26 aug 2019
A senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has censured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to build hundreds of new settler units in the occupied West Bank as “irrational colonial escalation.”
“Corrupt Netanyahu proves that his extremist populist approach in his electoral race has no limits, and for that end, he is willing to wage wars and blow up the entire region,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO's executive committee, said in a statement released on Monday.
She then accused Netanyahu of trying to win votes of settlers by stealing Palestinian land and resources in violation of international law.
Ashrawi further noted that such colonial behavior has been progressive and systematic ever since the occupying regime of Israel was formed back in 1948, and is based primarily on the policy of ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, theft of land, resources and property, and the breach of international law and regulations, with the full political, legal and financial support of the United States.
“It is time to impose sanctions on Israel, and to hold it accountable for its deliberate violation of international law and resolutions in addition to humanitarian principles and values,” she concluded.
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu said he has instructed his staff to prepare plans for building 300 new housing units in Dolev settlement, located 27 kilometers (17 miles) northwest of Jerusalem al-Quds.
He said the move comes in response to a purported bombing attack on Friday, which claimed the life of a 17-year-old Israeli girl and wounded her brother and father.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.
The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
Less than a month before US President Donald Trump took office, the United Nations Security Council in December 2016 adopted Resolution 2334 [pdf], calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem” al-Quds.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.
The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.
Netanyahu green-lights 300 housing units in West Bank settlement following explosion attack
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the construction of 300 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of Dolev, built illegally on al-Janiya village land to the west of Ramallah.
The move comes following the explosion on Friday near the village of Ein Arik to the west of Ramallah that killed one Israeli settler and injured two others.
Netanyahu reportedly has directed the Defense Ministry body responsible for authorizing West Bank construction to advance a plan for a new neighborhood in the Dolev settlement.
According to Media outlets, Netanyahu was quoted as saying that “We will deepen our roots and strike at our enemies. We will continue to strengthen and develop the settlements.”
“Corrupt Netanyahu proves that his extremist populist approach in his electoral race has no limits, and for that end, he is willing to wage wars and blow up the entire region,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO's executive committee, said in a statement released on Monday.
She then accused Netanyahu of trying to win votes of settlers by stealing Palestinian land and resources in violation of international law.
Ashrawi further noted that such colonial behavior has been progressive and systematic ever since the occupying regime of Israel was formed back in 1948, and is based primarily on the policy of ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, theft of land, resources and property, and the breach of international law and regulations, with the full political, legal and financial support of the United States.
“It is time to impose sanctions on Israel, and to hold it accountable for its deliberate violation of international law and resolutions in addition to humanitarian principles and values,” she concluded.
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu said he has instructed his staff to prepare plans for building 300 new housing units in Dolev settlement, located 27 kilometers (17 miles) northwest of Jerusalem al-Quds.
He said the move comes in response to a purported bombing attack on Friday, which claimed the life of a 17-year-old Israeli girl and wounded her brother and father.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.
The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
Less than a month before US President Donald Trump took office, the United Nations Security Council in December 2016 adopted Resolution 2334 [pdf], calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem” al-Quds.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.
The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.
Netanyahu green-lights 300 housing units in West Bank settlement following explosion attack
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the construction of 300 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of Dolev, built illegally on al-Janiya village land to the west of Ramallah.
The move comes following the explosion on Friday near the village of Ein Arik to the west of Ramallah that killed one Israeli settler and injured two others.
Netanyahu reportedly has directed the Defense Ministry body responsible for authorizing West Bank construction to advance a plan for a new neighborhood in the Dolev settlement.
According to Media outlets, Netanyahu was quoted as saying that “We will deepen our roots and strike at our enemies. We will continue to strengthen and develop the settlements.”
22 aug 2019
Party leaders from the right-wing alliance, Yamina, on Wednesday announced a plan to construct 113,000 housing units in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to different Hebrew media outlets.
According to Yamina, the plan – which would see the settler population rise by some half a million – is a solution to Israel’s housing crisis, which has seen rising house prices.
“The Tel Aviv metropolitan area is almost as crowded as Gaza and as expensive as New York,” Yamina chief and former justice minister Ayelet Shaked claimed at a press conference held to launch the plan in Etz Efraim settlement.
“The different magic tricks we have seen in recent years have not worked. The solution is simple: to lower prices you must increase supply,” she said.
