By: Madeeha Araj,
In a dangerous step toward “racism” against the occupied Hebron city, where 250,000 Palestinians live, the Israeli occupation authorities have granted the settlement council in the down town of Hebron legal powers to manage the municipal affairs of 800 settlers, who settled in the heart of Hebron. in a statement, the Israeli army said, under this order, a council representing the residents of the Jewish settlement in Hebron will be formed and municipal services will be provided to them in all areas. Moreover, Israeli Army Minister, Avigdor Lieberman said that he ordered a change in the status of the settlers’ council and promised to do more for them. Adding, strengthening Jewish community in Hebron is very important and that he is determined to continue to develop settlements to grow and flourish.
The announcement coincided with UN Secretary-General, Antonio Gutierrez’s visit to the Palestinian territories, and a month after the UNESCO decision to consider the Ibrahimi Mosque and the Old City in Hebron as historic and Palestinian sites registered on the World Heritage List.
Within the context of the settlement escalation, Israeli occupation forces held a celebration under the title “Jubilee Lights ” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of settlement in the West Bank, which was organized in the Borkan industrial area, attended by thousands of settlers and a number of politicians, where Netanyahu said, there will be no evacuation of settlers after today and there will be no uprooting of settlements in the “Land of Israel.
This is the legacy of our fathers, this is our land, we are back here to stay forever, and there is a second reason to keep this place.” Samaria is a strategic asset for the State of Israel, and the key to its future, because we see all parts of the State from these mountains.
The celebrations included, Minister of Education and the head of the Jewish Home party, Naftali Bennett, where head of the Shomron settlement council, Yossi Dagan, said, we have returned here forever. This is a festive day not only in Samaria, but for all the people of Israel. “Dagan, speaking to Netanyahu, “Give us the strength to realize the Zionist dream. Samaria needs building new settlements. He also demanded the return of the settlers to the settlements that were evacuated 12 years ago.
Lieberman said that since the 2000s, there has been no such momentum in the construction of settlements as of this year, adding that this year witnessed the construction of 3,400 units and the approval of another 7,000 that are now in their final stages of planning. He also discussed the organization of the 70 outposts, and he is working to strengthen them and to give them legal status.
Thus, Netanyahu renewed his commitment to build 300 settlement units in the Beit El settlement soon. This came during a speech marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the settlement. While Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett and the leader of the Jewish Home Party called on Netanyahu to declare full sovereignty over the West Bank. Bennett said during his participation in a ceremony that there would be no Palestinian State.
Moreover, he told Netanyahu: “I call on you to impose sovereignty over the West Bank. Adding, those who dream of the establishment of a Palestinian state, there will be no State called Palestine.” He vowed to approve the construction of 300 new settlement units in Beit-El next month. For his part, Knesset Speaker, Yuli Edelstein confirmed that he will stand with the residents of the settlement until the completion of the construction of 300 housing units as promised
Within the same context, Israeli media said that “the government will approve the resumption of construction in the new Imahai settlement during its weekly meeting to house the settlers who were evacuated from the Amona outpost, thus, the Ministry of Finance will transfer NIS 55,000,000 to the Ministry of the Interior for transferring to the Matte Benjamin Regional Council in the occupied West Bank.
The government will also approve the transfer of NIS 5,000,00 to the Ministry of Security in order to construct temporary buildings in the settlement. The Israeli government intends to approve the allocation of NIS 60,000,000 to begin the construction at the Imahai settlement, south of Nablus, to accommodate settlers evacuated from the Amona outpost. The settlement is expected to include at least 100 settlement units. At the first stage, mobile homes will be erected, until the planning committee approves the construction plan, and then the permanent construction begins.
The Israeli Interior Security Minister, Gilad Arad, stormed east of occupied Jerusalem and carried out a provocative tour accompanied by the so-called Jerusalem District Commander, Yoram Helifi and the heads of settlements in the area led by Mati Dan of the Zionist organization Ateret Kohnim in the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem. The tour included the settlements of Ma’aleh Hazitim and Kedem Zion, and the Silwan town and the Mount of Olives, during which he met the settlers and discussed with them the security situation. He gave green light to them to carry out attacks against the Palestinians. Jews can live here safely, and do what you want safely and with full confidence. “During his tour, Ardan launched statements supporting the settlement, and expressing the occupation’s intentions to control the Holy City under Talmudic arguments.
