 129 dunums (32 acres) of land belonging to Adh-Dhahiriya and As-Samou' towns, south of Hebron.
Mayor of Surif town, Mohammad Adwan, that Palestinian farmers went this morning to pick their olive groves near the encroaching Israeli settlement of Bet Ayn, but found notices to seize 243 (60 acres) dunams of their groves. The land owner was identified as the Ghneimat family.
In the meantime, the Office of Beit Liqya, a town to the southwest of Ramallah city, confirmed that Israeli forces handed them a military order to seize approximately 150 dunams (37 acres) of Palestinian land located to the south of the town and adjacent to the section of Israel’s apartheid wall.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la told WAFA that several Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the nearby illegal settlement of Eli, and were shocked to find Israeli military orders informing them of Israel’s plan to seize their olive groves, which occupy an area of 2,000 dunams (494 acres).
Meanwhile, Israeli forces posted military orders to seize 372 dunams (92 acres) of land in the southern West Bank district of Hebron.
Palestinian cartographer Abdul-Hadi Hantash told WAFA that the so-called “commander of the Israeli military” issued a military order to seize 129 dunums (32 acres) of land belonging to Adh-Dhahiriya and As-Samou' towns, south of Hebron.
Mayor of Surif town, Mohammad Adwan, that Palestinian farmers went this morning to pick their olive groves near the encroaching Israeli settlement of Bet Ayn, but found notices to seize 243 (60 acres) dunams of their groves. The land owner was identified as the Ghneimat family.
In the meantime, the Office of Beit Liqya, a town to the southwest of Ramallah city, confirmed that Israeli forces handed them a military order to seize approximately 150 dunams (37 acres) of Palestinian land located to the south of the town and adjacent to the section of Israel’s apartheid wall.
Illegal Israeli settlers today stole the olive harvest of Palestinian farmers in the village of Qaryout, south of the West Bank city of Nablus. video
Local sources said that a number of Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the encroaching nearby illegal settlement of Eli, but they were completely shocked to find out that Israeli settlers had stole their harvest and placed iron barriers to obstruct the access of Palestinian vehicles to the land.
Meanwhile, settlers flooded sewage into groves belonging to Palestinian farmers in the village of Al-Jab'a, west of Bethlehem.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la confirmed that settlers from the illegal settlement of Bat Ayin discharged their sewage on five dunams planted with olive trees in Wadi al-Khanzir area.
The owner of the olive grove was identified as the sons of Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Luha.
Every year, without fail, much of the olive harvest is characterized by attacks on Palestinian farmers and families by Israeli settlers and armed soldiers.
Over the past two weeks, the West Bank witnessed a wave of settler attacks and agricultural terrorism as Palestinian farmers began the year’s olive harvest. Attacks were mainly in northern villages near Nablus and Salfit, governorates with the largest concentration of illegal Israeli settlements.
Settlers attacked olive harvesters in Burin, a village south of Nablus, on 12 October, the same day as a 55-year-old Palestinian farmer was attacked by settlers in the nearby village of Tel. Two days prior, settlers stole olives from trees belonging to farmers also in the same area.
Armed settlers attacked farmers in the village Shufa, near the city Tulkarem in the north, who threatened to shoot farmers if they did not leave their land.’
The most devastating attack occurred on the morning of 16 October when more than 30 masked armed settlers charged at Palestinian farmers and foreign volunteers in Burin, attacking three internationals and seriously injuring one, including 80-year-old Rabbi Moshe Yehuda from the Rabbis for Human Rights organization.
With more than 12 million olive trees planted across 45% of the West Bank’s agricultural land, the olive harvest constitutes one of the biggest sources of economic sustainability for thousands of Palestinian families.
According to UN OCHA, the olive oil industry supports the livelihoods of more than 100,000 families and accounts for a quarter of the gross agricultural income of the occupied territories.
But, as local NGO MIFTAH notes, “olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians. They are not just like any other trees, they are symbolic of Palestinians’ attachment to their land.”
“Because the trees are drought-resistant and grow under poor soil conditions, they represent Palestinian resistance and resilience. The fact that olive trees live and bear fruit for thousands of years is parallel to Palestinian history and continuity on the land.”
Local sources said that a number of Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the encroaching nearby illegal settlement of Eli, but they were completely shocked to find out that Israeli settlers had stole their harvest and placed iron barriers to obstruct the access of Palestinian vehicles to the land.
