4 aug 2017
The Israeli authorities plan to build an underground barrier along the borders with Egypt near the Gaza Strip, according to the Hebrew Ynetnews web portal.
The Hebrew newspaper reported on Friday that the plan aims at preventing Daesh militants operating in the Sinai Peninsula from digging tunnels into Israel, although Daesh has never attacked Israeli targets.
It will be similar to the wall currently being constructed around the Gaza Strip and will cost around $940 million. It is expected to be completed within a year and a half, the newspaper added.
The Hebrew newspaper reported on Friday that the plan aims at preventing Daesh militants operating in the Sinai Peninsula from digging tunnels into Israel, although Daesh has never attacked Israeli targets.
It will be similar to the wall currently being constructed around the Gaza Strip and will cost around $940 million. It is expected to be completed within a year and a half, the newspaper added.
Representatives of the European Union (EU) visited on Friday a Palestinian family threatened with eviction in occupied Jerusalem in favor of Jewish settlement societies.
The delegation carried out a tour in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in the occupied city, where they were briefed about the escalated settlement expansion campaign in the area.
During the tour, the delegation expressed deep concern over the Israeli threats, vowing to follow up the case.
In March 2017, Israeli authorities ruled the eviction of the Palestinian Shamasna family from their home in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarah neighborhood in favor of an Israeli settlement society.
The to-be-evacuated two-room home has been the only shelter for the 83-year-old Ayoub Shamasna and his 74-year-old wife, along with their sons, daughter-in-law, and their six grandchildren, residing in the house since 1964.
A set of documents and signed contracts prove that the Shamasana family has been covering all rental fees since the early 1970’s. But the Israeli authorities turned down all corroborations and appeals filed to protect the family from forced dislocation.
A sit-in is scheduled to be organized on Saturday outside Shamasna house in protest against the Israeli eviction order.
The delegation carried out a tour in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in the occupied city, where they were briefed about the escalated settlement expansion campaign in the area.
During the tour, the delegation expressed deep concern over the Israeli threats, vowing to follow up the case.
In March 2017, Israeli authorities ruled the eviction of the Palestinian Shamasna family from their home in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarah neighborhood in favor of an Israeli settlement society.
The to-be-evacuated two-room home has been the only shelter for the 83-year-old Ayoub Shamasna and his 74-year-old wife, along with their sons, daughter-in-law, and their six grandchildren, residing in the house since 1964.
A set of documents and signed contracts prove that the Shamasana family has been covering all rental fees since the early 1970’s. But the Israeli authorities turned down all corroborations and appeals filed to protect the family from forced dislocation.
A sit-in is scheduled to be organized on Saturday outside Shamasna house in protest against the Israeli eviction order.
3 aug 2017
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday laid the cornerstone for a new settlement compound that includes over 1,000 units in Beitar Illit settlement located south of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
“No other government has worked for settlement like my government”, Netanyahu said in the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new neighborhood in Beitar Illit. The Jerusalem Post also quoted Netanyahu as saying “We are connecting Beitar Illit to Jerusalem.”
Beitar Illit is the second largest illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank. It was illegally built in 1990 as part of Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the south of the West Bank, with nearly 50,000 residents.
The Israeli government has recently escalated settlement activities in the West Bank including Occupied Jerusalem in full disregard to the Palestinian, Arab and international condemnation.
“No other government has worked for settlement like my government”, Netanyahu said in the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new neighborhood in Beitar Illit. The Jerusalem Post also quoted Netanyahu as saying “We are connecting Beitar Illit to Jerusalem.”
Beitar Illit is the second largest illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank. It was illegally built in 1990 as part of Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the south of the West Bank, with nearly 50,000 residents.
The Israeli government has recently escalated settlement activities in the West Bank including Occupied Jerusalem in full disregard to the Palestinian, Arab and international condemnation.
A 26-mile stretch of Wall, 20-feet high and made from cement, has been completed in the South Hebron Hills, in the southern part of the West Bank, according to Israeli sources.
