Today, Sunday, an American student delegation consisting of 30 students learned about the settlement reality during its visit to Bethlehem Governorate.

Hassan Brijeh, director of the Office of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission in Bethlehem, said that the delegation toured many sites, including the apartheid wall, which devoured large areas of the governorate's land and completely isolated it from its twin city, Jerusalem.

Breguet indicated that the wall, which the occupation began to erect in 2002, will have a major role in reshaping the Bethlehem governorate geographically, as it extends according to Israeli plans in the West Bank for a length of 771 km, of which 82 km are in Bethlehem governorate, i.e. (11 km). % of the general plan in the governorate.

He added, "The wall will eventually devour more than 176 square kilometers of the governorate's area, or 27% of it, and it will be isolated behind the wall, so that the governorate will lose 45% of its total area."

Explanations were also given to the delegation about settlement and its impact on Bethlehem, which was one of the first areas in the West Bank to be subject to continuous confiscation of its lands, which have shrunk significantly, and the governorate was besieged in the context of a settlement strip that surrounded it from all sides.

He pointed out that the number of settlements in the governorate exceeds 24, in addition to the outposts, which number at least 14, which quickly turn into settlements after their legalization, as happened with the "Sidi Boaz" outpost, which was legalized by the Israeli cabinet about two weeks ago, in addition to the settlements. The three that have become suburbs of Jerusalem have been established on the lands of the governorate, which are "Gilo, Har Homa, and Giv'at Haimovets", and the number of settlers in the settlements of Bethlehem exceeded 170,000, or 20% of the settlers in the West Bank.