Meanwhile, settlers flooded sewage into groves belonging to Palestinian farmers in the village of Al-Jab'a, west of Bethlehem.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la confirmed that settlers from the illegal settlement of Bat Ayin discharged their sewage on five dunams planted with olive trees in Wadi al-Khanzir area.
The owner of the olive grove was identified as the sons of Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Luha.
Every year, without fail, much of the olive harvest is characterized by attacks on Palestinian farmers and families by Israeli settlers and armed soldiers.
Over the past two weeks, the West Bank witnessed a wave of settler attacks and agricultural terrorism as Palestinian farmers began the year’s olive harvest. Attacks were mainly in northern villages near Nablus and Salfit, governorates with the largest concentration of illegal Israeli settlements.
Settlers attacked olive harvesters in Burin, a village south of Nablus, on 12 October, the same day as a 55-year-old Palestinian farmer was attacked by settlers in the nearby village of Tel. Two days prior, settlers stole olives from trees belonging to farmers also in the same area.
Armed settlers attacked farmers in the village Shufa, near the city Tulkarem in the north, who threatened to shoot farmers if they did not leave their land.’
The most devastating attack occurred on the morning of 16 October when more than 30 masked armed settlers charged at Palestinian farmers and foreign volunteers in Burin, attacking three internationals and seriously injuring one, including 80-year-old Rabbi Moshe Yehuda from the Rabbis for Human Rights organization.
With more than 12 million olive trees planted across 45% of the West Bank’s agricultural land, the olive harvest constitutes one of the biggest sources of economic sustainability for thousands of Palestinian families.
According to UN OCHA, the olive oil industry supports the livelihoods of more than 100,000 families and accounts for a quarter of the gross agricultural income of the occupied territories.
But, as local NGO MIFTAH notes, “olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians. They are not just like any other trees, they are symbolic of Palestinians’ attachment to their land.”
“Because the trees are drought-resistant and grow under poor soil conditions, they represent Palestinian resistance and resilience. The fact that olive trees live and bear fruit for thousands of years is parallel to Palestinian history and continuity on the land.”
Israeli forces today detained 14 Palestinians in multiple overnight raids across the West Bank, said the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
PPS confirmed that seven Palestinians were detained in several raids cross Jerusalem district.
A father and his son were rounded up from al-Eizariya town, east of Jerusalem, four others from the Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Issawiyeh, and another from al-Ram town, north of Jerusalem.
In Hebron district, PPS confirmed an Israeli military raid in Yatta town, south of Hebron, resulting in the detention of two Palestinians.
In the northern West Bank, Israeli military vehicles raided Nablus district, where soldiers rounded up two others.
In Jenin district, PPS said that Israeli forces conducted a raid in Jenin refugee camp, resulting in the detention of a Palestinian.
In Ramallah district, soldiers detained a former prisoner after ransacking his house in Kafr Ni'ma town, northwest of Ramallah.
A similar predawn military raid was conducted in Deir Abu Mashaal village, northwest of Ramallah, where soldiers rounded up a Palestinian.
Israeli Soldiers surrounded another house in the village. They knocked at the door, and when the family took some time to open it, they detonated the door and searched the house, turning it upside down and seizing a sum of cash.
Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.
These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.
PPS confirmed that seven Palestinians were detained in several raids cross Jerusalem district.
A father and his son were rounded up from al-Eizariya town, east of Jerusalem, four others from the Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Issawiyeh, and another from al-Ram town, north of Jerusalem.
In Hebron district, PPS confirmed an Israeli military raid in Yatta town, south of Hebron, resulting in the detention of two Palestinians.
In the northern West Bank, Israeli military vehicles raided Nablus district, where soldiers rounded up two others.
In Jenin district, PPS said that Israeli forces conducted a raid in Jenin refugee camp, resulting in the detention of a Palestinian.
In Ramallah district, soldiers detained a former prisoner after ransacking his house in Kafr Ni'ma town, northwest of Ramallah.
A similar predawn military raid was conducted in Deir Abu Mashaal village, northwest of Ramallah, where soldiers rounded up a Palestinian.
Israeli Soldiers surrounded another house in the village. They knocked at the door, and when the family took some time to open it, they detonated the door and searched the house, turning it upside down and seizing a sum of cash.
Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.
