31 jan 2016
The Israeli occupation government is set to vote on Sunday on a proposed bill to expand the Buraq Wall Square. According to the Israeli Nrg news site the government is expected to vote on a bill for a set of construction and reconstruction projects at the Buraq Square.
The 35-million-shekel cost for erecting the new prayer space will be paid by the Prime Minister’s Office and the ministries of Diaspora Affairs and Tourism and Finance. No Israeli rabbi will be consulted for approval over such a projected bid, the same source added.
The project makes part of new Israeli Judaization projects across the holy occupied city of Jerusalem and Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque so as to wipe out the city’s Islamic identity.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on early Sunday morning prevented the reconstruction committee at the Endowment Department from renovating a terrace near the Silsila Gate at al-Aqsa Mosque.
Director of the al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar Kiswani, slammed the Israeli occupation for meddling in the affairs of the Endowment Department, saying such misdemeanors aim at holding sway over the Mosque.
Eyewitnesses said the IOF cordoned off the reconstruction scene and prevented the staff from carrying out their work, forcing them out of the area. The IOF also cracked down on the Muslim worshipers at al-Aqsa and provocatively took pictures of them. The occupation troops further seized the IDs of Muslim women and youths at the main entrances to al-Aqsa.
The 35-million-shekel cost for erecting the new prayer space will be paid by the Prime Minister’s Office and the ministries of Diaspora Affairs and Tourism and Finance. No Israeli rabbi will be consulted for approval over such a projected bid, the same source added.
The project makes part of new Israeli Judaization projects across the holy occupied city of Jerusalem and Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque so as to wipe out the city’s Islamic identity.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on early Sunday morning prevented the reconstruction committee at the Endowment Department from renovating a terrace near the Silsila Gate at al-Aqsa Mosque.
Director of the al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar Kiswani, slammed the Israeli occupation for meddling in the affairs of the Endowment Department, saying such misdemeanors aim at holding sway over the Mosque.
Eyewitnesses said the IOF cordoned off the reconstruction scene and prevented the staff from carrying out their work, forcing them out of the area. The IOF also cracked down on the Muslim worshipers at al-Aqsa and provocatively took pictures of them. The occupation troops further seized the IDs of Muslim women and youths at the main entrances to al-Aqsa.
29 jan 2016
Turkey condemned on Thursday Israel’s illegal settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and eastern Occupied Jerusalem.
In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: “We strongly condemn Israel's confirmation of 153 new constructions in several illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel has been occupying since 1967."
“Israel’s steps against the international law harm efforts for permanent peace. These steps are also unacceptable,” the statement further read. Under international law, Israeli building in the occupied territories is illegal.
The Israeli war ministry approved plans to build 153 new illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank, the occupation settlements watchdog Peace Now reported.
In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: “We strongly condemn Israel's confirmation of 153 new constructions in several illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel has been occupying since 1967."
“Israel’s steps against the international law harm efforts for permanent peace. These steps are also unacceptable,” the statement further read. Under international law, Israeli building in the occupied territories is illegal.
The Israeli war ministry approved plans to build 153 new illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank, the occupation settlements watchdog Peace Now reported.
28 jan 2016
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Thursday, issued a statement denouncing Israeli plans of approving new housing units in West Bank settlements.
“Settlement activities are in violation of international law, and Japan has repeatedly called upon the Government of Israel to fully freeze settlement activities,” statement said. “Taking this opportunity the Government of Japan also expresses its deep concern about recent announcement by Israel declaring the land in the West Bank as “state land”.
The Government of Japan called upon the Israeli government to “refrain from any unilateral act that doesn’t contribute to resuming peace talks and to desist from implementing the above-mentioned plan of construction for the sake of progress in the peace process.”
On Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Defense approved plans to build 153 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, and announced that the process is in its final stages.
In a report based on government data obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request, Peace Now said that the housing ministry was seeking to build 55,548 units in the West Bank — including two new settlements — of which more than 8,300 housings would be in E1.
“Settlement activities are in violation of international law, and Japan has repeatedly called upon the Government of Israel to fully freeze settlement activities,” statement said. “Taking this opportunity the Government of Japan also expresses its deep concern about recent announcement by Israel declaring the land in the West Bank as “state land”.
