31 aug 2018
Israeli bulldozers on Friday morning leveled Palestinian lands in Ras Karkar village, west of Ramallah, in the central occupied West Bank.
Israeli settlers, escorted by soldiers, bulldozed Palestinian lands in Ras Karkar, paving the way for the confiscation of the lands in favor of illegal settlement expansion.
At nightfall on Thursday, Israeli soldiers attacked Palestinians in the area with randomly-unleashed spates of teargas canisters.
A couple of days earlier, the Israeli military violently attacked Palestinians and journalists as they railed against Israel’s illegal settlement activity in the area.
Israeli settlers, escorted by soldiers, bulldozed Palestinian lands in Ras Karkar, paving the way for the confiscation of the lands in favor of illegal settlement expansion.
At nightfall on Thursday, Israeli soldiers attacked Palestinians in the area with randomly-unleashed spates of teargas canisters.
A couple of days earlier, the Israeli military violently attacked Palestinians and journalists as they railed against Israel’s illegal settlement activity in the area.
Israel’s Jerusalem municipality set up an iron gate near Bal al-Amoud, in Occupied Jerusalem without identifying the reasons for the move.
According to local sources, the Israeli municipality has recently carried out construction works near Bab al-Amoud and installed a gateway leading to al-Nasara neighborhood, in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Local activist Basem Wajih said the measure was carried out without prior notices, adding that the newly-established entrance leads to Christian houses in the Old City.
The Israeli occupation authorities regularly carry out construction works and excavations across and around Jerusalem city—home to the Aqsa Mosque—in an attempt to alter the city’s socio-geographic character.
According to local sources, the Israeli municipality has recently carried out construction works near Bab al-Amoud and installed a gateway leading to al-Nasara neighborhood, in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Local activist Basem Wajih said the measure was carried out without prior notices, adding that the newly-established entrance leads to Christian houses in the Old City.
The Israeli occupation authorities regularly carry out construction works and excavations across and around Jerusalem city—home to the Aqsa Mosque—in an attempt to alter the city’s socio-geographic character.
30 aug 2018
Israeli bulldozers continue to level Palestinian lands in Shofeh village, southeast of Tulkarem, paving the way for illegal settlement expansion.
Local sources said Israeli settlers continue to bulldoze Palestinian lands in Shofeh, in the northern Occupied West Bank, in an attempt to expand the illegal settlement outpost of Avnei Hefetz.
Sometime earlier, the Israeli occupation authorities handed over farmers from Shofeh village notifications threatening the imminent confiscation of more Palestinian lands in the area to expand the aforementioned settlement outpost.
Local sources said Israeli settlers continue to bulldoze Palestinian lands in Shofeh, in the northern Occupied West Bank, in an attempt to expand the illegal settlement outpost of Avnei Hefetz.
Sometime earlier, the Israeli occupation authorities handed over farmers from Shofeh village notifications threatening the imminent confiscation of more Palestinian lands in the area to expand the aforementioned settlement outpost.
Extremist Israeli settlers have been raking through Palestinian lands in Nablus and Ramallah, paving the way for more attacks against Palestinians and their property, an activist has warned.
Ghassan Dughlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern occupied West Bank, said settler gangs have showed up on Palestinian land located between Yitzhar outpost, south of Nablus, and Shilo, north of Ramallah.
The activist said over recent months, Israeli settlers stepped up assaults against Palestinian farmers and agricultural facilities in the occupied West Bank in the presence of the Israeli army.
Dughlas also warned of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians driving on bypass roads leading to Israeli settlements, namely Yitzhar.
Recently, Israeli settlers set up five mobile homes near Shilo settlement, paving the way for illegal settlement expansion on Palestinian land in the area, the activist added.
Ghassan Dughlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern occupied West Bank, said settler gangs have showed up on Palestinian land located between Yitzhar outpost, south of Nablus, and Shilo, north of Ramallah.
The activist said over recent months, Israeli settlers stepped up assaults against Palestinian farmers and agricultural facilities in the occupied West Bank in the presence of the Israeli army.
Dughlas also warned of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians driving on bypass roads leading to Israeli settlements, namely Yitzhar.
Recently, Israeli settlers set up five mobile homes near Shilo settlement, paving the way for illegal settlement expansion on Palestinian land in the area, the activist added.
A number of illegal Israeli colonialist settlers installed, Thursday, a new outpost on Palestinian lands in Qaryout village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors Israeli colonialist settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said the Palestinians found out about the new outpost, Wednesday, when they headed to their lands and saw five mobile homes illegally installed on their lands.
Daghlas added that the colonialist even installed poles and other infrastructure in preparation to establish their outpost on the Palestinian lands.
He stated that the latest violation is very serious, especially since the Israeli authorities are preparing plans aiming at linking various illegal outposts in Nablus and Ramallah with nearby colonies in order to officially legalize them as “neighborhoods.”