This section of Wall divides the southern part of the West Bank and cements the illegally established settlements put in place by some of the most right-wing extremist groups in Israel.
According to Israeli sources, the section of the Wall that has been completed runs from the Turquimiya Crossing to the Israeli settlement of Mitar.
Palestinians from the village of Yatta, which is being divided by the Wall, were told by Israeli army officials that the Wall is being constructed through their village land as an act of collective punishment, since some young men from Yatta participated in a shooting attack against Israeli civilians in 2016.
Now, according to the local sources, the Israeli military has deemed the entire area a ‘closed military zone’ and is collectively punishing the residents by taking over huge swaths of land and dividing families, shutting off access to farmlands and effectively placing a chokehold on the residents of Yatta and other villages in the South Hebron Hills.
Issa Amro, a Palestinian youth from Hebron and the founder of Youth Against Settlements in Hebron, has organized efforts for years to stop construction of the Wall through non-violent action, telling the Electronic Intifada last year, “Nonviolence is the best tool because it strengthens civil society and it gives a role to each person: the kids, the women, the elders and the youth. With nonviolent activities you get more international support and you neutralize the violence of the oppressor”.
According to the Israeli group B’Tselem, “The policy of the Civil Administration is to prevent construction in nearly all Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills. One way this is done is by not preparing master plans that would enable the legalization of existing construction as well as future development.
“The Civil Administration maintains that the master plan in force is the one approved by the British mandatory authorities in 1942. Under that master plan, the area was zoned for agricultural use. However, although the plan does permit some construction on agricultural land, the Civil Administration has misinterpreted the plan’s instructions and has forbidden any and all construction.
“Without approved construction plans, Palestinians are denied any possibility of obtaining building permits, be it for housing or for public buildings such as schools and medical clinics. Nor can they get approval for paving proper roads. In addition, the Palestinians may not hook up to either the power grid or the water pipelines that Israel has laid in the area, even though Israel has connected the settlements to both – including the so-called outposts that were constructed without the proper permits.
Although the Civil Administration has prepared several master plans for Area C West Bank Palestinian villages, these plans were in fact aimed at obstructing the possibility of development for those villages. For example, in the early 1990s the Civil Administration prepared a plan for the village of a-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. In 2009 the plan was updated and the area it covered was expanded. Contrary to the stipulations in the Jordanian planning and construction law to which Israel is bound, the plan was prepared without a prior planning survey that presents the needs of the village.
The Civil Administration plan allocated only 52 dunams [5.2 hectares] to the village and allocated no land at all for future development. Moreover, the plan did not include the entire built-up area of the village so that, if implemented, some existing houses would be detrimentally affected. Meanwhile the Civil Administration plan allocated 385 dunams [38.5 hectares] to the nearby settlement of Ma’on irrespective of the similarly sized populations of the two communities.
Furthermore, the plan apparently discounts the fact that a-Tuwani, with its school and medical clinic, services all the surrounding villages.
“Over the past year, the Civil Administration has argued that it cannot approve construction plans in the South Hebron Hills, because they do not meet the planning criteria it has stipulated for the legalization of construction for Area C Palestinian villages. These criteria address the size of the built area; the age and density of construction; proximity to existing communities, nature preserves or archeological sites; and the feasibility of constructing public buildings and infrastructure.
These criteria are intended primarily to impede construction in Palestinian villages. They do not take into account the complex structure of land ownership, the history of Palestinian residence on the land (documented at least as far back as the nineteenth century) or the residents’ independent ability to construct public buildings to serve the neighboring Palestinian communities. These criteria do not apply to Israeli settlements in the West Bank for which there is a separate planning track.
