It is not unprecedented technique that when the focus is at one place, a window of opportunity presents itself at another place. That is the case with the Israeli occupation, except that the Israelis never waited for something to happen they just grabbed whatever they desire using their military force to make it happen. Still, when an opportunity presents itself, they take it. Since the Israeli Army launched its atrocious air-sea-ground attacks on Gaza Palestinian populace, the Israeli civil administration, the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem, and the Israeli ministry of interior worked on parallel track in the occupied West bank (including occupied East Jerusalem) to grab more Palestinian lands and to coerce facts on the ground; to force its well to manipulate the final status issues, all of which has proven to be no less than disastrous and an ignition policy leading only to explosive situation.
Within such policy line, the Israelis wasted no time, not even paced down their crack down on Plans to fortify their existence in occupied East Jerusalem, continue with the Segregation Wall construction, and eradicate Palestinians from their land and livelihood.
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On January 1, 2009
The Israeli Army issued a military order holding number 29/08/T to confiscate 10.2 Dunums (but according to the Applied Research Institute analysis the targeted land in the Israeli military order is 18.5 Dunums) of the Palestinian village Nahalin; located west of Bethlehem district, to construct a road that is to link two Israeli settlements (Giva’ot to Betar Illit) located within what the Israelis call the Gush Etzion settlements’ bloc. According to the Applied Research Institute analysis, the Israeli planned road will run for two Km to facilitate the movement of the Israeli settlers. On the other hand, the Israeli planned road will cut off 4400 Dunums of Nahalin’s lands, which will be inaccessible to its original Palestinian owners. Previously, the Israelis illegally identified most the targeted 4400 Dunums as Israeli state lands.
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On January 3, 2009
The Israeli Army handed out a resident from Al-Khader village located west of Bethlehem a military order to demolish an artesian well and an agricultural greenhouse. The Palestinian resident Daoud Marzouq Salah said that the targeted items in the Israeli military order exist within his own private land, however, the Israeli military order indicate that the Israeli military order to demolish the artesian well and the agricultural greenhouse came under the pretext of being built without proper licensing fro the Israeli civil administration. The targeted items stated in the Israeli military order are located in Al Mantura Area, only meters away from Elazar settlement.
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On January 4, 2009
The Israeli Army handed a demolishing order to Abdullah Abu Swai of Al-Nahleh Hamlet in Artas village located west of Bethlehem city. The Israeli military order is to demolish the 180 square meters residential house of Abdullah Abu Swai (seven inhabitants) under the pretext of lacking valid building license from the Israeli civil administration.
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On January 7, 2009
The Israeli municipality of Jerusalem published an acquisition order to take possession of 10 Dunums at the Palestinian neighborhood of Al-Tur in occupied East Jerusalem. The targeted land for possession is cultivated with hundreds of olive trees since decades ago. The targeted land, which belongs to the Palestinian family Al-Hudra, is considered their main source of income. The acquisition order came under the pretext to build a school for the community there. According to the appointed lawyer by Al-Hudra family, the real grounds for the possession of the targeted land is that the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem gave up the utilization jurisdiction of the confiscated land to the renowned supporter of settlements activities in occupied East Jerusalem, the Jewish-American raider Irwin Moskowitz and also to the Jewish society Bet Ort, which already is settling at the outskirts of the targeted land at Al-swanah neighborhood. The planned project is to take place on the Palestinian confiscated land include a Jewish religious school and housing accommodation for the students. This comes as a part of the Israeli plan to control what is known as the “sacred basin” which includes the Old City of Jerusalem and it vicinity.
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On January 12, 2009
The Israeli Army issued a military order to confiscate 500+ Dunums of land belong to the Palestinian town Abu Dis located in occupied East Jerusalem. The confiscation order came to designate area to build the planned section of the Israeli Segregation Wall at the eastern area of Abu Dis and Jerusalem area. The planned Segregation Wall section there will work to effectively isolate Jerusalem at its southeastern side from the remaining areas of the West bank, and much more, it will break-up the West Bank geographical contiguity into two separate parts. The confiscation order comes within a series of Israeli military orders issued previously to take control -to confiscate- Palestinian lands and incorporate it within plans to build the Segregation Wall and/ or expand settlements’ jurisdiction areas located there, of which Ma’ale Adumim and Qedar.
It goes to say that Israel continues to scheme and plot even with all what is happening in the Gaza Strip. Apparently, the Israelis work simultaneously to eradicate the Palestinian people one way or the other: in the West Bank by means of confining the residential areas and movement to eventually squeeze them out, and in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Army is adopting more direct approach, which is to get rid of the people (infants, children, women, etc); basically what is Palestinian; to eliminate them once and for all.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