Yamina wants to construct these settler homes over a period of five years, which will link Ariel – deep in the northern occupied West Bank – with Rosh Ha’ayin inside the Green Line.
Its plan is aimed at increasing the number of Jewish settlers living in the West Bank by half a million people, which will bring their total number to about one million.
The right-wing alliance claims the Israeli population will reach 10 million by the year 2024, so it wants one million of those people to live in the West Bank.
According to Yamina, the plan – which would see the settler population rise by some half a million – is a solution to Israel’s housing crisis, which has seen rising house prices.
“The Tel Aviv metropolitan area is almost as crowded as Gaza and as expensive as New York,” Yamina chief and former justice minister Ayelet Shaked claimed at a press conference held to launch the plan in Etz Efraim settlement.
“The different magic tricks we have seen in recent years have not worked. The solution is simple: to lower prices you must increase supply,” she said.
Yamina wants to construct these settler homes over a period of five years, which will link Ariel – deep in the northern occupied West Bank – with Rosh Ha’ayin inside the Green Line.
Its plan is aimed at increasing the number of Jewish settlers living in the West Bank by half a million people, which will bring their total number to about one million.
The right-wing alliance claims the Israeli population will reach 10 million by the year 2024, so it wants one million of those people to live in the West Bank.
19 aug 2019
Israeli Transport Minister Bezalel Smotrich
Israel's decision to approve 715 housing units in Palestinian towns could be a token gesture, or preparation for a broader takeover of West Bank land
The recent Israeli security cabinet decision to approve construction permits for Palestinian homes in Area C of the occupied West Bank was somewhat of a rarity, “the first such decision since 2016”.
While the figure of 715 housing units in Palestinian towns sounds positive, thus far no details have been revealed – including for example, whether the plans relate to new construction or the retroactive legalisation of homes built without Israeli-issued permits.
In addition to this lack of clarity, these housing units are a drop in the ocean – according to Peace Now, “it is estimated that there are at least a thousand young Palestinian couples in need of housing in Area C each year”.
Discriminatory system
From 2009 to 2016, Israeli occupation authorities approved just 66 construction permits for Palestinians in Area C – a mere two percent of total applications. Over the same time period, there were 12,763 housing unit construction starts in Israeli settlements in Area C.
However, while the new construction permits barely scratch the surface of the needs resulting from an intentionally discriminatory system, it is still an unusual development. Why would a hard-right government – in the run up to elections – take such a step?
One vital piece of context is the White House “peace plan”; Haaretz cited unnamed “political sources” who believe the move “could be due to American pressure”. The approvals came ahead of a visit by a US delegation led by White House adviser Jared Kushner, part of a regional tour promoting the plan.
This possibility was a cause for concern for some in the settler movement; two senior leaders described the Palestinian construction permits as “particularly worrying”, given what they described as the Palestinian Authority’s “clear goal of establishing a terrorist state in the heart of the country”.
They needn’t worry. Reports quickly emerged that the Israeli cabinet decision is in fact “part of a policy shift intended to push out the Palestinian Authority’s involvement in planning and construction in the [occupied] territories”, with Haaretz citing “sources familiar with the details”.
Preventing a Palestinian state
Moreover, Transportation Minister and Union of Right-Wing Parties MK Bezalel Smotrich took to Facebook to publish a detailed explanation for the permits.
Affirming that one of the central goals of his political career is “to prevent the establishment of an Arab terror state in the heart of Israel” (referring to the West Bank), Smotrich wrote: “Now, finally … Israel is forming a strategic plan to stop the creation of a Palestinian state.”
According to Smotrich, the cabinet decision marked “the first time” Israel “will make sure that in Area C, there will only be construction for the Arabs who were original residents of the area since 1994 and not Arabs who came later from Areas A and B”.
Palestinian construction then will be allowed “only in places that do not harm the settlement enterprise and security, and do not create territorial contiguity or a de facto Palestinian state”.
That wasn’t all. “For the first time ever,” the minister went on, “the State of Israel will implement its sovereignty over the entire territory and take responsibility for what happens inside it.”
So, there we have it. The permits for Palestinians in Area C are a demonstration of Israeli “sovereignty” – yet another precursor to formal annexation.
