The National Office for the Defense of the Earth and Resistance to Settlement, affiliated to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said today that the city of Jerusalem with its holy neighborhoods and places is subject to a series of provocations and violations by the occupation authorities, taking advantage of the global concern to confront the "Corona" virus.
In its weekly report on settlements, the office added that while the occupation authorities allow settlers to tolerate the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, they prevent citizens from performing their religious rites freely.
He stressed that while the world is busy trying to win the ongoing war with the Corona virus, the occupation government is busy with projects aimed at separating East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories in 1967, and linking the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim in particular with the rest of the other settlements south of occupied Jerusalem, It has become clear that the occupation government is in the process of resolving the fate of Jerusalem and isolating it from its surroundings from Palestinian villages and cities, especially in southern Jerusalem, after it started the construction of this concrete wall instead of barbed wire to separate the Sheikh Saad area from the village of Tire Baher, south of occupied Jerusalem, within the framework of the route of the wall Apartheid.
He warned that building this wall is a prelude to building a street that connects settlements from Gilo, through Givat Hamatos and Har Homa, to Maale Adumim, and penetrates the city of Jerusalem in the Abu Dis area through a tunnel in the process of connecting the settlements inside The wall, with the settlements behind the wall, which means the demarcation of new borders based on the American Century deal, as part of the process of Judaizing Jerusalem and making it the capital of the occupying power.
The process of replacing barbed wire with a cement wall paves the way for the separation of Palestinian citizens who live south of Jerusalem from the city, and this street will turn into a vital artery connecting the settlements of South Jerusalem to the east and north, in light of planning paving for the establishment of hotels, commercial centers, a railway, and an industrial area, Public facilities, streets to serve settlement and settlers on private Palestinian land.
The report indicated that the seizures do not stop in and around Jerusalem in favor of settlement and Judaizing activities. Dozens of olive trees planted by landowners in Wadi al-Rababah were uprooted, and the occupation authorities tried last week to enter the lands of citizens in Wadi Rababa, claiming control of dozens of acres in a sensitive area in the Old City basin, for the purpose of implementing and establishing national parks, which means in practice The seizure of these lands and preventing their owners from entering them, under the pretext that it is a "gardens area belonging to the general public."
On the other hand, the occupation forces assaulted the citizens in their lands in the Wadi Rababa neighborhood, and the residents of Wadi Rababa live in harsh living conditions, due to the constant harassment by the occupation, which seeks to expel them from their lands and confiscate them, and an area of ​​about 210 dunums south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In the ongoing settlement plans, settlers continue, under the protection of the occupation army, to prepare the new Zaatara-Hawara Street to connect the settlements in the Nablus and Salfit governorates, including: Ariel, Bracha, Itamar, and Wallon Moreh, as part of the Israeli government´s encouragement plan to promote religious settlement in areas of the northern West Bank .
The length of the street is about 7 km from the eastern entrance to the Za´tara junction, to the settlements mentioned above so that only settler cars will walk on it, while a settlement expansion process is taking place in about 102 dunums in an area between Aqraba and Bani Fadel in light of the Israeli courts ’refusal to receive citizens’ complaints The owners of the lands that were taken, under the pretext that they do not receive any mail by hand because of "Corona".
The settlers, who are protected by the occupation forces, take advantage of the conditions in the country and the precautions taken by citizens in the face of "Corona," orgy, and sabotage of citizens´ property.
In the Bethlehem governorate, the settlers cut down trees and vandalized them. Settlers cut 50 perennial vine trees in the Beit Askariya area, which is located in the middle of the Gush Asyoun settlement bloc on the citizens´ lands south of Bethlehem.
During the past three weeks, a total of 1,200 olive trees and vines were cut down on the lands of Al-Khader and the Fukin Valley village in the governorate.
In Salfit governorate, as well, the settlers of "Brukheen" established on the lands of the citizens of Buruqin and Kafr Al-Dik, cut down olive trees and carob trees in the town of Burqin in the west, owned by the Palestinian farmer Jamal Salameh, where 35 olive trees were cut down between 4-15 years old. , And dozens of carob and grape trees in the northern area of ​​Bruqin, adjacent to the settlement of Bruchin.
In a new crime added to the record of the crimes of the occupation and necessitating international action in two main issues, namely settlement, annexation, and incitement to killing on the basis of racism, the head of the Likud party bloc in the Knesset, Mickey Zohar, submitted two draft laws to annex the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea, and the Hebron desert (Judea desert) ) To Israel, and impose the death penalty on Palestinians that come in the midst of internal Israeli party conflicts. Its danger lies in the context of the "deal of the century" and an attempt to impose it on the ground, based on the promises of Netanyahu and other Israeli officials on the eve of the recent elections to annex the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea.
In a development with great meanings, 64 members of the US Congress signed a letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Bambio, calling on the Trump administration to work to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank and in the eastern part of occupied Jerusalem, and the related endowment of these operations to displace the Palestinians, and refused any Funding by the United States to be used for demolitions.
This memorandum referred to the extensive demolitions that affected Wadi Homs, east of occupied Jerusalem. In it, they called on the American administration to oppose the Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, particularly in East Jerusalem, and the accompanying forced evictions of citizens, and refused the funding of the United States for the demolitions, especially after the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded a 45% increase in demolitions Homes and other civilian buildings in 2019 compared to 2018.
J Street, Amnesty International in the United States of America, Churches for Peace in the Middle East, Friends Committee for National Legislation, and the victory without war have embraced the importance of what was stated in that letter to the US State Department, which stressed the importance of examining Israel´s compliance with the requirements of the law Monitor arms exports to ensure that the equipment provided by the United States is not used to destroy Palestinian homes based on the responsibility of the United States to prevent unlawful house demolitions, the forcible transfer of civilians everywhere in the world, and the use of American equipment In this destructive practice.
