31 dec 2016
The Israeli army invaded, Friday, privately-owned Palestinian lands in Wad Rahhal village, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and fenced them, in preparation for illegally confiscating them.
Hasan Brejiyya, the coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Colonies in Bethlehem, told WAFA Palestinian News Agency that the fenced Palestinian lands are close to Efrat illegal colony, built on private Palestinian lands.
He added that, besides isolating the lands, the fencing is also preventing other Palestinians from reaching their orchards.
Brejiyya stated that the latest violation is part of ongoing Israeli attempts to illegally occupying more lands and orchards in order to expand existing colonies, and for military purposes.
Wad Rahhal village has been subject to ongoing invasions, including violent searches of homes by the soldiers, especially over the last week.
The soldiers frequently install military roadblocks, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and inspecting the ID cards of the passengers.
Hasan Brejiyya, the coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Colonies in Bethlehem, told WAFA Palestinian News Agency that the fenced Palestinian lands are close to Efrat illegal colony, built on private Palestinian lands.
He added that, besides isolating the lands, the fencing is also preventing other Palestinians from reaching their orchards.
Brejiyya stated that the latest violation is part of ongoing Israeli attempts to illegally occupying more lands and orchards in order to expand existing colonies, and for military purposes.
Wad Rahhal village has been subject to ongoing invasions, including violent searches of homes by the soldiers, especially over the last week.
The soldiers frequently install military roadblocks, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and inspecting the ID cards of the passengers.
30 dec 2016
At the agricultural lands and olive groves surrounding the southern part of the village of Rafat the Israeli occupation bulldozers continue to uproot lands belonging to Rafat village and other surrounding villages, depriving the residents of the village of their most fertile lands as well as their historical landmarks.
Just like the rest of the West Bank’s villages and towns, the village of Rafat to the West of Salfit suffers from the Israeli cancer of settlements which expands day after another, and quickly. The settlement has completely isolated the southern lands of the village of Rafat, after the then Israeli Minister of Housing and the Head of the Jewish Home Party Uri Ariel had initiated it in 2013.
Uprooting and Confiscation
Palestinian farmer Ahmed Ayash, whose face reflects the suffering caused by the Israeli settlements and settlers, said from his land located to the south of the village: “Bulldozers get closer to my land day by day. I might wake up to see bulldozers completely uprooting my land.”
He added, “Everyday we wake up to the sound of bulldozers uprooting our lands and collecting sand and stones to the south of the village, and no one could stop them as they enjoy the protection of the Israeli occupation army. They uproot lands without warnings and notification. The Israeli occupation state behaves as if it is above law.”
Ersan Shehadeh, the head of the local council of Rafat, asserts that the settlements of Leshem and Eli Zahaf exploits and consumes the lands of the villages of Rafat, Kufir al-Deek, Sarata and Dir Balout, in addition to confiscating historical landmarks, which are Roman structures and landmarks named Dir Samhan and known for its beauty.
For his part, Ghassan Daghlas, the head of the settlements file in the PLO, has asserted, “The governorate of Nablus suffers from the catastrophe of settlements and that Leshem is a newly built settlement next to Eli Zahaf settlement.”
PLO is Responsible
Palestinian MP Dr. Mustafa al-Barghouthi held the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) responsible for the acceleration of settlements’ construction “Because it didn’t request a total halt of settlements’ construction (When it signed the Oslo Accords) and chose to put off this issue, in addition to other issues, in what became known as the final status quo issues, which gave the Israeli occupation an opportunity to exploit peace talks and the best excuse to Judaize Jerusalem and tear apart Palestinian lands in the West Bank.”
Commenting on expanding the settlement of Leshem and other West Bank settlements, Israeli writer Dov Fasghlas wrote in Yediot Ahronot Newspaper, “Israel is expanding holes in the Palestinian piece of cheese,” and that scattered economic projects of settlements in the depth of Palestinian lands make reaching a political settlement impossible and make Israel’s talk about peace a joke.”
Dr. Khaled Ma’ali, a researcher, said the settlement of Leshem started with 170 housing units, including under-construction units, as part of a plan to build 700 housing units at the expense of farmers’ lands. The settlement now completely surrounds the Khirbat Samaan historical area.
