On March 12, 2008, a group of Israeli settlers from El'azar settlement under the Israeli occupation Army protection raided the land of Muner Hussein Musa in Al Dhahr area located within the Palestinian village of Al Khader 4 kilometers west of Bethlehem Governorate and set up new illegal house as part of the new expansion for El'azar settlement. The Israeli settlers tried to take over the lands several times since 2007 but the landowner was able to get a court order preventing settlers from entering his land, but the settlers did not comply with the Israeli court order and with the assistance of the Israeli Army they managed to set the new house, which belongs to the former Israeli MK Yighal Biebi from the right wing political group in Israel, Mifdal. See Photo 1
The Israeli settlement of El'azar was established in 1975 on 536 dunums of lands originally owned by the villagers of Al Khader. Today, the settlement is the home of more than 1300 Israeli settlers and is considered one of the 11 Israeli settlements forming the Gush Etzion settlements bloc (Gevot, Hadar Betar, Bitar ‘Ilit, Efrat, Rosh Zurim, Allon Shvut, Migdal Oz, Neve Daniel, Kfar Eztion, Bat Ayin and El'azar). See Location Map
A part of ongoing process
This new addition comes as a part of an operation led by the Israeli settlers and few years back to establish an outpost in order to turn it into a new neighborhood of El'azar settlement. Few months ago the settlers constructed new houses at the southern part of the settlement at the same location, See Photo 2 & Photo 3
The new addition in El'azar settlement was encouraged by the Israeli government recent announcements, in which they declared plans to construct thousands of new housing units at several of the biggest settlements blocs that surround Jerusalem such as Giv’at Zeev and Ma’ale Adumim. These settlements blocs along with Gush Etzion settlements bloc will be included within the Israeli Segregation Wall-under construction now- around Jerusalem thus comprising the 'Greater Jerusalem' area, which according to Israel will remain under Israeli control under any future peace agreement with the Palestinians.
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'There will be places where there will be construction, or additions to construction, because these places will remain in Israel's hands,” it intends to annex these blocs into the 'Greater Jerusalem', The Israeli Prime Minister Olmert in an interview with Reuters, March 17, 2008. |
Al Khader village was often targeted by the Israeli policies both for settlements’ expansions, and later on for the construction work of the Segregation Wall, which will cause the isolation of nearly 15144 dunums of agricultural lands (75%) of the village's total area upon its completion.
Prepared by
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
