By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report , that Netanyahu government continues imposing more new settlement facts on the ground before the USA transfers of power from the outgoing President Donald Trump to the new president-elect Joe Biden, as it is certain that it has lost a great support for its settlement plans and aggressive expansionism, which has never expected such a lost in the United States of America. Indications showed that settlement activities at that the end of the year 2020 and the beginning of the new year 2021 witnessed an escalation in settlement activities, plans and tenders, attacks on citizens and their properties. This is at a time when the Israeli Ministry of Interior published a declaration issued by the so-called Higher Planning Council at the Israeli Civil Administration regarding the deposit of a new settlement plan, which stipulates the confiscation of 1008 donums of lands of the Palestinian village of Azzon in the Qalqilia Governorate for the benefit of settlement construction.
The new settlement plan n 13/8/115 includes the construction of 1406 new settlement units in the southeast of the ‘El Fei Menashe’ settlement, in basin n 2 in the areas known as Wadi Asla, Dhahr Al-Manaf, Qatayin Al-Sahl and Al-Mafraq.
In Jerusalem, and within the context of the policy of displacement and ethnic cleansing, the Conciliation Court in Jerusalem handed over a decision to Nizam Abu Ramz to evacuate his house in the Batn Hawa Neighborhood in the town of Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, for the benefit of settlers when he went to reject the value of the fines imposed on him, since the decision to evacuate his house in absentia in 2016.
The sessions were held in absentia to discuss the real estate issue, without informing the family, summoning them to the court, or even submitting them to court notices, in addition to imposing NIS 7,000 as fees for the court and the settlers’ lawyers.
The property of the Abu Ramz family is located within the ‘Ateret Cohenim scheme’ to control 5 donams and 200 square meters of Al-Hara Al-Wosta Neighborhood, Batn Al-Hawa, under the pretext of its ownership by the Yemeni Jew since 1881, and the Ateret Cohenim Association claims that the Israeli Supreme Court has approved the ownership of Jews from Yemen of the land of Batn al-Hawa, and the risk of eviction threatens more than 87 Palestinian families living on the plot of land threatened with confiscation.
In Salfit Governorate, the occupation forces swept large areas of Khallet Hassan lands, west of Salfit city, planted with olives and grapes, owned by the heirs of Salim Al Khalil from Bedia town. It is known that Khallet Hassan is 4,000 donams that has been considered a hotspot since 1983 and is witnessing frantic settlement expansion attempts to establish a settlement bloc as an attempt to establishing a large settlement city separating Salfeet Governorate from Qalqilya Governorate in an area that controls thousands of donams of fertile agricultural land belonging to the citizens in five villages and towns, namely: Bedia, Qarawat Bani Hassan, Saniria, Kafr Thulth, and Deir Estiya, at a time when the occupation forces razed large areas of lands from the towns of Broqin and Kafrl-Deek, west of Salfit. The northern side of the town of Broqin, near the settlement of ‘Brokhin’ was erased to construct a new road to serve the settlement at the expense of the citizens’ lands on which the settlement is built.
In Jericho Governorate, Israeli occupation forces are closing large areas of the northern Jordan Valley lands under the pretext of being nature reserves, noting that more than 50,000 donums of the northern Jordan Valley have been closed in recent years, with 13 banners bearing the name ‘Israeli Natural Reserve’ placed in those lands that have become forbidden for their owners to access them.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Demolishing 4 buildings and walls in the Anata town, northeast of Jerusalem, in the Al-Najma Neighborhood, a week after notifying their owners of the demolition under the pretext of not having a building permit.
Attacking citizens’ vehicles and closing the Al-Msrara Street with burning rubber tires. - Demolishing a house in the town of Al-Nabi Samuel and seizing two tents, mobile health facilities and hiking equipment belonging to Anas Obaid and Majed Issa Barakat.
