OPINIONS

Wed 07 Jun 2023 10:10 am - Jerusalem Time

"Appropriation for the common good"

Salfit Governorate, if matters were not really "resolved" in favor of the illegal colonial settlement that the occupying state has built in the Palestinian territories since its occupation, whose fifty-sixth anniversary comes in what is known as the June setback, as the settlement projects extend since 1968 on the lands of the governorate until today, and when they are completed Using the term Hasmet, this does not mean, of course, recognition of the policy of the occupation fait accompli at all or explaining the possibility of coexistence with this reality.


Returning to this issue, it can be said that Salfit, whose land was ravaged by the settlement monster, is the only governorate in which the number of settlers exceeds the number of residents. Salfit, for those who do not know, is also the only governorate in which the number of settlements exceeds the number of Palestinian villages, 21 villages and 24 settlements. This is in addition to the fact that it includes The largest or one of the largest industrial clusters in the West Bank, called the Burkan Industrial Zone, which includes dozens of factories that were illegally transferred from the inside for the benefit of an illegal project in the heart of the West Bank, and the pollution it spreads to the environment and the land, the destruction of crops and fields, and the closure of vast areas of what remains of its lands For security, military, or other reasons, and also there is the Wadi Qana area that is being seized under the name of a natural reserve, in addition to the terminology of the Absentee Property Law, or the so-called princely lands, or state lands, all of which have been approved by laws that serve and nourish the actual, practical, direct application of plundering the land and tightening the grip on it. And Salfit for those who do not know in the same context is located on one of the most important water basins that represent an important aspiration for the occupation, in addition to its geographical position on a site overlooking the occupied interior regions, which makes it of strategic importance and naturally puts it in the eye of sensitive ambitions for the occupation.


The governorate witnessed the beginnings of the settlement project immediately after the occupation, leading to the start of the establishment of the Ariel settlement, which is one of the settlement blocs (cities) that includes all the elements of the main cities within the Green Line. It has a university and service facilities comparable to Tel Aviv or other cities. Ariel is described as the backyard of Tel Aviv. And the foundation stone for it was laid by the Minister of the Occupation Army at the time, Ariel Sharon, at the end of the seventies of the last century, and it was named after him, and from this we infer what makes no place for the controversy the importance that reflects the ideological orientations of what is happening in the Palestinian territories, which do not differ except in some formal issues, but the root of the settlement project is It is based on the expulsion of the Arabs and the purification of the country from its owners, and the practice of all forms of uprooting by all means to seize the land. I have only provided a direct example of this project and the racist tendencies based on the negation of the other, and the endeavor to end the existence of the Palestinian people as a whole.


Yesterday, just a few days ago, a new old plan was announced to seize thousands of dunams of Salfit land, which includes more than 10 thousand dunams, most of which are agricultural lands. settlement units, in addition to roads linking settlements and a cemetery, a new industrial zone, water and electricity networks, and other services, in addition to the destructive effects of trees, crops, and lands. Movement and movement, the settlement in Salfit is an important focal point in the project being implemented. If we look at an area known as the Za’tara checkpoint and head west, the expansion and settlement continues without interruption in a broad and wide strip, devouring tens of thousands of dunams, reaching the city of Ras al-Ain, Malbis and Tel Aviv in a continuous line, and we do not need much. It is smart if we set out from the same area to the east, i.e. from the Zatara checkpoint, we would reach the Jordan Valley with a similar strip, and we all also know the great importance of the Jordan Valley, which is the food basket for the West Bank. In other words, what is happening in Salfit bisects the West Bank into two completely separate parts, which means more accurately that the future Palestinian state In the West Bank, it has become in the news "was" an actual end to the possibility of the establishment of an independent state with geographical contiguity, the seizure of natural resources, huge reserves and water, the cutting of the land and its conversion into ghettos, and the imposition of a fait accompli so that the picture according to the plan can bear only two solutions, the solution of annexation to the occupying state, and there was talk Publicly about it with the formation of the current occupation government with the imposition of racist measures on the population, not granting them identity and many similar measures. People with the difficulty of continuing to live, as there is no space for farms, and there are no elements of a life worthy of humans to search for other outlets. This is the essence of the plan that is underway with the mentality of the occupier, who is trying ferociously to deny the narrative, but rather he is fighting over the simplest things. Take, for example, the water springs in the province, really, no one can reach them The spread of wild wild boars that prevent farmers from reaching their land, and Salfit was the first to release pigs there. Today, the journey to reach the olive field has become fraught with danger in every sense of the word, not to mention the release of settlers’ hands, preventing people from picking olives and practicing all forms of infringement on Palestinian rights. A small omen of what is happening in the province of Zaytoun, as you know.


This is a condensed summary of the reality of the daily situation. We list it not out of desperation or slapping the cheeks, and not in order to make this image with all its pretext to deal with what is happening in terms of a painful and dangerous reality. We have to work today before tomorrow with real and serious will and endeavors within the margins of what is available nationally and popularly to mobilize all energies and capabilities for the success of the confrontation campaigns in Salfit. The valleys, but Salfit is bleeding and a reality is being established in it that would resolve the conflict, and no one is deceived or deceived by the false terminology that you are trying to spread and talk about (appropriation for the public good) according to the military order to seize the lands of the towns of Bruqin and Sarata west of Salfit, 42 dunums announced yesterday, which is an extension For the same scheme that was unveiled a few days ago to confiscate tens of thousands of dunums in the governorate. The Zionist project is (appropriation for the public interest), but appropriation of the land at the expense of its residents and owners who inherited it. .


If there is no effective, responsible and serious movement in the face of what is happening in Salfit these days at all levels, then the alternative is to implement the occupation law in it and formalize annexation and expansion, and take control of it. Today, through the cry and appeal of the people of Salfit, it is required to save the governorate before it drowns in the sea of ​​settlement. Sweeping and providing it with the elements of steadfastness, survival, and work with the will of everyone to confront this dangerous and destructive project. Salfit is crying out for help, groaning under the weight of annexation and Judaization. Why isn't a decision taken to stop the relationship with the government of the extreme right in terms of stopping settlements in Salfit and the recent plans in it!!! And why does the government not hold its next meeting in Salfit with the general secretaries of all the factions and forces, and let it be a popular conference that reflects the will to stick to the land and national rights, addresses people’s issues, and works to meet the basics and conditions of life!! Work is required without delay and without slowing down.

* Member of the Palestinian National Council

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"Appropriation for the common good"

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