Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.
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August 16, 2024
- New Blue Line Map Paves Way for New Settlement, Nahal Heletz
- New Blue Line Map Grants Migdal Oz Settlement More Land
- Tender Issued for Alon Shvut Construction
- Givat Hamatos Expansion Plan Deposited
- Settlers Open Long Awaited “Zip Line” Project in Jerusalem
- Settlers Lead Violent Pogrom in Jit
- Threat of Multiple Demolitions in al-Bustan, Along with Settler Takeovers, Amplifies Threat of Mass Displacement
- IDF Partially Dismantled Giv’at Oz Zion Outpost
- Settlers Stage Another Protest On Gaza Boundary
- Regavim Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Over Settler Sanctions
- Canada Revoked JNF Tax Exemption
- Bonus Reads
New Blue Line Map Paves Way for New Settlement, Nahal Heletz
On August 14th the Israeli Civil Administration’s Blue Line Team released an updated map delineating more state land in the area of the Palestinian village of Battir, land on which the government is advancing plans to build a new settlement, called Nahal Heletz. This move is tantamount to issuing a new declaration of “state land,” though the Israeli government views it as a correction and/or update to previous maps. If built, Nahal Heletz would be the first new settlement the Israeli government has planned since 2017, when the Amichai settlement was established.
Speaking after the declaration, Smotrich said:
“No anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism will stop the continued development of the settlements. We will continue to fight the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state, and establish facts on the ground. This is my life’s mission and God willing I will continue with it as much as I can.”
The updated map of the Blue Line changes the status of an irregularly shaped area of 602.7 dunams to “state land”, allowing the settlement to be planned there – a slice of land much larger than what had previously been planned for the new settlement. Palestinians – whose access to their own privately owned land near the area of the settlement will be restricted – have 45 days to submit an appeal against the designation. Peace Now notes that the shape of the new line:
“rais[es] questions about how it is possible to construct a settlement in such a fragmented and irregularly shaped area. Based on the settlers’ past experience, it is highly likely that parts of the land outside the blue line will be incorporated into the settlement, and Palestinians will be denied access to their land. As seen in the map, extraordinary efforts have been made to create a blue line for the intended settlement…The pace of declarations of blue line boundaries and state land is unprecedented. Just last week (7.8.24), 116 dunams were declared as state land in the Migdal Oz settlement. The numerous declarations of state land and blue line boundaries for settlements are a result of the government’s policy to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and to legitimize the settlement enterprise.”
Recall that a month ago the Israeli government established a jurisdiction for the new settlement before the status of the land was clear. The Israeli Blue Line Team (a government effort to precisely map the boundaries of state land in the West Bank) said at the time that it had updated its maps of state land boundaries in the area, but those maps were note released until August 14th, and – to no one’s surprise – discovered the boundaries of state land in the area to include more area than previously declared, allowing for the settlement to be established.
Battir is a Palestinian village known for its ancient terraced hills, which are recorded as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Notably, the new settlement does not include the land on which two illegal outposts already exist on Battir’s land. The new settlement is being planned for land that is between Bethlehem and several villages to its west (Walaja, Battir, and Husan) – meaning that construction on this land will sever the territorial continuity of Palestinian land in the Bethlehem region, and, in the words of Peace Now: “turn them [the villages] into an enclave within Israeli territory.”
Palestinian journalist and commentator Nour Odeh told Al Jazeera:
“[Smotrich] is flexing his muscles, telling the world that he cares very, very little about international law…[the settlement] devours what’s left of [Palestinian] land in the Bethlehem area, which has shrunk to nearly 10 percent of its original size…[it is located] not just in any UNESCO World Heritage Site, but also in … the only place left for agriculture, for picnics, planning and building”.
New Blue Line Map Grants Migdal Oz Settlement More Land
On August 7th, the Israeli Civil Administration published a new map which expands the amount of land in the area of the Migdal Oz settlement by 116.2 dunmans. According to Israeli press, the government is preparing plans for the construction of 500 new settlement units on this land.
Migdal Oz is located between Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern West Bank, in an area where the Israel separation barrier cuts deeply into the West Bank so much so that the Migdal Oz, and Efrat settlements are on the Israeli side of the barrier (de facto annexed into Israeli proper.
Peace Now said in a statement:
“The Israeli government continues to legitimize the injustice and original sin of the settlement enterprise. Instead of evacuating settlements established through military seizure orders, which have taken hundreds of dunams from the Palestinian residents of Beit Ummar, the government perpetuates this injustice with regulations and laws that deepen the hostility between Israelis and Palestinians. This is a messianic government focused solely on annexation and the perpetuation of the war & occupation, with no regard for the security of either Israelis or Palestinians.”
Tender Issued for Alon Shvut Construction
Peace Now reports that the Israeli Ministry of Housing issued a tender for the construction of 110 new settlement units in the Alon Shvut settlement. The Alon Shvut settlement, located just north of the Kfar Etzion settlement and between Bethlehem and Hebron. The Alon Shvut settlement was last expanded in 2019, when the Israeli government created a new outpost near the settlement in order to “temporarily” house settlers who had been forcibly evacuated from the Netiv Ha’avot outpost. The government then added the area on which the settlers were relocated to the jurisdiction of Alon Shvut.