These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Sunday notified Palestinian owners of six homes in Masafer Yatta area, south of al-Khalil, of their intent to remove the structures.
Masafer Yatta mayor Nidhal Younis said that the IOF stormed the hamlets of Maghayir al-Abeed and Khallet ed-Dabaa and handed out written demolition orders against six homes made of bricks and insulated panels.
These homes, which were constructed by international organizations, belonged to local residents from the families of Makhamera and Dababesa
In a separate incident, the Israeli occupation authority notified anew the Palestinian local authorities in Anata town, east of Jerusalem, of its intent to appropriate about 190 dunums of land for military purposes.
The land belongs to Palestinian citizens from towns of Anata, Hizma and Issawiya.
Masafer Yatta mayor Nidhal Younis said that the IOF stormed the hamlets of Maghayir al-Abeed and Khallet ed-Dabaa and handed out written demolition orders against six homes made of bricks and insulated panels.
These homes, which were constructed by international organizations, belonged to local residents from the families of Makhamera and Dababesa
In a separate incident, the Israeli occupation authority notified anew the Palestinian local authorities in Anata town, east of Jerusalem, of its intent to appropriate about 190 dunums of land for military purposes.
The land belongs to Palestinian citizens from towns of Anata, Hizma and Issawiya.
3 nov 2019
Israeli occupation authorities ordered, on Saturday, the confiscation of 500 dunams of Palestinian land in the village of Hizma, east of Jerusalem, and 124 dunams in the villages of Majdal Bani Fadel and Douma, south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, local sources said.
Muslim Abu Heleou, head of Hizma municipality, told WAFA that the Israeli army handed the Palestinian Civil Liaison a notification regarding Israel’s intention to size 500 dunams of land which belong to Palestinians from Hizma, with a view of expanding the illegal Israeli settlement of Adam, nearby.
Meanwhile, Ghassan Daghlas, an official who is active in the settlement resistance movement, said the Israeli military handed Palestinians from Majdal Bani Fadel and Douma an order showing the land that is to be confiscated for military purposes.
On Friday, the Israeli authorities notified the municipality of the town of Yabad, southwest of Jenin in the northern West Bank, of their plan to confiscate around 409 dunams of land for the purpose of continuing the construction of the West Bank separation barrier.
According to the Israeli anti-settlement group, Peace Now, “Over the years, Israel has used a number of legal and bureaucratic procedures in order to appropriate West Bank lands, with the primary objective of establishing settlements and providing land reserves for them.”
“Using primarily these five methods: seizure for military purposes; declaration of state lands; seizure of absentee property; confiscation for public needs; and initial registration, Israel has managed to take over about 50% of the lands in the West Bank, barring the local Palestinian public from using them.”
Muslim Abu Heleou, head of Hizma municipality, told WAFA that the Israeli army handed the Palestinian Civil Liaison a notification regarding Israel’s intention to size 500 dunams of land which belong to Palestinians from Hizma, with a view of expanding the illegal Israeli settlement of Adam, nearby.
Meanwhile, Ghassan Daghlas, an official who is active in the settlement resistance movement, said the Israeli military handed Palestinians from Majdal Bani Fadel and Douma an order showing the land that is to be confiscated for military purposes.
On Friday, the Israeli authorities notified the municipality of the town of Yabad, southwest of Jenin in the northern West Bank, of their plan to confiscate around 409 dunams of land for the purpose of continuing the construction of the West Bank separation barrier.
According to the Israeli anti-settlement group, Peace Now, “Over the years, Israel has used a number of legal and bureaucratic procedures in order to appropriate West Bank lands, with the primary objective of establishing settlements and providing land reserves for them.”
“Using primarily these five methods: seizure for military purposes; declaration of state lands; seizure of absentee property; confiscation for public needs; and initial registration, Israel has managed to take over about 50% of the lands in the West Bank, barring the local Palestinian public from using them.”
Israeli soldiers and the so-called “Civil Administration Office, the executive branch of Tel Aviv’s occupation of Palestine, has started digging and preparing to pave a new segregated road for illegal colonialist settlers in Beit Ummar town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
Local nonviolent activist, Mohammad Awad, said the soldiers accompanied by several bulldozers and other heavy equipment, started bulldozing and uprooting the privately-owned Palestinian lands near Beit al-Baraka, which is illegally occupied by colonialist settlers. video
Awad added that Israel is planning to pave a new road passing near Hebron-Jerusalem Road, and that the soldiers declared the area “a closed military zone,” before preventing the farmers and landowners from entering it.
