Israel government’s move to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron is a dangerous decision aimed at Judaising the Palestinian land. About 1,000 Jewish settlers are already staying in the heavily fortified enclaves in Hebron, surrounded by some 200,000 Palestinians. The city has been a flashpoint of violence during nearly a year of fighting. The Palestinians are opposing any settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the territories where they seek to establish an independent state.
Last week, the Palestinian government had brought foreign diplomats to a school in the West Bank to highlight a renewed threat of demolition by Israel. The move against the school for Bedouin children, built in 2009 by Italian aid organisation Vento Di Terra and other volunteers using tires, clay, and a wooden roof because authorities forbade the use of stone and concrete, is part of a larger Israeli plan to forcibly transfer at least 2,800 Bedouins living in the Jerusalem area in order to expand surrounding Israeli settlements. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits forcible transfers of people from their localities.
A report earlier this month released by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied territories cited that Israel has demolished 684 buildings in West Bank including East Jerusalem so far this year compared to 531 last year. This increase about 25 percent is alarming as it covers only the first seven months and almost daily razing of homes in Gaza are not included.
Almost half of Palestine is in Israeli hands, and half a million settlers live east of the Green Line. Talking to Israeli Knesset members last month European Union’s Envoy Lars Faaborg Andersen had warned that 70 percent of Area C land, which makes up 42 percent of the West Bank, has been designated as Israeli land. He also said that between 2009 and 2013 only 44 housing permits have been granted to Palestinians living in the area. During a seminar Anderson warned that many European nations were losing patience with Israel due to the continued expansion of settlements. France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Italy have warned their citizens against investments in Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights. Spanish Foreign Ministry’s website carries an official statement saying ‘the settlements constitute an obstacle to peace and the two-state solution.
Since the collapse of the peace talks in June 2014 Israel has rejected all attempts to resume the process, the latest being an initiative by France. Although Egypt is planning to organise a summit between Israel and Palestine, no one is optimistic. The Israeli government is dominated by West Bank settlers and their supporters and its policies erode chances of establishing a Palestinian state in a peace deal.
Israel government’s move to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron is a dangerous decision aimed at Judaising the Palestinian land. About 1,000 Jewish settlers are already staying in the heavily fortified enclaves in Hebron, surrounded by some 200,000 Palestinians. The city has been a flashpoint of violence during nearly a year of fighting. The Palestinians are opposing any settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the territories where they seek to establish an independent state.
Last week, the Palestinian government had brought foreign diplomats to a school in the West Bank to highlight a renewed threat of demolition by Israel. The move against the school for Bedouin children, built in 2009 by Italian aid organisation Vento Di Terra and other volunteers using tires, clay, and a wooden roof because authorities forbade the use of stone and concrete, is part of a larger Israeli plan to forcibly transfer at least 2,800 Bedouins living in the Jerusalem area in order to expand surrounding Israeli settlements. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits forcible transfers of people from their localities.
A report earlier this month released by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied territories cited that Israel has demolished 684 buildings in West Bank including East Jerusalem so far this year compared to 531 last year. This increase about 25 percent is alarming as it covers only the first seven months and almost daily razing of homes in Gaza are not included.
Almost half of Palestine is in Israeli hands, and half a million settlers live east of the Green Line. Talking to Israeli Knesset members last month European Union’s Envoy Lars Faaborg Andersen had warned that 70 percent of Area C land, which makes up 42 percent of the West Bank, has been designated as Israeli land. He also said that between 2009 and 2013 only 44 housing permits have been granted to Palestinians living in the area. During a seminar Anderson warned that many European nations were losing patience with Israel due to the continued expansion of settlements. France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Italy have warned their citizens against investments in Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights. Spanish Foreign Ministry’s website carries an official statement saying ‘the settlements constitute an obstacle to peace and the two-state solution.
Since the collapse of the peace talks in June 2014 Israel has rejected all attempts to resume the process, the latest being an initiative by France. Although Egypt is planning to organise a summit between Israel and Palestine, no one is optimistic. The Israeli government is dominated by West Bank settlers and their supporters and its policies erode chances of establishing a Palestinian state in a peace deal.
