A report prepared by the National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated that the activities of the colonial occupation state do not stop, even in wartime conditions, as they are an integral part of it, and colonial expansion threatens Palestinian heritage sites.

The office added in its weekly settlement report issued today, Saturday, that the establishment of the new colonial outpost "Nahal Helitz" on the lands of the village of Battir in the Bethlehem Governorate, which was announced by the Minister of Finance in the extremist occupation government "Bezalel Smotrich" at the beginning of this month, is not the only source of concern for citizens, as this colony, which is being planned to be built next to the village, has quickly become a source of greater concern, as it violates the restrictions imposed on it within the framework of the laws protecting world heritage sites.

In this regard, the danger lies in the fact that it is located within the UNESCO-protected Battir area, one of the four sites listed on the World Heritage List in the occupied West Bank, and its inclusion on this list provides technical, legal and material assistance to protect it from any danger.

He pointed out that this "Helitz" is one of five settlements deep in the West Bank, approved by the Israeli occupation government on June 27, and the aim behind its establishment is to link the city of Jerusalem and its settlements to the "Gush Etzion" settlement complex, which means isolating Battir with its cultural heritage, and the neighboring Palestinian villages from the city of Bethlehem, and the rest of the occupied West Bank, in a clear violation of the International Charter for the Preservation of World Heritage Sites, which Israel signed in 1999 and withdrew from after seven years, in response to the positions of the United Nations organization regarding Palestine's membership in the organization and its defense, according to international laws and its obligations, of the Palestinian heritage sites that are threatened with danger.

Just to give you an idea, Battir's agricultural terraces are supported by stone walls and ancient irrigation ponds that collect water flowing from springs. They have ancient irrigation canals that are more than 2,000 years old, which earned them the distinction of being listed on the World Heritage List in 2014.

He explained that in order to build this colony, the occupation authorities published a map of the area (approximately 600 dunams) and allocated it for establishment within the borders of “Gush Etzion.” This comes within the framework of building the other four colonies that the occupation government has approved since the beginning of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, and what accompanied that of building more than 8,000 colonial units in colonies located on an area of 24,000 dunams that the occupation authorities had classified as state land.

The report noted that this new colony, which is being planned to be built, is located in Palestinian heritage sites, and is one of five colonies that the Israeli government approved two months ago to be established in the West Bank, in response, it claims, to the Palestinian side’s move to international forums against the occupying state, and in response to the recognition of the State of Palestine by Norway, Spain and Ireland last May, and a month later by Slovenia and Armenia.

According to the report, at a time when the UNESCO World Heritage Committee announced in July 2021,

Three important decisions regarding the state of preservation of Palestinian sites listed on the World Heritage List in danger,

They are: the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls, and the site of Palestine, the land of olives and grapes: the cultural landscape of the terraces of southern Jerusalem - Battir, and Hebron - the Old City. The actual targeting of the area by the settlers began.

Indeed, according to Israeli reports, during the last year and a half there has been zero planning for about 300,000 Palestinians living in areas classified as “C,” zero building permits, and demolitions that are taking place as a matter of course, including the demolition of water wells and schools.

The declaration of “state lands” has quadrupled, building permits have quadrupled, and random colonial outposts have been established without permits, amid a complete ban on law enforcement against colonists who violate building laws.

Among the forms of thieving on citizens’ lands to provide protection for the settlers, the occupation authorities practice a policy of seizing their lands for so-called military purposes. Last Monday, the occupation authorities notified the seizure of about 18 dunums of lands from the villages of Asira al-Qibliya, Burin, and Madama, south of the city of Nablus, under the pretext of using them for military purposes near the “Yitzhar” settlement, known for hosting large numbers of “price tag” terrorists whom the occupation government calls “Hill Youth.” The seized lands are located in Basin No. (8), the site of al-Marj, and Jabal al-Nadhr from Burin lands, Basin No. 4, the site of Khallet al-Marj, Bir al-Marj, and al-Aqida from Madama lands, and Basin No. (1), the site of Lahf Salman from Asira al-Qibliya lands.