The lands are at least 90 Dunams (22.23 Acres), owned by Palestinians from Safi and Sleibi families, and are planted with olive grapes and almond trees.
Abdul-Hadi Hantash, a Palestinian expert in Israeli colonialist affairs and maps, said the new road will pass through several kilometers on private, fertile lands, extending from Etzion Junction, north of Hebron, and passing near Beit al-Baraka in the opposite direction of the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, all the way through “Jabal al-Qarn” natural reserve between Beit Ummar and al-‘Arroub.
He added that the planned road would also extend to Nabi Younis Junction at the southern entrance of Halhoul town, and would eventually lead to the illegal annexation of about 400 Dunams (98.84 acres) of Palestinian lands in Beit Ummar and Halhoul towns.
Hantash stated that this new road is meant to boost Israel’s policies of segregation and annexation, to advance its plans for constructing and expanding its illegal colonies, built on occupied lands in direct violation of International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
In 2016, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a report about the Israeli plan to establish a new colony in the property of Beit al-Baraka, meaning “House of Blessing,” built 70 years earlier on a 38-dunam (9.5-acre) church compound located on the main road between Bethlehem and Hebron, opposite to Arroub refugee camp, and warned of humanitarian concerns resulting from his plan.
Beit al-Baraka also used to serve as a hospital providing free treatment to people suffering from tuberculosis until it was shut down in 1983. Jewish settlers later bought the compound from the church, through a fake company.
Local nonviolent activist, Mohammad Awad, said the soldiers accompanied by several bulldozers and other heavy equipment, started bulldozing and uprooting the privately-owned Palestinian lands near Beit al-Baraka, which is illegally occupied by colonialist settlers. video
Awad added that Israel is planning to pave a new road passing near Hebron-Jerusalem Road, and that the soldiers declared the area “a closed military zone,” before preventing the farmers and landowners from entering it.
The lands are at least 90 Dunams (22.23 Acres), owned by Palestinians from Safi and Sleibi families, and are planted with olive grapes and almond trees.
Abdul-Hadi Hantash, a Palestinian expert in Israeli colonialist affairs and maps, said the new road will pass through several kilometers on private, fertile lands, extending from Etzion Junction, north of Hebron, and passing near Beit al-Baraka in the opposite direction of the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, all the way through “Jabal al-Qarn” natural reserve between Beit Ummar and al-‘Arroub.
He added that the planned road would also extend to Nabi Younis Junction at the southern entrance of Halhoul town, and would eventually lead to the illegal annexation of about 400 Dunams (98.84 acres) of Palestinian lands in Beit Ummar and Halhoul towns.
Hantash stated that this new road is meant to boost Israel’s policies of segregation and annexation, to advance its plans for constructing and expanding its illegal colonies, built on occupied lands in direct violation of International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
In 2016, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a report about the Israeli plan to establish a new colony in the property of Beit al-Baraka, meaning “House of Blessing,” built 70 years earlier on a 38-dunam (9.5-acre) church compound located on the main road between Bethlehem and Hebron, opposite to Arroub refugee camp, and warned of humanitarian concerns resulting from his plan.
Beit al-Baraka also used to serve as a hospital providing free treatment to people suffering from tuberculosis until it was shut down in 1983. Jewish settlers later bought the compound from the church, through a fake company.
In yet another violation, several illegal Israeli colonialist settlers, illegally squatting on Palestinian lands near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, invaded a Palestinian olive orchard, and harvested nearly 300 trees before stealing the produce.
Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors Israel’s colonialist activities in northern West Bank, said the Israeli assailants came from Rahalim nearby illegal colony, which was built on stolen Palestinian lands.
He added that the assailants harvested and stole the produce of nearly 300 Palestinian olive trees, before fleeing to their colony.
The official also stated that, once the Palestinians were able to enter their orchards, isolated behind the Annexation Wall, some colonists attacked them and forced them away, while the soldiers did not intervene.
On Saturday, the soldiers invaded Palestinian olive orchards between Burin and Huwwara towns, south of Nablus, and forced the Palestinians out, in addition to threatening them with “binging the settlers to attack them.”
It is worth mentioning that the Palestinians in Nablus governorate are not allowed to enter more than 3500 Dunams of their olive orchards, except for a few days a year, after prior coordination and approval from the military.
