The Local Planning and Building Committee in the occupation municipality has scheduled a session for next Wednesday to discuss the "Wadi Al-Joz Hi-Tech" plan, or known as the "Silicon Valley" settlement, which aims to strengthen control and annexation of occupied East Jerusalem.

On the seventh of last February, the occupation municipality posted advertisements aimed at evacuating commercial and service establishments and workshops, on the shops and streets in the Wadi al-Jouz industrial zone, as a step and preparation for the implementation of the so-called "Silicon Valley" plan to establish a technology zone or complex in the region.

At the beginning of June 2020, the occupation municipality announced plans to build a technology park inspired by Silicon Valley in the United States called "Silicon Valley" to replace the industrial zone located in the Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi al-Jouz.

The local Planning and Building Committee approved the master plan, paving the way for detailed plans for its implementation under the pretext of “serving the indigenous population” of Jerusalem, in complete disregard for the needs of the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem.

Today, Wadi Al-Jouz is considered an economic and industrial center for the Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, where there are more than two hundred establishments, including car repair shops, mechanics, shops, and other services.

The Civil Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem notes that during the past 56 years of Israeli occupation and annexation, Israel has been implementing systematic and discriminatory planned policies and practices of colonialism and discrimination with the aim of controlling Palestinian lands and transferring the indigenous Palestinian population from their lands, in parallel, Israel’s expansion Israeli Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and transfer their residents to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The coalition confirmed that after the rise of the extreme right, led by Netanyahu, the attack became stronger and stronger, and Israel used local law and urban planning to “Judaize” Jerusalem. , and 22% are designated as green areas and public infrastructure.

Thus in East Jerusalem, home to most Palestinian Jerusalemites, 87% of the land is not available for Palestinian construction, and only 13% of the land is designated for Palestinian use, even though most of these areas are already built-up and overcrowded.

The coalition said: “The Jerusalem municipality designated Wadi al-Joz as a ‘green area’, and these ‘parks’ were developed by the municipality to further its own political agenda, more precisely to ensure a Jewish majority in Jerusalem.

Another thousand square meters divided between "commerce" and "hotels", in complete disregard of the needs of the indigenous population.
On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, the Local Planning and Building Committee approved a plan to "develop" Wadi al-Joz in East Jerusalem, including through the development of the high-tech "Silicon Valley" area. About 40 business owners in the area have already received eviction orders.

The implementation of this project will lead to the confiscation of 2,000 dunams of Palestinian-owned land and the demolition of about 200 car repair facilities, restaurants, and other services.

The Coalition affirmed that the planned settlement activity in Jerusalem is a clear violation of international laws and norms, in particular international humanitarian law, including the forced displacement and transfer of indigenous people and the prohibition of population transfer by the occupying power, in accordance with Article 49 (1) and (6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which It recently states that "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."

The Coalition called on the international community, the European Union and the United Nations to assume responsibility and fulfill its obligations towards the protected persons under occupation in Jerusalem, and to stop the illegal Israeli annexation of the eastern part of the city of Jerusalem and the continuous demolition and displacement policies in Wadi al-Jouz and other neighborhoods in Jerusalem are an integral part of the policy of ethnic cleansing. The silent elder.

He stressed that the international community's position should not be limited to timid condemnation statements, but rather take appropriate and effective measures by calling for imposing sanctions on Israel and obligating it to dozens of stalled international resolutions related to the Palestinian cause and occupied Jerusalem in particular.