In this light, a connection between the permits and the Trump administration’s plan takes on a more disturbing – though hardly surprising – dimension, suggestive not of a “concession” to lubricate talks, but of Israeli-US coordination with respect to Area C annexation.
Prioritising Jewish communities
Instructively, in parallel to advancing permits for Palestinians, the Israeli cabinet approved some 6,000 housing units in Israeli settlements; the day after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on a visit to the Efrat settlement: “No settlement or settler will be uprooted … What you’re doing here is forever.”
But, whether the Palestinian construction permits – should they ever materialise – are merely a token gesture, or preparation for annexation, these developments highlight the limitations of a purely humanitarian-framed critique of Israeli policies of demolition and displacement.
Israel’s crude “separate and unequal” approach to communities and housing in Area C of the West Bank has quite rightly prompted growing international criticism in recent years, with the likes of Amnesty International condemning Israel’s discriminatory planning regime as “unique globally”.
As Israel moves towards a formalisation of Area C annexation, however, there will be those who argue that such a development will benefit Palestinian residents on the basis that Israel will grant them citizenship, legalise their communities, issue permits, and so on.
Of course, such an argument can be countered on its own terms, including by citing the arguments openly made by the likes of Smotrich that planning policy will continue to prioritise Jewish communities (as, indeed, has always been the case inside the 1967 lines).
Settler-colonial project
However, a much stronger position is to understand Israel’s demolition and displacement in Area C, including those permits it does issue, in the context of a much broader apartheid regime where Palestinians are expelled, fragmented and segregated to serve the primary goal of maintaining a “Jewish state” – and the control of land and demography that such a goal necessitates.
Israel’s discriminatory planning regime is a humanitarian and human rights crisis, but it is not only that – and if opposition to demolitions is expressed purely in such terms, critics make themselves vulnerable to Israeli moves such as a token increase in permits, or even annexation.
Ultimately, as elsewhere across Palestine, Israeli policies can be best understood and confronted as part of a decades-long, settler-colonial project – a framing that retains its relevancy whether we soon see formal annexation of Area C, or a continuation of the status quo.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Ben White
Ben White is the author of ‘Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner’s Guide’ and ‘Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy’. He is a writer for Middle East Monitor, and his articles have been published by Al Jazeera, al-Araby, Huffington Post, The Electronic Intifada, The Guardian, and more.
Israel's decision to approve 715 housing units in Palestinian towns could be a token gesture, or preparation for a broader takeover of West Bank land
The recent Israeli security cabinet decision to approve construction permits for Palestinian homes in Area C of the occupied West Bank was somewhat of a rarity, “the first such decision since 2016”.
While the figure of 715 housing units in Palestinian towns sounds positive, thus far no details have been revealed – including for example, whether the plans relate to new construction or the retroactive legalisation of homes built without Israeli-issued permits.
In addition to this lack of clarity, these housing units are a drop in the ocean – according to Peace Now, “it is estimated that there are at least a thousand young Palestinian couples in need of housing in Area C each year”.
Discriminatory system
From 2009 to 2016, Israeli occupation authorities approved just 66 construction permits for Palestinians in Area C – a mere two percent of total applications. Over the same time period, there were 12,763 housing unit construction starts in Israeli settlements in Area C.
However, while the new construction permits barely scratch the surface of the needs resulting from an intentionally discriminatory system, it is still an unusual development. Why would a hard-right government – in the run up to elections – take such a step?
One vital piece of context is the White House “peace plan”; Haaretz cited unnamed “political sources” who believe the move “could be due to American pressure”. The approvals came ahead of a visit by a US delegation led by White House adviser Jared Kushner, part of a regional tour promoting the plan.
This possibility was a cause for concern for some in the settler movement; two senior leaders described the Palestinian construction permits as “particularly worrying”, given what they described as the Palestinian Authority’s “clear goal of establishing a terrorist state in the heart of the country”.
They needn’t worry. Reports quickly emerged that the Israeli cabinet decision is in fact “part of a policy shift intended to push out the Palestinian Authority’s involvement in planning and construction in the [occupied] territories”, with Haaretz citing “sources familiar with the details”.
Preventing a Palestinian state
Moreover, Transportation Minister and Union of Right-Wing Parties MK Bezalel Smotrich took to Facebook to publish a detailed explanation for the permits.