Israel’s colonialist activities in the West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and various United Nations resolutions.
New Israeli settlement outpost set up in Nablus
Israeli settlers set up on Thursday a new illegal settlement outpost on Palestinian-owned lands belonging to the residents of the Qaryout village, in the northern West Bank district of Nablus.
The Local activist Bashar Qaryouti said that Israeli settlers set up five caravans and tents, in addition to construction materials in preparation to set up more facilities in the area.
Qaryouti pointed out that the area is a private Palestinian-owned land and located between the two illegal Israeli settlements of Eli and Shilo.
He underlined that the settlers have routinely attacked local residents’ properties and forced them not to approach their agricultural lands.
Earlier this week, the Israeli District Court ruled that if Israeli settlers built a settlement on private Palestinian land with "good intentions" then it should not be removed. Therefore, allowing more Palestinian lands to be seized by Israeli settlers as they see fit.
Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors Israeli colonialist settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said the Palestinians found out about the new outpost, Wednesday, when they headed to their lands and saw five mobile homes illegally installed on their lands.
Daghlas added that the colonialist even installed poles and other infrastructure in preparation to establish their outpost on the Palestinian lands.
He stated that the latest violation is very serious, especially since the Israeli authorities are preparing plans aiming at linking various illegal outposts in Nablus and Ramallah with nearby colonies in order to officially legalize them as “neighborhoods.”
Israel’s colonialist activities in the West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and various United Nations resolutions.
New Israeli settlement outpost set up in Nablus
Israeli settlers set up on Thursday a new illegal settlement outpost on Palestinian-owned lands belonging to the residents of the Qaryout village, in the northern West Bank district of Nablus.
The Local activist Bashar Qaryouti said that Israeli settlers set up five caravans and tents, in addition to construction materials in preparation to set up more facilities in the area.
Qaryouti pointed out that the area is a private Palestinian-owned land and located between the two illegal Israeli settlements of Eli and Shilo.
He underlined that the settlers have routinely attacked local residents’ properties and forced them not to approach their agricultural lands.
Earlier this week, the Israeli District Court ruled that if Israeli settlers built a settlement on private Palestinian land with "good intentions" then it should not be removed. Therefore, allowing more Palestinian lands to be seized by Israeli settlers as they see fit.
29 aug 2018
The Israeli District Court in occupied Jerusalem green-lighted in a ruling issued Tuesday evening the legalization of the Mitzpe Kramim settlement, illegally built on a Palestinian-owned land in the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Using a policy known as “market regulation,” Judge Arnon Darel ruled that the outpost built without the necessary permits need not be razed because the settlers erected the community “in good faith” and have rights to the property, Israeli media sources reported.
The sources considered the ruling as an unprecedented legal tactic that could pave the way for regulating dozens of other illegal settlements in occupied West Bank.
Israel’s ultranationalist justice minister Ayelet Shaked on Wednesday hailed the Israeli court’s decision, announced late on Tuesday, relating to Mitzpe Kramim, an outpost established in 1999 near the Palestinian city of Ramallah and now home to 40 settler families.
“The ruling ... is an important achievement for settlement in Judea and Samaria,” Shaked wrote on Twitter using the Biblical names for the West Bank.
Israel’s Peace Now organization said the “granting of property rights to criminals who settled in an illegal outpost ... without permits, on private Palestinian land is outrageous”.
It noted that Israel’s right-wing government, which originally had opposed the settlers’ land claim, later supported their position in an attempt to implement a controversial law on unauthorized settlement.
Although settlements building in the occupied Palestinian territories is illegal under international law, Israel continues to expand existing settlements, as well as annexing more Palestinian land to create new outposts. The cumulative effect has been to deny Palestinians the ability to create a viable state in even a small part of historic Palestine.
Israeli Court Ruling Sets Precedent: Illegal Outpost Colonies Can be ‘Legalized’
An Israeli Court ruled on Tuesday that an Israeli colony that was established on stolen Palestinian land can be recognized and legitimized by the Israeli state, thus setting a precedent for further expansion of colonies onto Palestinian land.
This is despite the fact that all Israeli settlement colonies are considered illegal under international law, due to the fact that they are created through the seizure of Palestinian land through military force.
The Jerusalem District Court issued the ruling, with Judge Arnon Darel agreeing with the Israeli settlers in their argument that they obtained the land “in good faith” – even though the land was, in fact, stolen from its Palestinian owners.
The colonial outpost in question is called Mitzpeh Kramin, which was established in 1999 on six plots of land: one of which was owned by the Israeli government (after having been taken from its Palestinian owners in 1948), and the other five of which were owned by Palestinians who held the legal deeds to the land.
