Israeli Bulldozers Demolish Palestinian Structures in Jerusalem Town

JERUSALEM, July 12, 2016 (WAFA) - Israeli forces Tuesday morning demolished a several Palestinian structures during a raid into Anata town, northeast of Jerusalem, said WAFA correspondent.

Large Israeli troops escorted a bulldozer to the Jerusalem town of Anata, cordoning it off and demolishing a plant farm, a car repair shop and knocking down several tents, citing unlicensed building as a pretext.

The plant farm reportedly belongs to Muhammad Hilweh, while the car repair shop belong to Ashraf Jolani.

The bulldozers also demolished retaining walls in the Anata localities of al-Fahidat and al-Bahira.

Clashes broke out  between troops and local Palestinian youth who protested the demolition and attempted to block the troops’ passage.

Israeli troops prevented locals from approaching the demolition scene for almost two hours before they withdrew, assaulting and spraying them with tear gas canisters.

Despite filing applications, Palestinians in the West Bank, especially East Jerusalem and Area C, are rarely granted construction permits by Israeli authorities. As a result, they are forced to embark on construction without obtaining rarely-granted permits.

Israel frequently utilizes the lack of construction permits as a pretext for demolishing Palestinian houses.

Many humanitarian and legal bodies have maintained that Israel have been adopting planning policies discriminatory against Palestinians in West Bank Area C and East Jerusalem, making it extremely difficult for them to obtain building permits.

“As a result, many Palestinians build without permits to meet their housing needs and risk having their structures demolished. Palestinians must have the opportunity to participate in a fair and equitable planning system that ensures their needs are met,” OCHA reports.

Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as "residents" whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.

They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel's separation wall.

http://english.wafa.ps/page.aspx?id=gVifmca37787449359agVifmc

Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as "residents" whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.

They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel's separation wall.

http://english.wafa.ps/page.aspx?id=gVifmca37787449359agVifmc

 

Israel Razes Land near Ramallah

RAMALLAH, July 11, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli army forces on Monday razed a Palestinian-owned land near the village of N’ilin, west of Ramallah in the West Bank, according to local sources.

Witnesses told WAFA that an Israeli army force accompanied by bulldozers broke into the area and razed the land in order to expand the nearby illegal settlement of Nili.

According to a report by Applied Research Institute (ARIJ), “The consecutive Israeli governments adopted a policy to acquire much of the West Bank lands to build and expand the Israeli settlements by employing different methods; most renowned of which, “Security,” which is also, how Israel was able to restrict Palestinian towns’ development on the remaining areas.”

It said that, “Since 1967, Israel utilized all the laws that were once running in this part of the land; at least the ones that it can make use of to justify its occupation in an attempt to legalize the various methods it uses to carry out its systematic policy to confiscate Palestinians’ lands to make it available for the occupation Army or/ and for the Israeli settlers.”

http://english.wafa.ps/page.aspx?id=xtoPOWa37784594100axtoPOW

 

Settlers torch farmers’ lands west of Ramallah

PNN/ Ramallah/

A group of Israeli settlers on Monday evening set fire to Palestinian farmers’ lands in Ras Karkar village, west of Ramallah city.

PIC said that after torching the land, the settlers obstructed the movement of fire trucks and tried to prevent their crews from extinguishing the flames, according to local eyewitnesses.

The fire caused extensive damage to the agricultural area.

http://english.pnn.ps/2016/07/12/settlers-torch-farmers-lands-west-of-ramallah/

 

Report: Israeli forces torch olive trees on private Palestinian land

HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces have reportedly torched 10 dunams (2.5 acres) of land planted with olive trees south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority.

The Hebron office of the authority released a report on Monday that said its inspectors saw the scorched land in the Um Suwwana neighborhood near the village of al-Ramadin, and managed to take photos from a distance but couldn’t access the land because it lay just beyond Israel’s separation wall. 

The trees belonged to the al-Sawaada family from al-Ramadin.

The authority estimated that the land was torched a few weeks ago, and determined it had been carried out by the Israeli army based on testimonies gathered by locals.

An Israeli army spokesperson could not immediately confirm the reports as the authority’s statement excluded a specific date of the incident.

The Environmental Authority carries out regular field visits across the occupied West Bank to document “Israeli violations against environment in Palestine.”

http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=772192

 

Israeli cabinet approves 50-million shekel plan to 'strengthen' Kiryat Arba settlement

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- The Israeli cabinet approved on Sunday a 50 million shekel ($12.8 million) plan to “strengthen” the illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba in the occupied West Bank, in a move which anti-settlement group Peace Now called a move by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “prioritize the most extreme settlements.”

In a statement on Sunday following the weekly cabinet meeting, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office released a statement quoting Netanyahu as saying that the cabinet was approving a “NIS 50 million plan to strengthen Kiryat Arba and the Jewish community in Hebron.”

“Government offices, I must note, have all been recruited to assist the residents who stand heroically in the face of vicious terrorism,” Netanyahu added, in reference to a number of attacks against settlers in the West Bank district of Hebron in recent weeks which led to the death of two Israelis.

Israeli officials have justified the increase in settlement funding, claiming it constitutes part of Israeli policies to curb Palestinian attacks -- although Palestinian officials have in the past countered that illegal settlements in fact incite Palestinian violence.

“The terrorists are trying to remove us from here and we need to remain strong and connected,” Israeli news outlet Arutz Sheva quoted Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel as saying. “It has been clear since the early days of Zionism that we defeat Arab terror through settlement activity alongside security actions.”

A spokesperson for the Netanyahu did not respond to a request for comment on the details of the plan.

However, Peace Now reported that the plan would fund “community resilience” -- which would include education, culture, and sports -- public institutions, infrastructure, “neighborhood upgrading,” and a grant to the municipality.

“By transferring millions of shekels to Hebron and Kiryat Arba, Netanyahu prioritizes the most extreme settlements, that will never be in Israel as a part of an agreement, over the rest of Israel's citizens, and shows, yet again, that he is not truly interested in a two-state solution,” Peace Now said in a statement released on Monday.

Peace Now also reiterated its denunciation of the Israeli government’s approval last week of plans to construct 560 new housing units for Jewish Israelis in the illegal settlement of Maale Adumim, as well as its retroactive recognition of a settler outpost.

All settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law, while Israel recognizes most settlements. However, a number of outposts created by settlers without government approval are retroactively recognized by the Israeli state.

“The promotion of plans in Maale Adumim and the retroactive legalization of an illegal outpost are a slap in the face of the Quartet,” Peace Now wrote, in reference to the Middle East Quartet, which recently published a report condemning Israeli settlement expansion.

“Netanyahu is signaling to Israel's most important allies that he is not interested in peace and two states but rather in the continuation of the occupation.”

Israel’s response to attacks on Israelis -- such as punitive home demolitions, settlement expansion, the sealing of entire Palestinian villages, and withholding the bodies of slain Palestinians -- have been condemned by rights groups, who have said the measures amount to “collective punishment” and represent a clear violation of international law.

http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=772178

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