Report on Israel Activities in Occupied East Jerusalem January - June 2013

7/28/2019 Report on Israel Activities in Occupied East Jerusalem January - June 2013

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Palestine Liberation Organization

Negotiations Affairs Department July 2013

WHILE ISRAEL IS TALKING ABOUT PEACE…

“Construction in Judea and Samaria1 will continue, and is continuing still today, but we must

be aware of what is happening around us” (Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, June 30th 2013).

……

Since January 2013, US President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry have led a new

effort in order to resume negotiations between Israel and Palestine. Israeli PM

Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that he is willing to negotiate “without

preconditions.” Such an Israeli approach, illustrated by Israeli facts on the ground, isan Israeli attempt at normalizing daily agression, oppression, discrimination and

attacks against the occupied people of Palestine. It shows once again that Israel is not

interested about reaching a just and lasting peace but rather in maintaining the status

quo while resisting international pressure.

An Israeli commitment to the two-state solution in line with the vision of Palestine

and the rest of the international community would be a positive step. Unfortunately,

statements and actions made by prominent members of the Israeli government prove

that there is a clear rift within the Israeli government on the issue of the peaceprocess, while Palestine and the international community is exerting effort to resume

meaningful negotiations. Many prominent figures of the ruling Israeli coalition are

publicly opposing the two-state solution. At the same time, continued actions on the

ground, many of which fall under the banner of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise,

demonstrate a clear intention to destroy the possibility of two states living side by

side.

This report summarizes Israeli attacks and other acts of aggression committed by the

Israeli Occupation Authorities, military forces and settlers against the people of Palestine in the recent period when Israeli officials have been “talking about talking.”

1Biblical name for the West Bank.



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SURGE IN ISRAELI VIOLATIONS (January - June 2013)

Event Type January February March April May June TOTAL

Assassinations 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

Deaths7 3 4 3 0 1 18

Injuries 74 210 127 172 135 56 774

Attacks 210 321 462 307 289 189 1778

Raids 513 465 354 529 535 545 2941

Arrests (per

person)

384 474 347 397 396 374 2372

Attacks onProperty

84 71 59 105 149 128 596

HouseOccupation

4 12 12 8 13 8 57

Curfews 1 0 0 0 0 1 2

FlyingCheckpoints

357 416 462 391 144 440 2210

Settler Violence 67 69 99 123 127 79 564



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Summary of Home Demolitions2 :

STRUCTURESDEMOLISHED

PEOPLE DISPLACED PEOPLE AFFECTED

Res Other Total Adults Children Unknown Total Adults Children Unknown Total

131 206 337 275 307 0 582 528 580 100 1208

TOTAL PEOPLE DISPLACED AND AFFECTED

Adults Children Unknown Total

803 887 100 1794

Since Secretary Kerry began his efforts to resume negotiations, Israel has forcibly displaced 582

people, including 307 children, through demolishing their homes. The main concentration of home

2Data collected by UN – OCHA.



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demolitions is in Occupied East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. This is an average of 22 people

forced from their homes every week since Secretary Kerry assumed his current position.

Eviction and forced displacement: Palestinian families of Shamasna and Kiswani, are on the

verge of displacement and eviction in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. An Israeli settler

organization active in the neighborhood was pressing for the eviction.

Land Confiscation: Israeli authorities are in the process of approving the confiscation of 1200

dunums of land in Walajeh village, West of the town of Beit Jala, for the future expansion of Gilo

settlement and others. The Israeli government has also decided to build the annexation Wall in the

Cremisan Area of Beit Jala which will leave the predominantly Christian community of Beit Jala and

the rest of the Bethlehem district disconnected from one of their last green areas. Israel plans to link

the settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo.

Excavation in the Magharbeh Neighborhood: There are three new sites undergoing extensiveconstruction in the southern part of the old city. Expansive excavation work is also taking place at

Magharbeh gate in three locations: 1. Underneath the bridge, 2. South of Aqsa mosque by the

Marwani Mosque and 3. In Wadi Hilweh, the valley which runs through Silwan.

Other Violations:

On May 08, 2013, Israeli Occupation Forces illegally detained the highest Muslim religious

authority Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine Mohammad Hussein.

On May 04, Israeli occupation forces repressed and physically assaulted Palestinian

Christians, including priests, preventing them from celebrating the important spiritual

occasion of Holy Fire Saturday.

