20 feb 2019
Israel’s planning and building committee in Occupied Jerusalem has approved the construction of more than 4,000 housing units for Jewish settlers in different Arab areas of the holy city.
The Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom said that 4,416 new settlements would be built in Jerusalem, adding that 23,576 square meters of land would be for business projects and 4,253 for other purposes.
According to the plan, around 464 illegal settlement units will be constructed in the Gilo neighborhood in the Arab town of Beit Jala, 180 units in Kiryat Yovel, and 375 units in Kiryat Menahem.
The Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom said that 4,416 new settlements would be built in Jerusalem, adding that 23,576 square meters of land would be for business projects and 4,253 for other purposes.
According to the plan, around 464 illegal settlement units will be constructed in the Gilo neighborhood in the Arab town of Beit Jala, 180 units in Kiryat Yovel, and 375 units in Kiryat Menahem.
The Israeli “Construction and Planning Committee” of the City Council in occupied Jerusalem, has approved the construction on an additional 464 units for illegal colonialist settlers.
The approval was made this past Monday, and it was revealed, Wednesday, that the plan aims at expanding in Gilo illegal colony, southwest of Jerusalem.
Israeli sources said the City Council in Jerusalem has allocated more than $200 Million to build and expand the illegal colonies in the Old City, especially in what is known as the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, were two Palestinian neighborhoods, Sharaf and al-Magharba, once stood.
Israel’s colonies the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory and a constant violator.
The illegal constructions are ongoing while the indigenous Palestinians are denied the basic rights to build and expand their homes on their own lands in occupied Jerusalem, and amidst the demolition of their homes and property.
The approval was made this past Monday, and it was revealed, Wednesday, that the plan aims at expanding in Gilo illegal colony, southwest of Jerusalem.
Israeli sources said the City Council in Jerusalem has allocated more than $200 Million to build and expand the illegal colonies in the Old City, especially in what is known as the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, were two Palestinian neighborhoods, Sharaf and al-Magharba, once stood.
Israel’s colonies the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory and a constant violator.
The illegal constructions are ongoing while the indigenous Palestinians are denied the basic rights to build and expand their homes on their own lands in occupied Jerusalem, and amidst the demolition of their homes and property.
19 feb 2019
Israeli Human Rights group B’Tselem recently released a report, examining the rulings of Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) to restrict Palestinian building, and demolish Palestinian homes, while authorizing illegal Israeli Settlements in the occupied West Bank.
One example is the village of Khan Al-Ahmar, 2 kilometres south of the settlement of Kafr Adumim, east of Jerusalem, in the southern West Bank. The justices of Israel’s HCJ concluded that it is “unlawful” for Palestinians to build on the compound, therefore there was “no legal obstacle to demolishing the structures in the community of Khan Al-Ahmar”.
The report states that “Israeli authorities consider the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank as no more than a matter of illegal construction, as if Israel does not have long-term goals in the West Bank”, that “this policy imposes a virtually blanket prohibition on Palestinian construction”.
The report further states Israeli “justices have regarded the Israeli policy as lawful and legitimate, nearly always focusing only on the technical issue of whether the petitioners had building permits”.
“The planning apparatus Israel has instituted in the West Bank serves its policy of promoting and expanding Israeli takeover of land across the West Bank”.
From “January 2000 to mid-2016, Palestinians filed 5,475 applications for building permits. Only 226 (about 4%) were granted”. From the year 2006 through 2018, “Israel demolished 1,401 Palestinian residential units in the West Bank (not including east Jerusalem)”.
“Particularly blatant is the justices’ disregard of the fact that implementation of the Israeli planning policy involves violating the absolute prohibition on forcible transfer”. “Since occupying the West Bank over fifty years ago, Israel has built 250 new settlements – whose very establishment is prohibited under international law”.
“It stands to reason that the judges are well aware, or ought to be, of the judicial foundations they are cementing in their rulings, and the devastating implications of these rulings, including the violation of the IHL (International Humanitarian law) prohibition on forcible transfer.