Ma’ali noted that Leshem was initiated in 2013 next to Eli Zahaf settlement, which was founded in 1982, and its total area was 290 dunums until 2010, and it was built on the lands of Rafat, Dir Balout, and Kufur al-Deek and Sarta to the west of Salfit, and its population then was 424.
Ma’ali noted that Leshem, the Hebrew word for jewel, is one of 25 settlements that surround the governorate of Salfit. He concluded, “What the Israeli occupation is doing of daily uprooting of lands violates the international humanitarian law.”
Just like the rest of the West Bank’s villages and towns, the village of Rafat to the West of Salfit suffers from the Israeli cancer of settlements which expands day after another, and quickly. The settlement has completely isolated the southern lands of the village of Rafat, after the then Israeli Minister of Housing and the Head of the Jewish Home Party Uri Ariel had initiated it in 2013.
Uprooting and Confiscation
Palestinian farmer Ahmed Ayash, whose face reflects the suffering caused by the Israeli settlements and settlers, said from his land located to the south of the village: “Bulldozers get closer to my land day by day. I might wake up to see bulldozers completely uprooting my land.”
He added, “Everyday we wake up to the sound of bulldozers uprooting our lands and collecting sand and stones to the south of the village, and no one could stop them as they enjoy the protection of the Israeli occupation army. They uproot lands without warnings and notification. The Israeli occupation state behaves as if it is above law.”
Ersan Shehadeh, the head of the local council of Rafat, asserts that the settlements of Leshem and Eli Zahaf exploits and consumes the lands of the villages of Rafat, Kufir al-Deek, Sarata and Dir Balout, in addition to confiscating historical landmarks, which are Roman structures and landmarks named Dir Samhan and known for its beauty.
For his part, Ghassan Daghlas, the head of the settlements file in the PLO, has asserted, “The governorate of Nablus suffers from the catastrophe of settlements and that Leshem is a newly built settlement next to Eli Zahaf settlement.”
PLO is Responsible
Palestinian MP Dr. Mustafa al-Barghouthi held the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) responsible for the acceleration of settlements’ construction “Because it didn’t request a total halt of settlements’ construction (When it signed the Oslo Accords) and chose to put off this issue, in addition to other issues, in what became known as the final status quo issues, which gave the Israeli occupation an opportunity to exploit peace talks and the best excuse to Judaize Jerusalem and tear apart Palestinian lands in the West Bank.”
Commenting on expanding the settlement of Leshem and other West Bank settlements, Israeli writer Dov Fasghlas wrote in Yediot Ahronot Newspaper, “Israel is expanding holes in the Palestinian piece of cheese,” and that scattered economic projects of settlements in the depth of Palestinian lands make reaching a political settlement impossible and make Israel’s talk about peace a joke.”
Dr. Khaled Ma’ali, a researcher, said the settlement of Leshem started with 170 housing units, including under-construction units, as part of a plan to build 700 housing units at the expense of farmers’ lands. The settlement now completely surrounds the Khirbat Samaan historical area.
Ma’ali noted that Leshem was initiated in 2013 next to Eli Zahaf settlement, which was founded in 1982, and its total area was 290 dunums until 2010, and it was built on the lands of Rafat, Dir Balout, and Kufur al-Deek and Sarta to the west of Salfit, and its population then was 424.
Ma’ali noted that Leshem, the Hebrew word for jewel, is one of 25 settlements that surround the governorate of Salfit. He concluded, “What the Israeli occupation is doing of daily uprooting of lands violates the international humanitarian law.”
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) have seized about 13,295 dunums of Palestinian land during 2016, according to a report released on Thursday by the Palestinian Land Research Center (LRC).
Israel’s appropriation of Palestinian land increased by 43 percent during the current year compared to 2015, the report said.
During the reporting month, 9,700 fruitful trees, including 6,550 olive trees, were uprooted or sabotaged by the IOA and settlers.
The center also recorded 110 direct Israeli assaults on farmers and Bedouins and 195 attacks and violations on religious and historical sites, 100 of them occurred at the Aqsa Mosque.
The IOA also established 802 road barriers, most of them makeshift checkpoints, during the same year in different areas of the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israel’s appropriation of Palestinian land increased by 43 percent during the current year compared to 2015, the report said.
During the reporting month, 9,700 fruitful trees, including 6,550 olive trees, were uprooted or sabotaged by the IOA and settlers.
