15 aug 2012
Netanyahu To Ignore Report On Legalizing West Bank Settlement Outposts
Fearing international repercussions and criticism, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, decided to shelve a report prepared by former Supreme Court Judge, Edmond Levy, as the report calls for “legalizing” Israeli settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank as they, allegedly, are “part of the state of Israel’.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that the report Netanyahu decided to bury, does not only call for legalizing settlement outposts, but also allows easier expansion of existing “legal” Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The report was submitted to Netanyahu on June 21.
Netanyahu told several cabinet ministers that “the main issue in this report is the fact that it concluded that the Fourth Geneva convention is not applicable in the occupied West Bank” as the territory, according to Levy, “is not occupied, but is part of Israel”.
Netanyahu is not acknowledging the fact that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is occupation by itself, but he fears that highlighting this report would lead to international controversy as the report contradicts different articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory, and other facets of International Law.
Haaretz added that approving this report without acknowledging the section that discusses Israel’s presence in the West Bank, could in a way or another be explained as an Israeli recognition of its presence in the West Bank as an occupying force.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu held a meeting with the so-called Ministerial Committee for Settlement Affairs to discuss matters related to illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank. Haaretz said that Ministers Gilad Erdan and Daniel Hershkowitz demanded Netanyahu to discuss the report but he strongly rejected their demands.
According to the Israeli paper, among other issues, the Ministerial Committee discussed the issue of the illegal settlement of Migron, as 17 settler families filed a petition to the Israeli High Court demanding the state not to evict them as they allegedly “bought the lands from their Palestinian owners”. Israel is still investigating the purchase claim.
The Israeli State Prosecutor’s Office claims that the settlers bought a quarter of one lot, referred to as Lot #23. Also, the Office claims that the settlers fully purchased Lot #2, yet, such a purchase is effectively useless as there is no road access to it.
Haaretz further reported that the Ministers decided to grant a 90-day stay on a demolition order of structures illegally built on Lot #10 as they intend to further investigate “the legal status of the land”.
The Ministers also discussed the legality of a settlement outpost in a building at a Palestinian wholesale market in the Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank.
The Israeli Peace Now Movement filed a petition demanding that Israel remove the settlers who are illegally squatting in the market, but Israel claims that the area was officially owned by Jews, and that Jordan confiscated the area after considering it as “enemy property”. It was then rented to Arabs, according to Israeli claims. This claim strips property rights of the Palestinian owners of the market area.
The market has been fully closed under Israeli military orders since 2000. All Palestinian shops are closed and the entire street is under the control of Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Following Israel’s occupation of Hebron and the rest of the West Bank in 1967, the army continued to rent the structures to the shopkeepers, but after the second Intifada started in later September 2000, the army ordered the closure of all shops under security claims. Renters’ rights were never revoked, Haaretz said.
Israeli settlers, without any legal ruling, took over the building and considered it part of the Avraham Avinu settlement; the Israeli army decided to evict the settlers but never acted on its decision while Peace Now filed an appeal to the Israeli High Court demanding that it enforce the decision.
Haaretz reported that, despite the fact that the ministers decided to evict the settlers, the Israeli army that maintains the structure decided to subsequently rent it out to the settlers.
The ministers decided that the settlers should be evicted, but the army, as the building's “custodian”, is supposed to improve and maintain the structure. They also decided it should be rented out to the Jewish community of Hebron, with the army holding the rent money in a trust fund until the building is returned to the Palestinians. The Israeli Court is yet to render a final decision on the matter.
Furthermore, the Ministerial Panel decided to overturn a previous decision to demolish two under-construction buildings in the illegal Beit El Dreinoff settlement.
The buildings in question were erected without construction permits and the land they were built on was confiscated by the Israeli military for “military purposes”; Israeli Human Rights group, Yesh Din, filed a petition to the Israeli High Court demanding the demolition of the buildings.
The government of Benjamin Netanyahu said that the buildings will be removed by April this year, but never acted on its decision and kept requesting numerous stays on the demolition orders that were eventually rendered fruitless as the Ministerial Committee decided that Beit El needs to present a “Master Plan” that would enable the “legalization” of the settlement outpost.