- Removing a residential tent belonging to Khalil Abu Dahouk in the Beit Eksa town, northwest of the occupied Jerusalem, and dismantling a number of tin houses belonging to Al-Dwahik’s family, seized its equipment as well.
- Bulldozing lands in the Wadi Al-Rabba Neighborhood in Silwan few days ago in an attempt to seize the area to establish settlement plans, gardens and biblical paths. It should be mentioned that these lands belonging to Samrine family.
- Dozens of rabbis in the biblical school of the alleged “Temple Groups” stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and participated in the ‘silent group prayer’ led by Rabbi Eliyahu Weber and a number of ‘Temple Groups’ rabbis.
Hebron:
- Attacking citizens’ lands southeast of Yatt, and a farmers from Al-Nowajaa family near the village of Um Khous in the Massafer Yatta under strict Israeli protection in an attempt to prevent them from plowing their lands, clashes took place between the Palestinian and the Israeli forces, and a number of farmers got injured.
- Attacking the participants in an olive tree planting activity in the Jabal Al-Jomjoma lands located between Halhoul and Sair in Hebron which are threatened by confiscation.
Ramallah:
- Closing the military gate established on the lands of the Abood village in the northwest of Ramallah and the village of Deir Nizam, imposed curfew and attacked citizens there.
- Bulldozing a swimming pool in the lands of the Aboud village, which is constantly subjected to incursions and attacking by settlers, in an attempt to seize it.
- Bulldozing agricultural lands in the Aboud village, with the aim of establishing a military tower.
- Attacking the citizens’ vehicles with stones near the Rawabi junction in the northern Ramallah and Al-Bireh, causing damage to a number of them.
- Injuring three Palestinians in the Kafr Malik village while plowing their land.
- Closing two agricultural roads east of Al-Moughier village, east of Ramallah, which prevents the farmers from reaching their lands under the pretext that an Israeli monument is there.
Nablus:
- Uprooting 150 olive seedlings from lands in the Jaloud village belonging to Mahmoud Fawzi Hajj Muhammad, located 100 meters away from the School’s village.
- Attacking Palestinian vehicles with stones on the main Nablus Street in Ramallah under strict Israeli protection.
- Storming the Sebastia town, north of Nablus to protect Israeli officials, including the so-called Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage in the Israeli occupation government, Rafi Peretz, who held a press conference at the archaeological site in an attempt to seize it.
- Seizing a large bulldozer belonging to Majid Ibrahim Dweikat in the Khilat Rajeh, to the northeast of the village of Rojeeb, arrested him and a builder, who was working in a house under construction in the same area and took them to Itmar settlement to the north of the village, informed them to stop working under the pretext that they are areas under Israeli control.
Salfeet:
- Attacking the house of Mustafa al-Khatib by stones and sound bombs, causing material damage to windows and cars, in addition to terrify the children and women, in the southern area of the village of Sarta.
- Attacking the homes and properties of citizens: Mustafa Ibrahim Khatib, Saeed Ghaleb Youssef Sarsour, Mukhtar Abdullah Talib Sarsour, and Muhammad Hisham Sarsour who defended their lands.
Jenin:
- Threatening to demolish and tourching thirteen commercial stores in the village of Anin, west of Jenin, along the apartheid wall, knowing that they are located near the Boys School.
- Notifying the family of the prisoner Mohammad Kabha, on the demolition of their two-storey house in the village of Tura Al-Gharbia, west of Jenin.
Jordan Valley:
- Attacking herders in the Um Al-Abar area in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Handing notices to citizens in the Jordan Valley, especially in the Al-Maleh area, with the aim of removing their facilities and homes.
- Bulldozing lands in the Al-Farisiyah area in the northern Jordan Valley, in preparation for its seizure.
- Breaking into the village of Tayasir and seized a bulldozer belonging to a working contractor who was opening an agricultural road financed by the Ministry of Local Government.
- Seizing a bulldozer and tractor in Frosh Beit Dajin,east of Nablus, while preparing an internal roads in the area.