Israeli occupation continues settlement expansion in occupied Al-Quds to obliterate the city’ Arab identity and falsify its history

The Israeli occupation continue to step up settlement building activities in occupied Al-Quds with the aim of judaizing the city, falsifying its history and obliterating its Arab and Islamic identity with complete disregard for the UN resolutions which call for maintaining the historical and legal status of Al-Quds. This provocative and aggressive Israeli behavior has been further encouraged by the silence and inaction of the international community over the Israeli violations.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlements said in its weekly report published on Saturday that to achieve its goals, the Israeli occupation announced a new plan to build a new settlement outpost in Al-Quds desert area which extends over 82 dunums from the east of the city till the hills overlooking Ariha and the Dead Sea.

12 Palestinian villages will be surrounded by settlements as a result of this plan and their 13,000 residents will be displaced later, added the report.

According to the report, the occupation also announced a settlement building plan extending over an area of approximately 700 dunams in Sultan Suleiman Street and Salah El-Din Street areas in the center of Al-Quds that includes private and public Palestinian properties and real estates. The plan will restrict the movement of Palestinians, hit the city’s economy, seize large areas of land and impose further restrictions on the Palestinians’ building activities in Bab Al-Sahira, Wadi Al-Joz and Al-Mas’oudia neighborhood in Al-Quds.

The report noted the occupation’s plan to establish 286 settlement units on Palestinian lands in the village of Al-Walaja, southwest of Al-Quds and north of Bethlehem, and to seize 8,500 dunums to establish 6 settlement outposts in Nablus, south of Al-Khalil city and in the Jordan Valley area in the West Bank.

The report indicated that the occupation forces have demolished several commercial facilities in the town of Qalandia and five houses in the towns of Jabal Al Mukaber and Al-Tur in Al-Quds. They have also razed areas of Palestinian land in Abu Shahid roundabout area in the town of Al-Ram, north of Al-Quds, while the Israeli settlers seized a Palestinian house in Wadi Hilweh in the town of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque.  The occupation authorities also delivered notifications to the Palestinians about demolishing several agricultural facilities in the town of Yatta, south of Al-Khalil and in Oum Al-Jammal area in the northern Jordan Valley.

The report went on to say that the Israeli settlers continued their attacks on the cities and towns of the West Bank under the protection of the occupation forces. They seized swathes of Palestinian land in Biaret Saud area, east of Tubas, and the village of Birin, south of Al-Khalil in order to establish settlement outposts. They also attacked Palestinian houses and properties in Tel Al-Rumeida, in the center of Al-Khalil city, the village of Al-Tawana in the south Al-Khalil and the villages of Burin and Qaryut, south of Nablus. The settlers also stormed the archaeological area in the town of Sebastia, northwest of Nablus, and Joseph’s tomb area to the east of Nablus. They aslo fenced off the vicinity of Ein El-Hilweh spring in the northern Jordan Valley and prevented Palestinians from reaching it.

Hamda Mustafa