The Government of Japan called upon the Israeli government to “refrain from any unilateral act that doesn’t contribute to resuming peace talks and to desist from implementing the above-mentioned plan of construction for the sake of progress in the peace process.”
On Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Defense approved plans to build 153 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, and announced that the process is in its final stages.
In a report based on government data obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request, Peace Now said that the housing ministry was seeking to build 55,548 units in the West Bank — including two new settlements — of which more than 8,300 housings would be in E1.
Israeli authorities, overnight, served several Palestinian families with eviction orders from Ein al-Rushrash, a locality southeast Douma village, south of Nablus, according to a local activist.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement construction in northern West Bank, said that Israeli forces handed a number of Palestinian families orders notifying them of the intention to evict them from Ein al-Rushrash.
Daghlas noted, according to WAFA, that there are about 85 Palestinians living in 30 residential structures in this locality.
This comes just 16 days after Israel announced plans to install six watchtowers along a main north-south West Bank road, and delivered stop-construction orders to Palestinian houses in Khirbat al-Marajim, also south of Douma.
Israeli forces notified Palestinian villagers of Sarra, Madama and Burin villages of plans to set up six military watchtowers along the Ramallah-Nablus road, also marked as Route 60, effectively seizing and denying villagers access to hundreds of dunams of Palestinian farmlands on both sides of Route 60.
Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, Palestinians have not been able to travel freely on the Nablus-Ramallah road, which is spotted with Israeli checkpoints where the road passes from areas under Palestinian Authority or Israeli military control.
In addition to checkpoints, Israeli authorities have established several bypass roads, enabling Israel traffic to avoid areas of Route 60 which pass through Palestinian jurisdiction.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement construction in northern West Bank, said that Israeli forces handed a number of Palestinian families orders notifying them of the intention to evict them from Ein al-Rushrash.
Daghlas noted, according to WAFA, that there are about 85 Palestinians living in 30 residential structures in this locality.
This comes just 16 days after Israel announced plans to install six watchtowers along a main north-south West Bank road, and delivered stop-construction orders to Palestinian houses in Khirbat al-Marajim, also south of Douma.
Israeli forces notified Palestinian villagers of Sarra, Madama and Burin villages of plans to set up six military watchtowers along the Ramallah-Nablus road, also marked as Route 60, effectively seizing and denying villagers access to hundreds of dunams of Palestinian farmlands on both sides of Route 60.
Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, Palestinians have not been able to travel freely on the Nablus-Ramallah road, which is spotted with Israeli checkpoints where the road passes from areas under Palestinian Authority or Israeli military control.
In addition to checkpoints, Israeli authorities have established several bypass roads, enabling Israel traffic to avoid areas of Route 60 which pass through Palestinian jurisdiction.
The Israeli Jerusalem municipality’s planning committee approved Wednesday plans to construct a new light rail line that will connect some of the city’s illegal settlement outposts and dismember Palestinian neighborhoods.
The 20-kilometer-long so-called Blue Line will begin in the southern settlement of Gilo, pass through the city’s center and end at the Ramot settlement, in northern Jerusalem. A second Blue Line route will start at the Malha illegal settlement.
The Blue Line is expected to be of use to some 250,000 settlers, and will complement the current Red Line of the light rail system. Work on extending the Red Line to Hadassah Hospital is also underway.
A third, Green Line — from Mount Scopus to Gilo — is set to be approved in the near future.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said on his Facebook account that the move is a momentum of transportation development in the holy city.
The 20-kilometer-long so-called Blue Line will begin in the southern settlement of Gilo, pass through the city’s center and end at the Ramot settlement, in northern Jerusalem. A second Blue Line route will start at the Malha illegal settlement.
The Blue Line is expected to be of use to some 250,000 settlers, and will complement the current Red Line of the light rail system. Work on extending the Red Line to Hadassah Hospital is also underway.
A third, Green Line — from Mount Scopus to Gilo — is set to be approved in the near future.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said on his Facebook account that the move is a momentum of transportation development in the holy city.