Peace Now notes that this is the second tender published for West Bank construction in 2024.
Peace Now said in a statement:
“This new tender adds to the additional construction that the Israeli government has been advancing across the West Bank since the beginning of the year. So far, the government has promoted over 8,700 units in the planning council, and with this new tender, the total number of housing units put up for tender stands at 630. Instead of focusing on areas like the north or the south that are in need of development and investment, the Israeli government chooses to promote housing units in occupied territories that do not belong to it.”
Givat Hamatos Expansion Plan Deposited
Ir Amim reports that on August 4th the Jerusalem District PLanning Committed formally deposited for public review a plan to massively expand the Givat Hamatos settlement along the Hebron Road. The plan calls for 3,5000 new settlement units and 1,300 hotel rooms to be built on the eastern slopes of the Givat Hamatos settlement – construction which would double the number of housing units in the Givat Hamatos settlement and increase its land mass by 40%. Further, the new settlement will be built on a strategic strip of land that will expand the area of Givat Hamatos eastward, connecting it with another new settlement plan – the “Lower Aqueduct Plan.” These plans ultimately create a string of settlements — spanning from Gilo to Givat Hamatos to Har Homa — that, together with the planned “Givat HaShaked” settlement to its north, completely encircle the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa with Israeli settlement construction.
Previous iterations of this plan included the Greek Patriarchate as a co-developer, but the newly deposited plans do not include mention of the Church anywhere. The Church has said in the past that part of the development is intended for use by the city’s Christian community, though previous reports indicate that the plan calls for five synagogues and two mikvehs, clearly showing that the construction is designed to serve Israeli Jews.
Settlers Open Long Awaited “Zip Line” Project in Jerusalem
On August 14th, the settler organization Elad celebrated the opening of one of its many touristic settlements in Jerusalem, this one a zipline in the Jerusalem’s Peace Forest. The zipline travels over the heads of Palestinian houses in the Jabal al Mukhaber neighborhood (see pictures). The zipline connects the “Peace Forest” in the Abu Tor neighborhood to another popular tourism site, the Armon Hanatziv promenade.
As part of this project, Elad also established a new tourism center in the Peace Forest, a project that was paid for by the Israeli Ministry of Housing, to the tune of 43 million NIS ($12.38 million USD). The House – which the settlers have named “Beit Shatz” – was purchased by Elad as part of Elad’s broader efforts to use tourist projects as a means for taking control over the area, which is situated in a national park.
The behavior of Elad and the Israeli government in the Peace Forest underscores the the systematic discrimination in planning policies and enforcement facing Palestinians in Jerusalem. The several Palestinian families living in the “Peace Forest” and are prohibited from building or expanding/renovating their homes because of the strict building prohibitions for national parks. Elad managed to circumvent those same restrictions by pushing the Jerusalem Municipality to request that the area they are targeting be designated as an “open public space,” which would allow the project to advance. In December 2019, Jerusalem planning authorities granted the settler-backed request. That same month, Israel pursued demolition orders against Palestinian homes in the Peace Forest that lacked building permits, despite the fact that in some cases Palestinians have repeatedly applied for and been denied permits.
Peace Now said in a statement:
“The zip line project is one of many initiatives by the Elad organization in Jerusalem, where, in every case, the municipality and/or government bodies were involved in transferring responsibility for the sites to the foundation. For example, the archaeological site of the City of David has been operated by the Elad organization for decades, the Israeli government is constructing a cable car to the Elad organization’s tourism complex in the City of David, a camping site at the edge of the Peace Forest was developed with three million shekels of state funds, and the Hinnom Valley was handed over for agro-tourism development under Elad’s responsibility
These projects, along with the latest zip line initiative, represent a tourism activity intertwined with political interests, aimed at allowing the foundation to become a powerhouse in Jerusalem’s tourism sector. Elad seeks to control and manage numerous sites, both in terms of the content delivered to the public and the shaping of the space. Elad’s tourism activities can be seen as a form of “touristic settlement,” designed to make the area as “Jewish-Israeli” as possible and to complicate any future compromise agreement in Jerusalem, where two capitals for two states are envisioned.”
Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann commented on X:
“Gleeful teenagers will screech as the race above the iconic views of the Mt. of Olives, the Old City and al Aqsa included in the ticket. This is the crass Disneyfication of historic Jerusalem, and it’s not the first. A cable car is under construction leading from West Jerusalem to the settler headquarters in Silwan, a mere 179 meters away from Al Aqsa mosque.”
Settlers Lead Violent Pogrom in Jit
On August 15th, ~100 Israeli settlers from the X settlement launched a violent attack on the Palestinian village of Jit, located near Nablus in the northern West Bank. One Palestinian was killed by settler gunfire and many more were injured. Video of the pogrom show widespread damage to property as a result of settlers setting vehicles and homes on fire. The IDF arrived about an hour into the ordeal, and removed settlers from the town, but made only one arrest. The IDF later said it has opened an investigation into the incident.
