This week has been marked by extensive land confiscation and isolation, from Tamoun in the northern Jordan Valley to Hebron in the South. House demolitions are taking place in the northwestern areas to completely depopulate areas isolated by the Wall and to create further space for settlement expansion.
In Jerusalem, a sophisticated scheme of ghettoization is preparing the ethnic cleansing of the city. A combination of ghetto gates, roads, tunnels and walls will ensure that most of the lands around Jerusalem are stolen and villages are completely isolated and controlled by the Occupation.
1. Land Confiscation all over the West Bank
Bethlehem
⢠In Beit Jala, al Khader and Husan, the occupation forces have confiscated 85 dunums to build a tunnel under the settler highway that isolates the villages from Jerusalem. As part of the âalternative roadsâ network, it will funnel Palestinians living in the villages west of Bethlehem (Batir, Husan, Nahaleen, Wadi Fukeen and al Walaja) through to Bethlehem. Once this tunnel is completed, all access and roads to the villagesâ lands will be cut off and around 700 dunums of land will be isolated from the farmers of the villages west of Bethlehem.
Hebron
⢠In Yatta (South Hebron), 610 dunums of land have been confiscated to complete the Apartheid Wall that stretches from Imneesel to the east. Once this section of the Wall is completed, 700 dunums of land will be isolated from the Palestinian owners behind the Wall.
⢠In Dura, west of Hebron, confiscation orders have been issued in order to build 5 military towers around the settlement of Nevy Neghot, which is built on the western parts of the village lands. The military structure of the Occupation forces will isolate 300 dunums of Dura land.
Nablus
⢠In Bureen, west of Nablus, two dunums and 600m have been confiscated to build a military training compound which will isolate hundreds of dunums of land from the village.
2. House demolitions threaten Palestinian lives
⢠40 houses in al Sawiya, east of Salfit are threatened with demolition to make space for the settlement corridor that will isolate the northern areas of the West Bank from the central and southern West Bank. This will make 200 peoples homeless.
⢠In Silwan (Jerusalem), the Occupation forces damaged two houses by destroying the wall of one and the entrance and garage of another. They further demolished one store. The ongoing destruction in Silwan will allow the Occupation forces to build a settler parking lot in the place of Palestinian homes and shops.
⢠In Barta`a ash Sharqiyya (East Barta`a), west of Jenin, three houses and 15 commercial stores have been demolished to extend the breach that the Occupation is forcing between the part of the village located on the eastern side of the Green Line and the part of the village located on the western side of the Line. Soon a Wall will definitely divide the village.
3. Isolating Palestinian communities
⢠In addition to the Wall, a fence is being build from Zatara, isolating Jamaeen, Zeta, Marda, Hares and Kifl Hares from each other and from the main street. The fence will further isolate hundreds of dunums.
⢠Tens of dunums of land reaching from East Tamoun to the eastern part of the Jordan Valley were isolated when the occupation bulldozers dug two trenches along the area called al Beqeea which extends from Tamoun to Frush Beit Dajan. The first trench is more than one and a half kilometers long and between 6-7 m deep. The second trench extends over more than 7 km from the Western parts of Beqeea lands to the Hamra check point.
4. Ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem â the Occupation completes the ghettoes for the villages west and north of Jerusalem
4.1. Ghetto roads
⢠Between Biddu and al Jeeb, the Occupation plans the construction of a so-called âalternative roadâ that will allow the Occupation to funnel Palestinians from one ghetto to another and to isolate and steal further land.
⢠Between Beit Hanina and Beir Nabala, Occupation bulldozers are uprooting land to build a new ghetto road.
⢠Between Beir Nabala and Rafat, the Occupation is building a new road destroying more Palestinian land. This is part of the Occupationâs plan to create a tunnel that connects the ghetto comprising the villages west of Jerusalem such as Biddu and Beit Surik with the villages north of Jerusalem like Beir Nabala and from there via a new ghetto road to Rafat. This will be the only way in or out of all the villages west or north of Jerusalem and will allow the Occupation total control over Palestinian movement towards Ramallah and Qalandiya.
The road that today connects Beir Nabala with Atorot and ar Ram and Jerusalem will be closed when the occupation completes the Wall in Ar Ram and completes the above mentioned scheme of ghetto roads.
⢠As part of the above project, the road from Rafat to Ramallah is being expanded not to suit Palestinian needs but to destroy Palestinian lands.
⢠Construction of the Wall is underway along Road 45 north of Qalandiya.
4.2. Ghetto gates
⢠The Occupation is building two ghetto gates with facilities for disabled people â one of them will be under the bridge in Beit Hanina, the other one in West Qalandiya. The gates aimed at masquerading the brutal imprisonment of an entire people behind walls as âprogressive and inclusive policiesâ will be open only during restricted hours.
⢠The Occupation is building gates for agricultural use only. One is under construction on the lands of al Jeeb and two others are blocking farmers on the lands of Beit Hanina.
4.3. Ghetto walls
⢠Construction of the Apartheid Wall west of Qalandiya is underway. Once this section is completed, Qalandiya will be totally isolated from all sides.
⢠In addition to the Wall, construction of a fence from Ramoot checkpoint to Giv`at Ze`ev settlement is under way. It will pass through al Jeeb land east of the settler road which leads from Ramoot to Giv`at Ze`ev, isolating al Nabi Samoel village from its lands to the east and to the west as it surrounds parts of Giv`on settlement.
⢠In addition to the Wall, construction of a fence in Beit Hanina is underway. From the bridge of Beit Hanina it will extend to the south along the settler road that isolates the downtown of Beit Hanina from the rest of the neighbourhood.