Following its occupation of the West Bank after the 1967 war, Israel legalized numerous illegal settlement outposts erected by the settlers on privately-owned Palestinian lands. Consecutive Israel governments continued to build and legalize settlements.
Israel Protests in front of EU for Not Providing Customs Facilities for its Settlements
Israel protested yesterday night, in front of the European Union headquarters on its decision not to provide customs facilities for 'Modi'in' Israeli settlement and another nearby settlements, claiming that these settlements are located outside territories occupied in 1948.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Modi'in settlement and the two nearby settlements in Modi'in Maccabim-Re'ut, a city in the Centre District of Israel, were constructed in an area considered an integral part of Israeli territory and there is no doubt about its future.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry accused the EU for cutting negotiations with Israel regarding the customs facilities, and for publishing a list of the boycotted Israeli cities and villages on the internet.
Israel protests EU expansion of Green Line boycott
The European Union has added the town of Modiin-Maccabim Reut near Ben-Gurion International Airport to its list of settlements whose export products are ineligible for tax breaks.
Its inclusion stretches the EU’s boycott area westward and cuts into Israel’s narrow coastal strip.
Israel says the EU’s unilateral definition of “the State of Israel” is in breach of signed trade contracts and in any case unacceptable.
The town of Modiin was established on a strip of land designated “no-man’s land” in the post-1948 Arab-Israel war armistice.
Report: EU adds Modiin to settlement exports list
The European Union has added the Modi’in-Maccabim-Reut municipality to a list of settlements whose products can not receive tax breaks, Israeli media reported Tuesday.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper said the municipality, which is located in a so-called "no man's land" straddling a strip of land between Israel and the West Bank, will no longer be recognized as inside Israel.
The designation is noted for tax purposes under a free trade agreement with the EU.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that the report Netanyahu decided to bury, does not only call for legalizing settlement outposts, but also allows easier expansion of existing “legal” Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The report was submitted to Netanyahu on June 21.
Netanyahu told several cabinet ministers that “the main issue in this report is the fact that it concluded that the Fourth Geneva convention is not applicable in the occupied West Bank” as the territory, according to Levy, “is not occupied, but is part of Israel”.
Netanyahu is not acknowledging the fact that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is occupation by itself, but he fears that highlighting this report would lead to international controversy as the report contradicts different articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory, and other facets of International Law.
Haaretz added that approving this report without acknowledging the section that discusses Israel’s presence in the West Bank, could in a way or another be explained as an Israeli recognition of its presence in the West Bank as an occupying force.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu held a meeting with the so-called Ministerial Committee for Settlement Affairs to discuss matters related to illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank. Haaretz said that Ministers Gilad Erdan and Daniel Hershkowitz demanded Netanyahu to discuss the report but he strongly rejected their demands.
According to the Israeli paper, among other issues, the Ministerial Committee discussed the issue of the illegal settlement of Migron, as 17 settler families filed a petition to the Israeli High Court demanding the state not to evict them as they allegedly “bought the lands from their Palestinian owners”. Israel is still investigating the purchase claim.
The Israeli State Prosecutor’s Office claims that the settlers bought a quarter of one lot, referred to as Lot #23. Also, the Office claims that the settlers fully purchased Lot #2, yet, such a purchase is effectively useless as there is no road access to it.
Haaretz further reported that the Ministers decided to grant a 90-day stay on a demolition order of structures illegally built on Lot #10 as they intend to further investigate “the legal status of the land”.
The Ministers also discussed the legality of a settlement outpost in a building at a Palestinian wholesale market in the Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank.
The Israeli Peace Now Movement filed a petition demanding that Israel remove the settlers who are illegally squatting in the market, but Israel claims that the area was officially owned by Jews, and that Jordan confiscated the area after considering it as “enemy property”. It was then rented to Arabs, according to Israeli claims. This claim strips property rights of the Palestinian owners of the market area.
The market has been fully closed under Israeli military orders since 2000. All Palestinian shops are closed and the entire street is under the control of Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Following Israel’s occupation of Hebron and the rest of the West Bank in 1967, the army continued to rent the structures to the shopkeepers, but after the second Intifada started in later September 2000, the army ordered the closure of all shops under security claims. Renters’ rights were never revoked, Haaretz said.