The center also recorded 110 direct Israeli assaults on farmers and Bedouins and 195 attacks and violations on religious and historical sites, 100 of them occurred at the Aqsa Mosque.
The IOA also established 802 road barriers, most of them makeshift checkpoints, during the same year in different areas of the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Several Palestinians were kidnapped and civilian homes ravaged by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Friday in an abrupt sweep launched across the West Bank and Jerusalem.
A PIC news correspondent said eight Israeli army patrols rolled into the northern West Bank province of Tulkarem and cordoned off the Shweika neighborhood. Ambushes were set up across the area in the process.
The assault culminated in the abduction of Palestinian citizen Amjad Bassam from his own family home in Shweika quarter.
A few hours earlier, the IOF stormed Jenin province and set up an ambush near the main entrance to Qabatiya town, to the south.
The IOF stopped a van carrying two Palestinian youths and arrested youngster Basheer Abu al-Rub before they seized the vehicle.
At predawn time, four occupation patrols broke into Nablus’s southern town of al-Sawiya, sparking clashes with the Palestinian locals.
The IOF soldiers attacked the Palestinian protesters with randomly-discharged spates of acoustic bombs.
A similar assault rocked Qaryout’s western corners, to the south of Nablus.
The IOF reportedly wreaked havoc on civilian homes in Ramallah province and scoured residential neighborhoods, triggering panic in the area.
Meanwhile, 20 Israeli settlers, escorted by dozens of special cops, held sway over a Palestinian building in Wadi al-Hiwleh neighborhood, in Jerusalem’s southeastern town of Silwan.
The targeted two-storey building covers an overall area of 160 square meters.
At the same time, the IOF smashed a memorial statute commemorating the slain Palestinian officer Mazin Areiba in Abu Dis town, in eastern Occupied Jerusalem, on claims of incitement.
The IOF attacked the Palestinian protesters with barrages of acoustic grenades as they objected the arbitrary removal of the statue.
Areiba, a Palestinian cop, was killed by the occupation forces on December 3, 2015 after he opened fire at Israeli soldiers near the Hizma military checkpoint in northern Occupied Jerusalem. An Israeli soldier was injured in the anti-occupation shooting.
A PIC news correspondent said eight Israeli army patrols rolled into the northern West Bank province of Tulkarem and cordoned off the Shweika neighborhood. Ambushes were set up across the area in the process.
The assault culminated in the abduction of Palestinian citizen Amjad Bassam from his own family home in Shweika quarter.
A few hours earlier, the IOF stormed Jenin province and set up an ambush near the main entrance to Qabatiya town, to the south.
The IOF stopped a van carrying two Palestinian youths and arrested youngster Basheer Abu al-Rub before they seized the vehicle.
At predawn time, four occupation patrols broke into Nablus’s southern town of al-Sawiya, sparking clashes with the Palestinian locals.
The IOF soldiers attacked the Palestinian protesters with randomly-discharged spates of acoustic bombs.
A similar assault rocked Qaryout’s western corners, to the south of Nablus.
The IOF reportedly wreaked havoc on civilian homes in Ramallah province and scoured residential neighborhoods, triggering panic in the area.
Meanwhile, 20 Israeli settlers, escorted by dozens of special cops, held sway over a Palestinian building in Wadi al-Hiwleh neighborhood, in Jerusalem’s southeastern town of Silwan.
The targeted two-storey building covers an overall area of 160 square meters.
At the same time, the IOF smashed a memorial statute commemorating the slain Palestinian officer Mazin Areiba in Abu Dis town, in eastern Occupied Jerusalem, on claims of incitement.
The IOF attacked the Palestinian protesters with barrages of acoustic grenades as they objected the arbitrary removal of the statue.
Areiba, a Palestinian cop, was killed by the occupation forces on December 3, 2015 after he opened fire at Israeli soldiers near the Hizma military checkpoint in northern Occupied Jerusalem. An Israeli soldier was injured in the anti-occupation shooting.
29 dec 2016
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demolished on Thursday morning a number of Palestinian facilities near Laban village to the west of Ramallah, local sources revealed.
The sources pointed out that IOF soldiers stormed along with a number of bulldozers the village and started demolishing several commercial shops and confiscated their goods and equipment.
The demolition orders came under the pretext of building without permit.
