By: Madeeha Araj,
Israeli ruling right-wing parties’ leaders are competing to see, who is the best in adopting and supporting settlements in the Palestinian Territory. Within the context of the occupation expansionist plans, Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Army minister, said that his government agreed to build 1,400 settlement units during the first half of this year. Lieberman said in a speech at before his party “Yisrael Beitenu” that he is doing his best to get permission to build 10,000 units. Adding that the current gov’t supports us much better than any previous govt. Moreover, we agree with the gov’t on the settlement projects and we achieved good results, but others are only launching slogans.
At the same time, the Israeli occupation authorities began building a new Ameihai settlement, which devoured hundreds of donums of private Palestinian land in the Jaloud village south of Nablus, to rehouse Amona settlers. Amihai settlement is being built on 205 donums that were confiscated last year under the pretext of ‘military requirements, they were captured by the occupation army as a ‘state land’.
In Jerusalem, a new junction was opened around the city’s main road, “Begin St.” to connect the north of the West Bank with its south. It was named Rosemarin Junction, the road 60, which connects the main road of West Bank settlements and the tunnel road from Gush Etzion to southern Jerusalem. The road will serve residents of the settlements in particular in order to facilitate their access to the city.
The road reaches a length of 16 km when finished, it goes through the southern part of the Beit Safafa town, whose residents failed to prevent the implementation of it, which divides their town into 2 parts. Moreover, the government and the Nir municipality are planning to expand road 60 toward the tunnel road to the new junction, excavations are under way in the town. The Civil Administration has confirmed that.
The Planning and Building Committee in the occupied city of Jerusalem is expected to approve the licensing of 176 new settlement units in the Jabal al-Mukaber neighborhood through expanding the Neveh Tzion settlement, which was established 6 years ago. It currently has 91 houses. By approving the new units, the settlement will become the largest in Palestinian neighborhoods in the occupied city of Jerusalem.
Israeli media sources disclosed the Israeli authorities put the cornerstone for the construction of 100s of new settlement units in the Beit Aryeh settlement northwest of Ramallah. The Kan Hebrew news network said, the Israeli Minister of Housing, Yoav Galant participated in the ceremony of laying the foundation stone for the construction of 650 units in the Beit Aryeh settlement. Moreover, the Israeli government has approved the establishment of 1100 housing units in the same settlement, claiming that it began to attract young Jewish couples. In the last and most recent model of settlement expansion policy, radical racist MK, Betzeliel Smutritich proposed a plan to expel Palestinians from their homeland, and to dissolve the Palestinian Authority as well as encouraging Palestinians to migrate from their homeland.
According to the plan, which was described as a “decisive plan.” Smutritich said that if the Palestinians didn’t accept it, then they have to leave their homes or to face a strong reaction.
The plan proposes to the Palestinians three alternatives, first, to give up their democratic rights their dream to have a Palestinian State, second, to transfer anyone rejects living under the Jewish State, third, the liquidation of anyone by the Israeli security forces in case he decided to continue resisting the occupation.
According to The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements , the “decisive plan” approved by the National Union Movement, also received support by Netanyahu, who said the West Bank is like any area in the State of Israel and that its residents have the right to live there. “We are building the land and settling it on the mountain and in the valley, Galilee, Negev, Judea and Samaria, because this land is our land and we have the right to live in it, Israel is Israel, we live and die for it.”
The Israeli occupation authorities are heading to implement the plan to displace the population of the Khan-Ahmar, Jerusalem. The “B’Tselem organization said that the so-called civil administration officers accompanied by occupation forces went to the Khan-Ahmar area, and informed its representatives with their decision to evacuate the place.