Israeli settlers, without any legal ruling, took over the building and considered it part of the Avraham Avinu settlement; the Israeli army decided to evict the settlers but never acted on its decision while Peace Now filed an appeal to the Israeli High Court demanding that it enforce the decision.
Haaretz reported that, despite the fact that the ministers decided to evict the settlers, the Israeli army that maintains the structure decided to subsequently rent it out to the settlers.
The ministers decided that the settlers should be evicted, but the army, as the building's “custodian”, is supposed to improve and maintain the structure. They also decided it should be rented out to the Jewish community of Hebron, with the army holding the rent money in a trust fund until the building is returned to the Palestinians. The Israeli Court is yet to render a final decision on the matter.
Furthermore, the Ministerial Panel decided to overturn a previous decision to demolish two under-construction buildings in the illegal Beit El Dreinoff settlement.
The buildings in question were erected without construction permits and the land they were built on was confiscated by the Israeli military for “military purposes”; Israeli Human Rights group, Yesh Din, filed a petition to the Israeli High Court demanding the demolition of the buildings.
The government of Benjamin Netanyahu said that the buildings will be removed by April this year, but never acted on its decision and kept requesting numerous stays on the demolition orders that were eventually rendered fruitless as the Ministerial Committee decided that Beit El needs to present a “Master Plan” that would enable the “legalization” of the settlement outpost.
Following its occupation of the West Bank after the 1967 war, Israel legalized numerous illegal settlement outposts erected by the settlers on privately-owned Palestinian lands. Consecutive Israel governments continued to build and legalize settlements.
Israel Protests in front of EU for Not Providing Customs Facilities for its Settlements
Israel protested yesterday night, in front of the European Union headquarters on its decision not to provide customs facilities for 'Modi'in' Israeli settlement and another nearby settlements, claiming that these settlements are located outside territories occupied in 1948.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Modi'in settlement and the two nearby settlements in Modi'in Maccabim-Re'ut, a city in the Centre District of Israel, were constructed in an area considered an integral part of Israeli territory and there is no doubt about its future.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry accused the EU for cutting negotiations with Israel regarding the customs facilities, and for publishing a list of the boycotted Israeli cities and villages on the internet.
Israel protests EU expansion of Green Line boycott
The European Union has added the town of Modiin-Maccabim Reut near Ben-Gurion International Airport to its list of settlements whose export products are ineligible for tax breaks.
Its inclusion stretches the EU’s boycott area westward and cuts into Israel’s narrow coastal strip.
Israel says the EU’s unilateral definition of “the State of Israel” is in breach of signed trade contracts and in any case unacceptable.
The town of Modiin was established on a strip of land designated “no-man’s land” in the post-1948 Arab-Israel war armistice.
Report: EU adds Modiin to settlement exports list
The European Union has added the Modi’in-Maccabim-Reut municipality to a list of settlements whose products can not receive tax breaks, Israeli media reported Tuesday.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper said the municipality, which is located in a so-called "no man's land" straddling a strip of land between Israel and the West Bank, will no longer be recognized as inside Israel.
The designation is noted for tax purposes under a free trade agreement with the EU.
14 aug 2012
Newspapers Review: Israeli Construction in Jerusalem Dominates News
The main front page article of Tuesday’s issue of al-Hayat al-Jadida Arabic newspaper featured a decision by the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem to build 12 skyscrapers in East Jerusalem.
The daily said Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee approved on Monday the plan to build the massive constructions at the southern entrance of East Jerusalem. The intended cost of the project amounts to over $2 billion.
Al-Quds daily reported on threats by Israel Electric Corporation, the main power supplier in Israel, to cut off electricity feed to Jerusalem District Electricity Company that supplies Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jericho, due to accumulated debt.
A statement issued by a Hamas leader addressed to Egypt’s leadership appeared on al-Ayyam’s front page. Minister of interior in Hamas government said the siege and restrictions on the Gaza Strip during post revolution Egypt is the same as during former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime.
Al-Quds’ front page picture featured Dalal, wife of long-term Palestinian prisoner Ammar al-Ziben who has been incarcerated for 14 years, holding her newborn son. Ziben smuggled his sperm to perform in vitro fertilization, setting a precedent in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement.
