10 june 2016
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) have leveled Palestinian lands in southern Bethlehem city as part of an underway project to construct the second-largest Jewish synagogue in the West Bank.
Member of the national anti-settlement committee Ahmad Salah said the IOA leveled Palestinian lands covering an area of 80 dunums, which were confiscated last year in al-Khader town as part of a plan to build the so-called Yashiva Second Jewish synagogue and school.
The activist added that the project includes the establishment of a kindergarten for settlers’ children, along with parks and gardens. He said Israeli bulldozers and army vehicles ruined Palestinians’ cultivated lands and uprooted several fruitful trees in the process.
According to Abu Salah the project makes part of an Israeli plan to annex more Palestinian lands to nearby illegal settlement and to tighten noose around farmers’ necks.
Activist Hassan Brijiyeh also said the IOA imposed the project by force despite the objections frequently made by the Palestinians. He warned of Israel’s daily violations of Palestinians’ land rights and arbitrary confiscation of the Khader lands in favor of illegal settlement expansion.
Brijiyeh appealed to local authorities and international organizations to urge the Israeli occupation to stop such an unabated scramble for Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank.
According to data from the Land Research Center, 1,580 dunums of Palestinian lands in Bethlehem were confiscated by the IOA last year, out of a total of 6,300 confiscated dunums.
Member of the national anti-settlement committee Ahmad Salah said the IOA leveled Palestinian lands covering an area of 80 dunums, which were confiscated last year in al-Khader town as part of a plan to build the so-called Yashiva Second Jewish synagogue and school.
The activist added that the project includes the establishment of a kindergarten for settlers’ children, along with parks and gardens. He said Israeli bulldozers and army vehicles ruined Palestinians’ cultivated lands and uprooted several fruitful trees in the process.
According to Abu Salah the project makes part of an Israeli plan to annex more Palestinian lands to nearby illegal settlement and to tighten noose around farmers’ necks.
Activist Hassan Brijiyeh also said the IOA imposed the project by force despite the objections frequently made by the Palestinians. He warned of Israel’s daily violations of Palestinians’ land rights and arbitrary confiscation of the Khader lands in favor of illegal settlement expansion.
Brijiyeh appealed to local authorities and international organizations to urge the Israeli occupation to stop such an unabated scramble for Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank.
According to data from the Land Research Center, 1,580 dunums of Palestinian lands in Bethlehem were confiscated by the IOA last year, out of a total of 6,300 confiscated dunums.
8 june 2016
Israeli settlers, Wednesday, razed Palestinian-owned lands in the village of al-Khader, to the south of occupied Bethlehem, according to local sources.
Hasan Burajeya, of the Anti-Settlement Committee in Bethlehem, told WAFA that a group of illegal Israeli settlers, accompanied by a military escort, proceeded to raze about 15 dunams of land near al-Khader. The razed land belongs to local Palestinians from the village.
Burajeya asserted that the razing of said lands comes as part of Israeli plan to construct a yeshiva (Jewish school) at the site.
According to Israeli human rights group Peace Now, over the years, Israel 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,” the group argues.
Hasan Burajeya, of the Anti-Settlement Committee in Bethlehem, told WAFA that a group of illegal Israeli settlers, accompanied by a military escort, proceeded to raze about 15 dunams of land near al-Khader. The razed land belongs to local Palestinians from the village.
Burajeya asserted that the razing of said lands comes as part of Israeli plan to construct a yeshiva (Jewish school) at the site.
According to Israeli human rights group Peace Now, over the years, Israel 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,” the group argues.
7 june 2016
The Israeli municipality's planning and construction committee in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday authorized the marketing of the 82 housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement despite the government's objection and without notifying it, Israel's Channel 2 claimed.
Ramat Shlomo is an illegal settlement located in northeast Jerusalem, next to the Palestinian village of Shuafat.
A diplomatic crisis erupted between Israel and the US in March 2010 due to the former's plan to build 1,600 new housing units in the settlement, coinciding with US vice-president Joe Biden's visit to Palestine in order to push for renewed peace talks.
The European Union was also critical of the plan at the time. The Jerusalem municipality said in response to Channel 2's report on Monday that construction in Jerusalem is "necessary, important and will continue with full force."
It stressed that it would never freeze settlement construction in Jerusalem again and would approve similar plans with or without the consent of the Israeli government.