To confirm the policy, B’Tselem reported that the occupation authorities are ready to implement the plan to expel the entire Red-Khan and plan to demolish Susya village. It also referred to what the Hebrew media reported about a popular campaign by the right-wing Jewish organizations in Israel to collect signatures supporting the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
As for David Hayyani, chairman of the Jordan Valley Settlements Council, who recently encouraged the construction of a new settlement outpost in the area, and said he met on July 28th with a group of people, which encourages on Facebook to establish agricultural environmental settlements. “I am proud of the ability of Israelis to build settlements without the approval of the government, despite the existence of a law stipulating that the establishment of any settlement in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley requires its approval.” So no one can oppose this. The Civil Administration stated that the Jordan Valley Settlements Council is applying for the placement of temporary houses in an evacuated military site.
In a meeting with the so-called head of the Regional Council for West Bank settlements, Yossi Dagan, head of the Israeli Regional Electricity Co., Yoftah Ron announced that the company will implement programs and work to raise the capacity and efficiency of electricity networks in the West Bank to meet the large increase expected in the number of settlers in the West Bank. It is estimated that the number of industrial enterprises in those settlements will increase by 270% until 2025, whereas, the number of settlement houses will increased by 34%..
On the other hand, the extremist government is pursuing the international organizations that criticize the occupation and its policies in accordance with the so-called “law against the boycott.” Amnesty International is subjected to harassment and siege, which clearly reflects the immorality of the occupying state. A report also by Human Rights Watch about Israeli banks’ handling of settlement activity, stressing that “settlement-related activities must be stopped.
A list of the Assaults Documented by The National Bureau Perpetrated by Israeli Occupation and Settlers over the last week:
Jerusalem:
- Handing over a penalty order to the Tawfiq Ghazzawi family, from the Tur village of Tur in Jerusalem to pay NIS 122,523, the costs of demolishing their house and security guard.
- Forcing Abu Farah family to evacuate its house in the Ras Amud neighborhood south of Al-Aqsa Mosque under the pretext of being built without a license.
- Distributing demolition notices under the pretext of building without permits on residential, commercial and agricultural facilities, especially in the villages of ‘Isawiya and Silwan.
- Bulldozing and demolishing two-story building in the Ras-Amud neighborhood, under the pretext of building without a permit. The building belongs to Mutasim and Montaser Abu Farha.
Hebron:
- Confiscating more than 200 donums at the Umm al-Kheir area, east of Yatta to expand the Karmiel settlement south of Hebron.
- Stoning a woman, Halab Abu Rajab, 55 years old while standing on the balcony of her house at the old town of Hebron.
- Attacking 2 children near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron while on their way to a grocery store in the Jabir neighborhood.
Nablus:
- Resuming construction work in the new “Amihai” settlement south of Nablus, which is intended to re-house settlers of the evacuated “Amona” outpost, thus, they confiscated about 205 donums to buld the settlement. Moreover, Israeli Minister of Interior, Aryeh Deri said that all obstacles to the resumption of construction of the settlement have been removed and construction will proceed “in full swing” with a NIS 40,000,000. According to media reports, the Ministry of Finance, as part of the government’s decision to resume construction work in the settlement, he will transfer NIS 55,000,000 to the Ministry of the Interior for transfer to the Matte Binyamin Regional Council in the occupied West Bank.
- Cutting off 27 fruitful olive trees Yitzhar settlers, near the Burin village, belonging to Ritaiba Qadus.
Salfeet: - Increasing construction is taking place behind the wall without the knowledge of the landowners, north of Salfit and the Zawiya town.
Jericho:
- Demolishing 9 Palestinian houses in the Duyuk Al-Tahta area near Jericho to the northern Dead Sea, under the pretext of having no permits.
Jordan Valley:
- Confiscating three agricultural vehicles in Al-Ras Al-Ahmar.
- Torturing the martyr Aseel Abu-Aoun family in the Wadi Al-Maleh claiming that the flag of Palestine was raised on the roof of her house.
- Confiscating a number of cows and scores of water tanks in Umm Al-‘Abr area, seizing transporting vegetables truck, and preventing farmers from reaching their land.
