Israel expands settlement operations in occupied Al-Quds and Nablus

With the aim of fragmenting the West Bank and separating its areas from each other, the Israeli occupation continues to expand its settlement operations in occupied Al-Quds and the West Bank city of Nablus amid the deadly silence of the international community over these aggressive practices which violate international legitimacy resolutions and undermine any opportunity to establish the independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital.

In its weekly report published on Saturday, the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlements, said that the occupation has announced a plan to build a new settlement on the top of Jabal Sabih (Mount Sabih) which is located between the villages of Beita, Yetma and Qabalan in Nablus and which connects between the north and the center of the West Bank.

The aim is to cut this geographic link, the report stressed.

 According to the report, the occupation has announced a plan to establish 1620 settlement units to expand three settlements already built on the Palestinians’ land, south of Al-Quds, and 900 settlement units to expand a settlement built on the land of Al-Talleh Al-Faransiyeh and Al-Issaweiyeh village, east of the city.

The report clarified that the occupation forced five Palestinian families to demolish their own houses in the towns of Silwan, Al-Issaweiyeh and Jabal Al-Mukaber in Al-Quds, demolished an agricultural facility in the town of Anata and delivered a notification to a Palestinian family to evacuate its house in Al-Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in al-Quds as soon as possible. They also demolished several houses and agricultural facilities in the village of Deir Nizam in Rammallah and Al-Aqaba in Tobas, as well as four water wells in Khillet Al-Dabe’ area in Masafer Yatta town, south of Al-Khalil.

The report went on to say that over the past week, the settlers also escalated their attacks on the Palestinians in the cities of Jenin and Nablus in preparation for establishing a new settlement that separates the two cities from each other.

According to the report, the settlers, under the protection of the occupation forces, uprooted 60 olive plants in Khillet Al-Dabe’, south of Al-Khalil city, and prevented the farmers from entering their lands in Jabal Jales area, east of the city. They stormed into the towns of Al-Rashaydeh, Taqou’ and Housan in Bethlehem as well as the towns of Yasuf and Kafr Al-Deek in Salfit and uprooted more than 230 fruit trees. They also stormed Yusuf Tomb area in Nablus and carried out provocative tours in the area and forced shop owners in Hawara town, south of Nablus, to close their workplaces. The settlers also vandalized the Palestinians crops in several Northern Jordan valley areas, causing heavy losses to farmers.    

Hamda Mustafa