The judge ruled that the residents of Mitzpeh Kramim are the legal owners of the land and that the Israeli Military Civil Administration in the West Bank cannot revoke their ownership. In addition, the judge ruled that the Palestinians whose land was stolen are not entitled to the return of their land.
According to the judge, because the colonial settlers moved onto the land “in good faith”, their takeover is legally justified.
The Israeli daily Ha’aretz reports that “the government did not know at the time [1999] that the land was privately owned because of confusion in the mapping of the area, and now admits that the land should not have been allocated to the settlement.”
acording to Ha’aretz, “In 1999, 10 buildings were constructed in what is now Mitzpeh Kramim with permits and help from the government. Since then, more structures have gone up – but without permits.
In 2011, Palestinians petitioned the High Court of Justice asking to revoke the master plan for Mitzpeh Kramim and prevent any further building.
This case has been frozen for now, partly because of the proceedings underway concerning the new law on expropriation of privately-owned land in the West Bank in return for above-market compensation. Known as the regularization law, the new law legalizes previously illegally seized land used for Jewish settlement.”
The case sets a precedent for more illegal colonies constructed through the forced seizure of Palestinian land, often accompanied by violence carried out by paramilitary Israeli settlers, to be ‘recognized’ and ‘legalized’ by the Israeli government.
Using a policy known as “market regulation,” Judge Arnon Darel ruled that the outpost built without the necessary permits need not be razed because the settlers erected the community “in good faith” and have rights to the property, Israeli media sources reported.
The sources considered the ruling as an unprecedented legal tactic that could pave the way for regulating dozens of other illegal settlements in occupied West Bank.
Israel’s ultranationalist justice minister Ayelet Shaked on Wednesday hailed the Israeli court’s decision, announced late on Tuesday, relating to Mitzpe Kramim, an outpost established in 1999 near the Palestinian city of Ramallah and now home to 40 settler families.
“The ruling ... is an important achievement for settlement in Judea and Samaria,” Shaked wrote on Twitter using the Biblical names for the West Bank.
Israel’s Peace Now organization said the “granting of property rights to criminals who settled in an illegal outpost ... without permits, on private Palestinian land is outrageous”.
It noted that Israel’s right-wing government, which originally had opposed the settlers’ land claim, later supported their position in an attempt to implement a controversial law on unauthorized settlement.
Although settlements building in the occupied Palestinian territories is illegal under international law, Israel continues to expand existing settlements, as well as annexing more Palestinian land to create new outposts. The cumulative effect has been to deny Palestinians the ability to create a viable state in even a small part of historic Palestine.
Israeli Court Ruling Sets Precedent: Illegal Outpost Colonies Can be ‘Legalized’
An Israeli Court ruled on Tuesday that an Israeli colony that was established on stolen Palestinian land can be recognized and legitimized by the Israeli state, thus setting a precedent for further expansion of colonies onto Palestinian land.
This is despite the fact that all Israeli settlement colonies are considered illegal under international law, due to the fact that they are created through the seizure of Palestinian land through military force.
The Jerusalem District Court issued the ruling, with Judge Arnon Darel agreeing with the Israeli settlers in their argument that they obtained the land “in good faith” – even though the land was, in fact, stolen from its Palestinian owners.
The colonial outpost in question is called Mitzpeh Kramin, which was established in 1999 on six plots of land: one of which was owned by the Israeli government (after having been taken from its Palestinian owners in 1948), and the other five of which were owned by Palestinians who held the legal deeds to the land.
The judge ruled that the residents of Mitzpeh Kramim are the legal owners of the land and that the Israeli Military Civil Administration in the West Bank cannot revoke their ownership. In addition, the judge ruled that the Palestinians whose land was stolen are not entitled to the return of their land.
According to the judge, because the colonial settlers moved onto the land “in good faith”, their takeover is legally justified.
The Israeli daily Ha’aretz reports that “the government did not know at the time [1999] that the land was privately owned because of confusion in the mapping of the area, and now admits that the land should not have been allocated to the settlement.”
acording to Ha’aretz, “In 1999, 10 buildings were constructed in what is now Mitzpeh Kramim with permits and help from the government. Since then, more structures have gone up – but without permits.
In 2011, Palestinians petitioned the High Court of Justice asking to revoke the master plan for Mitzpeh Kramim and prevent any further building.
This case has been frozen for now, partly because of the proceedings underway concerning the new law on expropriation of privately-owned land in the West Bank in return for above-market compensation. Known as the regularization law, the new law legalizes previously illegally seized land used for Jewish settlement.”
The case sets a precedent for more illegal colonies constructed through the forced seizure of Palestinian land, often accompanied by violence carried out by paramilitary Israeli settlers, to be ‘recognized’ and ‘legalized’ by the Israeli government.
27 aug 2018
Khalil al-Tafakji, head of the maps department at the Arab Studies Society, said the Israeli occupation has established 58,000 settlement units in Occupied Jerusalem in ten years and seeks to build thousands more in the next few years.
