17 mar 2012
Israel allocates millions of dollars for building synagogues in O. Jerusalem
The Israeli municipality of occupied Jerusalem has earmarked millions of dollars to build more synagogues and other Jewish institutions in a bid to Judaize the occupied holy city.
The Israeli army radio said on Saturday that the municipality’s budget for Jewish religious buildings had doubled since current mayor Nir Barkat took office back in 2009.
It recalled that the municipality’s budget allocated for synagogues was 2.7 million dollars in 2009 and reached 4.5 million dollars in 2011 and is expected this year to reach 5 million dollars.
The radio pointed out that the deputy mayor was the one who demanded the increase and quoted him as saying that he was pleased with Barkat’s approval of the increase and hoped that he would earmark more funds for this purpose
The Israeli army radio said on Saturday that the municipality’s budget for Jewish religious buildings had doubled since current mayor Nir Barkat took office back in 2009.
It recalled that the municipality’s budget allocated for synagogues was 2.7 million dollars in 2009 and reached 4.5 million dollars in 2011 and is expected this year to reach 5 million dollars.
The radio pointed out that the deputy mayor was the one who demanded the increase and quoted him as saying that he was pleased with Barkat’s approval of the increase and hoped that he would earmark more funds for this purpose
10 mar 2012
IOA endorses building 55 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has endorsed the building of 55 new housing units in Jabal Abu Ghunaim settlement south of occupied Jerusalem.
The committee of field researchers in occupied Jerusalem said in a statement on Saturday that Israel’s local committee for planning and construction had approved the construction of five new buildings each one containing 11 housing units.
Ahmed Sub Laban, a member of the committee of researchers, pointed out that the new units fell in line with plan – B for the building of 4000 housing units in Jabal Abu Gunaim, out of which 3000 were already built.
He recalled that the Israeli interior minister Eli Yishai had approved by the end of last year the plan – C that stipulated the construction of 930 new housing units in the settlement.
The Jabal Abu Gunaim settlement was endorsed by Israel after the signing of the Oslo agreement back in 1995 with the intention of building 7000 housing units that on completion would deepen the separation of occupied Jerusalem from southern West Bank areas especially Bethlehem and Beit Sahur cities. So far 5000 housing units were built in the first two stages of the project.
The committee of field researchers in occupied Jerusalem said in a statement on Saturday that Israel’s local committee for planning and construction had approved the construction of five new buildings each one containing 11 housing units.
Ahmed Sub Laban, a member of the committee of researchers, pointed out that the new units fell in line with plan – B for the building of 4000 housing units in Jabal Abu Gunaim, out of which 3000 were already built.
He recalled that the Israeli interior minister Eli Yishai had approved by the end of last year the plan – C that stipulated the construction of 930 new housing units in the settlement.
The Jabal Abu Gunaim settlement was endorsed by Israel after the signing of the Oslo agreement back in 1995 with the intention of building 7000 housing units that on completion would deepen the separation of occupied Jerusalem from southern West Bank areas especially Bethlehem and Beit Sahur cities. So far 5000 housing units were built in the first two stages of the project.
5 mar 2012
Report: Israel to dissect W. Bank with rail network reaching 1948 occupied land
The land research center said the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) plans to annex vast tracts of Palestinian land in the West Bank to construct a railroad extending from its West Bank settlements to the 1948 occupied territory.
The center stated in a report that the Israeli rail project would include the establishment of railway stations, maintenance roads, security points and other facilities on more than 100, 000 dunums of Palestinian land.
Most of this Palestinian land to be annexed is used or allocated for agricultural, residential, industrial and civil proposes and such project would certainly disrupt the West Bankers' life and further dismember their land, its report added.
This Israeli railway would be stretching 456 kilometers away from the north of the West Bank to its south and penetrating its mountains until it reaches the 1948 occupied land.
The center warned this railway project would enable the Jewish settlers to move quickly between the settlements in the West Bank and the 1948 occupied territory and would provide them with a chance to expand their settlements and outposts along the way.
In addition to the segregation wall, this railway would further isolate the Palestinian land in the West Bank and make the Palestinians there live scattered in small bantustans, it added.
The center stated in a report that the Israeli rail project would include the establishment of railway stations, maintenance roads, security points and other facilities on more than 100, 000 dunums of Palestinian land.