Therefore, they too, – along with the prime minister, senior ministers, the chief of staff and other military officers – bear personal liability for the commission of such crimes”
One example is the village of Khan Al-Ahmar, 2 kilometres south of the settlement of Kafr Adumim, east of Jerusalem, in the southern West Bank. The justices of Israel’s HCJ concluded that it is “unlawful” for Palestinians to build on the compound, therefore there was “no legal obstacle to demolishing the structures in the community of Khan Al-Ahmar”.
The report states that “Israeli authorities consider the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank as no more than a matter of illegal construction, as if Israel does not have long-term goals in the West Bank”, that “this policy imposes a virtually blanket prohibition on Palestinian construction”.
The report further states Israeli “justices have regarded the Israeli policy as lawful and legitimate, nearly always focusing only on the technical issue of whether the petitioners had building permits”.
“The planning apparatus Israel has instituted in the West Bank serves its policy of promoting and expanding Israeli takeover of land across the West Bank”.
From “January 2000 to mid-2016, Palestinians filed 5,475 applications for building permits. Only 226 (about 4%) were granted”. From the year 2006 through 2018, “Israel demolished 1,401 Palestinian residential units in the West Bank (not including east Jerusalem)”.
“Particularly blatant is the justices’ disregard of the fact that implementation of the Israeli planning policy involves violating the absolute prohibition on forcible transfer”. “Since occupying the West Bank over fifty years ago, Israel has built 250 new settlements – whose very establishment is prohibited under international law”.
“It stands to reason that the judges are well aware, or ought to be, of the judicial foundations they are cementing in their rulings, and the devastating implications of these rulings, including the violation of the IHL (International Humanitarian law) prohibition on forcible transfer.
Therefore, they too, – along with the prime minister, senior ministers, the chief of staff and other military officers – bear personal liability for the commission of such crimes”
17 feb 2019
The Palestinian expert and academic Jamal Amro on Thursday said that Israel is planning to build a synagogue inside al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Amro said that the synagogue will be built at al-Rahma Gate which is currently under complete Israeli control. "Whoever approaches the area immediately gets arrested," he added.
Amro said that Israel is preparing for a new Maghareba Gate; however, what is happening at al-Rahma Gate is more dangerous.
The Palestinian expert noted that Israel has stepped up its settlement and Judaization projects in Jerusalem in general and near al-Aqsa Mosque in particular. Israel has so far built 190 synagogues around and under al-Aqsa Mosque.
"Bab al-Rahma will be the new synagogue in the heart of al-Aqsa Mosque," he said, adding that Bab al-Rahma for extremist Israelis is better that al-Buraq Square because it is located near the Dome of the Rock. The Israeli authorities have further taken over the area and built a police station there.
Amro said that the synagogue will be built at al-Rahma Gate which is currently under complete Israeli control. "Whoever approaches the area immediately gets arrested," he added.
Amro said that Israel is preparing for a new Maghareba Gate; however, what is happening at al-Rahma Gate is more dangerous.
The Palestinian expert noted that Israel has stepped up its settlement and Judaization projects in Jerusalem in general and near al-Aqsa Mosque in particular. Israel has so far built 190 synagogues around and under al-Aqsa Mosque.
"Bab al-Rahma will be the new synagogue in the heart of al-Aqsa Mosque," he said, adding that Bab al-Rahma for extremist Israelis is better that al-Buraq Square because it is located near the Dome of the Rock. The Israeli authorities have further taken over the area and built a police station there.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Sunday bulldozed a vast tract of land in al-Rujman area at the eastern entrance to Deir Nidham village, north of Ramallah city in the West Bank.
Local official Saleh al-Tamimi said that Israeli bulldozers escorted by troops stormed al-Rujman area and embarked on leveling a tract of land belonging to Ahmed al-Tamimi, Abdul-Hamdi al-Tamimi and Ahmed al-Khatib.
Tamimi added that the Israeli army seeks to expand the illegal settlement of Halamish, which were established on annexed land belonging to the villages of Deir Nidham and Nabi Saleh.
Local official Saleh al-Tamimi said that Israeli bulldozers escorted by troops stormed al-Rujman area and embarked on leveling a tract of land belonging to Ahmed al-Tamimi, Abdul-Hamdi al-Tamimi and Ahmed al-Khatib.
Tamimi added that the Israeli army seeks to expand the illegal settlement of Halamish, which were established on annexed land belonging to the villages of Deir Nidham and Nabi Saleh.