In a Monday statement, Tafakji warned of Israeli intents to seize over 87% of Palestinian land in Occupied Jerusalem.
The expert added that Israel accelerated the pace of its settlement activity throughout the occupied Palestinian territories after the US President Donald Trump recognized Occupied Jerusalem as the capital of the self-proclaimed Israeli state.
Tafakji sounded the alarm over Israeli strategies to boost Judaization and settlement schemes, most notably the so-called 2020 project and 2050 project.
In a Monday statement, Tafakji warned of Israeli intents to seize over 87% of Palestinian land in Occupied Jerusalem.
The expert added that Israel accelerated the pace of its settlement activity throughout the occupied Palestinian territories after the US President Donald Trump recognized Occupied Jerusalem as the capital of the self-proclaimed Israeli state.
Tafakji sounded the alarm over Israeli strategies to boost Judaization and settlement schemes, most notably the so-called 2020 project and 2050 project.
A project to construct hundreds of new illegal Israeli settlement units in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, in occupied East Jerusalem, was reported to commence early next month.
According to a Hebrew-language news outlet, Aryeh Orange, a candidate from the right-wing Me’uchadim (United) political faction running for the Jerusalem city council, announced, according to Ma’an, that the new housing units “are being sold to Jews only.”
Sources reported that about 124 illegal Israeli housing units have already been approved for the project, out of a total of 324 units.
The housing units are allegedly to be sold to ultra-orthodox Jews at reduced prices. A luxury five-room apartment of 124 square meters, with an open-sky balcony will cost only 1million shekels ($276,000).
A correspondent of the news outlet confirmed that, during a closed political conference for Me’uchadim, Orange repeatedly said “It’s a finger in the eye of the Arabs,” referring to the new housing units to be built in a Palestinian neighborhood.
A source confirmed to the news outlet that, within a month, the tractors will arrive at the location, which has been named Nof Shmuel.
The land was reportedly purchased almost 15 years ago, with Jewish funding, aiming to create “a contiguous Jewish settlement between the neighborhoods.”
Since the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967, between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis have moved into Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international law.
The estimated 196 government recognized Israeli settlements scattered across the Palestinian territory are all considered illegal under international law.
According to a Hebrew-language news outlet, Aryeh Orange, a candidate from the right-wing Me’uchadim (United) political faction running for the Jerusalem city council, announced, according to Ma’an, that the new housing units “are being sold to Jews only.”
Sources reported that about 124 illegal Israeli housing units have already been approved for the project, out of a total of 324 units.
The housing units are allegedly to be sold to ultra-orthodox Jews at reduced prices. A luxury five-room apartment of 124 square meters, with an open-sky balcony will cost only 1million shekels ($276,000).
A correspondent of the news outlet confirmed that, during a closed political conference for Me’uchadim, Orange repeatedly said “It’s a finger in the eye of the Arabs,” referring to the new housing units to be built in a Palestinian neighborhood.
A source confirmed to the news outlet that, within a month, the tractors will arrive at the location, which has been named Nof Shmuel.
The land was reportedly purchased almost 15 years ago, with Jewish funding, aiming to create “a contiguous Jewish settlement between the neighborhoods.”
Since the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967, between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis have moved into Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international law.
The estimated 196 government recognized Israeli settlements scattered across the Palestinian territory are all considered illegal under international law.
25 aug 2018
France denounced on Friday Israel's recent decision to build new Jewish-only settlement units in West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.
"France condemns the new decisions of the Israeli authorities aimed at allowing the construction of several thousand homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem," the spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“These decisions, as well as the demolition and evacuations affecting the Palestinian populations in Area C, and in particular Area E1, are part of the same strategy that directly threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state.”
"France calls on the Israeli authorities to reconsider these decisions and to abandon this settlement strategy in order to preserve the two-state solution with Jerusalem as the capital, to which France reaffirms its attachment," added the statement.
The Israeli government over the past two weeks has ratified new plans for over 2,000 settlement units in the West Bank.
On Thursday, the European Union (EU) released a sharply-worded statement criticizing Israel over the approval of the construction.
"France condemns the new decisions of the Israeli authorities aimed at allowing the construction of several thousand homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem," the spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“These decisions, as well as the demolition and evacuations affecting the Palestinian populations in Area C, and in particular Area E1, are part of the same strategy that directly threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state.”
"France calls on the Israeli authorities to reconsider these decisions and to abandon this settlement strategy in order to preserve the two-state solution with Jerusalem as the capital, to which France reaffirms its attachment," added the statement.
The Israeli government over the past two weeks has ratified new plans for over 2,000 settlement units in the West Bank.
On Thursday, the European Union (EU) released a sharply-worded statement criticizing Israel over the approval of the construction.