Ramat Shlomo is an illegal settlement located in northeast Jerusalem, next to the Palestinian village of Shuafat.
A diplomatic crisis erupted between Israel and the US in March 2010 due to the former's plan to build 1,600 new housing units in the settlement, coinciding with US vice-president Joe Biden's visit to Palestine in order to push for renewed peace talks.
The European Union was also critical of the plan at the time. The Jerusalem municipality said in response to Channel 2's report on Monday that construction in Jerusalem is "necessary, important and will continue with full force."
It stressed that it would never freeze settlement construction in Jerusalem again and would approve similar plans with or without the consent of the Israeli government.
6 june 2016
The Israeli Jerusalem municipality announced its intent to build an illegal settlement outpost comprising 15,000 units in the Qalandiya Airport area, renamed Atarot.
Speaking to the Israeli radio, Jerusalem’s deputy mayor, Maer Turjman, who is also heading the planning and construction committee, said: “I intend to build a neighborhood to meet the demands of the Haredi community.”
“Such an intention has always been there. I am determined to make it come true,” he added, calling on the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Housing Ministry to back up the settlement plan.
According to Turjman, the new settlement neighborhood is expected to be ready within four years. The Qalandiya Airport area, along with other West Bank zones and East Jerusalem, were occupied by Israel following the 1967 six-day-war.
Speaking to the Israeli radio, Jerusalem’s deputy mayor, Maer Turjman, who is also heading the planning and construction committee, said: “I intend to build a neighborhood to meet the demands of the Haredi community.”
“Such an intention has always been there. I am determined to make it come true,” he added, calling on the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Housing Ministry to back up the settlement plan.
According to Turjman, the new settlement neighborhood is expected to be ready within four years. The Qalandiya Airport area, along with other West Bank zones and East Jerusalem, were occupied by Israel following the 1967 six-day-war.
5 june 2016
A report raised on Saturday alarm bells over the swift pace in Israeli illegal settlement projects across the occupied Palestinian territories as part of larger scheme of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians.
The National Office for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlement said Israeli illegal settlement activity has hit the peak with the advent of the commemoration of the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967 marked by Israelis on June 5.
According to the report, a meeting is to be held by the Israeli government on Sunday evening to mark the occupation of Jerusalem.
Among the files expected to be discussed during the meeting is a five-year plan to stimulate Jerusalem’s economic growth in an attempt to pave the way for asserting the city as "the capital of the Jewish State".
A development budget of NIS 850 million (about $220 million) will be invested in five areas aimed at boosting the city´s tourism, advanced industry, academia, business development, and quality of life for settlers.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli Ministry of Education announced the launch of the Judaization of Jerusalem Week at all schools. The event is set to be concluded on June 8.
The Israeli planning and construction committee in Occupied Jerusalem also approved settlers’ confiscation of Palestinians’ demolished homes in Silwan.
Speaking ahead of the annual Jerusalem Day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “I support all efforts to maintain and strengthen a united Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.”
Netanyahu’s claims come at a time when Israeli fanatic organizations have been inciting for mass break-ins at Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque on June 5 to mark the occupation of the holy city of Jerusalem.
The National Office for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlement said Israeli illegal settlement activity has hit the peak with the advent of the commemoration of the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967 marked by Israelis on June 5.
According to the report, a meeting is to be held by the Israeli government on Sunday evening to mark the occupation of Jerusalem.
Among the files expected to be discussed during the meeting is a five-year plan to stimulate Jerusalem’s economic growth in an attempt to pave the way for asserting the city as "the capital of the Jewish State".
A development budget of NIS 850 million (about $220 million) will be invested in five areas aimed at boosting the city´s tourism, advanced industry, academia, business development, and quality of life for settlers.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli Ministry of Education announced the launch of the Judaization of Jerusalem Week at all schools. The event is set to be concluded on June 8.
The Israeli planning and construction committee in Occupied Jerusalem also approved settlers’ confiscation of Palestinians’ demolished homes in Silwan.
Speaking ahead of the annual Jerusalem Day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “I support all efforts to maintain and strengthen a united Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.”
Netanyahu’s claims come at a time when Israeli fanatic organizations have been inciting for mass break-ins at Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque on June 5 to mark the occupation of the holy city of Jerusalem.
3 june 2016
Israeli government endorsed, in a session held in Occupied Jerusalem, the investment of 220 million dollars in settlement projects in Jerusalem over five years under the pretext of “city development”.