15 feb 2019
On Wednesday, Israeli forces cut off the water supply lines which provide water to the Masafer Yatta communities, south of Hebron.
The head of the Twaneh village council, Mohammed Reb’i, said that Israeli forces cut off water lines which feed 17 communities in Masafer Yatta.
Reb’i added that the measures come in the context of targeting citizens and their steadfastness in those areas, in an attempt to force them to leave their homes to illegal Israeli settlement expansion.
Israeli forces recently bulldozed a road that had been rehabilitated and connected the village of Twaned to the area of Khallet al-Daba.
According to the PNN, some 1,500 residents live in Masafer Yatta, and the Israeli occupation prevents the construction of roads and the provision of basic services, in these areas.
The head of the Twaneh village council, Mohammed Reb’i, said that Israeli forces cut off water lines which feed 17 communities in Masafer Yatta.
Reb’i added that the measures come in the context of targeting citizens and their steadfastness in those areas, in an attempt to force them to leave their homes to illegal Israeli settlement expansion.
Israeli forces recently bulldozed a road that had been rehabilitated and connected the village of Twaned to the area of Khallet al-Daba.
According to the PNN, some 1,500 residents live in Masafer Yatta, and the Israeli occupation prevents the construction of roads and the provision of basic services, in these areas.
12 feb 2019
Israel's Jerusalem municipality on Monday demolished new parts of Mamilla Cemetery in favor of settlement projects.
According to Arab 48, Israel has so far destroyed 400 grave markers and tombs to clear way for the construction of cafés, hotels, restaurants, and the so-called "Museum of Tolerance".
Mamilla is one of the most prominent Muslim cemeteries that contains the remains of figures from the early Islamic period, including scholars and warriors.
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the Gaza Strip in an official statement condemned the Israeli plan to wipe off the cemetery and described it as an "unprecedented crime" against Islamic sanctuaries in the occupied territories.
The Ministry called on concerned international organizations, especially UNESCO, to protect the Islamic sites in Jerusalem and put an end to the Israeli policies targeting this sacred historical heritage.
According to Arab 48, Israel has so far destroyed 400 grave markers and tombs to clear way for the construction of cafés, hotels, restaurants, and the so-called "Museum of Tolerance".
Mamilla is one of the most prominent Muslim cemeteries that contains the remains of figures from the early Islamic period, including scholars and warriors.
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the Gaza Strip in an official statement condemned the Israeli plan to wipe off the cemetery and described it as an "unprecedented crime" against Islamic sanctuaries in the occupied territories.
The Ministry called on concerned international organizations, especially UNESCO, to protect the Islamic sites in Jerusalem and put an end to the Israeli policies targeting this sacred historical heritage.
11 feb 2019
Israeli authorities declared intention to retroactively legalize settlement buildings built in part on private Palestinian land in the West Bank settlement of Alei Zahav, legally established in Deir Ballut and Kafr al-Dik villages in the northern West Bank district of Salfit, Israeli media sources reported Monday.
According to Haaretz Hebrew newspaper, a legal mechanism, approved in December, has allowed to retroactively authorize illegal construction on private Palestinian land if the land was allotted "in good faith” if Israel incorrectly believed that the lands belonged to it at the time of its allotment.
Israel was using now-obsolete surveying technology to declare certain areas as state land, but these plots were not always marked accurately on maps.
Currently, Israel’s Civil Administration is using a new technology to correct the line, known as the “blue line,” retroactively, finding that some areas that were thought to have been state lands were actually never seized by Israel, the paper said.
The land on which settlement unit are built in Alei Zahav was considered state land, according to the old maps. However, the Civil Administration team discovered in 2016 that land on which some buildings were built was actually private Palestinian land.
According to the new mechanism, 2,000 settlement units will be legalized in areas considered to contain "illegally built structures."
According to Haaretz Hebrew newspaper, a legal mechanism, approved in December, has allowed to retroactively authorize illegal construction on private Palestinian land if the land was allotted "in good faith” if Israel incorrectly believed that the lands belonged to it at the time of its allotment.
Israel was using now-obsolete surveying technology to declare certain areas as state land, but these plots were not always marked accurately on maps.
