A new settlement plan to besiege occupied Jerusalem from south to west

With the aim of besieging occupied Jerusalem from south to west, the Israeli occupation plans to establish 5,250 new settlement units on the lands of the villages of Walaja, Sataf, Wadi al-Sarar and Ein Karem, as part of its attempts to Judaize the city and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 line, with Jerusalem as its capital.

In a statement to a SANA reporter, the Director General of the Department of Maps and Surveys in the Orient House in occupied Jerusalem, Khalil Al-Tafkaji, noted that the lands on which the occupation will establish the new settlement units are green areas rich in springs. He pointed out that this scheme is one of the most dangerous schemes that aims to eliminate the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and cause a serious demographic imbalance for the benefit of the settlers and obliterating the Arab and cultural landmarks of the Holy City.

Al-Tafkaji stressed that these units are part of a plan aimed at establishing 20,000 new settlement units extending from the top of the Al-Walajah Mountains to the foothills of the Beit Jala Mountains, south of Jerusalem, to the village of Ein Karem in the far west. The occupation seized 840 dunums of the lands of the villages of Al-Walaja and Sataf, south of Jerusalem and continued to seize other areas until the complete encirclement of Jerusalem with settlement belts.

Jerusalem affairs specialist Fakhri Abu Diab revealed that since the beginning of this year, the occupation announced plans to establish 11,500 settlement units with the aim of fragmenting Jerusalem geographically and demographically. The settlements plans are carried out in conjunction with the demolition of dozens of Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and the towns of Isawiya, Jabal Mukaber and Beit Hanina, and its attempts to displace Palestinians from the village of Khan al-Ahmar and several villages surrounding Jerusalem.

Abu Diab pointed out that the occupation’s plan to establish 5,250 settlement units is part of a time-scheduled scheme to empty Jerusalem of Palestinians and displace them. He stressed that the Palestinians are clinging to their land and will continue to defend it until the last drop of blood and will foil the occupation’s settlement plans that will not change the fact that Jerusalem is Arab.

For his part, Director of Al-Quds International Center Hasan Khater stated that the occupation is racing against time to besiege Jerusalem with settlements and change its geographical and demographic landscape to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state geographically connected to its capital, Jerusalem.

In turn, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Wasel Abu Yousef, stressed that the intensive settlement in Jerusalem is a natural result of the silence of the international community and its ignoring of the crimes of the occupation and its grave violations of international resolutions, especially UN Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016, which affirms that settlements are illegal and must be stopped. He called on the International Criminal Court to speed up opening an investigation into the crimes of the occupation, especially the settlements.

Inas Abdulkareem