Media sources quoted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that the sum will be invested in technology and companies.
Mayor Nir Barkat was also quoted as calling for moving Israeli ministries and institutions to the occupied city of Jerusalem.
For his part, Former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs at the Palestinian Authority (PA) Hatem Abdul Qader opined that the Israeli budgets are allocated to establish Judaization projects in the city and supporting settlers only.
In an interview with Anadolu agency, Abdul Qader condemned the Israeli Judaization projects and called on the Arabs and Muslims to shoulder their responsibilities and duties towards the city of Occupied Jerusalem and to confront the Israeli aggressive practices against the city.
Media sources quoted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that the sum will be invested in technology and companies.
Mayor Nir Barkat was also quoted as calling for moving Israeli ministries and institutions to the occupied city of Jerusalem.
For his part, Former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs at the Palestinian Authority (PA) Hatem Abdul Qader opined that the Israeli budgets are allocated to establish Judaization projects in the city and supporting settlers only.
In an interview with Anadolu agency, Abdul Qader condemned the Israeli Judaization projects and called on the Arabs and Muslims to shoulder their responsibilities and duties towards the city of Occupied Jerusalem and to confront the Israeli aggressive practices against the city.
1 june 2016
Hundreds of thousands of settlers now live across the 'green line', UN officials say, 'settlements are the vehicle for taking control of the land' and express concerns about their effects on the feasibility of a future accord, but add that 'some of it has to be reversible.
In the hills east of Jerusalem overlooking the city of Jericho and the Jordan Valley stands a religious Jewish settlement whose red-tile roofs, neat gardens and brightly colored playgrounds give the sense of permanence.
Mitzpe Yericho has stood on this escarpment close to the Dead Sea - the lowest point on earth - since 1978. It is one of more than 230 settlements Israelis have built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past 50 years.
Diplomats and international monitors are increasingly concerned that the drive may be reaching the point of irreversibility.
If a peace deal were magically struck tomorrow, the Palestinians would expect the Israelis living in Mitzpe Yericho to leave. But its 3,000 residents, nearly all whom are religious nationalists, have no such intention. To them, the settlement enterprise is God-given and irreversible.
"If there's peace with the Palestinians we're staying and if there's no peace we're staying," said Yoel Mishael, 65, who has lived in Mitzpe Yericho since its founding. "It's part of Israel, according to the Bible. It's something from God."
Foreign ministers will meet on Friday with the aim of paving the way for a summit later in the year that they hope the Israeli and Palestinian leaders will attend.
In a sign that he is aware of the growing international pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he was in favor of parts of the Arab peace initiative, a proposal put forward by Saudi Arabia in 2002 that would grant Israel recognition in exchange for withdrawing from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, among other steps.
A VAST INVESTMENT
The settlement project began after Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and hundreds of thousands of Israelis have settled there since.
Many live in large blocs near Jerusalem or the 'green line' that separates Israel from the Palestinian territories, while others live deep inside the West Bank in highly protected enclaves or pre-fabricated 'outposts' perched on hill tops.
Calculating the financial cost of settlements to Israel is difficult; as well as the capital required to build there are defense and infrastructure costs and the price of tax breaks for residents who move there. But the Macro Center for Political Economics, an Israeli think-tank, estimates building alone has cost around $30 billion over the past 40 years.
Barely a month goes by without a fresh announcement from the government or one of its ministries about West Bank territory being declared "state land", a precursor to settlement building, or a decision to allow new construction to proceed.
At the same time, Palestinians living in a part of the West Bank known as Area C, which accounts for 60 percent of the total and is where most settlements are located, are being uprooted from the land in increasing numbers.
During a visit to a sensitive part of the West Bank near the Palestinian city of Nablus, where settlements occupy almost every hilltop and are steadily expanding their footprint, UN diplomats studied maps and pointed out how the Israeli enclaves were spreading east toward the Jordan Valley.
"It starts to look irreversible," said one official, a view separately supported by half a dozen foreign diplomats.
Under the Oslo accords of the mid-1990s, Israel retains full control over Area C, where large tracts have been declared closed military areas. As a result, Israeli courts tend to approve the removal of Palestinians from the area and the demolition of their homes, even though the accords did not change the illegal status of settlements there.
"Settlements are the vehicle for taking control of the land," said Catherine Cook, an official with the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian assistance and an authority on settlements, speaking last month.
