Jerusalem Governorate: The Colonial "Shami Neighborhood" Plan is a Coercive Tool for Displacing Bedouins and Emptying the Jerusalem Wilderness for the Benefit of the (E1) Project

The Jerusalem Governorate warned against colonial plan number (1627/7), known as the “Shami Neighborhood,” considering it an advanced tool for re-engineering the Bedouin presence in the wilderness of Jerusalem Governorate, within the framework of continuous Israeli policies aimed at reshaping the geographical and demographic reality east of the occupied city, to serve expansionist colonial projects.

The Governorate clarified, in a statement issued today, Tuesday, that the Israeli occupation authorities deposited the plan on March 25, 2026, through the so-called Subcommittee for Planning and Licensing of the Higher Planning Council in the “Civil Administration,” targeting lands in the town of Abu Dis within Basin No. (4), in the areas of: Dhahr al-Raghabna, Manazil Ali, Batin Bishara, Umm al-Shakhalib, and Dhahr al-Qararit, covering an area estimated at about 169.9 dunams.

The Jerusalem Governorate explained that the plan aims to transform the lands from their agricultural and open uses into an urban residential neighborhood under the classification of “Residential B,” with about 79 dunams allocated for residential construction and more than 35 dunams for the road network, and imposing a building density of up to 12 residential units per dunam, with heights reaching up to 6 floors.

The Governorate indicated that the plan directly targets a number of Bedouin communities, foremost among them the communities of Khan al-Ahmar, Abu al-Nawar, and Arab al-Jahalin, in addition to the communities of Wadi al-Jamal, Jabal al-Baba, Wadi Suneisel, and Bir al-Maskoub (1 and 2), aiming to forcibly displace them from their open pastoral environment to a closed urban community, which would lead to the dismantling of their social structure and the destruction of their economy based on grazing.

The Jerusalem Governorate noted that this plan constitutes a direct and updated extension of the forced displacement policies that began in 1997, when groups of Jahalin Bedouins were moved to the outskirts of the town of al-Eizariya for the sake of settlement expansion, emphasizing that the occupation is reproducing the same policies today.

The Governorate also stressed that the occupation’s claims of “consent” from representatives of the Bedouin communities lack credibility, in the absence of conditions for free and prior consent, and the continuation of pressures and violations practiced against these communities, which have repeatedly affirmed their categorical rejection of any transfer or resettlement plans.

The Jerusalem Governorate explained that the plan is organically linked to the E1 settlement project, which aims to connect the “Ma’ale Adumim” settlement with the city of Jerusalem, separate the northern West Bank from its south, and undermine the possibility of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state, noting that the Bedouin presence is an obstacle to the implementation of this project, which explains its targeting with policies of dismantling and removal.

The Governorate affirmed that this plan constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, foremost among them the absolute prohibition of forced transfer of populations under occupation according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, in addition to violating the right to adequate housing and livelihoods, and breaching the rules prohibiting settlement in the occupied territories.

The Governorate explained that opening a 62-day objection period does not change the coercive nature of the plan, in the absence of procedural justice and the imposition of complex restrictions on Palestinians that hinder their ability to effectively object.

The Jerusalem Governorate called on the international community to assume its legal and humanitarian responsibilities, and to take urgent action to stop this plan, and hold the occupation authorities accountable for their policies aimed at forced displacement, while at the same time emphasizing the need to support the steadfastness of the targeted Bedouin communities, and strengthen their presence in their lands as the first line of defense against displacement and colonial projects.