The Israeli authorities are seeking to implement three major plans to build a settlement biblical institute and more than 10,100 new settlement units in occupied Jerusalem, targeting the areas of Sheikh Jarrah, the abandoned Jerusalem (Qalandia) Airport, and the Palestinian village of Sharafat.

This came according to what was reported by the newspaper "Haaretz" today, Thursday, and it pointed out that the plans include establishing a religious school for the Haredim in Sheikh Jarrah, 9,000 new settlement units in northeastern Jerusalem, and 1,100 new settlement units west of Beit Safafa.

According to the report, the three plans for settlement expansion were placed on the agenda of the Planning and Building Committee in the Jerusalem area. This coincides with the inauguration of US President Donald Trump for a second term, who is known for his policies supporting settlement expansion on Palestinian lands.

In the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, the plan includes building an eight-story Haredi religious institute for the Or Samiah Association on Palestinian land that was previously used as a parking lot and was confiscated under the pretext of “public use” before being allocated to the settlement association.

The plot of land allocated to the Haredi institute is the largest of its kind in the neighborhood and is designated for public buildings. It was confiscated under the pretext of serving the “needs of the residents,” but it was allocated to the Haredi association to build the Torah institute, despite the hardship suffered by the residents of the Palestinian neighborhood.

Haaretz newspaper pointed out that there are reports issued by the Jerusalem Municipality confirming the lack of public land in the neighborhood, as a study showed that Palestinian residents are forced to leave the neighborhood to meet their educational and service needs.

The deputy mayor of the occupation city of Jerusalem described the approval of the plan as "a blatant lack of rationality and a grave injustice." He pointed out that the municipality "is confiscating land from residents and giving it to a Haredi association, even though the land should be used entirely for the benefit of the neighborhood's residents."

The deputy head of the "Jerusalem Union" list condemned the allocation of the plot of land "to the benefit of an external party," stressing that this step is "unreasonable and unfair," warning that it could lead to "escalation of friction" between Palestinians and settlers in Jerusalem.

A huge settlement on the ruins of the abandoned airport

The Israeli occupation plans to build a huge settlement neighborhood comprising about 9,000 housing units on the ruins of the abandoned Qalandia Airport northeast of Jerusalem, near the separation wall and the Palestinian town of Kafr Aqab, which is inhabited by about ten thousand people.

Work on the airport stopped with the outbreak of the Second Intifada, and the area has been deserted ever since. Despite previous international pressure to freeze the project, the occupation authorities continue to push it forward, ignoring environmental and health warnings about the pollution of the area due to nearby industrial facilities.

During the committee meeting, the Health Ministry representative noted that environmental conditions make housing in the area untenable, while the plan’s environmental consultant claimed that the pollution could be treated. The committee also discussed security issues related to the planned neighborhood’s proximity to the separation wall and the town of Kafr Aqab.

The committee is scheduled to resume discussion of the project next month.

In southern Jerusalem, the occupation authorities are seeking to establish the “Givat Shaked” settlement on Beit Safafa lands, at the expense of the Palestinian village of Sharafat, located west of Beit Safafa and north of Beit Jala, by adding 400 settlement units to the 700 units that were previously approved.

The occupation authorities had approved the establishment of 700 settlement units on an area of 50 dunams that was allocated for the expansion of the village of Beit Safafa, according to the structural map of the occupation municipality in Jerusalem, which was approved in 1992.

"The plans being discussed by the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee show how the planning process is distorted by political and demographic considerations against the residents of East Jerusalem," said researcher Aviv Tatarsky of the Ir Amim Association.

He added that "the construction of huge settlement neighborhoods in Palestinian urban areas, especially the establishment of a religious institute in Sheikh Jarrah, comes at the expense of the basic rights of Palestinians to housing and education."

Eviction in Silwan: New Forced Displacement

Meanwhile, the settlement association Ateret Cohanim has obtained court rulings from the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court over the past two weeks, ordering the eviction of hundreds of Palestinians from their homes in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in the town of Silwan, as part of a forced displacement campaign targeting the neighborhood.

These rulings are based on claims that the lands in the area belonged to Jews before 1948.

Judge Mariam Kaslasi ruled in favor of the association in five separate cases, meaning 26 Palestinian families, comprising 154 individuals, will be evicted over the next six months. The court also ordered the Palestinian families to pay court costs of NIS 50,000 per case.