Currently, Israel’s Civil Administration is using a new technology to correct the line, known as the “blue line,” retroactively, finding that some areas that were thought to have been state lands were actually never seized by Israel, the paper said.
The land on which settlement unit are built in Alei Zahav was considered state land, according to the old maps. However, the Civil Administration team discovered in 2016 that land on which some buildings were built was actually private Palestinian land.
According to the new mechanism, 2,000 settlement units will be legalized in areas considered to contain "illegally built structures."
9 feb 2019
Dozens of Israeli ministers and senior officials from the Likud political party and other right-wing parties have signed a petition to settle two million Jews across the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and ministers Gilad Erdan, Miri Regev, Yisrael Katz of the Likud party, Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett of New Right party, were among signatories on a petition to abandon the two-state solution and establish new Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank.
The signed petition was put forward by the Nahala Movement, an Israeli settler group, to promote an Israeli settlement plan introduced under the government of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir in the early 1900s.
The main objective of the petition is to settle 2 million Jews in the West Bank.
Nahala activists have been recently protesting outside of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, demanding the next government to work toward the settlement of all of West Bank and to abandon the idea of a two-state solution.
Among members of the Likud who have signed the declaration are Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, Environmental Protection and Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Culture Minister Miri Regev, Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, Communication Minister Ayoub Kara, Immigration and Absorption Minister Yoav Gallant, Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel and Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, both of the New Right party, also signed the petition.
The Nahala Movement's declaration read, "I hereby commit to be loyal to the land of Israel, not to cede one inch of our inheritance from our forefathers. I hereby commit to act to realize the settlement plan for the settlement of 2 million Jews in Judea and Samaria in accordance with Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's plan, as well as to encourage and lead the redemption of all the lands throughout Judea and Samaria. I commit to act to cancel the declaration of two states for two peoples and replace it with the stately declaration: The land of Israel: One country for one people."
The Nahala Movement said in a statement that the petition is an “ideological and ethical loyalty test.”
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.
Israeli Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and ministers Gilad Erdan, Miri Regev, Yisrael Katz of the Likud party, Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett of New Right party, were among signatories on a petition to abandon the two-state solution and establish new Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank.
The signed petition was put forward by the Nahala Movement, an Israeli settler group, to promote an Israeli settlement plan introduced under the government of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir in the early 1900s.
The main objective of the petition is to settle 2 million Jews in the West Bank.
Nahala activists have been recently protesting outside of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, demanding the next government to work toward the settlement of all of West Bank and to abandon the idea of a two-state solution.
Among members of the Likud who have signed the declaration are Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, Environmental Protection and Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Culture Minister Miri Regev, Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, Communication Minister Ayoub Kara, Immigration and Absorption Minister Yoav Gallant, Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel and Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, both of the New Right party, also signed the petition.
The Nahala Movement's declaration read, "I hereby commit to be loyal to the land of Israel, not to cede one inch of our inheritance from our forefathers. I hereby commit to act to realize the settlement plan for the settlement of 2 million Jews in Judea and Samaria in accordance with Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's plan, as well as to encourage and lead the redemption of all the lands throughout Judea and Samaria. I commit to act to cancel the declaration of two states for two peoples and replace it with the stately declaration: The land of Israel: One country for one people."
The Nahala Movement said in a statement that the petition is an “ideological and ethical loyalty test.”
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.
Israel is planning to seize hundreds of dunums of Palestinian land in Salfit in favor of settlement expansion, sources revealed on Saturday.
Kifl Haris municipality on Saturday was handed an Israeli plan for the establishment of a sewage line that is 2,800 kilometers long and has a width of 8 meters on privately-owned Palestinian lands in Salfit.
Palestinian researcher Khaled Ma'ali said that the Israeli sewage line will destroy hundreds of dunums of land and dozens of olive trees, and will distort the valleys running in the targeted area.
Ma'ali said that vast tracts of lands owned by Palestinian citizens in the villages of Kifl Haris, Qira, Deir Istiya, Bruqin, Kafr ad-Dik, Sarta, Biddya, Az-Zawiya, and Mas-ha in Salfit will be bulldozed and seized in favor of the Israeli project.
