Israeli Settlement Schemes and Creeping Annexation target Palestinian Natural Reserves

By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report the Israeli Government headed by the trilateral fascist right-wing is practicing the policy of creeping and silent annexation of the Palestinian lands, deceiving the International Community regarding its aggressive expansionist in the Palestinian Territory that was occupied in June 1967 by building more settlement units, and giving false legitimacy to new outposts, bypass roads, and infrastructure. Moreover, it has started actual annexation of fields and areas through applying Israeli laws on them, especially, and very recently Natural Reserves in the West Bank, as they put forward a project on the agenda of their government, to discuss the annexation of 500,000 donums of the so-called ‘State lands’ within a project named ‘natural reserves’.

Within the context, the occupying State classifies the so-called ‘State lands’ existed during the Jordanian rule, and the subsequent steps based on orders issued by the military ruler as follows, 634,920 donums ‘634.9km2’, representing 11.2% of the area of the West Bank, which was registered as State land during the Jordanian era, and was inherited by the occupying State in 1967, according to its interpretation, in addition to an area of 843,922 donums ‘843.9km2’, representing 14.9% of the area of the West Bank, declared by Israel as State lands after 1979, besides 666,327 donums ‘666.2km2, representing 11.7% of the area of the West Bank, for which registration plans were prepared after being surveyed, and work is underway to register them in accordance with Israeli laws. Thus, the total land area of the state is 2,145169 donums ‘2145km2 i.e. 37.8% of the of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The State lands according to the Israeli classification, there are natural reserves that existed during the British Mandate and Jordan, and expanded during the Israeli Occupation until they reached 120 natural reserves, which are controlled by the occupation authorities and the army forces, are not immune from aggressive expansionist and settlement ambitions. The occupation declares today that this´-or-that area is a natural reserve, and later on becomes a vital field for settlement, which means that many natural reserves are targeted plans of Judaization, settlement and creeping annexation.
The "Ein Al-Auja" reserve in the Jericho governorate, which extends over an area of 22,000 dunums, is one of the largest reserves seized by the Civil Administration in May 2022, and the Wadi Qana area in the Salfit Governorate. In 2014, the occupation authorities, in cooperation with the Parks and Nature Authority, allowed the construction of a settlement road in this reserve to connect the Israeli settlement outpost "Aloni Shilo" with the Qaddumim settlement bloc, and handed over military evacuation orders to many Palestinian farmers there in order to seize those lands and remove the Palestinians from them.

In addition to a camp of the occupation army surrounding the valley between 2010 and 2016, bulldozers began to uproot 2,500 olive trees planted by the owners of the land, and destroyed a number of manors used by farmers, which led to a decrease in the number of Palestinians to 300 families lived in the valley, it now does not exceed 15, due to this is due to the severe restrictions imposed by the occupation authorities within a policy similar to soft displacement.

As for the "Mount Abu Ghoneim-Harhoma" settlement, it was established on Palestinian lands north of Bethlehem in 1997, after erasing a wooded forest that was in the place. The removal of 60,000 forest trees from the location of the settlement, as well as, the establishment of the "Rekhes Shuafat" settlement on the lands of Jerusalem.

In Jerusalem, the occupation authorities announced the completion of 3-year Judaization operations in the Jerusalem Citadel Tower,´-or-what they call the “David Citadel” inside the Hebron Gate, at a cost of -$- 50,000,000. Interactive maps purporting the Jewish history of the city of Jerusalem. It also harnesses ancient antiquities to try to promote the Jewish narrative of the city of Jerusalem.

The occupation government is moving forward with its settlement project to control the lands of the West Bank, and is not satisfied with establishing settlements and outposts, but rather strengthens its substitution settlement project through settlement farms with the aim of controlling thousands of dunums of land, where 3 outposts erected there to deport and expel the Palestinian shepherds.

List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
• Demolishing a house "under construction" in Silwan, while the family of Ra’fat Al-Issawi continues to empty the contents of their house in the town of Al-Issawiya, after the final demolition order under the pretext of "building without a permit."
• Destroying commercial facilities and a tin room for residential purposes in the Wadi Qaddum neighborhood in the town of Silwan, under the pretext of not having a permit, and the demolition of another house in the village of Um Tuba to avoid paying the "demolition fee" to the occupation municipality crews.

Hebron:
• Destroying 150 olive and grape trees in the Sha’ab al-Batem and Samari regions.
• More than 150 olive trees owned by Jaber Muhammad Awad Makhamra were also destroyed, and about 200 olive trees owned by the Atallah Abu Fanar family were destroyed, and a vineyard containing about 70 fruitful grape trees was destroyed. And a number of almond trees owned by Ismael Muhammad Ali Abu Aram, and a fence around the land whose trees were cut down.
• Chopping 25 olive trees and vines in the citizens lands in the Ein Maiyat al-Bayda area, belonging to the citizen Ahmed Nimr Adi, and set up tents around that water spring.
Bethlehem:
• Demolishing a 150m2 house owned by Ibrahim Mahmoud Ayesh, in the village of Artas, in the Wadi Amira area, under the pretext of not having a permit.
• Burning olive trees in the town of Tuqu’, southeast of Bethlehem.
• Seizing 2 bulldozers and a truck in the town of Al-Walaja, while they were carrying out construction excavations, before seizing them, setting a number of olive trees on fire.
• Invading an archaeological area in the town of Al-Khader, in Khirbet Faour, south of the town, with the aim of widening the settlement road known as “Road 60”.

Nablus:
• Torching agricultural lands located in the southeastern region of Qusra.
• Attacking citizens vehicles with live bullets on the road between the town of Qusra and the village of Jalud.
• Assaulting citizens and their vehicles near the eastern village of Laban.
• Burning palm trees planted in a cemetery in the town of Barqa, and attacking homes in the western region
• Closing all entrances to the eastern village of Al-Laban and performed provocative Talmudic rituals.
Jenin:
• Attacking vehicles and houses of citizens with stones near the town of Ya`bad, and closed the main street linking the governorates of Jenin and Tulkarem, chanted slogans calling for the killing of Arabs.
• Carrying out military trainings among the olive groves in the vicinity of the town of Ya`bad.
• Attacking citizens vehicles on the bridge of the village of Zabad in the Ya bad area, south of Jenin.
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Jordan Valley:
• Building a mobile home, a caravan in the northern Jordan Valley, connected a water line of about 5 km to it, to establish a new settlement outpost there.
• Torching straw bales and fodder to feed livestock in Khirbet al-Deir, in the northern Jordan Valley.
• Fencing off areas of land west of Rd. 90 under the pretext of being "nature reserves".
• Raiding Ain al-Sultan camp, the ancient Jericho hill area, and the archaeological area of Mount Herod in the Wadi al-Qelt area.

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