This is not the first time, and it will not be the last, that Palestinian lands in the region have been seized, as it is considered a prelude to turning them into a vital area for colonial activities for the most extremist colony in the region.

A few years ago, the occupation army issued a decision to seize about 4,000 dunums of Palestinian land in the village of Asira al-Qibliya alone, for military purposes in the basins of Al-Mu’aqqat, Lahf Sulayman, Al-Uqda, Al-Burais, Khallet Al-Naqr, Al-Shaqiq, Al-Krum, and Al-Suhaila obstacles.

These seizures for military purposes have one meaning, which is to impose a security cordon on a colony from which terrorism is launched against towns and villages south of the city of Nablus, and from which the terrorists launched their attacks on the "Crystal Night" in Huwara in March of last year. This is a security cordon that prevents landowners from reaching their lands due to the permanent presence of the occupation forces.

On another level, the West Bank has witnessed, over the past few days, an escalation in the acts of violence, sabotage and terrorism by the settlers, alongside the brutal war waged by the occupation forces on the cities and camps in the northern West Bank.

The editorial staff of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz described the situation in the West Bank in an editorial on the eighth of this month as savage, with “no religion or faith.” The lives of the Palestinian residents, who are the responsibility of the occupying power, which is the State of Israel, according to the law, to protect, have become unsafe, even if they are just children.

Haaretz adds: A direct line runs between the death of the child in Qaryut and the death of human rights activist Aisha Nur Izgi, of Turkish origin, who was shot dead by soldiers who participated in a demonstration against colonialism in the town of Beita near Nablus.

Below is a summary of the weekly violations documented by the National Office for the Defense of the Land:

Jerusalem: The occupation authorities forced citizen Raed Al-Rajabi to demolish his two-apartment house for him and his son, under the pretext of building without a permit in the town of Beit Hanina, north of occupied Jerusalem.

The occupation forces demolished the two-story house of citizen Moatman Abdul Sami Subaih in the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, and demolished a commercial store owned by Jerusalemite Bassam Abdul Omari in the Al-Mashrou’ area, and distributed demolition notices for 3 other houses in the town.

In the town of Biddu, northwest of occupied Jerusalem, the occupation forces demolished a house containing a private garden and a swimming pool, belonging to citizen Wael Al-Saifi, three shops, and a 150-meter-long retaining wall belonging to citizen Bajis Al-Sheikh.

Settlers also assaulted the young man, Daoud Wissam Hamouda, while he was on his way to work. He sustained injuries and bruises in various parts of his body, was electrocuted, and was found unconscious.

Hebron: The occupation forces demolished 18 houses in the Taybeh area in the town of Tarqumiya, each house measuring approximately 100 square meters, and forced about 35 families to leave their homes, after declaring the area adjacent to the settlements of "Telem" and "Adora" a closed military zone.

It also demolished a house belonging to Anis al-Natsheh in the Farsh al-Hawa area west of Hebron, a warehouse for building materials in the Bir al-Sufla area, belonging to Shawqi al-Shamali from the town of Idhna, with an area of 800 square meters, a house, a water well and retaining walls in the al-Khalidiya area, affiliated with the town of al-Karmel, east of Yatta, and damaged water tanks owned by Osama Ghanem Ahmed Abu Aram.

In Masafer Yatta, a group of settlers attacked citizens’ property, the water pipeline, and vandalized water tanks and cave roofs.

Meanwhile, the occupation authorities seized, under the name of a “military order,” a 767-square-meter plot of land in the village of Umm al-Khair in the Shu’ayb community in al-Musafir, in order to build a colonial wall around the “Karmiel” settlement.

