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Peace Not Walls

Givat Hamatos: newest Israeli settlement in southeast Jerusalem slated for final approval

Typical Israeli settlements, one above and one below a Palestinian village.

Illegal Israeli settlements are scattered throughout the West Bank, housing more than 500,000 Jewish settlers. Often, land will be taken from Palestinian villages like the one shown in mid-photo for settlements like the one in the foreground and the one on the hill.

The Jerusalem Municipality is expected to give final approval for a new settlement called Givat Hamatos near Bethlehem and Beit Safafa. It will be the first completely detached settlement built within the Green Line since Har Homa near Bethlehem. Givat Hamatos A, one of four stages, will have 2,610 housing units. The approximately 4,000 units in the full plan include around 800 units for Palestinian homes built inside Beit Safafa.

According to an article in the Jerusalem Post, it was slated for approval by the Jerusalem Municipality two weeks ago but then tabled when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to town to mediate the Gaza conflict. Approval is now expected in a few weeks.

This comes at a sensitive time when Israel has just announced plans for 3,000 new settlement units in the eastern part of Jerusalem, including going ahead with previously frozen plans to develop the controversial E1 territory. If developed, E1 would virtually cut the West Bank in two and, some say, make a two-state solution impossible.

But veteran Jerusalem activist Danny Seidemann said that Israel’s plans for 7,770 new settlement units around Bethlehem (in Gilo, Har Homa and Givat Hamatos) in the southeast of Jerusalem would be “just as devastating” as E1 because it would cut off Jerusalem from Bethlehem.  Listen to his interview with NPR’s Morning Edition.  Seidemann states:

Under [the] Geneva [Accord], a two-state solution is still possible, where Beit Safafa will be Palestinian, but if Givat Hamatos were to be built it would no longer be possible. In the absence of geographical connection, there will be no political connection, and the loss of a two-state solution jeopardizes Israel’s existence.

Jerusalem City Councilor Elisha Peleg (Likud), who is on the Local Planning and Building Committee, said:

I don’t think any European country or the US would like it if we got involved with their internal matters. They don’t have a right to do this. These places are in full Israeli sovereignty. We have to be strong and to continue to build in Jerusalem as much as possible, in order to create facts on the ground that we’re not giving up on Jerusalem.

Israel has stated that settlements are designed to achieve its long-term security  and to provide needed affordable housing for its natural growth.

Palestine becomes UN non-member state with observer status; Israel to build 3000 new settlement units

Photo from Haaretz

In an historic vote at the United Nations Thursday, Nov. 29, exactly 65 years after passing the Partition Plan for Palestine, the General Assembly voted by a huge majority to recognize Palestine within the 1967 borders as a non-member state with observer status in the UN.  138 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 41 abstained and 9 voted against: Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, U.S., Panama, The Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru, and Micronesia. 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, closing his speech to the UN, asserted:

The support of the countries of the world for our endeavor is a victory for truth, freedom, justice, law and international legitimacy, and it provides tremendous support for the peace option and enhances the chances of success of the negotiations. Your support for the establishment of the State of Palestine and for its admission to the United Nations as a full member is the greatest contribution to peacemaking in the Holy Land.

The US opposed the move, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling it “unfortunate and counterproductive.”  U.S. UN envoy Susan Rice said the resolution does not establish Palestine as state, that it prejudges the outcome of negotiations, and ignores questions of security.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Proser responded to President Abbas’ speech, saying  “the UN was founded to advance the cause of peace. Today the Palestinians are turning their back on peace. Don’t let history record that today the UN helped them along on their march of folly.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying the world had watched a speech “full of dripping venom and false propaganda against the IDF and Israeli citizens. This is not how someone who wants peace speaks.”

An Israeli spokesman announced on Friday that Israel will build 3000 new housing units in the illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and that it will advance plans for the controversial E1 area outside Jerusalem.  If the E1 settlement plans are fully developed by Israel, it would threaten the contiguity of any future Palestinian state by virtually cutting the West Bank into northern and southern portions.

