Israeli occupation announces a new plan to demolish Palestinian houses in occupied Al-Quds in a new ethnic cleansing crime against the Palestinians

The Israeli occupation has announced a new plan to demolish Palestinian houses in Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan town of occupied Al-Quds in a new ethnic cleansing crime against more than 1500 Palestinians with the aim of imposing a fait accompli and evacuating Al-Quds from the Palestinians in preparation to Judaize it, the Palestinian Liberation Organization PLO’s National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlements said in its weekly report on Saturday.

According to the report, the occupation authorities have delivered notifications to the Palestinians in Al-Bustan neighborhood about demolishing the houses, which number a hundred, to expand settlement building operations. The plan threatens with displacing 1550 Palestinians, the report clarified, noting that the neighborhood is located 300 meters away from the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque and extends over an area of 70 dunums.

 The report went on to say that the occupation authorities are also planning to demolish the neighborhood of Wadi Al-Rababa where a thousand Palestinians live, and the neighborhood of Wadi Yasol where 3 thousand Palestinians live, in the town of Silwan, indicating that the occupation’s settlement activities pose a threat to other neighborhoods in the town, including the Batn al-Hawa area that surrounds Al-Bustan neighborhood.

 The report went on to say that throughout the past week,  the occupation seized more than 658 dunums of land in Al-Abidiya town, north of Bethlehem to expand settlement operations. It also demolished a house in the town of Issawiya in occupied Al-Quds, another house in the town of Bani Na’im in Al-Khalil city as well as several houses in the village of Ein Shibli, east of Nablus and delivered notifications about demolishing several houses in the villages of Al-Jeib, northwest of Al-Quds, Zawata, northwest of Nablus and  Al-Nabi Elias in Qalqilya in addition to a number of agricultural and commercial facilities in the towns of Tuqu ‘and Walaja in Bethlehem.

The report indicated that the Israeli settlers also escalated their attacks against the cities and towns of the West Bank under the protection of the occupation forces. The settlers razed Palestinian lands in the areas of Umm Al-Khair, Al-Tawana, Umm Zaitouna and Al-Tha`la in the town of Yatta, to south of Al-Khalil to expand two settlements. The settlers also cut down dozens of old olive trees in Artas village in Bethlehem and prevented Palestinian farmers from entering their lands in the villages of Kisan in Bethlehem, Al-Nabi Saleh in Ramallah and Deir Istiya in Salfit. They also attacked the houses and properties of the Palestinians in the village of Madama, south of Nablus and stormed the town of Kafeel Haris in Salfit and carried out provocative tours inside the town’s Islamic sanctities under the protection of the occupation forces.

Hamda Mustafa