Israeli occupation intensifies settlement building activities in al-Quds within a plan to Judaize the holy city

The Israeli occupation has intensified its judaization and settlement plans in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in occupied al-Quds, as part of the occupation’s ongoing war of judaization that aims at undermining the historical and cultural landmarks of the holy city in implementation of the American-Israeli ill-famed “Deal of the Century”.

Within this framework, the occupation last week announced a plan to seize 300 dunums in Wadi Al-Joz area, to the east of occupied al-Quds. The aim is to expand the settlements built there, on the ruins of 200 Palestinian industrial and commercial facilities, which will be demolished by the occupation. Today another plan was announced to establish 1294 settlement units in the northeast of the holy city.

 Wadi Al-Joz area includes a Palestinian industrial zone that employs thousands of Palestinian workers. Over the past years, the occupation closed hundreds of commercial and industrial establishments of which only 200 remained, and the occupation announced its intention to demolish them in order to establish its colonialist settlement plan.

Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa al-Barghouthi said that the Jewish settlement plan in Wadi Al-Joz comes as part of the plan put by the occupation and the United States to implement the widest ethnic cleansing campaign ever against the Palestinians and to change the historical and cultural landmarks of the city of al-Quds.

On his part, Coordinator of the Popular Committee for Resisting the Racist Wall and Settlement Salah Al-Khawaja said that the new Israeli scheme is one of the most dangerous Judaization plans targeting the city of al-Quds and its identity. This requires the international community to intervene so as to stop the occupation’s escalating ethnic cleansing and displacement practices against the Palestinians, he added, stressing that the Palestinian people will continue resisting the occupation’s settlement plans by never forfeiting their rights and lands.

Moreover, the Expert on Settlement Affairs, Jamal Juma said that the plan to Judaize Wadi al-Joz area would cause the displacement of hundreds of Palestinians, because the matter is not limited to the demolition of two hundred industrial and commercial establishments, but rather the demolition of tens of houses surrounding them. He indicated that the occupation intends to seize 700 dunums in this area where 15 thousand Palestinians live in order to annex it to the settlements, after it had previously seized dozens of Palestinian properties and houses and displaced the residents.

Hamda Mustafa