The construction plans for the settlements in the area, for which the Civil Administration made the necessary changes to the British plans, granted the settlers substantial tracts of land for agricultural use and future development. Moreover, the Civil Administration has not enforced planning and construction legislation in the settlement outposts in the area: Northwest Susiya, Avigayil, Mitzpe Yair, Havat Ma’on, Nof Nesher, Asael and Sansana. These outposts were all established without building plans and without any land allocation. Some were even built on private Palestinian lands.”
All Israeli settlement construction, and the Annexation Wall itself, are considered by the United Nations to be serious breaches of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.
This section of Wall divides the southern part of the West Bank and cements the illegally established settlements put in place by some of the most right-wing extremist groups in Israel.
According to Israeli sources, the section of the Wall that has been completed runs from the Turquimiya Crossing to the Israeli settlement of Mitar.
Palestinians from the village of Yatta, which is being divided by the Wall, were told by Israeli army officials that the Wall is being constructed through their village land as an act of collective punishment, since some young men from Yatta participated in a shooting attack against Israeli civilians in 2016.
Now, according to the local sources, the Israeli military has deemed the entire area a ‘closed military zone’ and is collectively punishing the residents by taking over huge swaths of land and dividing families, shutting off access to farmlands and effectively placing a chokehold on the residents of Yatta and other villages in the South Hebron Hills.
Issa Amro, a Palestinian youth from Hebron and the founder of Youth Against Settlements in Hebron, has organized efforts for years to stop construction of the Wall through non-violent action, telling the Electronic Intifada last year, “Nonviolence is the best tool because it strengthens civil society and it gives a role to each person: the kids, the women, the elders and the youth. With nonviolent activities you get more international support and you neutralize the violence of the oppressor”.
According to the Israeli group B’Tselem, “The policy of the Civil Administration is to prevent construction in nearly all Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills. One way this is done is by not preparing master plans that would enable the legalization of existing construction as well as future development.
“The Civil Administration maintains that the master plan in force is the one approved by the British mandatory authorities in 1942. Under that master plan, the area was zoned for agricultural use. However, although the plan does permit some construction on agricultural land, the Civil Administration has misinterpreted the plan’s instructions and has forbidden any and all construction.
“Without approved construction plans, Palestinians are denied any possibility of obtaining building permits, be it for housing or for public buildings such as schools and medical clinics. Nor can they get approval for paving proper roads. In addition, the Palestinians may not hook up to either the power grid or the water pipelines that Israel has laid in the area, even though Israel has connected the settlements to both – including the so-called outposts that were constructed without the proper permits.
Although the Civil Administration has prepared several master plans for Area C West Bank Palestinian villages, these plans were in fact aimed at obstructing the possibility of development for those villages. For example, in the early 1990s the Civil Administration prepared a plan for the village of a-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. In 2009 the plan was updated and the area it covered was expanded. Contrary to the stipulations in the Jordanian planning and construction law to which Israel is bound, the plan was prepared without a prior planning survey that presents the needs of the village.
The Civil Administration plan allocated only 52 dunams [5.2 hectares] to the village and allocated no land at all for future development. Moreover, the plan did not include the entire built-up area of the village so that, if implemented, some existing houses would be detrimentally affected. Meanwhile the Civil Administration plan allocated 385 dunams [38.5 hectares] to the nearby settlement of Ma’on irrespective of the similarly sized populations of the two communities.
Furthermore, the plan apparently discounts the fact that a-Tuwani, with its school and medical clinic, services all the surrounding villages.
“Over the past year, the Civil Administration has argued that it cannot approve construction plans in the South Hebron Hills, because they do not meet the planning criteria it has stipulated for the legalization of construction for Area C Palestinian villages. These criteria address the size of the built area; the age and density of construction; proximity to existing communities, nature preserves or archeological sites; and the feasibility of constructing public buildings and infrastructure.
These criteria are intended primarily to impede construction in Palestinian villages. They do not take into account the complex structure of land ownership, the history of Palestinian residence on the land (documented at least as far back as the nineteenth century) or the residents’ independent ability to construct public buildings to serve the neighboring Palestinian communities. These criteria do not apply to Israeli settlements in the West Bank for which there is a separate planning track.