Most of this Palestinian land to be annexed is used or allocated for agricultural, residential, industrial and civil proposes and such project would certainly disrupt the West Bankers' life and further dismember their land, its report added.
This Israeli railway would be stretching 456 kilometers away from the north of the West Bank to its south and penetrating its mountains until it reaches the 1948 occupied land.
The center warned this railway project would enable the Jewish settlers to move quickly between the settlements in the West Bank and the 1948 occupied territory and would provide them with a chance to expand their settlements and outposts along the way.
In addition to the segregation wall, this railway would further isolate the Palestinian land in the West Bank and make the Palestinians there live scattered in small bantustans, it added.
3 mar 2012
Representative to Canada: Help Israel Save Itself
Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Stephen Harper on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday.
Palestine’s representative to Canada, Said Hamad, Friday urged Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to advise Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian Territory for the sake of Israel’s future.
In an open letter to Harper posted in the Canadian newspaper, the National Post, on the occasion of Netanyahu’s visit to Canada and his meeting with Harper, Said noted that the visit is an opportunity “for one of Israel’s strongest allies” to let Netanyahu know that “Israel’s persistent occupation and settlement-building on Palestinian land do not bode well for Israel’s security — a matter of declared concern to your government.”
As Canada’s foreign policy clearly spells out, wrote Said, “security for Israel is attainable by making peace with its neighbors.”
He said that since Canada does not recognize permanent Israeli control over territories occupied in 1967, agrees that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies in the occupied territories, and since Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and constitute a serious obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, Harper has an obligation to convey these points to Netanyahu.
“As Canada’s leader, you are uniquely placed to convey this last point to Mr. Netanyahu: Israel’s settlements must stop for the sake of Israel’s future viability,” he wrote. “Without an end to Israel’s expanding settlement enterprise, there can be no progress towards peace or security in the region.”
Said stressed that “many friends of Israel have said that the real existential threat is not Iran, but Israel’s unlawful settlement enterprise and the end of the two-state solution.”
Palestine’s representative to Canada, Said Hamad, Friday urged Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to advise Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian Territory for the sake of Israel’s future.
In an open letter to Harper posted in the Canadian newspaper, the National Post, on the occasion of Netanyahu’s visit to Canada and his meeting with Harper, Said noted that the visit is an opportunity “for one of Israel’s strongest allies” to let Netanyahu know that “Israel’s persistent occupation and settlement-building on Palestinian land do not bode well for Israel’s security — a matter of declared concern to your government.”
As Canada’s foreign policy clearly spells out, wrote Said, “security for Israel is attainable by making peace with its neighbors.”
He said that since Canada does not recognize permanent Israeli control over territories occupied in 1967, agrees that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies in the occupied territories, and since Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and constitute a serious obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, Harper has an obligation to convey these points to Netanyahu.
“As Canada’s leader, you are uniquely placed to convey this last point to Mr. Netanyahu: Israel’s settlements must stop for the sake of Israel’s future viability,” he wrote. “Without an end to Israel’s expanding settlement enterprise, there can be no progress towards peace or security in the region.”
Said stressed that “many friends of Israel have said that the real existential threat is not Iran, but Israel’s unlawful settlement enterprise and the end of the two-state solution.”
2 mar 2012
Israel legalizes unsanctioned settler enclave in West Bank
The file photo shows the Jewish settlement of Shvut Rachel (Left) in occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank.
The Israeli regime has legalized an old settler enclave in the West Bank, stepping up efforts to Judaize occupied Palestinian territories.
The Shvut Rachel settlement, which hosts 95 Israeli families, was retrospectively legitimized by an official committee last week, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
According to the settlement’s acting mayor, Yaakov Moshe Levi, the committee has legalized 115 apartments already constructed or under construction. The panel also endorsed in principle the construction of almost 500 more apartments in the settlement.
Shvut Rachel, located on a hilltop in the heart of the West Bank, was established 21 years ago after Israeli settlers seized the land without official permission from Tel Aviv.
The legalization come after Peace Now, an anti-settlement NGO based in Israel, lodged an appeal against illegal construction in the area to the Israeli Supreme Court.
Palestinian officials have condemned the move, criticizing Israel’s intent to escalate settlement-building in occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli regime has also repeatedly been censured by the international community for its illegal settlement expansions on occupied Palestinian territories.