26 jan 2016
The Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) approved construction plans for 153 new housing units in settlements of Gush Etzion in Occupied Jerusalem and Ariel in Salfit.
Agence France-Presse on Tuesday quoted the spokeswoman of Peace Now Israeli organization, Haqit Ofran, as saying that the Israeli government had been following a decision of freezing settlement construction from the second half of year 2014 until one week ago.
Over the past eighteen months, only previous construction decisions were taken under certain exceptions before the government's last decision of building new units was made last week , she added.
“Apparently, (Israeli premier Benjamin) Netanyahu’s government was exposed to pressures by settlers or perhaps it is no longer afraid of any negative reaction by the United States as it was the case during negotiations on the Iranian file", she pointed out.
Agence France-Presse on Tuesday quoted the spokeswoman of Peace Now Israeli organization, Haqit Ofran, as saying that the Israeli government had been following a decision of freezing settlement construction from the second half of year 2014 until one week ago.
Over the past eighteen months, only previous construction decisions were taken under certain exceptions before the government's last decision of building new units was made last week , she added.
“Apparently, (Israeli premier Benjamin) Netanyahu’s government was exposed to pressures by settlers or perhaps it is no longer afraid of any negative reaction by the United States as it was the case during negotiations on the Iranian file", she pointed out.
25 jan 2016
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed, during the Sunday government meeting, to support settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and to seek "a legal process to allow the settlers to return" to the two Hebron buildings they were evicted from, Thursday.
His statements about the "evicted settlers in Hebron" refer to the two buildings they occupied, Thursday, near the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
Israel said the two buildings will remain shut “until the court reaches a final decision regarding their ownership.”
The eviction caused Netanyahu's coalition partners, especially extreme right wing factions, to lash out on him and his Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who ordered the removal of the settlers.
Netanyahu said the eviction was a legal issue, and that he will always support all settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.
He added that the legality of the "purchase of the two homes is being examined," adding said once his government examines "the purchase documents", and approves it, the settlers will be allowed back, and reiterated his government's support of all settlement activities.
"Should the legal process take more than a week, it will be presented to the ministerial cabinet for deliberation," he said.
Netanyahu faced strong criticism from his extreme right-wing coalition partners, and ministers, after the army removed the settlers.
The settlers stormed and occupied the two Palestinian homes in Hebron, last Thursday, while throwing stones and hurling insults on the Palestinians.
The homes belong to Fawwaz Qafisha, Shams al-Zatari, and Hussein al-Zatari on al-Sahla Street, near the Ibrahimi mosque, in Hebron.
The army said the eviction came because the alleged purchase was never verified, and because the setters moved in without the approval of the military, the political and security leadership in the country.
Israel’s colonies in the occupied territories, including in East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions, to which Israel is a signatory.
They are largely built on private Palestinian property, while many are built on what Israel classifies as “state lands.”
Article 4, paragraph six, of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention says, "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."
Article 85(4)(a) of the Additional Protocol of 1977, reiterates Article 4, and states that "the transfer by the occupying power of parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies is a grave breech of the protocol."
In addition, the ICC Statute (International Criminal Court) states that "the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power of parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies constitutes a war crime in international armed conflicts."
His statements about the "evicted settlers in Hebron" refer to the two buildings they occupied, Thursday, near the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
Israel said the two buildings will remain shut “until the court reaches a final decision regarding their ownership.”
The eviction caused Netanyahu's coalition partners, especially extreme right wing factions, to lash out on him and his Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who ordered the removal of the settlers.
Netanyahu said the eviction was a legal issue, and that he will always support all settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.
He added that the legality of the "purchase of the two homes is being examined," adding said once his government examines "the purchase documents", and approves it, the settlers will be allowed back, and reiterated his government's support of all settlement activities.
"Should the legal process take more than a week, it will be presented to the ministerial cabinet for deliberation," he said.
Netanyahu faced strong criticism from his extreme right-wing coalition partners, and ministers, after the army removed the settlers.
The settlers stormed and occupied the two Palestinian homes in Hebron, last Thursday, while throwing stones and hurling insults on the Palestinians.
The homes belong to Fawwaz Qafisha, Shams al-Zatari, and Hussein al-Zatari on al-Sahla Street, near the Ibrahimi mosque, in Hebron.
