The Israeli Jerusalem Municipality advanced plans for 1,400 new settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem, in a move that would make it virtually impossible to maintain a continuum of Palestinian neighborhoods and areas in the city.
The plans, advanced on Monday, would see the 1,400 new units built in an area northwest of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, bordering the East Jerusalem towns of Beit Safafa and Sur Baher.
The new settlements would be built on both sides of the Green Line, effectively creating a link to the existing Har Homa settlement northeast of Bethlehem, and further sealing off the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem from Bethlehem, and the rest of the southern West Bank.
Of the 1,400 units, 750 are slated for the new Givat Hamatos settlement, and would be built on the last remaining land of the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa, boxing in the residents, and quashing any hopes of growing and developing their neighborhood.
Spanning around 46 acres, the plans would also will cut off the last remaining corridor to connect Beit Safafa and the Palestinian neighborhood of Sharafat to the rest of East Jerusalem.
“Politically, this is a strategic plan that will strike a blow at the possibility of a Palestinian urban continuum in East Jerusalem,” settlement watchdog Peace Now said in a report.
The approval came on the heels of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, during which he reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution – a plan that Palestinians increasingly view as unviable largely due to settlement expansion in places like East Jerusalem, which Palestinians demand as a capital for their future state.
The initial discussion on the promotion of the new settlements was scheduled to take place on July 18th, but in order to avoid potential strife during Biden’s visit, the discussion was postponed for one week later, just after the conclusion of Biden’s trip to the region.
Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are considered to be illegal under international law, and are viewed as one of the largest obstacles to achieving Palestinian statehood.
Despite their illegal status under international law, the Israeli government has continued to promote settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, at a rapid rate.
Simultaneously, Palestinian construction in East Jerusalem is largely banned, as the Israeli municipality rarely approves Palestinian zoning plans or construction permits.
Since Israel’s occupation and illegal annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967, not a single new neighborhood for Palestinians has been approved or planned in the city. Meanwhile, at least 12 Israeli settlements, and more than 57,000 homes have been approved for Israeli settlers in the city, according to Peace Now. During the same time period, the Israeli government initiated plans for just 600 Palestinian homes in the city.
No surprises here. Israel does this after (and sometimes before) every major visit by senior US politicians and Presidents. With less than zero pushback and nothing but platitudes, the message is crystal clear. “You (Israel) keep stealing land, forcing Palestinians from the land, and violating international law, and we (the US) will keep allowing it, providing cover, and funding it.”
Israel has mastered the art of consistently pushing the boundaries way beyond the limit to test how much they can get away with. Then meeting with virtually no meaningful pushback, let alone ANY repercussions at all, they inch further and further along normalizing every single illegal action and violation. With absolutely no red lines, everything is an opportunity and anything is allowed. That now just so happens to include killing Americans and American journalists with impunity. When we find out that they’ve been using cyber weapons and spyware like NSO’s Pegasus to target American politicians, American journalists, and American activists, which is only a matter of time now, that’ll be fair game too.
It’s like a dusgusting, warped, and slow motion version of when Gandalf slowly and cunningly introduced all twelve Dwarves and one Hobbit to Beorn.
Must read and watch! How Zionists of foreign origin suppressed and manipuated the ugly truth regarding their dispossession and expulsion of the indigenous Palestinians:
Sands of Sorrow. – YouTube
Sands of Sorrow (1950) “On the plight of Arab refugees from the Arab-Israeli war. Dorothy Thompson speaks on the refugee problem. Refugees live in tents in the Gaza Strip, are given blankets and food by Egyptian soldiers, and receive flour from UNICEF. A Lebanese priest conducts services. Refugees work as plumbers, carpenters, tailors, and shoemakers in the city of Jerusalem. Doctors vaccinate refugees against disease. Shows the squalid living conditions in refugee camps, starving children, and emphasizes the hopeless condition of the refugees.” Producer: Council for the Relief of Palestine Arab Refugees. Audio/Visual: sound, black and white.
“The ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948, Al-Nakba, resulted in at least 750.000 Palestinian Refugees, this documentary shows some of the inhuman conditions, and the misery brought upon them by the Zionist colonization of Palestine, especially the children, one example, and as the documentary explains: ‘The greatest battle is against infant mortality. Only one out of five lives longer than 6 months’. Under-five mortality rate: 800 per 1000 (80%).'”
Also:
TheSilencing | A Documentary about the life of Dorothy Thompson
I believe ‘ganif’ is the yiddish word for thief!
The crimes against the Palestinian people the Jewish state of Israel inflicts has their roots in the Hebrew Bible/Christian Old Testament. The 21st century Israeli leaders really believe the nonsense in the Hebrew Bible that the ancient Jewish clergymen wrote, such as God gave all of that land to the Jews for the Jewish state of Israel. That is the root of the problem. That biblical nonsense motivates not only Jews, but it motivates millions of Bible believing Christians who sincerely believe that by support Israel they are pleasing God. We need to change the thinking of people and let them know the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Bible, the Quran and the Book of Mormon are not the word of God, and that God gave us reason, not religion.
Good news. The land is available, none of it owned by anyone objecting, and new homes are desperately needed.
As for the political considerations, whatever it takes to convince the Palestinians that Jerusalem will not be divided is in everyone’s best interest. Including the Palestinians themselves.