On June 21, Israeli Occupation Forces shut down the Palestinian National Theater, Al

Hakawati, in Occupied East Jerusalem, preventing a children’s festival from taking place.

http://www.nad-plo.org/atemplate.php?id=36

http://www.nad-plo.org/atemplate.php?id=36



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Calendar of Israeli Aggressions

“ The Jewish people are not settlers in the West Bank, but Israel will make the Palestinians

settlers and Jordan will be the one taking control over Palestinians and that’s it” (Israeli Deputy

Defense Minister Danny Danon )

SELECTION OF CASES: J ANUARY 2013 – JUNE 2013

Deaths Injuries Settlers Violence Attacks on Property

15 January:

Samir Awad (16 years old) was killed when Israeliforces opened fire andlaunched tear gas grenadestowards the residents near amilitary post in Budrus

village.

13 January:

Three residents of Qusra village (Nablus) wereinjured, including a childand a journalist, whenIsraeli forces raided the

village and clashed with itsresidents.

02 January:

Several Palestinian homes were stoned by an Israelisettler in Jalud village inNablus, causing serioushead injuries to 3 residents,including 3 year old FarahObada.

28 January:

Israeli forces demolished asection of a home built in1959, which is owned by Faraj Shaker, in Silwanneighborhood of East

Jerusalem.

23 February:

Arafat Jaradat, a resident of Hebron, died in Migdoprison after being seizedfrom his home on February 18 2013.

24 February:

Israeli forces opened firetowards demonstrators who

were protesting the death of Arafat Jaradat while in Israelicustody, and demonstrating in solidarity with thePalestinians.

20 January:

An Israeli settler vehicleran over Rizq Jubran along the main road near Marj Al-Ghazal village, leaving himhospitalized withcontusions.

3 March:

Israeli settlers stormedagricultural land in the Wadi

Jumjum area in Nihalin village and damaged 60 olivetrees owned by TahaFunoun.

12 March:

Israeli forces fired rubbercoated steel bullets and teargas grenades towardsresidents as they raided Al-Fuwar camp in Hebron,killing Mohammad Al-Titiand injuring 8 othersincluding 2 children

09 April:

3 residents of Bethlehem were injured, including achild, when Israeli forcesfired rubber coated steelbullets towards severalresidents for allegedly stonethrowing near Al-Aydacamp.

31 March:

Israeli settlers stoned 2buses carrying school girlsas they were returning toRamallah from a field trip,injuring 7 students anddamaging the 2 buses.

7 April:

Israeli forces ordered 8residents of Hamsa village inthe northern Jordan valley toabandon their homes until

April 9 2013 in order forIsraeli forces to conductmilitary training.

11 June:

Khalid Khurish , a 27 yearsold resident of Tulkarem,

died of injuries sustainedfrom Israeli forces’ gunfire on April 4 2004. In 2004 Khalid was paralysed by the gunfireand had been receiving treatment in Italy, Russia,Lebanon, Syria and Jordan

11 April:

Israeli forces opened firetowards Mu’taz Obeido (a

medically handicappedgentleman) as they detainedhim at his home, injuring his hand.

29 April:

An Israeli settler ran over Yusef Muhtasib (5 years old)

near Al-Ibrahimi mosque inthe old city of Hebron,leaving him hospitalized withcontusions

21 May:

Israeli forces demolished a27 m2 portion of a home

owned by Taysir Al-Sabah inthe area between the FrenchHill and Shu’fat camp in

Jerusalem for allegedly being built without properlicencing.



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Focus on June: Details of Israeli violations awaiting Secretary Kerry

“We’re running out of time. If we do not succeed now, we may not get another chance,” (Secretary John Kerry, June 3).

June brought serious efforts conducted by the US administration in order to resume negotiationsbetween Israel and Palestine. While the Palestinian side has worked in close coordination with

Secretary Kerry and his team, in order to create the right environment for meaningful negotiations,

the Israeli side has continued its occupation and colonization activities, further closing the window

of opportunity for the establishment of a free and sovereign Palestinian State and the two-state

solution.

Some of the Israeli policies conducted during the month of June resulted in the death of one

Palestinian and another 56 injured, meaning that almost two Palestinians were injured on a daily

basis either by Israeli Occupation Forces or settlers. During the same period of time, 371

Palestinians were arrested (on average 12 arrested daily).

Regarding settlement construction, Israel approved the construction of 1169 units during June,

including the settlement of Burchin (Salfit Area), settlements in the so-called “Gush Etzion” area

(Bethlehem – Hebron) and the illegal settlement of Har Homa (between Bethlehem and Jerusalem).

That is equivalent to 39 units per day, or more than the average number of daily units built by PM

Netanyahu’s government during his 2009 – 2013 term of office (24 units per day).