The army said the eviction came because the alleged purchase was never verified, and because the setters moved in without the approval of the military, the political and security leadership in the country.
Israel’s colonies in the occupied territories, including in East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions, to which Israel is a signatory.
They are largely built on private Palestinian property, while many are built on what Israel classifies as “state lands.”
Article 4, paragraph six, of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention says, "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."
Article 85(4)(a) of the Additional Protocol of 1977, reiterates Article 4, and states that "the transfer by the occupying power of parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies is a grave breech of the protocol."
In addition, the ICC Statute (International Criminal Court) states that "the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power of parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies constitutes a war crime in international armed conflicts."
24 jan 2016
The accelerated settlement construction and the confiscation of lands in the villages and towns of Salfit governorate located in the center of West Bank have caused shocking and scary changes in the province, negatively affecting various areas of life of the Palestinian citizens.
Palestinian statistics documented that there are 24 Israeli settlements in the Salfit governorate compared to 18 Palestinian towns and villages; these settlements extensively drain the rich natural resources and the groundwater of the province.
Researcher Khaled Ma'ali told the Palestinian Information Center that the settlement buidling, which began early in Salfit in the late seventies, has been dramatically affecting the lives of all citizens of the villages and towns of Salfit. He attributed this situation, which is contrary to international humanitarian law, to the following shocking information and changes:
1. For the first time, Salfit is the first West Bank province in which the demographic balance is broken in favor of the settlers; as more than 100 thousand settlers; including students of the Ariel University are living in the settlements in Salfit versus 90 thousand Palestinians.
2. For the first time a big University is established in a settlement inside the West Bank, which is the Ariel University; statistics in 2011 indicate that nearly 20 thousand students study at this university which was established over a Palestinian land.
3. The Israeli occupation views Salfit as a strategic area because it is located over the Western Aquifer Basin, a lake of underground water, from which the Israeli occupation steal water and re-sell it to its rightful owners at prices that reach up to tenfold of the prices offered to the settlers sometimes.
4. Salfit is the second area in Palestine targeted with settlement after occupied Jerusalem; due to the small number of Palestinian inhabitants and its large area.
5. In Salfit there are four industrial zones, which are: Ariel, Burkan, Amonial and Eli Zahav.
6. There are three nature reserves in Salfit, namely: Qana valley reserve (west of Deir Estia), Banat Barr reserve (west of Kafr Addik), and Noatef spring reserve (north of Qarawat Bani Hassan).
7. The Israeli occupation authorities deal with Salfit as an extension for Tel Aviv, that might help protect it, according to earlier remarks by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
8. The settlement in Salfit province transformed it from a province producing large amounts of olives crops to a province harried by settlements; which resulted in the loss of an important economic resource. This affected the farmers making part of them unemployed while others turned to work in the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.
9. The settlement of Ariel is the second-largest settlement in the West Bank, where there are nearly 50 thousand settlers including: 25 thousand settlers in the residential and the industrial areas while nearly 25 thousand students study at Ariel University.
10. The large and contiguous Israeli settlements in Salfit will separate the northern cities of the West Bank including: Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem and Qalqilya; from the middle and south ones starting from Za'atara barrier which is located east of Salfit and south of Nablus, to Kafr Kassem in the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.
11. The Israeli settlers and occupation government dominated, confiscated, and notified of the confiscation of a total of 70% of the province lands in favor of settlements and the separation wall.
12. During a short period of time and due to the settlement activity in Salfit, the dream of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 occupied Palestinian territories could never be fulfilled, and the two-state solution might disappear forever.
Palestinian statistics documented that there are 24 Israeli settlements in the Salfit governorate compared to 18 Palestinian towns and villages; these settlements extensively drain the rich natural resources and the groundwater of the province.
Researcher Khaled Ma'ali told the Palestinian Information Center that the settlement buidling, which began early in Salfit in the late seventies, has been dramatically affecting the lives of all citizens of the villages and towns of Salfit. He attributed this situation, which is contrary to international humanitarian law, to the following shocking information and changes:
1. For the first time, Salfit is the first West Bank province in which the demographic balance is broken in favor of the settlers; as more than 100 thousand settlers; including students of the Ariel University are living in the settlements in Salfit versus 90 thousand Palestinians.
