While the eyes of the outside world are fixed on the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, Israel is about to annex massive area of land within the occupied West Bank for settlement construction.
On the 24th of August 2014, the Israeli Land Authority (ILA) and the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing published the results[1] of settlement bids to lease 10 plots of lands northwest of Gilo settlement south of Jerusalem city to build 708 settlement units. The ILA is to lease the land for 98 years with an option to extend the period for another 98 years. The bid holds number 65/2014/S and targets block number 13157 (Mordot Gilo) in Gilo settlement. Note that the new expansion will take place on lands previously confiscated from Beit Jala, Sharafat and Al Walajeh communities in Bethlehem and Jerusalem Governorates. Below are details of the approved tender:-
Table 1: Details of Tender 65/2014/S
|
Block Number |
Parcel Number |
No. of Housing Units |
defined block area (square meters) |
Primary + Service Area (square meters) |
Parking lots (square meters) |
Total Payment (NIS) |
|
|
31962 |
100-102 |
102 |
5,876 |
14,600 |
7,875 |
28,076,160 |
|
|
31963 |
103-105 |
36 |
3,830 |
5,292 |
3,920 |
13,660,082 |
|
|
31964 |
106-108 |
105 |
6,176 |
14,945 |
7,875 |
29,087,225 |
|
|
31965 |
109-113 |
54 |
5,719 |
6,775 |
3,780 |
19,286,405 |
|
|
31966 |
114-118 |
100 |
6,741 |
14,700 |
6,000 |
29,930,826 |
|
|
31967 |
123-125 |
60 |
4,131 |
8,820 |
3,600 |
18,163,029 |
|
|
31969 |
128-130 |
60 |
4,903 |
8,535 |
4,500 |
19,473,030 |
|
|
31970 |
131-133 |
60 |
4,792 |
8,535 |
4,500 |
19,246,683 |
|
|
31972 |
450-451 |
52 |
3,219 |
7,370 מגורים |
3,000 |
15,296,371 |
|
|
+ 560 מסחר |
|||||||
|
31976 |
119-122 |
79 |
6,475 |
11,240 |
6,000 |
25,635,327 |
|
|
Total |
708 |
51,862 |
93,442 |
48,050 |
217,855,138 |
||
Source: Israeli Land Authority , August 2014
The tender to build the 708 units in Gilo settlement was first approved in mid-October 2012 and was granted final approval by the designated Israeli Authorities in late August 2013, right after the announcement of the nine months of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel which were to start on the 29th of July 2013 and end on the 29th of April 2014[2]. The tender was then made public to Israeli Contractors[3] for the first time in November 2013 and reissued in January 2014, but was closed because it got no bidders from Israeli contractors who complained about the high minimum price, (Haaretz, 2014). On April 23, 2014, the ILA reissued the tender hoping to find new bidders and set the 23rd of June 2014 as a deadline for bidders to submit their proposals.
The Gilo settlement tender will be implemented on 52 dunums of land and will also include the building of commercial buildings, parking lots and open parks. According to the ILA, 10 Israeli Contractors will be implementing the project with a total cost exceeding NIS 217 million. See Map 1
Map 1: Plan No. 13157 Mordot Gilo
To conclude
All forms of the Israeli colonial and expansionist activities in the occupied Palestinian State including those that take place in East Jerusalem constitute a grave breach to the International law rules and conventions with some of which are listed below:
- Article (49) of the Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Geneva, issued on 12 August 1949 – Part III states that ' The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.'
- Article XXXI of the 1995 Oslo agreement provides that: Israel is forbidden from building or planning to any project or settlements or any colonial expansion or any plan that lead to change the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The article provides “Neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations”.
- Moreover United Nations Security Council, Resolution 446 March 22, 1979 calls on Israel to rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any action which would result in changing the legal status and geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem and, in particular, not to transfer parts of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab territories'.
- Also the resolution 452 of the 1979 “calls upon the Government and people of Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.
- Additionally, article 49 paragraph 6 in the Fourth Geneva Convention states that” The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own population into the territories it occupies.”
[1] The Tender was first made to contractors on the 23rd of April and the deadline for the tender was on the 23rd of June 2014 at 12:00 noon, a period of 2 months (60 Days).
[2] Israel committed itself to limit settlement construction in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory to 1,000 units during the 9-month negotiations period and limited the housing bids to the large Israeli settlement blocs such as Ariel in Salfit, Ma’ale Adumim in Jerusalem and Gush Etzion in Bethlehem. (Haaretz, 2013[2])
[3] Usually the first stage of a tender process is implemented in two stages, the first is for “Prequalification” of the contractor and second, is the “Bid” for selection of the contractor who carry out the Work.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