While continuing settlement construction all over the Occupied State of Palestine, Israel demolished

10 Palestinian homes as well as occupying another 8 Palestinian homes.

Israeli military raids and attacks against Palestinians and their property continued during June. Israelioccupation forces conducted 536 raids within the Occupied State of Palestine (an average of 18 daily

raids) as well as imposing 430 flying checkpoints

Israeli settlers continued to attack Palestinians with impunity, carrying out 76 attacks on defenseless

Palestinian communities (an average of 2.5 attacks per day). The combined number of attacks

conducted by settlers and Israeli Occupation Forces against Palestinian people reached 185 (6 per

day on average), while combined attacks against Palestinian property reached 121 (an average of 4

daily attacks).



60

45

1

1

4

20

443

60

9

1

21

4

RAMOT

KOCHAVYA'ACOV

MA'AMIKHM

R.SHLOMO

P.ZE'EV

N.YA'ACOV

ALMO

GEVABINYAMIN

MA' ADU

FR.HILLR.ESHKOL

EASTTALPIOT

HARHOMA

GILO

G.HAMATOS

SHA'ARBINYAMIN

ANATOT

ATAROT

RAMA

NOFZION

Anata

Hizma

Al Ram

Jaba

Mikhmas

Za'im

Azarya

AbuDis

Sawahra

Sh.Sa'adSur

Baher

BeitSafafa

Uba AnNuman Al

KhasBeit

SilwanRas al Amud

Tur

'Isawiya

Shuafat

BeitHanina

AlJib

Bir Nabala

Rafat

QalandiaQl.R.C.

Kafr Aqab

R.C.

Thuri

WadiHummus

West East

Ar.JahalinJ.Mukabir

Sh.Jarrah

UmLeisun

Judeira

BHBalad

Wadi Joz

B thl h

OLD

CITY

A l Q u d s

J e r u s a l e m

W e s t E a s t

E 1

Plan

Israeli settlement

built-up area

Israeli military base

The Wall- constructed or

under construction- approved or planned

Israeli ring road- existing- planned or under

construction

Israeli-proposed

“alternative” Palestinianroad link

Palestinian city, town,

village or neighborhood

1967 Boundary

(“Green Line”)

Israeli checkpoint

Israeli road

SRAELI RING ROAD

ROUND OCCUPIED

EAST JERUSALEM

(JULY 2013)

© NAD-NSU

2.5 km

Palestinian territory

west / east of the Wall



Kedumim

Eli

El Ofra

Illit

Betar

Kiryat Arba

Dotan

Rehan

Elon

Itamar

AvneHefez

Ma'aleEfrayim

Nili

Adora

Otniel

Massua

Yizhar

Asfar

Mevo

Mehola

A.MenasheHamra

Moreh

Ariel

Bet Arieh

Modi'in

Bet Talmon

G.Ze'ev G.Binyamin

Ma'ale Adumim

TekoaEfrat

K.Zur

Shilo

Etzion

Elkana

H.Gilo

Rotem

Jenin

TubasTulkarm

Nablus

Salfit

Latrun

Valley

Hebron

Qalqilya

Ramallah

Jericho

Jerusalem

Bethlehem

D E A D

S E A

Settler Population Growth

Doubled Since 1995

0,000

0,000

0,000

229,500

371,500

433,700

544,000

1995 2000 2005 2012

West Bank Population

Directly Affected by the Wall

Palestinians isolated west

of the Wall

Palestinians separated

from arable land

10.6%

12.4%

Wall completed (~ 64%)

Wall under construction (~ 6%)

1967 Boundary (“Green Line”)(~ 320 km)

Settlement areas east of Wall

Jordan Valley areas under

Israeli settlement control

54.5 %

9.0 %

8.0 %

28.5%

West Bank area

est of the Wall*

ettlement-controlled

eas east of the Wall

ordan Valley

ettlement control

Areas remaining

for Palestinians

Palestinian Land Restricted

by Israeli Settlements and the Wall

Wall route approved byIsrael’s cabinet as of

30 April 2006 (~ 714 km)

ISRAEL’S WALL &

SETTLEMENTS (COLONIES)

(JULY 2013)

300

625

550

675

942

797 50

84

154

90

86

170

112

255

620694

732



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Focus on settlements: A clear increase during 2013.

“The idea of a Palestinian state reached a dead end. There has never been so much time invested

in something so pointless… we should build , build, build” (Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade

and Labor Naftali Bennet).