Nearly 500,000 Israelis live in more than 100 settlement units built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The Israeli regime has legalized an old settler enclave in the West Bank, stepping up efforts to Judaize occupied Palestinian territories.
The Shvut Rachel settlement, which hosts 95 Israeli families, was retrospectively legitimized by an official committee last week, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
According to the settlement’s acting mayor, Yaakov Moshe Levi, the committee has legalized 115 apartments already constructed or under construction. The panel also endorsed in principle the construction of almost 500 more apartments in the settlement.
Shvut Rachel, located on a hilltop in the heart of the West Bank, was established 21 years ago after Israeli settlers seized the land without official permission from Tel Aviv.
The legalization come after Peace Now, an anti-settlement NGO based in Israel, lodged an appeal against illegal construction in the area to the Israeli Supreme Court.
Palestinian officials have condemned the move, criticizing Israel’s intent to escalate settlement-building in occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli regime has also repeatedly been censured by the international community for its illegal settlement expansions on occupied Palestinian territories.
Nearly 500,000 Israelis live in more than 100 settlement units built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
27 feb 2012
Israel draws plan for 475-kilometer rail network in West Bank
Map of planned West Bank train line (click on pic.)
Plan, prepared at the request of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, calls for establishing 11 new rail lines, according to a map that Haaretz has obtained
Israel Railways has prepared a major plan for providing train service throughout the West Bank to serve both Israelis and Palestinians.
The plan, prepared at the request of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, calls for establishing 11 new rail lines, according to a map that Haaretz has obtained. Katz has on several occasions expressed his intention to build a railway network in the West Bank.
Except for the proposed line from Rosh Ha'ayin to the West Bank settlement of Ariel, the prospects for actually carrying out the entire scheme are seen as slim. There are diplomatic, legal and budgetary hurdles involved, as well as a need for cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, which administers large areas of the West Bank.
No target date has been set for implementing the plan and no cost estimate has been presented, although the sums involved would clearly be substantial.
The Transportation Ministry confirmed that it was pursuing the plan for the new rail lines "so as to permit it to be carried out in the future," and in accordance with "a legal commitment the ministry made to the High Court of Justice."
In a visit to the northern part of the West Bank in 2010, Katz promised to revive the pre-state Ottoman and British Mandate-era rail line there with establishment of service between the city of Jenin and Afula in the Jezreel Valley. Katz also allocated NIS 3 million to plan a line from the Israeli town of Rosh Ha'ayin, northeast of Tel Aviv, to Nablus in the northern West Bank. Detailed plans were drawn up for the first part of that line - from Rosh Ha'ayin to Ariel.
Last December, at an event at which Katz was honored by the Yesha Council of West Bank Jewish settlements, he said he had instructed Israel Railways management to expedite the planning of the rail lines.
According to the map that Haaretz obtained, the proposal calls for 475 kilometers of rail lines. For purposes of comparison, the combined length of existing routes in Israel proper is currently 1,100 kilometers.
The West Bank network would include one line running through Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Ma'aleh Adumim, Bethlehem and Hebron. Another would provide service along the Jordanian border from Eilat to the Dead Sea, Jericho and Beit She'an and from there toward Haifa in the west and in also in a northeasterly direction. The proposed scheme also calls for shorter routes, such as between Nablus and Tul Karm in the West Bank, and from Ramallah to the Allenby Bridge crossing into Jordan.
Israel Railways hired engineer Gidon Yerushalmi, to the tune of NIS 1 million, to develop the West Bank master plan. Yerushalmi's firm has previously worked on other such projects.
A preliminary document on the project explains that its aim is to "address the transportation needs of local residents and other passengers."
The plan also includes infrastructure that would connect the rail lines at a later stage to lines in the Gaza Strip and in Arab countries. An emphasis is being place on "continuity between the rail network within the Green Line [Israel's 1967 borders] and the planned network in Judea and Samaria."
The map obtained by Haaretz was presented in December to the top planning council of the Israel Defense Forces' Civil Administration. (Because the West Bank has not been formerly annexed to Israel, the IDF has general administrative authority there.)
At the time, the members of the Civil Administration's council appeared to give serious consideration to the plan. There was discussion, for example, of a tunnel under Nablus as part of the proposal.
For his part, the council chairman, Shlomo Moshkovitz, noted that the plan calls for rail lines through areas under partial or total control of the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinians can be expected to object, Moshkovitz said, and the plan is "without value without their approval."