2. For the first time a big University is established in a settlement inside the West Bank, which is the Ariel University; statistics in 2011 indicate that nearly 20 thousand students study at this university which was established over a Palestinian land.
3. The Israeli occupation views Salfit as a strategic area because it is located over the Western Aquifer Basin, a lake of underground water, from which the Israeli occupation steal water and re-sell it to its rightful owners at prices that reach up to tenfold of the prices offered to the settlers sometimes.
4. Salfit is the second area in Palestine targeted with settlement after occupied Jerusalem; due to the small number of Palestinian inhabitants and its large area.
5. In Salfit there are four industrial zones, which are: Ariel, Burkan, Amonial and Eli Zahav.
6. There are three nature reserves in Salfit, namely: Qana valley reserve (west of Deir Estia), Banat Barr reserve (west of Kafr Addik), and Noatef spring reserve (north of Qarawat Bani Hassan).
7. The Israeli occupation authorities deal with Salfit as an extension for Tel Aviv, that might help protect it, according to earlier remarks by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
8. The settlement in Salfit province transformed it from a province producing large amounts of olives crops to a province harried by settlements; which resulted in the loss of an important economic resource. This affected the farmers making part of them unemployed while others turned to work in the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.
9. The settlement of Ariel is the second-largest settlement in the West Bank, where there are nearly 50 thousand settlers including: 25 thousand settlers in the residential and the industrial areas while nearly 25 thousand students study at Ariel University.
10. The large and contiguous Israeli settlements in Salfit will separate the northern cities of the West Bank including: Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem and Qalqilya; from the middle and south ones starting from Za'atara barrier which is located east of Salfit and south of Nablus, to Kafr Kassem in the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.
11. The Israeli settlers and occupation government dominated, confiscated, and notified of the confiscation of a total of 70% of the province lands in favor of settlements and the separation wall.
12. During a short period of time and due to the settlement activity in Salfit, the dream of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 occupied Palestinian territories could never be fulfilled, and the two-state solution might disappear forever.
22 jan 2016
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Thursday bulldozed large tracts of Palestinian cultivated lands in the vicinity of the illegal Israeli settlement of Avni Hefetz, in southern Tulkarem province.
A PIC news reporter quoted local sources as stating that the Israeli occupation bulldozers leveled dozens of dunums of cultivated land lots owned by Palestinian citizens, paving the way for the projected expansion of the nearby illegal settlement.
The occupation troops have been denying Palestinians’ access into the area as part of intents to impose a new fait accompli and hold sway over the land tracts in favor of illegal settlement expansion.
The illegal Avni Hefetz settlement, originally made up of 12 makeshift caravans, is now home to over 110 Israeli settlement units built at the expense of Palestinians’ own and only lands.
A PIC news reporter quoted local sources as stating that the Israeli occupation bulldozers leveled dozens of dunums of cultivated land lots owned by Palestinian citizens, paving the way for the projected expansion of the nearby illegal settlement.
The occupation troops have been denying Palestinians’ access into the area as part of intents to impose a new fait accompli and hold sway over the land tracts in favor of illegal settlement expansion.
The illegal Avni Hefetz settlement, originally made up of 12 makeshift caravans, is now home to over 110 Israeli settlement units built at the expense of Palestinians’ own and only lands.
21 jan 2016
The Hebrew website Walla has said that two illegal roads are being built for Benjamin settlements on Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank.
According to Walla, there were Israeli orders to remove one of the roads and suspend the construction of the other.
One of the roads, which was built between two neighborhoods in Anatot settlement, extend over 320 meters of Palestinian-owned land belonging to Palestinian citizens from Anata village.
The construction of this road started in 2012 before the Israeli civil administration stopped it and then resumed it recently.
Later, the chief of the Anata local council filed a petition with the Israeli higher court asking for issuing an injunction to prevent the road construction in the village.
The second road is being built in Novi Firat area and lead to an illegal settlement outpost, which was established in 2014.