Affirming that one of the central goals of his political career is “to prevent the establishment of an Arab terror state in the heart of Israel” (referring to the West Bank), Smotrich wrote: “Now, finally … Israel is forming a strategic plan to stop the creation of a Palestinian state.”
According to Smotrich, the cabinet decision marked “the first time” Israel “will make sure that in Area C, there will only be construction for the Arabs who were original residents of the area since 1994 and not Arabs who came later from Areas A and B”.
Palestinian construction then will be allowed “only in places that do not harm the settlement enterprise and security, and do not create territorial contiguity or a de facto Palestinian state”.
That wasn’t all. “For the first time ever,” the minister went on, “the State of Israel will implement its sovereignty over the entire territory and take responsibility for what happens inside it.”
So, there we have it. The permits for Palestinians in Area C are a demonstration of Israeli “sovereignty” – yet another precursor to formal annexation.
In this light, a connection between the permits and the Trump administration’s plan takes on a more disturbing – though hardly surprising – dimension, suggestive not of a “concession” to lubricate talks, but of Israeli-US coordination with respect to Area C annexation.
Prioritising Jewish communities
Instructively, in parallel to advancing permits for Palestinians, the Israeli cabinet approved some 6,000 housing units in Israeli settlements; the day after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on a visit to the Efrat settlement: “No settlement or settler will be uprooted … What you’re doing here is forever.”
But, whether the Palestinian construction permits – should they ever materialise – are merely a token gesture, or preparation for annexation, these developments highlight the limitations of a purely humanitarian-framed critique of Israeli policies of demolition and displacement.
Israel’s crude “separate and unequal” approach to communities and housing in Area C of the West Bank has quite rightly prompted growing international criticism in recent years, with the likes of Amnesty International condemning Israel’s discriminatory planning regime as “unique globally”.
As Israel moves towards a formalisation of Area C annexation, however, there will be those who argue that such a development will benefit Palestinian residents on the basis that Israel will grant them citizenship, legalise their communities, issue permits, and so on.
Of course, such an argument can be countered on its own terms, including by citing the arguments openly made by the likes of Smotrich that planning policy will continue to prioritise Jewish communities (as, indeed, has always been the case inside the 1967 lines).
Settler-colonial project
However, a much stronger position is to understand Israel’s demolition and displacement in Area C, including those permits it does issue, in the context of a much broader apartheid regime where Palestinians are expelled, fragmented and segregated to serve the primary goal of maintaining a “Jewish state” – and the control of land and demography that such a goal necessitates.
Israel’s discriminatory planning regime is a humanitarian and human rights crisis, but it is not only that – and if opposition to demolitions is expressed purely in such terms, critics make themselves vulnerable to Israeli moves such as a token increase in permits, or even annexation.
Ultimately, as elsewhere across Palestine, Israeli policies can be best understood and confronted as part of a decades-long, settler-colonial project – a framing that retains its relevancy whether we soon see formal annexation of Area C, or a continuation of the status quo.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Ben White
Ben White is the author of ‘Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner’s Guide’ and ‘Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy’. He is a writer for Middle East Monitor, and his articles have been published by Al Jazeera, al-Araby, Huffington Post, The Electronic Intifada, The Guardian, and more.
13 aug 2019
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has decided to build a new concrete wall around all areas in the northeast of the Gaza Strip.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, the wall is intended to prevent any infiltration attempt by Palestinians on Israel’s southern border with Gaza.
The wall will be built along Road 34, which is located near Sderot settlement and agricultural settlements.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, the wall is intended to prevent any infiltration attempt by Palestinians on Israel’s southern border with Gaza.
The wall will be built along Road 34, which is located near Sderot settlement and agricultural settlements.
12 aug 2019
Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh slammed possible future US declaration ahead of the Israeli elections in September backing Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank.
Abu Rudeineh stressed that any procedure or decision that affects Palestinian national rights and the resolutions of international legitimacy shall be considered illegitimate.
He made his remarks responding to media reports indicating that Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a public declaration from US President Donald Trump recognizing Israeli sovereignty over parts of the occupied West Bank.
Abu Rudeineh warned that such a move would have “serious implications” particularly that it would follow the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, ongoing Israeli settlers’ intrusions into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the US position on the issue of Palestinian refugees and the stipends of the families of Palestinian prisoners and those killed by Israeli forces.