Even when they receive the permits, the Palestinians and are forced to wait until the soldiers open the gate for them, and sometimes the soldiers do not open it at all or force them to wait for long periods.
On Friday morning, several colonists invaded a Palestinian orchard in Yasuf village, east of the central West Bank city of Salfit, and stole a donkey, blankets and olive picking tools.
Such attacks against Palestinian lands, especially olive orchards, including those carried out by soldiers, take place in various areas across the West Bank, always escalate during the olive harvest season, and include cutting, burning and uprooting trees, picking olive trees and stealing the produce, in addition to assaulting the Palestinians and forcing them out of their orchards.
Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors Israel’s colonialist activities in northern West Bank, said the Israeli assailants came from Rahalim nearby illegal colony, which was built on stolen Palestinian lands.
He added that the assailants harvested and stole the produce of nearly 300 Palestinian olive trees, before fleeing to their colony.
The official also stated that, once the Palestinians were able to enter their orchards, isolated behind the Annexation Wall, some colonists attacked them and forced them away, while the soldiers did not intervene.
On Saturday, the soldiers invaded Palestinian olive orchards between Burin and Huwwara towns, south of Nablus, and forced the Palestinians out, in addition to threatening them with “binging the settlers to attack them.”
It is worth mentioning that the Palestinians in Nablus governorate are not allowed to enter more than 3500 Dunams of their olive orchards, except for a few days a year, after prior coordination and approval from the military.
Even when they receive the permits, the Palestinians and are forced to wait until the soldiers open the gate for them, and sometimes the soldiers do not open it at all or force them to wait for long periods.
On Friday morning, several colonists invaded a Palestinian orchard in Yasuf village, east of the central West Bank city of Salfit, and stole a donkey, blankets and olive picking tools.
Such attacks against Palestinian lands, especially olive orchards, including those carried out by soldiers, take place in various areas across the West Bank, always escalate during the olive harvest season, and include cutting, burning and uprooting trees, picking olive trees and stealing the produce, in addition to assaulting the Palestinians and forcing them out of their orchards.
2 nov 2019
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights In The Occupied Territories (B’Tselem): Israel to establish waste-to-energy plant in settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, unlawfully exploiting Palestinian territory for its own needs In October 2019, the Israeli government issued a tender for the establishment of its first waste-to-energy plant, at an estimated cost of 1 billion NIS (about 284 million USD).
While this may seem an ecologically positive development, the plant is set to be built within the West Bank, despite the prohibition in international law on exploiting resources in an occupied territory for the benefit of the occupying power. If established, the plant will be built without taking the Palestinian population of the West Bank and its views on the matter into account.
The site for the plant lies between East Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, some 700 meters east of the Mishor Adumim industrial park near the Good Samaritan site and within the municipal jurisdiction of the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Israel expropriated this land back in 1975.
Like all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Ma’ale Adumim is illegal under international law. Several hundred meters away from the site there are small, isolated Palestinian shepherd communities. The project is the initiative of the Ma’ale Adummim Planning and Development Corporation. Settlement mayor Benny Kashriel argues that it will serve “major parts of Israel” and should, therefore, become “a national project”. Indeed, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has included the facility in its 2030 strategic plan [pdf] for the treatment of urban waste.
The plant is set to open in 2025 and to serve Israeli authorities within the metropolitan area of Jerusalem. It is expected to reduce the transfer of waste to landfills – the most common form of waste treatment in Israel and in the West Bank – as well as increase waste recycling by 2.5 and transform some 25% into energy.
According to the plans, the plant will span some five hectares and treat enormous quantities ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 tons of waste a day – including domestic waste, electronic waste and polluted soil. It will contain a sorting facility that can process about 2,000 tons a day. Waste that is found unsuitable for incineration will be sent on to recycling or to a landfill.
According to the Ma’ale Adumim municipality, the plant will service local authorities that consist of some 1 million people, including Palestinian authorities, within a 40-km range. The specific authorities have not yet been named, other than the city of Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
In 2019, Israel and the EU signed an agreement [pdf] as part of the EU’s twinning instrument, which establishes cooperation with the EU’s neighboring countries, guaranteeing Israel approximately 1.5 million euros over the next two years to support the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s implementation of its 2030 strategic plan. In the agreement, Israel committed to creating a legal framework that adopts European practices and standardization for sustainable waste treatment.