Armed settlers attacked the head of the village council in Susiya in Masafer Yatta, Jihad al-Nawaj’a, while he was driving his vehicle from the Wadi Ma’in area to the village of Susiya, with rifle butts. He was transferred to Yatta Governmental Hospital to receive treatment after sustaining fractures in his ribs.

Armed settlers also assaulted a group of citizens in the village of Zanuta, near the town of Dhahiriya, while they were at a water well belonging to the Batat family, beating them and preventing them from using the well. Large numbers of settlers stormed the Ma'in Well site in Masafer Yatta, preventing citizens from approaching the place or moving around it, setting up a tent in the place, polluting the well water, and performing Talmudic prayers in the place.

Bethlehem: The occupation forces demolished two floors of a house in the Ein Juwaizah area in the village of Al-Walaja, belonging to the citizen Basem Abd Rabbo, under the pretext of not having a license, and a tent erected on the ruins of a previously demolished house belonging to the citizen Ahmed Nasr Abu Al-Teen, and bulldozed his land and uprooted trees, and notified a house of demolition belonging to the citizen Mohammed Saeed Al-Sikh Al-Araj, with an area of 100 square meters and inhabited by residents.

The occupation forces also stormed the Dhat al-Nitaqayn Girls' School in the town of al-Khader, and wrote racist slogans on the facade of one of its classrooms. Meanwhile, settlers cut down olive trees with an electric saw in the Khalayel al-Loz area, southeast of Bethlehem, belonging to citizens from the Abayat family.

Ramallah: The occupation forces bulldozed vast areas of land belonging to the village of Umm Safa, estimated at about 200 dunums planted with olive and grape trees in the Jabal al-Ras area, while settlers who gathered on the main street near the "Beit El" settlement attacked citizens' vehicles with stones.

Nablus: Dozens of settlers, under the protection of the occupation army, stormed the village of Awarta, south of Nablus, to perform Talmudic rituals in Islamic shrines, while others from the "Rahalim" settlement attacked citizens' homes in the village of Yatma, and set fires around them.

On Mount Ebal in the city of Nablus, the occupation forces notified the cessation of work on residential buildings under construction near Al-Najah Hospital and the Quran Memorization Academy to the north.

Dozens of settlers also attacked the "Yatmawi" area near Mount Sabih in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, which led to the outbreak of clashes.

"Itamar" settlers cut down olive trees and damaged the fence of agricultural lands east of the village of Rojeeb, east of Nablus. Others attacked citizens' vehicles and threw stones at them on the road near the "Yitzhar" settlement, south of the city of Nablus.

Salfit: The occupation forces demolished a house under construction belonging to citizen Muhammad Hael, in the town of Deir Ballut in the area called “Dahr Rijal”, while settlers from the “Yakir” settlement broke about 12 olive trees in the “Khalat al-Najjar” area west of Deir Istiya, owned by citizen Musleh Yusef Mansour.

It is worth noting that earlier, about 20 olive trees were broken in the "Al-Maghibeh" area, owned by the same citizen. The occupation forces also notified the halt of work and construction on a playground and houses in the village of Rafat, west of Salfit.

Jordan Valley: Dozens of settlers organized a provocative march on Road 90 near the village of Al-Jiftlik, north of Jericho, under heavy protection from the occupation forces, which closed the road to Palestinian citizens and prevented them from passing, which led to obstructing movement and hindering farmers from reaching their lands.

Settlers forcibly occupied an abandoned house in the vicinity of the Ras al-Ain Bedouin community, north of Jericho. They settled there, brought a flock of sheep, and built a pen next to it, in addition to a water tank.

Meanwhile, the occupation authorities demolished an agricultural facility that included more than 5 agricultural barns, some of which were used for palm trees and some for sheep, and uprooted palm trees in the village of Marj Na’ja, north of the city of Jericho.

An armed settler from the "Zohar" colonial outpost also attacked students at the Ka'abneh Bedouin School in the Arab al-Malihat community northwest of the city of Jericho, and prevented them from reaching their school.