Israel Planning Railway through West Bank
Israel’s railway authority is planning to build a 475-kilometer rail system network in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Monday.
The French news agency, AFP, quoted an unnamed railway official as confirming the report, saying the plan was prepared at the request of the Israeli Ministry of Transportation.
“We have presented a plan sought by the transport ministry, but for the moment nothing has been done on the ground,” the official told AFP.
According to Haaretz and based on a map it got, the rail system will have 11 lines running from Hebron in the south to Jenin in the north, and linking the Jordan Valley in the east with the Green Line bordering Israel in the west.
Plan, prepared at the request of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, calls for establishing 11 new rail lines, according to a map that Haaretz has obtained
Israel Railways has prepared a major plan for providing train service throughout the West Bank to serve both Israelis and Palestinians.
The plan, prepared at the request of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, calls for establishing 11 new rail lines, according to a map that Haaretz has obtained. Katz has on several occasions expressed his intention to build a railway network in the West Bank.
Except for the proposed line from Rosh Ha'ayin to the West Bank settlement of Ariel, the prospects for actually carrying out the entire scheme are seen as slim. There are diplomatic, legal and budgetary hurdles involved, as well as a need for cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, which administers large areas of the West Bank.
No target date has been set for implementing the plan and no cost estimate has been presented, although the sums involved would clearly be substantial.
The Transportation Ministry confirmed that it was pursuing the plan for the new rail lines "so as to permit it to be carried out in the future," and in accordance with "a legal commitment the ministry made to the High Court of Justice."
In a visit to the northern part of the West Bank in 2010, Katz promised to revive the pre-state Ottoman and British Mandate-era rail line there with establishment of service between the city of Jenin and Afula in the Jezreel Valley. Katz also allocated NIS 3 million to plan a line from the Israeli town of Rosh Ha'ayin, northeast of Tel Aviv, to Nablus in the northern West Bank. Detailed plans were drawn up for the first part of that line - from Rosh Ha'ayin to Ariel.
Last December, at an event at which Katz was honored by the Yesha Council of West Bank Jewish settlements, he said he had instructed Israel Railways management to expedite the planning of the rail lines.
According to the map that Haaretz obtained, the proposal calls for 475 kilometers of rail lines. For purposes of comparison, the combined length of existing routes in Israel proper is currently 1,100 kilometers.
The West Bank network would include one line running through Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Ma'aleh Adumim, Bethlehem and Hebron. Another would provide service along the Jordanian border from Eilat to the Dead Sea, Jericho and Beit She'an and from there toward Haifa in the west and in also in a northeasterly direction. The proposed scheme also calls for shorter routes, such as between Nablus and Tul Karm in the West Bank, and from Ramallah to the Allenby Bridge crossing into Jordan.
Israel Railways hired engineer Gidon Yerushalmi, to the tune of NIS 1 million, to develop the West Bank master plan. Yerushalmi's firm has previously worked on other such projects.
A preliminary document on the project explains that its aim is to "address the transportation needs of local residents and other passengers."
The plan also includes infrastructure that would connect the rail lines at a later stage to lines in the Gaza Strip and in Arab countries. An emphasis is being place on "continuity between the rail network within the Green Line [Israel's 1967 borders] and the planned network in Judea and Samaria."
The map obtained by Haaretz was presented in December to the top planning council of the Israel Defense Forces' Civil Administration. (Because the West Bank has not been formerly annexed to Israel, the IDF has general administrative authority there.)
At the time, the members of the Civil Administration's council appeared to give serious consideration to the plan. There was discussion, for example, of a tunnel under Nablus as part of the proposal.
For his part, the council chairman, Shlomo Moshkovitz, noted that the plan calls for rail lines through areas under partial or total control of the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinians can be expected to object, Moshkovitz said, and the plan is "without value without their approval."
Israel Planning Railway through West Bank
Israel’s railway authority is planning to build a 475-kilometer rail system network in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Monday.
The French news agency, AFP, quoted an unnamed railway official as confirming the report, saying the plan was prepared at the request of the Israeli Ministry of Transportation.
“We have presented a plan sought by the transport ministry, but for the moment nothing has been done on the ground,” the official told AFP.
According to Haaretz and based on a map it got, the rail system will have 11 lines running from Hebron in the south to Jenin in the north, and linking the Jordan Valley in the east with the Green Line bordering Israel in the west.