The construction plans for the settlements in the area, for which the Civil Administration made the necessary changes to the British plans, granted the settlers substantial tracts of land for agricultural use and future development. Moreover, the Civil Administration has not enforced planning and construction legislation in the settlement outposts in the area: Northwest Susiya, Avigayil, Mitzpe Yair, Havat Ma’on, Nof Nesher, Asael and Sansana. These outposts were all established without building plans and without any land allocation. Some were even built on private Palestinian lands.”
All Israeli settlement construction, and the Annexation Wall itself, are considered by the United Nations to be serious breaches of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.
1 aug 2017
Nearly six months after Israel’s demolition campaign in the Negev village of Umm Hiran and the resultant events there, the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) resumed its plan to build a settlement called Hiran for Jewish settlers in its place.
The Israeli ministry of housing said the purpose of establishing the settlement is to prevent the Palestinian Bedouin communities from controlling the Negev land.
The settlement will be built on a vast tract of land in the northeast of the Negev desert, including the land of the village of Umm al-Hiran.
Umm al-Hiran is one of a large number of unrecognized Bedouin villages, which are exposed to systematic demolition campaigns in the Negev.
The Israeli ministry of housing said the purpose of establishing the settlement is to prevent the Palestinian Bedouin communities from controlling the Negev land.
The settlement will be built on a vast tract of land in the northeast of the Negev desert, including the land of the village of Umm al-Hiran.
Umm al-Hiran is one of a large number of unrecognized Bedouin villages, which are exposed to systematic demolition campaigns in the Negev.
30 july 2017
Several Israeli military jeeps and bulldozers invaded, Sunday, Palestinian lands in Kharsa area, south of Doura, in the southern West Bank governorate of Hebron, and started bulldozing them to install a military tower.
No’man Amro, the head of Doura Town Council, said the soldiers are bulldozing lands close to a local school for girls, in an area that is also overpopulated, adding that this tower would place the residents’ lives at risk.
Abdul-Hadi Hantash, an expert maps and Israel’s colonies files, said the targeted area links between all villages, east of Doura, in addition to the ath-Thaheriyya town and all western roads.
No’man Amro, the head of Doura Town Council, said the soldiers are bulldozing lands close to a local school for girls, in an area that is also overpopulated, adding that this tower would place the residents’ lives at risk.
Abdul-Hadi Hantash, an expert maps and Israel’s colonies files, said the targeted area links between all villages, east of Doura, in addition to the ath-Thaheriyya town and all western roads.
29 july 2017
Construction activities are reportedly taking place nowadays in the illegal settlement of Ariel, which is built on annexed land in the West Bank province of Salfit.
Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that a large number of housing units are under construction or about to be finished on the northern area of the University, seemingly to house more student settlers.
In this regard, local researcher Khaled Maali stated that Israel built Ariel settlement in the first place in order to swamp Salfit and its villages with Jewish settlers.
Maali affirmed that the University was established on land confiscated from the local Palestinian residents in Salfit.
The existence of Israeli settlements in the West Bank in general including Ariel University is deemed illegal under international law because they were established on occupied land.
Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that a large number of housing units are under construction or about to be finished on the northern area of the University, seemingly to house more student settlers.
In this regard, local researcher Khaled Maali stated that Israel built Ariel settlement in the first place in order to swamp Salfit and its villages with Jewish settlers.
Maali affirmed that the University was established on land confiscated from the local Palestinian residents in Salfit.
The existence of Israeli settlements in the West Bank in general including Ariel University is deemed illegal under international law because they were established on occupied land.
26 july 2017
Israeli Planning and Building Committee approved on Wednesday a project to build 2,400 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
The paper reported that the committee proposed another plan for the construction of new industrial areas and a park near Or Yehuda settlement.
The UN Security Council adopted on 23rd December 2016 a resolution asking the Israeli government to immediately and completely halt its illegal settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem.