The dailies printed photos of the funeral for the victims of the car crash that killed 11 Palestinians near Tulkarm.
The daily said Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee approved on Monday the plan to build the massive constructions at the southern entrance of East Jerusalem. The intended cost of the project amounts to over $2 billion.
Al-Quds daily reported on threats by Israel Electric Corporation, the main power supplier in Israel, to cut off electricity feed to Jerusalem District Electricity Company that supplies Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jericho, due to accumulated debt.
A statement issued by a Hamas leader addressed to Egypt’s leadership appeared on al-Ayyam’s front page. Minister of interior in Hamas government said the siege and restrictions on the Gaza Strip during post revolution Egypt is the same as during former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime.
Al-Quds’ front page picture featured Dalal, wife of long-term Palestinian prisoner Ammar al-Ziben who has been incarcerated for 14 years, holding her newborn son. Ziben smuggled his sperm to perform in vitro fertilization, setting a precedent in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement.
The dailies printed photos of the funeral for the victims of the car crash that killed 11 Palestinians near Tulkarm.
6 aug 2012
Expansion of settlement south of Bethlehem
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) expanded the boundaries of Nevi Daniel settlement built on land of El-Khader village, south of Bethlehem, where they confiscated new Palestinian land and blocked access before its owners.
The coordinator of the Counter-Segregation Wall Committee, Ahmed Salah, said that a military barricade erected on Daniel's settlement has been moved 400 meters deep into Palestinian lands while a security control room was built on the new entrance.
At least 300 acres of Palestinian lands have been annexed as a result of this procedure which means that Palestinian landlords cannot have access to their land unless they obtain Israeli entry permits, he explained.
He added that these procedures come as part of occupation plans aimed at the construction of a large tourism project in the district including construction of hotels and parks.
The coordinator of the Counter-Segregation Wall Committee, Ahmed Salah, said that a military barricade erected on Daniel's settlement has been moved 400 meters deep into Palestinian lands while a security control room was built on the new entrance.
At least 300 acres of Palestinian lands have been annexed as a result of this procedure which means that Palestinian landlords cannot have access to their land unless they obtain Israeli entry permits, he explained.
He added that these procedures come as part of occupation plans aimed at the construction of a large tourism project in the district including construction of hotels and parks.
5 aug 2012
Official: UN fact-finding team to begin settlement probe
A team of experts set up by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the legality of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories will start work in August, a Palestinian official said Sunday.
Ibrahim Khreisheh, Palestinian representative to the Human Rights Council, told the Voice of Palestine radio that the fact-finding committee will start work in August and present a preliminary report at the end of September.
The committee will submit its final report in March 2013, he added.
The Palestinian official called on Israel to allow the team to move freely in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The UN Human Rights Council launched a probe in March under an initiative brought to the 47-member forum by the Palestinian Authority. Israel's ally the United States was the only member to vote against it.
The council said Israel's planned construction of new housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem undermined the peace process and posed a threat to the two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the decision at the time, saying: "The establishment of this mission is another blatant expression of the singling out of Israel in the UNHRC."
The Ministry also vowed that Israel would not cooperate with the fact-finding mission will and will not allow its members to enter Israel or the Palestinian territories.
As the team will not be allowed access to Israeli settlements, they are likely to have to gather information from second-hand sources, including media.
Even if the investigators conclude settlements violate human rights law, US opposition is likely to stymie any attempt to impose any punishment on Israel.
The team is being led by French judge Christine Chanet and includes Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir and Botswana judge Unity Dow. Jahangir.
In July, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, Richard Falk, told a news conference that the acceleration of settlement building had "closed the book" on the feasibility of a two-state solution.
All Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.
About 500,000 Israelis and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war.
Ibrahim Khreisheh, Palestinian representative to the Human Rights Council, told the Voice of Palestine radio that the fact-finding committee will start work in August and present a preliminary report at the end of September.
The committee will submit its final report in March 2013, he added.
The Palestinian official called on Israel to allow the team to move freely in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The UN Human Rights Council launched a probe in March under an initiative brought to the 47-member forum by the Palestinian Authority. Israel's ally the United States was the only member to vote against it.