The The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements has considered the disclose of a group of extreme right-wing settlers from the youth, named Hill Youth, where a new group also emerged from it called the “the rebels organization”, whose elements are from Bladiem Outpost that located between the Yitzhar and Kutshav-Hachfar settlements, who are planning armed attacks against the Palestinians, as a natural result of incitement and racism practiced by Netanyahu. The Bureau called on the international community in general and the United States and the European Union in particular to stop the double standards policy in dealing with terrorism, and to include the Israeli hilltop youth and Jewish price-paying organizations and their affiliates as a “illegal” organization and declaring openly that all these ultra-Terrorist organization against the Israeli government to act without hesitation to dismantle them.
The National Bureau condemned the statements made by the Netanyahu’s ministers, and stressed that settlement in all its forms is illegal and it contradicts the resolutions of international legitimacy, signed agreements, international law and the Geneva Conventions. And that all Israeli measures carried out by the Netanyahu government in the Palestinian territories, particularly, in Jerusalem as null and void.
The National Bureau documented the following Israeli Occupation and Settlers’ Violations during the last week:
Jerusalem:
- Escalating demolition of houses and structures of Palestinian residents under vague pretexts, the latest of which was the Israeli court’s response to a request by Jewish settlement organizations to implement a resolution to demolish the third floor of the Castero Al-Ayoubi’s building. Besides, what was revealed by Al-Quds International Foundation from the scheme of the Judaization of the Islamic graves to be converted to the so-called “biblical gardens”, thus, occupation bulldozers attempted to demolish the wall of the Yusufiyah cemetery, adjacent to the walls of historic Jerusalem.
- The same area witnessed many landslides and cracks during the previous periods, especially in winter due to the continued excavations of the occupation authorities down the main street to open more tunnels towards the southern wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
- Allowing the Jewish Knesset members to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The aim was to measure the reaction of the Palestinian and Arabs. Thus, on August 29, the extremist Knesset member, Yehuda Glick, accompanied by a group of 25 settlers, then a member of the Knesset, “Shuli Ma’alem” Jewish house leader followed accompanied by 21 settlers.
- Storming the Al-Issawiya village and distributed demolition orders to a number of houses in the village.
Hebron:
- Closing the Al-Ksara area near the Kiryat Arba settlement, and the main road leading to Khalid ibn Al-Walid Mosque and Bani Na’im village. Scores of soldiers occupied a number of houses, and other settlers ttacked the Abu Rajab family members, which has been occupied by settlers for weeks.
- Eyewitnesses said Sheikh Ali Abu-Rajab was severely beaten as well as his wife, where settlers threw stones at her.
- Threatening a woman from the city and insulted other residents The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights (B’Tselem) reported that a volunteer at the center filming parts of the event through the window of her house, and as they noticed that they assaults and abused her with violent sexual violence.
- Running over Dina Al-Jabari, 5-year-old girl, she was seriously injured by a settler’s car in the Salayma neighborhood.
- Storming a tent and a cave belonging to the Naser Nawaj’ah family, they damaged everything in them.
- Throwing stones and empty bottles at the Hathalin’s family and a number of houses at the Um Khayr village, causing damage and spreading terror among the inhabitants, especially children and women.
- Handing demolition over 7 orders to the Dabasah’s family in Khirbat Masafir, near Yatta.
Salfit:
- Bulldozing an Islamic Waqf land near Ezbat Abu-Basal, west of the occupied city of Salfit, targeting agricultural, pastoral lands and some olive trees in the area. Settlements there are expanding at the expense of the lands of Kafr-Dik, Deir Baloot, Rafat, Sarta and Zawiya. Residents of Salfit said the Waqf land that called the Mosque area, was captured by settlers and theu built a large factory for sweets and pastries on it, the factory affiliated to Ariel settlement .
Nablus:
- Confiscating a land and its underground water in favor of the Yitzhar settlement, which is located on the lands of Nablus’ towns, located on the northern side of the settlement, they extended water pipes to a swimming pool, and turn the land into a tourist area.
- Hundreds of settlers accompanied by Israeli soldiers stormed Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus under the pretext of performing their Talmudic rites.
Jordan Valley:
- Running over Asil Tariq Abu Awn, 8 years , from Jaba village, she was seriously injured when a settler ran over her by his car
- Confiscating a private vehicle belonging to a Palestinian farmer in the northern Jordan Valley, under the pretext of driving in a closed military area.
- Pursuing a group of workers and farmers in the Buqai’ah area in the Jordan Valley region, under the same pretext.