Asked whether she believed the settlement enterprise was irreversible, she replied: "Some of it has to be reversible."
PRESSURE FROM WITHIN
If a peace deal were struck, many settlements would undoubtedly remain. While not openly acknowledged, Palestinian negotiators accept that land swaps, in which the Israelis would keep major settlement blocs along the green line and near Jerusalem, and the Palestinians would receive equivalent amounts of land from Israel in return, would be part of the deal.
But that would still leave vast areas of the West Bank, where 2.8 million Palestinians live in major cities such as Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah, dotted with more than a hundred settlements, many large and protected by the military.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett is an ardent supporter settlements and wants Israel to annex all of Area C rather than allowing a Palestinian state to emerge. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman lives in a settlement and is similarly wary of Palestinian statehood, even if like Netanyahu he has welcomed elements of the Arab peace initiative.
Hagit Ofran, a senior official at Peace Now, an Israeli NGO opposed to settlements, believes lines could be drawn that would allow a Palestinian state to emerge even if Israel kept many of its enclaves. But even then she estimates that as many as 150,000 settlers may have to be uprooted.
While some might leave willingly if offered the right compensation, many others would not. The removal of just 8,500 settlers from Gaza in 2005 caused violence and outrage.
Many of the settlers in the heartland of the West Bank are religious nationalists who believe all the land, which they call Judea and Samaria, was gifted to Israel in the Bible. They are not interested in financial incentives to leave.
In the hills east of Jerusalem overlooking the city of Jericho and the Jordan Valley stands a religious Jewish settlement whose red-tile roofs, neat gardens and brightly colored playgrounds give the sense of permanence.
Mitzpe Yericho has stood on this escarpment close to the Dead Sea - the lowest point on earth - since 1978. It is one of more than 230 settlements Israelis have built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past 50 years.
Diplomats and international monitors are increasingly concerned that the drive may be reaching the point of irreversibility.
If a peace deal were magically struck tomorrow, the Palestinians would expect the Israelis living in Mitzpe Yericho to leave. But its 3,000 residents, nearly all whom are religious nationalists, have no such intention. To them, the settlement enterprise is God-given and irreversible.
"If there's peace with the Palestinians we're staying and if there's no peace we're staying," said Yoel Mishael, 65, who has lived in Mitzpe Yericho since its founding. "It's part of Israel, according to the Bible. It's something from God."
Foreign ministers will meet on Friday with the aim of paving the way for a summit later in the year that they hope the Israeli and Palestinian leaders will attend.
In a sign that he is aware of the growing international pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he was in favor of parts of the Arab peace initiative, a proposal put forward by Saudi Arabia in 2002 that would grant Israel recognition in exchange for withdrawing from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, among other steps.
A VAST INVESTMENT
The settlement project began after Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and hundreds of thousands of Israelis have settled there since.
Many live in large blocs near Jerusalem or the 'green line' that separates Israel from the Palestinian territories, while others live deep inside the West Bank in highly protected enclaves or pre-fabricated 'outposts' perched on hill tops.
Calculating the financial cost of settlements to Israel is difficult; as well as the capital required to build there are defense and infrastructure costs and the price of tax breaks for residents who move there. But the Macro Center for Political Economics, an Israeli think-tank, estimates building alone has cost around $30 billion over the past 40 years.
Barely a month goes by without a fresh announcement from the government or one of its ministries about West Bank territory being declared "state land", a precursor to settlement building, or a decision to allow new construction to proceed.
At the same time, Palestinians living in a part of the West Bank known as Area C, which accounts for 60 percent of the total and is where most settlements are located, are being uprooted from the land in increasing numbers.
During a visit to a sensitive part of the West Bank near the Palestinian city of Nablus, where settlements occupy almost every hilltop and are steadily expanding their footprint, UN diplomats studied maps and pointed out how the Israeli enclaves were spreading east toward the Jordan Valley.
"It starts to look irreversible," said one official, a view separately supported by half a dozen foreign diplomats.
Under the Oslo accords of the mid-1990s, Israel retains full control over Area C, where large tracts have been declared closed military areas. As a result, Israeli courts tend to approve the removal of Palestinians from the area and the demolition of their homes, even though the accords did not change the illegal status of settlements there.
"Settlements are the vehicle for taking control of the land," said Catherine Cook, an official with the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian assistance and an authority on settlements, speaking last month.