The council said Israel's planned construction of new housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem undermined the peace process and posed a threat to the two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the decision at the time, saying: "The establishment of this mission is another blatant expression of the singling out of Israel in the UNHRC."
The Ministry also vowed that Israel would not cooperate with the fact-finding mission will and will not allow its members to enter Israel or the Palestinian territories.
As the team will not be allowed access to Israeli settlements, they are likely to have to gather information from second-hand sources, including media.
Even if the investigators conclude settlements violate human rights law, US opposition is likely to stymie any attempt to impose any punishment on Israel.
The team is being led by French judge Christine Chanet and includes Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir and Botswana judge Unity Dow. Jahangir.
In July, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, Richard Falk, told a news conference that the acceleration of settlement building had "closed the book" on the feasibility of a two-state solution.
All Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.
About 500,000 Israelis and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war.
4 aug 2012
Israel plans to build settlement units in Jerusalem
Givat Ze'ev
Israeli media sources revealed a scheme to build 232 new housing units in three settlements in occupied Jerusalem.
Urshalim Hebrew newspaper stated that the Israel Land Administration had published last week results of four tenders to build in Galot Eilot neighborhood in Givat Ze'ev settlement, including the establishment of 180 new housing units.
Israeli media sources revealed a scheme to build 232 new housing units in three settlements in occupied Jerusalem.
Urshalim Hebrew newspaper stated that the Israel Land Administration had published last week results of four tenders to build in Galot Eilot neighborhood in Givat Ze'ev settlement, including the establishment of 180 new housing units.
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Har Homa
The plan to build this neighborhood has been prepared at the end of the nineties, but it stopped because of the outbreak of the second intifada. Meanwhile, Kol Ha'ir Hebrew weekly newspaper revealed that the Ministry of Construction and Housing issued a tender for the construction of 25 new housing units out of 900 units planned to be established in the settlement of "Har Homa". |
2 aug 2012
Property Demolished for Illegal Settlement Expansion
The Har Homa settlement, less than one mile from Bethlehem, sits on what was once a protected forest
Israeli forces closed a road near Bethlehem in preparation for the demolition of Palestinian property.
The Israeli military frequently confiscates land in the West Bank near the illegal separation barrier. On Thursday morning Israeli bulldozers began demolishing structures on privately owned land in Beit Jala, a community near Bethlehem, reports Ma’an News.
Raji Zeidan, the Mayor of Beit Jala, stated months ago that Israeli forces had begun harassing residents of certain neighborhoods. Families living near valuable agricultural land or the illegal settlements are often targeted after Israelis demand room for expansion into the West Bank.
The Shaban family, whose property was occupied this morning by bulldozers and Israeli soldiers, lost their family home in what is now Israel decades ago. They have been living ‘temporarily’ in Dheisha refugee camp ever since but were able to purchase some land in the greater Bethlehem district. Now their land sits between a growing illegal settlement and the city of Beit Jala.
Israeli forces cannot confiscate the land if it is in permanent use. They must first drive landowners away by destroying structures that would otherwise shelter livestock, provide for irrigation, or provide housing for Palestinian residents. The Bethlehem district has already lost nearly 90 percent of its original land claim, which was maintained through the Ottoman and British occupations, the 1947 UN partition and the 1967 armistice line, according to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem.
Israeli forces closed a road near Bethlehem in preparation for the demolition of Palestinian property.
The Israeli military frequently confiscates land in the West Bank near the illegal separation barrier. On Thursday morning Israeli bulldozers began demolishing structures on privately owned land in Beit Jala, a community near Bethlehem, reports Ma’an News.
Raji Zeidan, the Mayor of Beit Jala, stated months ago that Israeli forces had begun harassing residents of certain neighborhoods. Families living near valuable agricultural land or the illegal settlements are often targeted after Israelis demand room for expansion into the West Bank.
The Shaban family, whose property was occupied this morning by bulldozers and Israeli soldiers, lost their family home in what is now Israel decades ago. They have been living ‘temporarily’ in Dheisha refugee camp ever since but were able to purchase some land in the greater Bethlehem district. Now their land sits between a growing illegal settlement and the city of Beit Jala.