Read full Haaretz article | Read President Abbas’ full speech

Other reactions to the vote:

World weighs in on UN Palestine vote
World headlines showed a mix of emotions – but a lot of common ground on how much impact this may have on prospects for peace.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2012/1130/World-weighs-in-on-UN-Palestine-vote

UN vote celebration in Ramallah
http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t1#/video/world/2012/11/29/wr-pleitgen-ramallah-reacts-to-un-palestinian-vote.cnn

After Vote, Palestinians and Israel Search for the Next Step
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/world/middleeast/palestinians-and-israel-seek-next-step-after-vote.html?ref=middleeast

Vatican hails UN vote, wants Jerusalem guarantees
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=543566&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Palestinian Legal strategy against Israel: The Real Prize is Europe AND Israeli Reaction to UN Vote: Politicians Burn Palestinian Flag, Pundits fear International Criminal Court
http://www.juancole.com/

Supporting Palestine at the UN today is a vote for peace in the Middle East by Hanan Ashrawi
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/29/supporting-palestine-un-vote-for-peace

EU and other diplomats call on Israel to prevent slated village demolitions in the South Hebron Hills

 

Delegation member meets a man from one of the Palestinian villages slated for demolition to make room for an Israeli firing zone. (Photo by Elior Levy)

European Union and other diplomats from around the world recently  toured some of the 8 villages slated for destruction by the Israelis to make room for a firing zone and called on Israel to halt the scheduled demolitions.   Ecumenical Accompaniers and other advocates from Rabbis for Human Rights and other groups have been following this situation and advocating for a halt to the demolitions for months.  See background on the villages.

 A recent OCHA report summarizes the negative effects of the Israeli designation of large sections of the West Bank, especially the Jordan Valley and the South Hebron Hills, for firing and military zones.  Acording to OCHA, approximately 18% of the West Bank has been designated as a closed military zone for training, or “firing zone”; this is roughly the same amount of the West Bank under full Palestinian authority (Area A, 17.7%).

The diplomats visited the village of Jinba days after  a night raid by masked Israelis to take photographs of structures and count residents frightened the residents.

Israel controls 94% of the Jordan Valley, a potential breadbasket for a Palestinian state, new report says

A Palestinian family in the Jordan Valley cannot access their land due to Israeli restrictions on it.

Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has toured Israel and raised controversy in several arenas.  First, he said he would move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, a controversial move that others in the international community have not done.  Then he compared the Israeli economy to the Palestinian economy, implying that a superior Israeli culture accounted for the better Israeli economy.  Read a New York Times editorial about Mr. Romney’s visit.

Meanwhile, more and more sources are pointing out how much the Palestinian economy is decimated by the Israeli occupation of its land and resources.  In a new report, On the Brink: Israeli Settlements and their Impact on the Jordan Valley, Oxfam points out that the Jordan Valley, which could be a potential breadbasket for the Palestinian economy, is actually almost totally controlled (94%) by the Israeli government, settlements and infrastructure.  From the report:

SUMMARY

The Jordan Valley, located in the eastern part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), makes up 30 per cent of the West Bank (see Map 1 on page 7). Requisitions and expropriations of Palestinian land by the Israeli authorities continue to destroy the livelihoods of Palestinians living in the area and, unless action is taken, there are strong indications that the situation will only get worse. The Israeli government recently announced proposals and policies for the expansion of settlements, which, if implemented, will further threaten the living conditions and human rights of Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley, undermining efforts to bring peace and prosperity to the OPT and Israel.

UNEQUAL ACCESS
Only 6 per cent of the land in the Jordan Valley is currently available for Palestinian use and development.1 While the Israeli settlements there have developed modernised agribusinesses that produce crops for high-value export to the European Union (EU) and international markets, Palestinian farmers – most of whom are smallholders – face restrictions that severely hamper their ability to sell their produce locally, regionally, or internationally.

Development is further constrained because Palestinian families and businesses, and even EU donors and aid agencies, find it nearly impossible to gain permits to build homes, toilets, wells, animal pens, or other vital infrastructure for local communities. Less than 1 per cent of „Area C‟ (the 60 percent of the West Bank under exclusive Israeli control where nearly all of the Jordan Valley is located) has been planned for Palestinian development2 by the Israeli Civil Administration,3 and 94 per cent of permits have been rejected in recent years.4 Essential structures built without development plans and hard-to-obtain permits are frequently demolished in contravention of international law.

It is estimated that if Israeli restrictions on Palestinian development were removed, an additional 50 sq/km of the Jordan Valley could be cultivated, potentially adding $1bn a year to the Palestinian economy, or 9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).5

Read full Oxfam report:  ON THE BRINK: Israeli settlements and their impact on Palestinians in the Jordan Valley.

Levy Report says settlements legal and there is no occupation

Nof Zion, one of the most recent settlements in East Jerusalem, is now considered illegal under international law. The Levy report contradicts this.