IOF demolished 1,023 Palestinian facilities in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem since the beginning of 2016, 302 of them were funded by donor countries, a Palestinian rights group said on Wednesday.
The sources pointed out that IOF soldiers stormed along with a number of bulldozers the village and started demolishing several commercial shops and confiscated their goods and equipment.
The demolition orders came under the pretext of building without permit.
IOF demolished 1,023 Palestinian facilities in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem since the beginning of 2016, 302 of them were funded by donor countries, a Palestinian rights group said on Wednesday.
Israeli military bulldozers started Thursday morning razing Palestinian-owned lands in Shuafat and Beit Hanina villages in occupied Jerusalem as a prelude to expand the illegal settlement Ramat Shlomo.
According to the new expansion plan, 690 houses will be built in Ramat Shlomo.
Head of Shuafat village council Isehaq Said told the PIC reporter that Israeli occupation authorities confiscated large portions of land west of Shuafat and Beit Hanina villages with the aim of expanding the illegal settlement.
The confiscation of new lands in the two Palestinian villages led to a severe lack of agricultural land for local farmers and distorted the beautiful landscape, he pointed out.
He said that Israeli settlement expansion has been growing at the expense of the two villages’ lands despite the Israeli claims of postponing settlement construction, Said added.
Israeli decision to postpone settlement projects is only an attempt to manipulate the US administration, according to his statement.
Israel’s construction of settlements in occupied Jerusalem, which Palestinians seek as their future capital, and other Palestinian territories is illegal under international law.
Israel’s refusal to cease settlement-building activities has been widely condemned as an obstacle to achieving lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
According to the new expansion plan, 690 houses will be built in Ramat Shlomo.
Head of Shuafat village council Isehaq Said told the PIC reporter that Israeli occupation authorities confiscated large portions of land west of Shuafat and Beit Hanina villages with the aim of expanding the illegal settlement.
The confiscation of new lands in the two Palestinian villages led to a severe lack of agricultural land for local farmers and distorted the beautiful landscape, he pointed out.
He said that Israeli settlement expansion has been growing at the expense of the two villages’ lands despite the Israeli claims of postponing settlement construction, Said added.
Israeli decision to postpone settlement projects is only an attempt to manipulate the US administration, according to his statement.
Israel’s construction of settlements in occupied Jerusalem, which Palestinians seek as their future capital, and other Palestinian territories is illegal under international law.
Israel’s refusal to cease settlement-building activities has been widely condemned as an obstacle to achieving lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
28 dec 2016
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) bulldozers at dawn Wednesday knocked down Palestinian structures in Silwan town to the southeast of Occupied Jerusalem.
Palestinian citizen Mundher Seyam said Israeli bulldozers, escorted by special police troops, rolled into Ein al-Lawza neighborhood, in Silwan, at 6 a.m. and demolished structures built on his private land lots.
The demolition procedure targeted a storeroom built 30 years ago and a number of agricultural containers covering an area of about 20 square meters each.
The demolitions were carried out under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
The occupation bulldozers further razed a commercial shop owned by the Abu Hudwan family near the al-Maghareba quarter in Silwan.
At least 230 Palestinian buildings and structures have been knocked down by the Israeli occupation authorities in and around Occupied Jerusalem since the start of 2016.
Palestinian citizen Mundher Seyam said Israeli bulldozers, escorted by special police troops, rolled into Ein al-Lawza neighborhood, in Silwan, at 6 a.m. and demolished structures built on his private land lots.
The demolition procedure targeted a storeroom built 30 years ago and a number of agricultural containers covering an area of about 20 square meters each.
The demolitions were carried out under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
The occupation bulldozers further razed a commercial shop owned by the Abu Hudwan family near the al-Maghareba quarter in Silwan.
At least 230 Palestinian buildings and structures have been knocked down by the Israeli occupation authorities in and around Occupied Jerusalem since the start of 2016.
27 dec 2016
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) had approved 35 Palestinian structures in C areas of the West Bank and gave demolition orders to over 2,000 other structures during the past three years, the Israeli daily Haaretz said on Tuesday.
Haaretz said the number of Palestinian structures demolished is 18 times more than those approved.
According to the information from the Civil administration, in 2014, nine building permits were approved. In 2015 seven were approved and in 2016 only 37 were approved. In exchange, 2,000 demolition orders were given, 983 of them have already been carried out.