Asked whether she believed the settlement enterprise was irreversible, she replied: "Some of it has to be reversible."
PRESSURE FROM WITHIN
If a peace deal were struck, many settlements would undoubtedly remain. While not openly acknowledged, Palestinian negotiators accept that land swaps, in which the Israelis would keep major settlement blocs along the green line and near Jerusalem, and the Palestinians would receive equivalent amounts of land from Israel in return, would be part of the deal.
But that would still leave vast areas of the West Bank, where 2.8 million Palestinians live in major cities such as Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah, dotted with more than a hundred settlements, many large and protected by the military.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett is an ardent supporter settlements and wants Israel to annex all of Area C rather than allowing a Palestinian state to emerge. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman lives in a settlement and is similarly wary of Palestinian statehood, even if like Netanyahu he has welcomed elements of the Arab peace initiative.
Hagit Ofran, a senior official at Peace Now, an Israeli NGO opposed to settlements, believes lines could be drawn that would allow a Palestinian state to emerge even if Israel kept many of its enclaves. But even then she estimates that as many as 150,000 settlers may have to be uprooted.
While some might leave willingly if offered the right compensation, many others would not. The removal of just 8,500 settlers from Gaza in 2005 caused violence and outrage.
Many of the settlers in the heartland of the West Bank are religious nationalists who believe all the land, which they call Judea and Samaria, was gifted to Israel in the Bible. They are not interested in financial incentives to leave.
The Israeli Jerusalem municipality issued on Tuesday evening an order to stop the construction of bathrooms and ablution cells near Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque, Q-Press Center said Wednesday.
The Israeli occupation municipality ruled for halting the construction of lavatories reportedly at the request of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following an emergency meeting held in his office Tuesday afternoon.
According to Israeli sources, the Islamic Endowment Department in Occupied Jerusalem initiated the construction of dozens of toilets and ablution cells in al-Saraya building, near the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The stop-construction order also garnered the approval of the Israeli agriculture minister Uri Ariel.
Over recent days, Israeli media outlets sparked incitement against the Islamic Endowment Department and pushed for ceasing construction works.
Calls have meanwhile been launched by Israeli leaders and fanatic gangs to expand illegal settlement across Occupied Jerusalem and seize Muslims’ properties in favor of Judaization plans at and around the holy al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam.
The Israeli occupation municipality ruled for halting the construction of lavatories reportedly at the request of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following an emergency meeting held in his office Tuesday afternoon.
According to Israeli sources, the Islamic Endowment Department in Occupied Jerusalem initiated the construction of dozens of toilets and ablution cells in al-Saraya building, near the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The stop-construction order also garnered the approval of the Israeli agriculture minister Uri Ariel.
Over recent days, Israeli media outlets sparked incitement against the Islamic Endowment Department and pushed for ceasing construction works.
Calls have meanwhile been launched by Israeli leaders and fanatic gangs to expand illegal settlement across Occupied Jerusalem and seize Muslims’ properties in favor of Judaization plans at and around the holy al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam.
Israeli president Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday vowed the illegal settlement of Ariel would remain forever under Israeli control, despite its location deep inside the West Bank.
Rivlin made his remarks during his meeting with representatives of Ariel University in his office in Occupied Jerusalem, hailing a plan to build a medical center in the settlement near the Palestinian city of Salfit.
"It is obvious to everyone that Ariel would be an inseparable part of Israel in any future accord," he said.
He spoke a day after his premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday partially expressed his support for the Arab Peace Initiative, offering to negotiate with the Arab world the parameters of the plan.
Ariel had already been described as the capital of Samaria and an indisputable part of Israel by Netanyahu during a visit in 2010 to the settlement, which is considered one of the largest entities for Jewish settlers in the heart of the West Bank.
Rivlin made his remarks during his meeting with representatives of Ariel University in his office in Occupied Jerusalem, hailing a plan to build a medical center in the settlement near the Palestinian city of Salfit.
"It is obvious to everyone that Ariel would be an inseparable part of Israel in any future accord," he said.
He spoke a day after his premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday partially expressed his support for the Arab Peace Initiative, offering to negotiate with the Arab world the parameters of the plan.
Ariel had already been described as the capital of Samaria and an indisputable part of Israel by Netanyahu during a visit in 2010 to the settlement, which is considered one of the largest entities for Jewish settlers in the heart of the West Bank.