Occupied Jerusalem - SANA
The settlement war and Judaization in occupied Jerusalem and its environs are escalating. After the last year witnessed the establishment of thousands of settlement units, the seizure of large areas of the Holy City’s lands, the demolition of hundreds of homes and establishments, and the continuation of the displacement operations, the settlement and Judaization operations did not stop, as the occupation announced the seizure of 700 dunums of the lands of Beit Hanina, Hazma and Jaba North of occupied Jerusalem with the aim of Judaizing it.
The National Bureau for Land Defense and Settlement Resistance of the Palestine Liberation Organization explained that the occupation has escalated the implementation of its settlement plans at a great pace during the past four years, taking advantage of the presidency of US President Donald Trump, where in the first three years of his presidency he established about 21 thousand new settlement units on Palestinian lands and in In 2020, he intensified the implementation of his settlement plans, especially in occupied Jerusalem, as he announced plans to establish more than 20 thousand settlement units on their lands, threatening to separate them from the rest of the West Bank cities and towns, and imposing new facts on the ground that undermine any opportunity for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Member of the PLO Executive Committee Wasel Abu Yusef explained in a statement to SANA reporter that the Judaization scheme and the settlement operations in North Jerusalem aim to impose a colonial settlement Judaization reality that prevents Jerusalem from being the capital of the Palestinian state, indicating that the occupation is exploiting the American position and trying to gain the time remaining from the Trump administration to isolate Jerusalem is completely separate from the rest of the West Bank.
Abu Yusef stressed the need for the international community to do its duty towards the Palestinian people and to oblige the occupation to implement the international legitimacy decisions that demand a halt to settlements, particularly Security Council Resolution 2334, which confirms its illegality, indicating that there is an integrated Palestinian plan to continue confronting settlement and Judaization, and the Palestinians will not allow the occupation to colonize Palestinian land. .
The director of the International Jerusalem Center, Hassan Khater, explained that the occupation is currently implementing three Judaization plans north of occupied Jerusalem, the first includes establishing 9,000 settlement units in Qalandia, and the second includes seizing thousands of dunams in the neighborhoods of Wadi Al-Joz, Al-Misarara and Sheikh Jarrah, and demolishing 200 shops, and the last plan is the Judaization of large areas of Beit Hanina lands. Hazma and Jaba 'to surround Jerusalem with settlements and isolate it from the rest of the West Bank.
Director General of the Department of Maps and Survey at Orient House in Occupied Jerusalem Khalil Al-Tafakji indicated that the Judaization plan in North Jerusalem comes as a continuation of the settlement and Judaization plans that target all geographical, historical and cultural components of the Holy City with the aim of changing its character, pointing out that the occupation continues to close Palestinian institutions and associations in Jerusalem within the war On the Palestinian presence.
Al-Tafakji indicated that the next stage will be the worst for Jerusalem, as the occupation plans to displace thousands of Palestinians from the north and east of the city, in implementation of the so-called (deal of the century) aimed at liquidating the Palestinian issue, indicating that what is happening on the ground in terms of establishing thousands of settlement units and isolating neighborhoods and villages from each other constitutes an actual implementation. The colonial annexation plan is among the terms of the deal, which are rejected by the Palestinians and internationally.
For his part, the coordinator of the Popular Committee for Resistance to the Wall and Settlement, Salah Al-Khawaja, pointed out that the occupation seeks to consecrate the Judaization of Jerusalem, which has become a victim of settlement and Judaization and the demolition of Palestinian homes and properties in parallel with the settlers' seizure of dozens of Palestinian homes, shops and installations in light of the disgraceful silence of the international community on the occupation practices.
Director of the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, Jawad Siyam, explained that the occupation has recently intensified its settlement plans in villages and towns east of Jerusalem, with the aim of displacing Palestinians from them in addition to demolishing homes. During the past year, 193 homes and commercial establishments were demolished and about 2,000 Palestinians were arrested for confronting the occupation’s Judaization measures, and 375 Palestinians were deported. On Jerusalem, for their response to the settlers' incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where more than 18,000 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa during the year 2020, with the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, in an attempt to impose a fait accompli regarding Judaizing the Temple Mount and controlling it.
Muhammad Abu Shabab