Kifl Haris municipality on Saturday was handed an Israeli plan for the establishment of a sewage line that is 2,800 kilometers long and has a width of 8 meters on privately-owned Palestinian lands in Salfit.
Palestinian researcher Khaled Ma'ali said that the Israeli sewage line will destroy hundreds of dunums of land and dozens of olive trees, and will distort the valleys running in the targeted area.
Ma'ali said that vast tracts of lands owned by Palestinian citizens in the villages of Kifl Haris, Qira, Deir Istiya, Bruqin, Kafr ad-Dik, Sarta, Biddya, Az-Zawiya, and Mas-ha in Salfit will be bulldozed and seized in favor of the Israeli project.
8 feb 2019
The advancement of settlement units continued at an unprecedented high level during the second half of 2018 (July-December), according to a recent EU report on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
More than 7,000 units in the occupied West Bank (4,350), including East Jerusalem (2,900), were advanced in different stages of the planning and implementation process (tenders and plans).
The report said that several important developments took place during the reporting period. In East Jerusalem, Israeli High Court decisions brought between 600 and 700 Palestinians at risk of being evicted in Batan al Hawa (close to the Old city) and families in Sheikh Jarrah (32 persons) lost their final appeal against eviction. A development that will deepen the Israel control of East Jerusalem and the Old City Bassin.
In December, the Israeli government announced that it would allocate land at the Givat Eitam outpost site for the purpose of planning a new settlement in the strategic “E2” area, that potentially will cut off Bethlehem from the southern West Bank, completing the near encirclement of Bethlehem by Israeli settlements.
The many settlement approvals also included plans that will effectively regulate two new settlements (by legalizing the unauthorized outposts of Ibei Hanachal and Gva’ot) and establish two new settlement industrial zones (one near the Beitar Illit settlement and one near the Avnei Hefetz settlement).
The total advancement of settlement units in 2018 (January-December) amounted to more than 15,800 units (9,400 units in the West Bank and 6,400 units in East Jerusalem). The figures show a sharp spike in planning for future construction. This development will, over several years, enable potentially more than 60,0001 Israeli settlers to move to the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
According to the PNN, there are currently approximately 215,000 Israelis living in East Jerusalem, while the settler population in Area C in the occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, is some 413,0002 . This brings the settler population to approximately 630,000 Israeli settlers in 143 settlement locations in the West Bank (132) including East Jerusalem (11)3 and 106 outposts.
Settlements are illegal under international law as reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) and the developments on the ground make the prospect of a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the future capital of both states, increasingly unattainable.
More than 7,000 units in the occupied West Bank (4,350), including East Jerusalem (2,900), were advanced in different stages of the planning and implementation process (tenders and plans).
The report said that several important developments took place during the reporting period. In East Jerusalem, Israeli High Court decisions brought between 600 and 700 Palestinians at risk of being evicted in Batan al Hawa (close to the Old city) and families in Sheikh Jarrah (32 persons) lost their final appeal against eviction. A development that will deepen the Israel control of East Jerusalem and the Old City Bassin.
In December, the Israeli government announced that it would allocate land at the Givat Eitam outpost site for the purpose of planning a new settlement in the strategic “E2” area, that potentially will cut off Bethlehem from the southern West Bank, completing the near encirclement of Bethlehem by Israeli settlements.
The many settlement approvals also included plans that will effectively regulate two new settlements (by legalizing the unauthorized outposts of Ibei Hanachal and Gva’ot) and establish two new settlement industrial zones (one near the Beitar Illit settlement and one near the Avnei Hefetz settlement).
The total advancement of settlement units in 2018 (January-December) amounted to more than 15,800 units (9,400 units in the West Bank and 6,400 units in East Jerusalem). The figures show a sharp spike in planning for future construction. This development will, over several years, enable potentially more than 60,0001 Israeli settlers to move to the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
According to the PNN, there are currently approximately 215,000 Israelis living in East Jerusalem, while the settler population in Area C in the occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, is some 413,0002 . This brings the settler population to approximately 630,000 Israeli settlers in 143 settlement locations in the West Bank (132) including East Jerusalem (11)3 and 106 outposts.
Settlements are illegal under international law as reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) and the developments on the ground make the prospect of a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the future capital of both states, increasingly unattainable.