“This step, if taken, would constitute ongoing playing with fire,” he added, and stressed that stability and security are indivisible and that “peace would not be made at any price”.
“Neither this step would establish any right ]to Israel[, nor it will create a viable false reality,” he added.
In conclusion, Abu Rudeineh reiterated that the Palestinian people would defend its national rights, history, heritage and holy sites, no matter how long it takes, and expressed his hopes that justice and Palestinian legitimacy will ultimately prevail.
Abu Rudeineh stressed that any procedure or decision that affects Palestinian national rights and the resolutions of international legitimacy shall be considered illegitimate.
He made his remarks responding to media reports indicating that Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a public declaration from US President Donald Trump recognizing Israeli sovereignty over parts of the occupied West Bank.
Abu Rudeineh warned that such a move would have “serious implications” particularly that it would follow the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, ongoing Israeli settlers’ intrusions into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the US position on the issue of Palestinian refugees and the stipends of the families of Palestinian prisoners and those killed by Israeli forces.
“This step, if taken, would constitute ongoing playing with fire,” he added, and stressed that stability and security are indivisible and that “peace would not be made at any price”.
“Neither this step would establish any right ]to Israel[, nor it will create a viable false reality,” he added.
In conclusion, Abu Rudeineh reiterated that the Palestinian people would defend its national rights, history, heritage and holy sites, no matter how long it takes, and expressed his hopes that justice and Palestinian legitimacy will ultimately prevail.
The Israeli “Planning and Construction Committee” in occupied Jerusalem has approved two plans for the construction of 641 units for illegal colonialist settlers, west of Hebron Road, in the city.
The first plan aims at building new units around Talpiot area, west of Hebron road, along the blue light-railroad line and east of Bethlehem, while the second plan will add units in Shaare Zion illegal colony.
They aim at building two apartment buildings, in addition to a Synagogue, an industrial structure and various health facilities for the colonists.
The Palestinian National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Colonies, which is run by Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has reported that Israel’s illegal colonialist activities are also tools used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other extreme right-wing parties, in their election campaign, especially ahead of the new election in the country this coming September 17th.
It added that Israel has approved, last week, more than 2304 units in illegal colonies in the occupied West Bank, and stated that the new approvals, including upcoming plans, are part of a series of constructions Netanyahu aims to carry out, in direct cooperation with U.S. President D. Trump, and his fanatic cabinet.
Two weeks ago, the Israel government approved structural plans for 6000 units in the West Bank, while the “Higher Planning Council” of the so-called Civil Administration Office, the executive and administrative branch of Israel’s illegal occupation, has approved preliminary plans for additional 200 units in Mitzad colony, and the constriction of 100 units in Abi Hanahal colony, east of Gush Etzion Bloc, south of Bethlehem.
While Israel continues to approve plans, build and expand its colonies in the occupied West Bank, including in and around East Jerusalem, under the full support of the Trump administration, all if the colonies are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and various United Nations and international resolutions and treaties.
The first plan aims at building new units around Talpiot area, west of Hebron road, along the blue light-railroad line and east of Bethlehem, while the second plan will add units in Shaare Zion illegal colony.
They aim at building two apartment buildings, in addition to a Synagogue, an industrial structure and various health facilities for the colonists.
The Palestinian National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Colonies, which is run by Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has reported that Israel’s illegal colonialist activities are also tools used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other extreme right-wing parties, in their election campaign, especially ahead of the new election in the country this coming September 17th.
It added that Israel has approved, last week, more than 2304 units in illegal colonies in the occupied West Bank, and stated that the new approvals, including upcoming plans, are part of a series of constructions Netanyahu aims to carry out, in direct cooperation with U.S. President D. Trump, and his fanatic cabinet.
Two weeks ago, the Israel government approved structural plans for 6000 units in the West Bank, while the “Higher Planning Council” of the so-called Civil Administration Office, the executive and administrative branch of Israel’s illegal occupation, has approved preliminary plans for additional 200 units in Mitzad colony, and the constriction of 100 units in Abi Hanahal colony, east of Gush Etzion Bloc, south of Bethlehem.
While Israel continues to approve plans, build and expand its colonies in the occupied West Bank, including in and around East Jerusalem, under the full support of the Trump administration, all if the colonies are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and various United Nations and international resolutions and treaties.