As in every agreement between the EU and Israel, it contains a territorial clause , that stipulates that it will not apply beyond Israel’s 1967 borders. Yet the EU’s support for the ministry’s strategic plan – which defines the establishment of the plant at Ma’ale Adumim as a goal and presents the exploitation of West Bank land to resolve environmental problems as a matter of course – empties this annex of meaning.
By supporting this plan, the EU will be supplying Israel with knowledge and experience that will help deepen its exploitation of Palestinian land resources and bolster the economic status of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement.
For many years, Israel has been taking advantage of its power as occupier to transfer the treatment of waste (including hazardous waste) and sewage from its sovereign territory to the West Bank. To that end, it has created a situation in which environmental legislation in the West Bank is much laxer than inside Israel, conveniently overlooking the long-term impact of environmental hazards on the Palestinian population and on natural resources, and neglecting to prepare future rehabilitation plans.
This has created a financial incentive to transfer the treatment of environmental hazards from Israel to the West Bank. The Palestinians who live in the occupied territory are the ones to pay the price for this environmental damage, even though they were never asked their opinion on the matter and although, as a population under occupation, they have no political power and no real ability to resist.
While this may seem an ecologically positive development, the plant is set to be built within the West Bank, despite the prohibition in international law on exploiting resources in an occupied territory for the benefit of the occupying power. If established, the plant will be built without taking the Palestinian population of the West Bank and its views on the matter into account.
The site for the plant lies between East Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, some 700 meters east of the Mishor Adumim industrial park near the Good Samaritan site and within the municipal jurisdiction of the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Israel expropriated this land back in 1975.
Like all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Ma’ale Adumim is illegal under international law. Several hundred meters away from the site there are small, isolated Palestinian shepherd communities. The project is the initiative of the Ma’ale Adummim Planning and Development Corporation. Settlement mayor Benny Kashriel argues that it will serve “major parts of Israel” and should, therefore, become “a national project”. Indeed, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has included the facility in its 2030 strategic plan [pdf] for the treatment of urban waste.
The plant is set to open in 2025 and to serve Israeli authorities within the metropolitan area of Jerusalem. It is expected to reduce the transfer of waste to landfills – the most common form of waste treatment in Israel and in the West Bank – as well as increase waste recycling by 2.5 and transform some 25% into energy.
According to the plans, the plant will span some five hectares and treat enormous quantities ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 tons of waste a day – including domestic waste, electronic waste and polluted soil. It will contain a sorting facility that can process about 2,000 tons a day. Waste that is found unsuitable for incineration will be sent on to recycling or to a landfill.
According to the Ma’ale Adumim municipality, the plant will service local authorities that consist of some 1 million people, including Palestinian authorities, within a 40-km range. The specific authorities have not yet been named, other than the city of Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
In 2019, Israel and the EU signed an agreement [pdf] as part of the EU’s twinning instrument, which establishes cooperation with the EU’s neighboring countries, guaranteeing Israel approximately 1.5 million euros over the next two years to support the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s implementation of its 2030 strategic plan. In the agreement, Israel committed to creating a legal framework that adopts European practices and standardization for sustainable waste treatment.
As in every agreement between the EU and Israel, it contains a territorial clause , that stipulates that it will not apply beyond Israel’s 1967 borders. Yet the EU’s support for the ministry’s strategic plan – which defines the establishment of the plant at Ma’ale Adumim as a goal and presents the exploitation of West Bank land to resolve environmental problems as a matter of course – empties this annex of meaning.
By supporting this plan, the EU will be supplying Israel with knowledge and experience that will help deepen its exploitation of Palestinian land resources and bolster the economic status of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement.
For many years, Israel has been taking advantage of its power as occupier to transfer the treatment of waste (including hazardous waste) and sewage from its sovereign territory to the West Bank. To that end, it has created a situation in which environmental legislation in the West Bank is much laxer than inside Israel, conveniently overlooking the long-term impact of environmental hazards on the Palestinian population and on natural resources, and neglecting to prepare future rehabilitation plans.
This has created a financial incentive to transfer the treatment of environmental hazards from Israel to the West Bank. The Palestinians who live in the occupied territory are the ones to pay the price for this environmental damage, even though they were never asked their opinion on the matter and although, as a population under occupation, they have no political power and no real ability to resist.
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