In the context, the Israeli Civil Rights Association demanded that the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank be stopped.
She explained that she had addressed the commander of the Israeli army in the West Bank, and called on him to freeze all demolition orders and confiscate Palestinian homes and lands in the West Bank, especially with the outbreak of the Corona virus, noting that she requested that the orders be stopped even after the end of the “Corona” crisis and not only linked to the spread of the virus.
And she said: "The demolitions these days cannot be tolerated, given or there is a real risk to public health and safety under these conditions."
And the policy of demolishing the homes of Palestinian citizens by the occupation authorities has become, especially in recent years, one of the most prominent inhuman practices as one of the internationally prohibited forms of collective punishment, which Israel exercises in accordance with Article (119) of the British Emergency Law of 1945, and it already knows that this The law was repealed with the end of the British Mandate on Palestine, and Israel continued to practice it racist against the Palestinians without a minimum of concern for international law and international legitimacy decisions, including Security Council Resolution 1544/2004, which called on Israel to respect its obligations under the Nun International Humanitarian and not to perform house demolitions contrary to this law.
On the other hand, the advisory committee at Brown University called for the withdrawal of its investments from companies operating in Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories.
And the advisory committee at the American University recommended on the twelfth of this March in an official report submitted to the president of the university and its higher administrative body in the "112" district, a company that was proven involved in activities that raised concerns, especially about human rights.
The Committee was guided by the report of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations issued on 12/02/2020, on the database of companies operating in Israeli settlements located in the occupied Palestinian territories, under the title "Black List". He also welcomed the message of the 64 members of the US Congress addressed to the US Secretary of State, calling on the American administration to refuse to demolish Palestinian homes in the West Bank and Jerusalem, as was happening in Wadi Homs, Jabal Mukaber, Silwan, and all the lands in the Palestinian Bank.
And on the weekly violations documented by the National Office for the Defense of the Earth, they were as follows:
Jerusalem
The occupation forces closed most of the doors of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the pretext of "preventive against the Corona virus", while allowing it to be invaded by dozens of settlers. East of the "Kedar" colony, where to the west of this region is the "Kedar" colony.
The Israeli occupation forces swept away a residential barracks belonging to Hassan Mohammed Hathalin in the same area, and destroyed the building’s ground that was demolished on November 11 of last year, owned by Mohammed Omar Abdel Qader.
Whereas, the settlement "Elad" association erected scaffolds up to seven layers near the windows of the Islamic Museum, and the occupation authorities are continuing their excavations south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Umayyad palaces area.
Ramallah
Settlers attacked sheep herders in Khirbet "Jbaite" near the village of Al-Mughair, east of Ramallah, beat them, and attempted to take over livestock, by protecting the Israeli occupation army. With the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, settlers stormed the outskirts of Al Janiya village, west of Ramallah.
With the protection of the occupation army, what led to confrontations with the young men who confronted them, despite the Israeli occupation soldiers firing with tear gas and sound grenades towards the youths, which is the second time in a week that the settlers try to storm the village by protecting the army.
Hebron
The settlers of “Khafat Ma´on” stormed Al-Hamra pastures in the village of Tuwani, south of Hebron, attacked the sheep herders in the place and fired randomly to frighten the citizens before the occupation forces intervened and prevented the herdsmen from entering it. The occupation forces stormed the village of Birin, south of Hebron, and took over a concrete pump.
While settlers cut down olive trees in Susiya, south of the city, and in the same context, settlers stormed the town of Susiya and proceeded to cut down the perennial olive trees in the lands belonging to the family of Nawaga, and the village of Beren was exposed earlier this month to attempts to seize 500 dunums of the town´s lands, after the claim of a settler Ownership.
Bethlehem
Settlers cut 50 perennial vine trees in the "Beit Askariya" area, located in the middle of the "Gush Asioun" settlement bloc on the lands of the citizens, south of Bethlehem, owned by Mahmoud Ali Saad.
It is noteworthy that the settlers and the occupation forces take advantage of the conditions that Bethlehem governorate passes, and they cut down and sabotage the trees. During the past three weeks, a total of 1,200 olive trees and vines were cut down on the lands of Al-Khader and Wadi Fukin in the Governorate of Bethlehem. The occupation forces installed a monitoring and inspection room at Beit Sahour Bridge near the village of Dar Salah in the east.
Nablus
Settlers attack Palestinian vehicles and trucks in the town of Huwwara, south of Nablus. They shattered the windows of vehicles in the western region, near the "Hawarah Country Park", damaging 20 vehicles as a result of targeting the stones. The residents of the village of Barqa, north of Nablus, responded to the attack of a group of settlers on their village. Where they tried to infiltrate the outskirts of the village of Burqa from the northern side, close to the citizens ’homes.
Salfit
The Bruchene settlers attacked the farmer Habib Al-Shuaibi while working on his land planted with olive trees in the Al-Mudawara area in the northern side of Burqeen, where they assaulted him by throwing stones at him, leaving their dogs chasing him, and then forced him out of his land by force.
The mayor of Salfit Abdul Karim Al-Zubaidi said, "The occupation bulldozers continue digging and leveling work in the Wadi Abdul Rahman area north of the city, which is estimated at an area of ​​400 acres, in preparation for the start of building thousands of additional apartments to expand the settlement" Ariel "built on the lands of Salfit Governorate.
Jordan Valley
Three calves died in the Jabaris area of ​​the northern Jordan Valley, as a result of their predation by wolves released by the Israeli occupation forces in the area.