The Civil Administration said that it has no information on the number of permits given to Israeli settlements because they are not responsible for that issue. However, it said that in 2014, 865 demolition orders have been given to settlement units, and only 438 of them have been demolished.
Area C constitutes over 60% of the occupied West Bank, and falls under Israeli Civil and Military control. Israel continues to demolish Palestinians homes in the area in favor of Israeli illegal settlements that are deemed illegitimate under international law.
Haaretz said the number of Palestinian structures demolished is 18 times more than those approved.
According to the information from the Civil administration, in 2014, nine building permits were approved. In 2015 seven were approved and in 2016 only 37 were approved. In exchange, 2,000 demolition orders were given, 983 of them have already been carried out.
The Civil Administration said that it has no information on the number of permits given to Israeli settlements because they are not responsible for that issue. However, it said that in 2014, 865 demolition orders have been given to settlement units, and only 438 of them have been demolished.
Area C constitutes over 60% of the occupied West Bank, and falls under Israeli Civil and Military control. Israel continues to demolish Palestinians homes in the area in favor of Israeli illegal settlements that are deemed illegitimate under international law.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers abducted, overnight and at dawn Tuesday, eleven Palestinians from their homes in different parts of the occupied West Bank.
The Ramallah office of the PPS said the soldiers stormed and searched many homes in the district, and abducted five Palestinians, identified as Mohammad Barakat, Adham Amira, Jad Rajha, Tareq Rajab Nimir, 19, and Thara’ Ali Barghouthi, 19.
The soldiers also invaded Qabatia town, south of Jenin, and abducted Ahmad Kamil, Anas Kamil, Walid Kamil, and Khaled Saho, after invading their homes and searching them.
In Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, the soldiers also searched homes and abducted two Palestinians, identified as Yousef Mohammad al-Allami and Mohammad Abu Turki.
All of the abducted Palestinians were taken to several detention and interrogation centers, in military bases, in the West Bank.
In related news, several army vehicles invaded Wadi al-Nees village, south of Bethlehem, and photographed a few under-construction Palestinian homes that are facing demolition by the military.
Owners of four of the homes have been identified as Anwar Saqer Abu Hammad, Mohammad Mahmoud Abu Hammad, Amran Abu Hammad and Hasan Yousef.
The Ramallah office of the PPS said the soldiers stormed and searched many homes in the district, and abducted five Palestinians, identified as Mohammad Barakat, Adham Amira, Jad Rajha, Tareq Rajab Nimir, 19, and Thara’ Ali Barghouthi, 19.
The soldiers also invaded Qabatia town, south of Jenin, and abducted Ahmad Kamil, Anas Kamil, Walid Kamil, and Khaled Saho, after invading their homes and searching them.
In Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, the soldiers also searched homes and abducted two Palestinians, identified as Yousef Mohammad al-Allami and Mohammad Abu Turki.
All of the abducted Palestinians were taken to several detention and interrogation centers, in military bases, in the West Bank.
In related news, several army vehicles invaded Wadi al-Nees village, south of Bethlehem, and photographed a few under-construction Palestinian homes that are facing demolition by the military.
Owners of four of the homes have been identified as Anwar Saqer Abu Hammad, Mohammad Mahmoud Abu Hammad, Amran Abu Hammad and Hasan Yousef.
Two Israeli bulldozers and a truck wreaked havoc on Palestinian farmlands on Tuesday morning in Deir Ballut town west of Salfit province to the north of occupied West Bank.
Eyewitnesses affirmed that bulldozers belonging to the Israeli illegal settlement of Leshem razed Palestinian agricultural lands located near the local homes in the town.
The bulldozing operations led to a severe lack of land for local farmers and distorted the beautiful landscape, the sources added.
The Leshem settlement was constructed in 2013 on Palestinian lands from the nearby Kafr al-Dik, Deir Ballut, and Rafat villages.
Eyewitnesses affirmed that bulldozers belonging to the Israeli illegal settlement of Leshem razed Palestinian agricultural lands located near the local homes in the town.
The bulldozing operations led to a severe lack of land for local farmers and distorted the beautiful landscape, the sources added.
The Leshem settlement was constructed in 2013 on Palestinian lands from the nearby Kafr al-Dik, Deir Ballut, and Rafat villages.