22 feb 2012
UN Deplores Israeli Decision to Expand Settlement
The United Nations said Wednesday that it deplores an Israeli decision to build 500 new housing units in Shilo settlement, north of Ramallah.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry said in a statement that Israel’s decision “to approve a large number of new units deep inside the occupied Palestinian territory in the settlement of Shilo and retroactively legitimize hundreds in a nearby outpost is deplorable and moves us further away from the goal of a two-state solution.”
He said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during his recent visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory that “settlement activity is illegal, contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Road Map and will not be recognized by the international community.”
Erekat Condemns Decision to Build 500 Housing Units in Settlements
PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erekat Wednesday condemned an Israel government decision to build 500 housing units in the northern West Bank settlement of Shilo.
He told Voice of Palestine radio that the government of Israel has chosen settlement expansion over peace.
The French news agency, AFP, quoted an Israeli official saying that a planning and building council of the Israeli Civil Administration will approve the building of 500 housing units in Shilo, one of hundreds of illegal Israeli settlements built in the West Bank since its occupation in 1967.
Erekat said the government of Israel will be held fully responsible for failure of peace efforts along with several members of the Quartet who provide it with protection.
He stressed that it is time for the Quartet to stop the Israeli measures and stop dealing with Israel as a state above the law.
Meanwhile, Jewish settlers from Shvut Rachel, another illegal settlement built on land belonging to Palestinians from the village of Jalud, southeast of Nablus, began restoring about 200 depleted homes in the settlement in order to house them, according to Ghassan Douglas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern parts of the West Bank.
IOA authorizes building of 500 new housing units in West Bank
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has endorsed the building of 500 new settlement units in Shilo settlement in the area between Ramallah and Nablus in the West Bank.
The Israeli government on Wednesday approved the plan to build the new houses and endorsed 200 other housing units, which were previously built without permit in another nearby settlement.
Shilo, 30 kilometers to the south of Nablus, is inhabited by two thousand Jewish settlers while the other settlement is inhabited by 400 settlers.
UN deplores new Israeli permits for 500 more settlement units
A senior United Nations official has criticized a recent Israeli approval for the construction of even more illegal settlement units in occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank.
In a Wednesday statement, Robert Serry, a UN coordinator for Israeli-Palestinian talks, described as “deplorable” the decision by the Israeli regime to authorize the building of 500 new illegal units in the West Bank settlement of Shilo.
Serry added that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had previously “reiterated” that the Israeli settlement activity is illegal and “will not be recognized by the international community.”
Israeli officials announced on Wednesday that more than 200 settler homes built “without a permit” by the Tel Aviv regime in the West Bank would also be “legalized.”
“Today’s announcement by Israel to approve a large number of new units deep inside the occupied Palestinian territory in the settlement of Shilo and retroactively legitimize hundreds in a nearby outpost is deplorable,” Serry said.
On February 6, Ban Ki-moon emphasized that the illegal Israeli “settlements and their infrastructure severely restrict access to land and natural resources by the Palestinian people.”
Nearly 500,000 Israelis live in more than 100 settlement units built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Newspapers Review: Approval of New Housing Units Dominates Dailies
The Israeli decision to build 500 housing units in the northern West Bank settlement of Shilo was the focus of Thursday’s issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.
This item dominated almost the entire front page of al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper, along with the Israeli decision to retroactively grant building permits to 200 housing units in the nearby illegal outpost of Shvut Rachel. The daily also featured Palestinian and international condemnation of the decision.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida and al-Ayyam newspapers printed pictures of construction work in Shilo.
Another item highlighted in all three dailies was President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal’s meeting in Cairo. Pictures of the meeting were featured on all front pages.
Al-Ayyam’s prime headline quoted Abbas and Meshaal saying “We are determined to continue with reconciliation,” adding that Hamas leadership stressed its commitment to the Doha agreement signed between both movements earlier this month.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Israeli settlers called to storm al-Haram al-Sharif compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, and quoted the head of the Jerusalem affairs department in the PLO, Ahmed Qurei, as saying: “Israeli plans to Judaize Jerusalem are in final stages.”
Al-Quds editorial tackled the meeting between Palestinian factions scheduled on Thursday in Cairo to study ways to implement the reconciliation agreement.