Israel's refusal to stop the settlement construction, accept a two-state solution on the 1967 borders, and release long-serving Palestinian prisoners were the main reasons for the cessation of the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority in April 2014.
The paper reported that the committee proposed another plan for the construction of new industrial areas and a park near Or Yehuda settlement.
The UN Security Council adopted on 23rd December 2016 a resolution asking the Israeli government to immediately and completely halt its illegal settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem.
Israel's refusal to stop the settlement construction, accept a two-state solution on the 1967 borders, and release long-serving Palestinian prisoners were the main reasons for the cessation of the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority in April 2014.
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has resumed the construction of a new settlement for Amona settlers whose illegal West Bank outpost was evacuated a few months ago following a court order.
Israel’s Channel 7 said on Tuesday that premier Benjamin Netanyahu gave orders in this regards to the competent authorities and minister of construction Yoav Galant.
The construction of the settlement already started last month, but it was suspended because the Israeli government did not transfer the needed funds.
The new settlement, known as Amichai, is being built to house about 300 hardline residents of the illegal West Bank Jewish outpost of Amona who were evicted by police in February after a court ruled their houses were established on privately owned Palestinian land.
Part of the new settlement, however, will be built on Palestinian-owned land, southeast of Nablus city.
Amichai will be the first entirely new state-approved settlement constructed in the Palestinian territories since the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo peace accords were signed in 1993, although illegal outposts have been constructed in that period and other settlements have expanded.
Israel’s Channel 7 said on Tuesday that premier Benjamin Netanyahu gave orders in this regards to the competent authorities and minister of construction Yoav Galant.
The construction of the settlement already started last month, but it was suspended because the Israeli government did not transfer the needed funds.
The new settlement, known as Amichai, is being built to house about 300 hardline residents of the illegal West Bank Jewish outpost of Amona who were evicted by police in February after a court ruled their houses were established on privately owned Palestinian land.
Part of the new settlement, however, will be built on Palestinian-owned land, southeast of Nablus city.
Amichai will be the first entirely new state-approved settlement constructed in the Palestinian territories since the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo peace accords were signed in 1993, although illegal outposts have been constructed in that period and other settlements have expanded.
20 july 2017
Haaretz Hebrew newspaper unveiled on Thursday a settlement project plan that includes 1100 new settlement units and aims at separating Occupied Jerusalem from Ramallah city and the West Bank.
The newspaper revealed that the plan, which is in an advanced implementation stage, was adopted by Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing.
It stipulates expanding the construction boundaries in Occupied Jerusalem to the east and connects Naveh Ya'akov settlement to the outpost of Gevaa Benjamin east of the Separation Wall.
The newspaper revealed that the plan, which is in an advanced implementation stage, was adopted by Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing.
It stipulates expanding the construction boundaries in Occupied Jerusalem to the east and connects Naveh Ya'akov settlement to the outpost of Gevaa Benjamin east of the Separation Wall.
19 july 2017
The Israeli district planning and building committee approved on Tuesday plans to build over 900 housing units in illegal settlements in Occupied Jerusalem.
According to Hebrew media outlets, the district committee in Jerusalem sanctioned plans to build 605 housing units in the settlements of Gilo and Ramot, east of the holy city.
336 units were also approved for construction in Neve Yaakov and Pisgat Ze’ev settlements.
In recent months, Israel has stepped up its settlement projects in Jerusalem and the West Bank, taking advantage of the international community’s preoccupation with other regional issues.
According to Hebrew media outlets, the district committee in Jerusalem sanctioned plans to build 605 housing units in the settlements of Gilo and Ramot, east of the holy city.
336 units were also approved for construction in Neve Yaakov and Pisgat Ze’ev settlements.
In recent months, Israel has stepped up its settlement projects in Jerusalem and the West Bank, taking advantage of the international community’s preoccupation with other regional issues.