The recently-released Levy report commissioned by Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu’s office has concluded that not only are all outposts legal, but all settlement activity in the West Bank is legal.  The report went on to reject the claim that Israel’s presence in the West Bank is one of an occupying force.  Settler communities hailed the report, others condemned it, as it contradicts many UN resolutions, Israeli supreme court decisions and the Fourth Geneva convention. 

Read Haaretz article 
Read YNet article
Legal experts respond to Levy report
Download Levy report 

The US issued a statement criticizing the report and said it continues to oppose Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.  Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council continues to plan to look into the Israeli settlement question and Israel’s Foreign Ministry says it won’t cooperate with the initiative.  On the question of whether the West Bank is occupied territory, international legal expert  Prof. David Kretzmer, said, “If Israel is not an occupying force, it must immediately relinquish ownership of all private lands seized over the years for military use, taken with authority as the occupying force in an occupied territory, and restore the lands to previous owners,” said Kretzmer.

Homefront – video vignettes of Palestinian displacement in Sheikh Jarrah

httpv://youtu.be/dQmrCwGD9jM

JustVision has compiled 4 eight minute vignettes of those involved in the home evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem.  There has been a recent concerted effort to evict Palestinians from their homes to make room for the expansion of the Israeli settlement presence there, despite homeowners having paperwork proving their ownership.   “Homefront” is ideal for adult education sessions to highlight the slow and steady displacement of Palestinians for the purpose of expanding the Israeli settler presence in the Holy Land, especially Jerusalem.  Read more about Homefront and other Just Vision resources.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their land videoed by B’Tselem

httpv://youtu.be/90__-IUNfIM

 

From Sarit Michaeli, a B’Tselem Spokesperson, in a recent B’Tselem newsletter:

Last Saturday (26 May 2012), I witnessed events that I’d previously only seen in video footage or heard about from witnesses. During a meeting with B’Tselem volunteers in Asirah al-Qibliyah, we saw smoke from the direction of the neighboring village Urif. When we phoned people there, they told us that it was the result of arson. I drove to the area with B’Tselem’s field researcher Salma a-Deb’i, and we saw dozens of settlers from Yitzhar who invaded the village’s agricultural land. The settlers threw stones and set fire to the villagers’ fields and orchards. Some youths from the village approached them trying to douse the flames and some also threw stones at settlers. In one incident I witnessed and documented, Settlers from Yitzar’s emergency squad shot and severely wounded a villager, Najeh Ass’ad Najeh a-Safdi, aged 21, in his stomach. (To view videos click here)

All of this took place while there were dozens of soldiers present who did not stop the settlers – even after they set fire to the fields and wounded a-Safdi. While the army had increased the size of its force in the area, the soldiers evidently were not instructed to protect the Palestinian villagers. On  the contrary – soldiers fired tear gas at village residents and delayed the evacuation of the wounded man. This incident took place just a week after a Palestinian from the village of Asira a-Qibliya was shot and injured by gunfire from this same settlement security squad. (To view videos click here)

B”Tselem is an Israeli human rights organization that advocates for the human rights and dignity of all.  The recent project of giving advocates video cameras has resulted in numerous controversial videos showing the reality of human rights violations.

The Wall – 10 Years On

The Wall: 10 Years OnIt was December of 2002 when I first encountered the very beginnings of the separation barrier.  I was visiting the Holy Land on an interfaith peace trip, and in order to reach a friend’s house for dinner in Abu Dis (a town right next to Jerusalem), which should have taken 10 minutes, we had to go a completely circuitous route that took 45 minutes.  Then, in 2003, as an Ecumenical Accompanier with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, I marched with others down the main boulevard connecting Ramallah and Jerusalem protesting the plans for the separation barrier to go right down the middle of this big road, which would separate not Israelis from Palestinians but Palestinians from Palestinians, their families, schools and work.  I remember being convinced that the world would not let this happen.  I was wrong.

A new series, called 10 Years On, examines how things have developed during these 10 years since Ariel Sharon announced plans for the barrier in April of 2002, after the Passover suicide bombing and many others.  The Israelis said they were building it in order to protect Israelis from suicide bombers.  Many Palestinians, however, question the route of the barrier, which is twice as long as the Green Line and cuts deeply into the West Bank, appropriating around 10% of West Bank land within the Israeli side of the barrier.  Palestinians question why, if the barrier is for security of Israelis, the barrier results in thousands of Palestinians on the Israeli side of the barrier and why the route follows settlements and allows plenty of room for their growth while cutting off areas of growth for Palestinian towns. Israelis believe the barrier has saved many Israeli lives, as suicide bombings have reduced in number since the beginning of the wall, while others point to other reasons, such as truces by Palestinian extremist groups and a general lack of support for suicide bombing. 