In a separate incident, Israeli bulldozers on Thursday removed several residential and agricultural structures in Tulkarem, al-Khalil and Jerusalem.
According to local sources, bulldozers escorted by Israeli soldiers entered Jabal al-Baba area east of Alizariya town in occupied Jerusalem and removed three residential tents, which led the displacement of 17 Palestinian citizens.
Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers forced three Palestinian families in Jaba al-Baba to leave their tents, without prior notice, before bulldozing them and the land they were pitched on.
In al-Khalil, chief of the Beit Ula municipal council Mohamed al-Omla told Quds Press that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) demolished an agricultural structure and a water well in the town at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
In Tulkarem, Israeli bulldozers leveled plots of Palestinian land in Shufa village, which is located about 500 meters away from Avnei Hefetz settlement, south of the city.
According to Walla, there were Israeli orders to remove one of the roads and suspend the construction of the other.
One of the roads, which was built between two neighborhoods in Anatot settlement, extend over 320 meters of Palestinian-owned land belonging to Palestinian citizens from Anata village.
The construction of this road started in 2012 before the Israeli civil administration stopped it and then resumed it recently.
Later, the chief of the Anata local council filed a petition with the Israeli higher court asking for issuing an injunction to prevent the road construction in the village.
The second road is being built in Novi Firat area and lead to an illegal settlement outpost, which was established in 2014.
In a separate incident, Israeli bulldozers on Thursday removed several residential and agricultural structures in Tulkarem, al-Khalil and Jerusalem.
According to local sources, bulldozers escorted by Israeli soldiers entered Jabal al-Baba area east of Alizariya town in occupied Jerusalem and removed three residential tents, which led the displacement of 17 Palestinian citizens.
Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers forced three Palestinian families in Jaba al-Baba to leave their tents, without prior notice, before bulldozing them and the land they were pitched on.
In al-Khalil, chief of the Beit Ula municipal council Mohamed al-Omla told Quds Press that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) demolished an agricultural structure and a water well in the town at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
In Tulkarem, Israeli bulldozers leveled plots of Palestinian land in Shufa village, which is located about 500 meters away from Avnei Hefetz settlement, south of the city.
Israel has begun building a fence along its border with Jordan "to protect Israeli citizens against any security threat coming from Jordan", the Israeli Army Ministry announced.
A team from the ministry’s Engineering and Construction Department began laying down the first kilometers of the security fence along the border this week, according to the ministry’s statement.
The fence would be "based on the models erected along the Egyptian border and the Golan Heights", the statement said.
The barrier will stretch for 30 kilometers between the resort city of Eilat and the site of the Sands of Samar, and will cost $75 million, the ministry underlined.
"This barrier is intended to protect Israeli citizens against any security threat coming from Jordan," Arielle Heffez, a spokesman for the ministry, told AFP on Wednesday.
Commenting on the issue, a Jordanian official said that the Israeli security fence is ‘an internal affair especially that it is built within Israeli borders.’
However, the Jordanian official expressed his country’s total rejection of the Israeli apartheid wall that is built on occupied Palestinian land.
The fence is to be the fourth "security fence" built by Israel, including one separating it from the occupied West Bank, known as the "apartheid wall", another in the Golan Heights near Syria, and a third one erected along the Egyptian border.
A team from the ministry’s Engineering and Construction Department began laying down the first kilometers of the security fence along the border this week, according to the ministry’s statement.
The fence would be "based on the models erected along the Egyptian border and the Golan Heights", the statement said.
The barrier will stretch for 30 kilometers between the resort city of Eilat and the site of the Sands of Samar, and will cost $75 million, the ministry underlined.
"This barrier is intended to protect Israeli citizens against any security threat coming from Jordan," Arielle Heffez, a spokesman for the ministry, told AFP on Wednesday.
Commenting on the issue, a Jordanian official said that the Israeli security fence is ‘an internal affair especially that it is built within Israeli borders.’
However, the Jordanian official expressed his country’s total rejection of the Israeli apartheid wall that is built on occupied Palestinian land.
The fence is to be the fourth "security fence" built by Israel, including one separating it from the occupied West Bank, known as the "apartheid wall", another in the Golan Heights near Syria, and a third one erected along the Egyptian border.