PALESTINE
Mon 06 Jan 2025 10:49 pm - Jerusalem Time
Israeli occupation seizes 262 dunums in Jerusalem
Today, Monday, the Israeli occupation authorities seized 262 dunums of occupied Jerusalem land for the expansion of a colonial road.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported in a statement that the occupation authorities announced the "expropriation" of more than 262 dunums of land in Jaba', Al-Ram, Kafr Aqab and Mikhmas in occupied Jerusalem, for the benefit of the colonial Route 45 that extends from Mikhmas to the new tunnel under Qalandia Airport, and implementation will take place within 60 days.
In a related context, the Israeli human rights organization "Ir Amim" revealed that the occupation government is seeking to annex lands from the village of Jaba, northeast of Jerusalem, to the area of influence of the "Geva Binyamin" settlement, after the settlers seized them and forced Palestinian citizens to leave them by force.
The association stressed that "this step threatens the rights of Palestinian landowners, restricts their access to them, and exposes Palestinian lands to the risk of being transformed into illegal construction areas for the colony or for its public uses."
She pointed out that "the citizens of the village of Jaba, in cooperation with the organization (Bimkom - Planning and Human Rights) and the organization (Yesh Din), submitted an urgent objection to the Civil Administration's announcement issued on December 9, 2024 regarding its intention to expand the area of influence of the settlement of Geva Binyamin (Adam)."
She stated that "this expansion, if approved, includes adding about 1,107 dunams of land east of the colony, which are lands that were declared (state lands) during the year 2023."
The lands to be annexed include the “illegal colonial outpost of Sneh (Bani Adam), which was built on public and private lands owned by Palestinians and extends beyond the scope of the planned expansion.”
If implemented, this expansion “will create two enclaves of privately owned Palestinian land within the colony’s jurisdiction, preventing the landowners from freely accessing their property. According to military orders, the owners will be required to obtain special permits and prior coordination to enter their land, bureaucratically complex procedures that often result in the loss of land ownership.”
According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the occupation authorities seized 46,597 dunams last year under a series of military orders, including 35 orders to seize about 1,073 dunams to establish 12 buffer zones around the settlements, 5 “expropriation” orders that ended with the seizure of about 803 dunams, 8 decisions to declare state lands that targeted 24,597 dunams, and 6 orders to modify the borders of a nature reserve, under which the occupation seized about 20,000 dunams.
The Commission indicated in a report issued on Sunday that the "planning committees" of the occupation authorities studied a total of 173 plans targeting settlements established on the lands of the West Bank and Jerusalem.
She added that these committees studied the plans for the establishment of 23,461 colonial units, which resulted in the approval of the construction of 8,800 new colonial units, and the deposit of a total of 14,661 colonial units for subsequent approval. These plans targeted a total of 14,982 dunums of citizens’ lands.
Share your opinion
Israeli occupation seizes 262 dunums in Jerusalem