Israeli forces cannot confiscate the land if it is in permanent use. They must first drive landowners away by destroying structures that would otherwise shelter livestock, provide for irrigation, or provide housing for Palestinian residents. The Bethlehem district has already lost nearly 90 percent of its original land claim, which was maintained through the Ottoman and British occupations, the 1947 UN partition and the 1967 armistice line, according to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem.
Israeli Trucks Put Up Caravans in Ramallah-Area Town
Israeli trucks Thursday started moving caravans to an area near the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, according to mayor of Sinjil Ayyoub Sweid.
He told WAFA that construction activities have been recently spotted in the area as Israeli bulldozers have razed the land in preparation for putting up the caravans on the land, which has been confiscated by the Israeli authority in 2001 under the pretext of “being used for military purposes.”
Sweid noted the escalating settlers’ attacks, almost on a daily basis, targeting Palestinians and their property in Sinjil; the latest of which were an arson attempt of a Palestinian vehicle in the town and vandalism.
Sinjil is surrounded with four Israeli settlements and military points, said Sweid, adding that a large part of the town’s land has been confiscated by Israeli authorities or settlers.
He told WAFA that construction activities have been recently spotted in the area as Israeli bulldozers have razed the land in preparation for putting up the caravans on the land, which has been confiscated by the Israeli authority in 2001 under the pretext of “being used for military purposes.”
Sweid noted the escalating settlers’ attacks, almost on a daily basis, targeting Palestinians and their property in Sinjil; the latest of which were an arson attempt of a Palestinian vehicle in the town and vandalism.
Sinjil is surrounded with four Israeli settlements and military points, said Sweid, adding that a large part of the town’s land has been confiscated by Israeli authorities or settlers.
Hamas: IOA plans to build tourist hotels in settlements serious escalation
Hamas Movement warned the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) over its plan to grant donations for establishing hotels and tourism facilities in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The movement described, in a statement released on Wednesday, such provocative move as a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions, emphasizing that all projects and plans of Judaization will never give the occupation legitimacy, and will never deter Palestinians from adhering to every inch of their land.
Hamas also stated: "In order to face this Zionist serious escalation, we call on all Palestinian forces and factions to stand alongside in face of those decisions and to unite for protecting the constants and defending the rights. We also call on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, and the UN organizations to intervene to put an end to such crimes and violations."
Meanwhile, Hebrew press releases revealed that the Israeli government is set to approve offering governmental grants for building inside the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, and specifically in Jerusalem.
Haaretz newspaper stated on Wednesday that it is for the first time that the government approves such a project as the Israeli law, passed in 1959, provides for offering support and financial grants for tourism projects only in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948.
It said that the Israeli cabinet is set to approve grants for building hotels in West Bank settlements near Jerusalem starting from January 2013.
The move comes amid Tourism Ministry projections of a dire lack of accommodation and hotel rooms in Jerusalem in upcoming years to absorb the increasing number of tourists coming to Jerusalem from all over the world.
The chief construction center is set for the city of Ma'aleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, being the closest to the city and in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of the city of Bethlehem.
The movement described, in a statement released on Wednesday, such provocative move as a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions, emphasizing that all projects and plans of Judaization will never give the occupation legitimacy, and will never deter Palestinians from adhering to every inch of their land.
Hamas also stated: "In order to face this Zionist serious escalation, we call on all Palestinian forces and factions to stand alongside in face of those decisions and to unite for protecting the constants and defending the rights. We also call on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, and the UN organizations to intervene to put an end to such crimes and violations."
Meanwhile, Hebrew press releases revealed that the Israeli government is set to approve offering governmental grants for building inside the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, and specifically in Jerusalem.
Haaretz newspaper stated on Wednesday that it is for the first time that the government approves such a project as the Israeli law, passed in 1959, provides for offering support and financial grants for tourism projects only in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948.
It said that the Israeli cabinet is set to approve grants for building hotels in West Bank settlements near Jerusalem starting from January 2013.
The move comes amid Tourism Ministry projections of a dire lack of accommodation and hotel rooms in Jerusalem in upcoming years to absorb the increasing number of tourists coming to Jerusalem from all over the world.
The chief construction center is set for the city of Ma'aleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, being the closest to the city and in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of the city of Bethlehem.
