Custodian of Absentee Property waits for settling ‘Real-estate Rights’ in Occupied Jerusalem

By: Madeeha Al-A’raj

The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report , that Israeli occupation authorities have started a new aggressive plan that bears serious repercussions on hundreds of Palestinian homes and most of the Al-Thawri Neighborhood adjacent to the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, known as the Umayyad Palace, to settling land ownership rights in 2 new areas in the occupied East Jerusalem. Actually, the plan is not new, on May 13, 2018, the Israeli government adopted resolution n 3790, in which it claimed that it seeks to reduce social and economic gaps and develop the economy in East Jerusalem.

Israel was supposed to complete the settlement of 50% of the lands of East Jerusalem during the last quarter of 2021, but the process was more complicated than expected, and therefore the “settlement committee” started settling trial basins in different regions, but the spread of the Corona epidemic in the year 2020-2021 had an impact on the progress of the process.

The Israeli measures cover about 240 donums in the Al-Thawri Neighborhood, which is a densely populated area that includes hundreds of Palestinian families. The area is considered of a strategic nature and is increasingly targeted by the settler Elad organization. Same is the case in other Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, where the settlement of title deeds is promoted-;- it is likely that Al-Thawri residents will face a reality that may lead to the loss of their property, especially if occupation authorities’ absentee property law is settled.

The occupation authorities have been working to advance the process of settling the ownership right in the Umayyad Palaces to enable Israel to control this land by registering it as state land, while assisting the state-backed settler groups in their aggressive efforts to control these highly sensitive sites. It is known that settler organizations such as Elad are working to re-establish the path of the Jewish pilgrimage to the so-called Temple, with funding from the wealthy Australian Jew, Kevin Bermeister, a well-known supporter of Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, who supported other projects aimed at deepening Israeli control over the city.

On the other hand, Israeli settlement construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank jumped by about 62 % during the period in which Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid took over the leadership of the Israeli government, compared to the previous government of Netanyahu, and that government allowed the construction of 6 new settlement outposts, according to a report published by the Peace Now, also increased the pace of demolition of Palestinian homes, facilities and property by about 35%, during the period of this government compared to the government that preceded it, and 7,292 settlement units were promoted compared to the annual average of 5,784 in Netanyahu s governments.

The National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlement reviewed the destructive actions of the Civil Administration after it signed an order on 4/12/2022, declaring about 22,000 dunams in the Wadi area in Al-Mutaqlaq - Al-Nabi Musa, south of Jericho, “a nature reserve”. The reserve with its vast area is the largest that has been announced in 25 years, and the occupation called it “Nahal Og Nature Reserve”, over about 22,000 dunums, of which about 6000 dunums are private Palestinian lands, and another part is lands registered with the occupying state, most of which are declared ‘State Lands’ in 1989, and it is known that the targeted area is the largest nature reserve in the West Bank, east of Jerusalem.

List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
• Handing over notifications to 4 citizens in the Ein Jweizah Neighborhood of the village of Al Walaja, south of occupied Jerusalem, to stop construction in preparation for its demolition, on the grounds of not having a permit.
• Storming the Wadi al-Rababa Neighborhood in the town of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and proceeded to uproot and sabotage trees and demolished a 60m2 residential barracks.
• Removing an agricultural fence, railways, water tanks, electrical installations, agricultural plants and trees in the town of Al-Za ayem under the pretext of not having a permit, swept and removed a 30-meter fence, agricultural trees, seedlings, water tanks, and electrical installations.
• Demolishing 7 structures near the town of Anata, east of Jerusalem, 4 barracks and 3 sheep pens in the Wa’ar al-Bik area, along the bypass road connecting the towns of Anata and Al-Za’im
Bethlehem:
• Seizing 10 dunums of the lands of the Al-Khader town in the ‘Al-Mashra’ area, south of the town, and they began to plant the land with seedlings, which means seizing the rest 40 dunums.
• Setting fire to hundreds of dunums of agricultural land in Husan village, in agricultural lands in the Quds area, which were seized by the “Betar Illit” settlement.
• Distributing notices to a number of citizens living in the village of Al-Masara to stop construction in their homes, and all of them fall within the boundaries of the structural plan of the village.
• Demolishing an agricultural room in the Nahalin town in the ‘Shaab Abu Ghazaleh’ area, south of the town, bulldozed a dunum in the ‘Khileh’ area of Wadi Fukin village, and uprooted 20 olive seedlings.
Ramallah:
• Bulldozing a pool in Birzeit that the Qassis family uses to irrigate their vineyards under the pretext that it is located in Area C, knowing that it was there for nearly 20 years.
• Injuring a citizen after settlers attacked him while he was on his land in the Turmusaya town then set his car on fire.
• Attacking workers reclaiming lands in the area between the villages of Al-Mughayer and Turmusaya, east of Ramallah.
Nablus:
• Storming the eastern area of Nablus,More to secure the settlers performing Talmudic rituals at Joseph.
Jordan Valley:
• Dangers of expelling 6 Palestinian families from their tents in Khirbet Humsa al-Fouqa in the northern Jordan Valley under the pretext of military training
• Plowing lands in Khirbat Al-Farisiya in preparation for the establishment of a religious school and vital facilities in the area.
• Uprooting scores of olive trees in the lands of the Tamoun town, south of Tubas, and raided Khirbet Ibziq, and bewgan massive demolitions plan that included the village council house, 2 solar cells, a water line, 2 water tanks, and uprooting 30 olive and citrus trees.
• Seizing agricultural equipment and machinery in the village of Al-Auja, north of Jericho, including an agricultural tractor, a water tank, and equipment for a sheep barn.

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