The series is in seven parts, with interesting comments and debate about the effects, cost and benefit of the barrier.  The link goes to part 7, and at the bottom there are links to the first 6 parts.  Several slide shows by Active Stills and maps  illustrate the series.

Illegal settlement growth in East Jerusalem through Palestinian home evictions

In a new report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (UNOCHA) details the increasing settlement activity in Palestinian residential areas of East Jerusalem, especially the increasing evictions of Palestinians from their homes.

According to the report, ” Israel, as an occupying power, has an obligation to protect the Palestinian civilian population. International law prohibits the forced displacement of civilians and the transfer of settlers into occupied territory, as well as confiscation or destruction of private property, except when such destruction is absolutely necessary for military operations. The application of the Israeli legal system to accommodate claims over property rights in an occupied territory is also unlawful under international law, and it involves discrimination against Palestinian refugees, who are not allowed to reclaim their property in Israel.”

Map of East Jerusalem settlements 2012

A map showing the increasing Jewish settlement activity and homes being taken over against international law in the Palestinian residential areas of East Jerusalem.

New report highlights differences in treatment of Israelis and Palestinians in the Jordan Valley

Ma'an Report on Jordan Valley

A new report by the Ma'an Development Center details the unequal treatment and conditions for Palestinians compared with Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley.

A new report by the Ma’an Development Center describes the vast difference in treatment and development of Palestinian villages and illegal Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley.  From the report:

“The Jordan Valley is approximately 15-20 kilometers wide and, at 1,700 square kilometers, covers around 28.5% of the West Bank. The rich agricultural land, temperate climate, and abundant water resources offer enormous agricultural, economic and political potential for the Palestinian people.

However, this potential has been denied to the Palestinian citizens of the Jordan Valley by the policies of the Israeli military occupation and the continuing illegal expansion of Israel’s civilian settlements. In fact, the first civilian settlements in the West Bank were built in the Jordan Valley. Throughout the years of occupation, the Israeli government began actively promoting the settlement enterprise by offering a number of far-reaching economic and social benefits to those Israelis that emigrated to the illegal settlements.

Consequently, Jordan Valley settlements have grown at a steady rate, aided by governmental aid that expanded important settlement infrastructure and enriched many individual settlers. In 1993, the implementation of the Oslo Accords allowed Israel to strengthen its means of oppression in the region; the Oslo Accords designated 95% of the Jordan Valley as Area C, temporarily legitimizing full Israeli military and civil control for the inhabitants of the region.

Although there are currently 56,000 Palestinians and only 9,400 Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley, the living standards of the latter group are vastly superior. While the Israeli settlers benefit from generous aid from the Israeli government, Palestinians are nearly completely prevented from any sort of development in 95% of the Jordan Valley. Consequently, neighboring Palestinian and Israeli settler communities provide a stark and telling juxtaposition that demonstrates the racial discrimination that guides Israeli policy in the Jordan Valley. By directly subsidizing settlements’ growth, expansion, and development while completely prohibiting even the most basic of services to Palestinians, Israel has ensured that the Palestinians cannot overcome the discriminatory gap in the quality of life between the two populations.”

The report compares Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements and describes the legal procedures governing both.  It highlights the unequal treatment given to Palestinians compared with the Israeli settlers and concludes:

“The shocking differences between the quality of life in Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley are obvious manifestations of the decades-old Israeli policy to remove Palestinians from their own land. By refusing to care for the Palestinians under military rule while also refusing to allow the PNA access to these vulnerable communities, Israel is forcing Palestinians to depopulate an important piece of land that is essential to the viability of a future Palestinian state.

At the same time, the Israeli government has ensured the viability and sustainability of the settlements in the Jordan Valley by directly subsidizing their infrastructure, employment, and social services. All of this brings one to the conclusion that the State of Israel, through its settlement enterprise, is actively protecting the extravagant lifestyle of Israeli Jews in the occupied territories at the expense of the basic human rights of Palestinians. Only a complete reversal of policy with appropriate reparations for lost economic activity and community services will begin to adequately address the gross injustice that has continued for over forty years.”