The daily called on all factions to come out with a united position to be ready to meet the challenges facing Palestinians, including the Israeli occupation, settlements and attempts to Judaize Jerusalem.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry said in a statement that Israel’s decision “to approve a large number of new units deep inside the occupied Palestinian territory in the settlement of Shilo and retroactively legitimize hundreds in a nearby outpost is deplorable and moves us further away from the goal of a two-state solution.”
He said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during his recent visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory that “settlement activity is illegal, contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Road Map and will not be recognized by the international community.”
Erekat Condemns Decision to Build 500 Housing Units in Settlements
PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erekat Wednesday condemned an Israel government decision to build 500 housing units in the northern West Bank settlement of Shilo.
He told Voice of Palestine radio that the government of Israel has chosen settlement expansion over peace.
The French news agency, AFP, quoted an Israeli official saying that a planning and building council of the Israeli Civil Administration will approve the building of 500 housing units in Shilo, one of hundreds of illegal Israeli settlements built in the West Bank since its occupation in 1967.
Erekat said the government of Israel will be held fully responsible for failure of peace efforts along with several members of the Quartet who provide it with protection.
He stressed that it is time for the Quartet to stop the Israeli measures and stop dealing with Israel as a state above the law.
Meanwhile, Jewish settlers from Shvut Rachel, another illegal settlement built on land belonging to Palestinians from the village of Jalud, southeast of Nablus, began restoring about 200 depleted homes in the settlement in order to house them, according to Ghassan Douglas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern parts of the West Bank.
IOA authorizes building of 500 new housing units in West Bank
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has endorsed the building of 500 new settlement units in Shilo settlement in the area between Ramallah and Nablus in the West Bank.
The Israeli government on Wednesday approved the plan to build the new houses and endorsed 200 other housing units, which were previously built without permit in another nearby settlement.
Shilo, 30 kilometers to the south of Nablus, is inhabited by two thousand Jewish settlers while the other settlement is inhabited by 400 settlers.
UN deplores new Israeli permits for 500 more settlement units
A senior United Nations official has criticized a recent Israeli approval for the construction of even more illegal settlement units in occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank.
In a Wednesday statement, Robert Serry, a UN coordinator for Israeli-Palestinian talks, described as “deplorable” the decision by the Israeli regime to authorize the building of 500 new illegal units in the West Bank settlement of Shilo.
Serry added that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had previously “reiterated” that the Israeli settlement activity is illegal and “will not be recognized by the international community.”
Israeli officials announced on Wednesday that more than 200 settler homes built “without a permit” by the Tel Aviv regime in the West Bank would also be “legalized.”
“Today’s announcement by Israel to approve a large number of new units deep inside the occupied Palestinian territory in the settlement of Shilo and retroactively legitimize hundreds in a nearby outpost is deplorable,” Serry said.
On February 6, Ban Ki-moon emphasized that the illegal Israeli “settlements and their infrastructure severely restrict access to land and natural resources by the Palestinian people.”
Nearly 500,000 Israelis live in more than 100 settlement units built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Newspapers Review: Approval of New Housing Units Dominates Dailies
The Israeli decision to build 500 housing units in the northern West Bank settlement of Shilo was the focus of Thursday’s issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.
This item dominated almost the entire front page of al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper, along with the Israeli decision to retroactively grant building permits to 200 housing units in the nearby illegal outpost of Shvut Rachel. The daily also featured Palestinian and international condemnation of the decision.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida and al-Ayyam newspapers printed pictures of construction work in Shilo.
Another item highlighted in all three dailies was President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal’s meeting in Cairo. Pictures of the meeting were featured on all front pages.
Al-Ayyam’s prime headline quoted Abbas and Meshaal saying “We are determined to continue with reconciliation,” adding that Hamas leadership stressed its commitment to the Doha agreement signed between both movements earlier this month.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Israeli settlers called to storm al-Haram al-Sharif compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, and quoted the head of the Jerusalem affairs department in the PLO, Ahmed Qurei, as saying: “Israeli plans to Judaize Jerusalem are in final stages.”
Al-Quds editorial tackled the meeting between Palestinian factions scheduled on Thursday in Cairo to study ways to implement the reconciliation agreement.
The daily called on all factions to come out with a united position to be ready to meet the challenges facing Palestinians, including the Israeli occupation, settlements and attempts to Judaize Jerusalem.