Israel’s Budget to Support Settlements Now One Billion, 59 Million NIS
On Thursday, 2nd August, Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahranot reported that the budget allocated by the Israeli authorities to support settlement construction reached a one billion and fifty-nine million NIS in 2012.
Daily newspaper reports that the special budget is paid to the settlements, in addition to the public expenses of the government, which are paid to settlers as citizens of Israel.
There has been an increase in the budgets allocated for the settlers despite their percentage makeup of the total population of ‘Israel’ remaining constant in the recent years.
The data issued by the Department of Statistics for the Peace Now movement showed that the statements of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, dismissing the budget as small, are totally incorrect.
According to the newspaper, in 2002 the number of settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (before the withdrawal from Gaza) was 212 thousand settlers. They formed 4% of the total population, while in 2010, number of settlers has reached 311,000 settlers but the proportion of the total population has remained constant.
Foreign Ministry Condemns Israeli Investing Policies in Settlements
Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli government's official policies of investing in settlements' building, said a statement released by foreign ministry on Wednesday.
The statement followed a government report recounting that the Israeli official spending under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approval in settlements in the West Bank increased by 38% during 2011 to around $300 million.
Such policies aim to prevent the establishment of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state, along with destroying the two-state solution and chances for peace, said the statement.
It urged the international community, especially the Quartet, to condemn the policy, hold the Israeli government responsible for the peace process failure, work to immediately end the Israeli occupation and settlements activities and support the rights of the Palestinian people.
Daily newspaper reports that the special budget is paid to the settlements, in addition to the public expenses of the government, which are paid to settlers as citizens of Israel.
There has been an increase in the budgets allocated for the settlers despite their percentage makeup of the total population of ‘Israel’ remaining constant in the recent years.
The data issued by the Department of Statistics for the Peace Now movement showed that the statements of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, dismissing the budget as small, are totally incorrect.
According to the newspaper, in 2002 the number of settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (before the withdrawal from Gaza) was 212 thousand settlers. They formed 4% of the total population, while in 2010, number of settlers has reached 311,000 settlers but the proportion of the total population has remained constant.
Foreign Ministry Condemns Israeli Investing Policies in Settlements
Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli government's official policies of investing in settlements' building, said a statement released by foreign ministry on Wednesday.
The statement followed a government report recounting that the Israeli official spending under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approval in settlements in the West Bank increased by 38% during 2011 to around $300 million.
Such policies aim to prevent the establishment of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state, along with destroying the two-state solution and chances for peace, said the statement.
It urged the international community, especially the Quartet, to condemn the policy, hold the Israeli government responsible for the peace process failure, work to immediately end the Israeli occupation and settlements activities and support the rights of the Palestinian people.
1 aug 2012
IOA to build dozens of settlement units in Al-Khalil
ebrew media reported that the Israeli war ministry has recently decided to build 84 new housing units in Kiryat Arba settlement in the occupied city of Al-Khalil.
The plan came as part of the privileges granted by Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to the settlers following the Knesset's rejection of the law legalizing random settlement outposts.
Hebrew newspapers described this government's decision as odd since Kiryat Arba is a single and isolated settlement and is not within the large settlement blocs.
They pointed out that the settlement council in Kiryat Arba has recently launched plans and projects inside the settlement with the encouragement of the occupation government, as the minister of transportation has recently approved the construction of a new road in the settlement.
Meanwhile, clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation soldiers erupted in the Fawwar refugee camp, south of Al-Khalil, on Tuesday evening after the occupation forces arrested on Tuesday a Palestinian youth, 19, from the camp and transferred him to an unknown destination after raiding his home and searching it.
The plan came as part of the privileges granted by Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to the settlers following the Knesset's rejection of the law legalizing random settlement outposts.
Hebrew newspapers described this government's decision as odd since Kiryat Arba is a single and isolated settlement and is not within the large settlement blocs.
They pointed out that the settlement council in Kiryat Arba has recently launched plans and projects inside the settlement with the encouragement of the occupation government, as the minister of transportation has recently approved the construction of a new road in the settlement.
Meanwhile, clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation soldiers erupted in the Fawwar refugee camp, south of Al-Khalil, on Tuesday evening after the occupation forces arrested on Tuesday a Palestinian youth, 19, from the camp and transferred him to an unknown destination after raiding his home and searching it.