The Israeli government's commitment to settlement expansion has been fully upheld during the

second term of Prime Minister Netanyahu. Official Israeli government statistics revealed that

during the first quarter of 2013, construction in the West Bank increased by 335% in

comparison to the last quarter of 2012 - reaching the highest level in seven years.

Settlement Activity

New settlement units:

Between January and June 2013, construction of 1000 new housing units began in the West

Bank , which includes Occupied East Jerusalem. Many of the construction sites are located deep

inside the West Bank. In addition, since January, there have been 15800 SETTLEMENT housing

units in various stages of planning, approval and development in the Occupied State of Palestine3.

On January 15, tenders were issued for 84 units in Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron and

154 units in Efrat settlement in Bethlehem.

On January 16 and February 18, publication of “depositing ”4 for 255 units in Ofra

settlement and 620 in Eli Settlement in Ramallah.

In February, publication of validation before issuing tenders for 90 units in Bet El inRamallah, and 86 units in Tal Meashe in Jenin

In April, discussion for validation before publication for 112 units in Maale Adumim

settlement in Jerusalem and 170 units in Rotem settlement in Tubas

In May, publication of depositing for 694 units in Alei Zahav settlement and 732 units in

Modi'in Illit settlement in Ramallah.

Ongoing preparation for the infrastructure for 625 units in Pizgat Zeev and 942 units in Har

Homa settlements. Also the approval of 8 units in Beit Orot in Occupied East Jerusalem .

On June 26, construction permits were approved for 69 units in Har Homa C by the

Israeli Municipality in East Jerusalem On June 9, a settlement plan was advanced by the Israeli government for the approval 550

units in Burchin settlement.

3IRAMIM & Peace Now

4A technical stage of the settlement building process



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On June 6, a plan was advanced for the approval of 675 units in the settlement of Itamar. This settlement is located deep inside the West Bank (28 kilometers from the Green Line,East of Nablus District.

On May 14, the Government announced its intention to establish 4 new settlements of:

Mitzpe Lachish, Givat Assaf, Maale Rehavam, and Haroe.

In late May, 1000 new housing units were approved: 300 homes in Ramot settlement and

797 in Gilo settlement, aimed at further severing Bethlehem from East Jerusalem

On April, 25th, a Plan for 11 units in East Talpiyot was deposited for approval (plan no.12989A). In addition the Israel Minister of Housing declared he plans to expand a hostel forthe Elderly in East Talpiyot with another 50 units.

Other settlement activities:

Approval for the new cable car connecting the Mount of Olives with the old city of

occupied East Jerusalem. Approval of a new dumpsite near Shufat and Anata village, threatening Palestinians living in

that area with eviction and forced displacement.

Settlement Road Network:

Road #4: ongoing construction in Beit Safafa, south of Jerusalem

Road #20: In May, the Israeli PM officially opened a settler road which was built on lands

belong to Palestinians from Hizma and Beit Hanina. The road connects the settlements of

the West Bank with West Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Road #21: ongoing construction between Shufat and Beit Hanina to be connected with road#20 and to advance the approval for the expansion of Ramot Shlomo settlement.

East Ring Road: approval of the new road to connect the settlements in the south such as

Har Homa, North and with West Jerusalem.

A plan for a ramp to Jerusalem from Maale Adumim settlement road was approved for

validation in May 2013.

http://peacenow.org.il/eng/content/itamar

http://peacenow.org.il/eng/content/itamar



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Conclusion: End Israel’s Impunity, Protect Palestine and its People

“ Settlement activity embodies the core of the policy of colonial military occupation of

the land of the Palestinian people and all of the brutality of aggression and racial

discrimination against our people that this policy entails” (President Mahmoud

Abbas).

In the short period during which Israel has talked about peace, as a response to US efforts to resume

negotiations, the Palestinian people have been subjected to numerous and appalling violations at the

hands of their supposed partner in those talks. These are not merely violations which prejudice the

outcome of the two-state solution, not merely violations which make the prospect of meaningful

negotiations incredibly difficult, not merely violations which breach international law and almost

every basic human right, but violations which are physically and continuously harming the lives and

livelihoods of normal people. Palestinians face daily terror attacks and violence from the Israeli

military and settlers who are granted full support from the Israeli government and its officials.

What is most shocking is that these policies and violations are carried out with a complete lack of

accountability. This impunity that Israel currently enjoys is not the right environment for meaningful

negotiations. The only way to open a door for credible negotiations is for Israel to implement

previous agreements and respect international law. The only party able to ensure this environment is

the international community.

The facts are clear. For peace to prevail, Israel’s impunity must end.

Documents

Report on Israel Activities in Occupied East Jerusalem January - June 2013