Threat of Multiple Demolitions in al-Bustan, Along with Settler Takeovers, Amplifies Threat of Mass Displacement
Ir Amim continues to raise alarm regarding the imminent mass displacement of Palestinians from their longtime homes in the al-Bustan section of Silwan, in East Jerusalem.
The threat turned into reality for the Shehadeh family, whose home was taken over by settlers on August 15th with the assistance of Israeli police. Ir Amim says the Shehadeh family, “lost their home to an organization intent on displacing their entire community, all with the help of a legal system that imparts anything but justice” This is the 15th Palestinian family dispossessed by the Ateret Cohanim settler organization, with another 80+ families facing the same threat. Ateret Cohanim, in coordination with the state, has capitalized on Israel’s discriminatory laws which allow Jews to “reclaim” houses that they owned prior to 1948 (Palestinians have no such parallel right).
On August 5th, Israeli authorities demolished another home in Al-Bustan, where eight more homes face the same demolition threat.
Ir Amim writes:
“All legal remedies have been exhausted. As a result, over 20 more Palestinians stand to be displaced. Several additional homes could likewise be under impending threat. The increased risk of mass demolition in Al Bustan follows the demolition of the home of community leader and well-known activist, Fakhri Abu Diab, in February, which profoundly impacted the community and triggered extreme alarm among its residents. It is assumed that Abu Diab was deliberately targeted due to his work to secure a housing solution for the community and a cruel way for the authorities to instill fear in the rest of the neighborhood.
Demolitions of Palestinian homes have reached unparalleled levels since the outbreak of the war. Such practices constitute a form of collective punishment, retaliatory state violence, and part of a series of repressive measures currently being employed by Israel against Palestinians under its control. Since October 7, 160 homes have been destroyed in East Jerusalem alone, marking a two-fold monthly increase in demolitions compared to the period preceding the war. Between January 1-August 8, 2024, 113 homes have been demolished, representing a 75% increase compared to the same period last year.
The numbers are only liable to accelerate in light of the planned changes in the government ministry which presides over the National Enforcement Unit–one of the units responsible for carrying out demolitions in East Jerusalem. On July 24, the Knesset approved the transfer of the National Enforcement Unit from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of National Security, placing it under the direct authority of ultranationalist and far-right Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The transfer of the unit was included in coalition agreements during the formation of the government last year. Over the past year and half, Ben Gvir has made numerous statements calling for the intensification of demolitions of Palestinian homes. Such a move is cause for extreme alarm and will directly impact areas of East Jerusalem.”
To read more about the multitudes of threats facing Palestinians in al-Bustan, see Ir Amim’s reporting.
IDF Partially Dismantled Giv’at Oz Zion Outpost
On August 6t the IDF dismantled 15 temporary buildings that compromised a new and expanded section of the illegal Giv’at Oz Zion outpost, which settlers built on privately owned Palestinian land north of Ramallah. The outpost, according to the Shin Bet, has been the source of violent terror. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (who oversees building enforcement in the West Bank) both approved this demolition at the request of the IDF Commander.
Just over a month ago the IDF clashed with settlers at the Oz Zion outpost when forces arrived to demolish the new section. The July demolition was reportedly ok’d by Prime Minister Netanyahu – going over the head of Bezalel Smotrich and the Settlement Administration, which has seized control of building enforcement in the West Bank.
Settlers Stage Another Protest On Gaza Boundary
On August 12th, ~300 Israeli settlers held a protest near the Gaza barrier, continuing to promote their call to resettle the Gaza strip. Specifically, the event was to be held near the entrance to the so-called Netzarim Corridor, a road and control zone that IDF cut into Gaza to severing the north and the south – destroying everything in its path and near it. In anticipation of the rally, the IDF expanded the closed zone around the Gaza barrier. The IDF told The Times of ISrael that it feared the event would be attacked by Palestinians, though Haaretz reports that the IDF anticipated the protestors trying to enter Gaza as they have done at previous protests. During the event itself the IDF escorted 100 protestors to the ANZAC memorial site close to the Netzarim junction.
One of the protestors told Haaretz:
“We requested entry to Netzarim Junction because it is a symbolic location with available land for settlement, a fitting Zionist response to our enemies,” she said. “We have over 600 families ready to move here. We can’t wait for the war to end, and it will also significantly support the war effort.”
The protest, organized in part by the Nahala settler group, was held on the Jewish holiday Tisha B’Av (which commemorating the dates on which two ancient temples in Jerusalem were destroyed) and featured prayer and a traditional reading of scripture.
Regavim Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Over Settler Sanctions
The Israeli settler group Regavim “assembled a team of lawyers” (according to its newsletter) and filed a petition challenging sanctions imposed by the Biden Administration on Israeli settlers. The Christian Zionist group “Texas for Israel” filed the petition with the District Court of Northern Texas, arguing that the sanctions violate the rights of Americans because it prohibits citizens from providing financial support to designated individuals and entities, which the complainants say constitutes a violation of the rights to free speech and religion.
There is a growing international sanction regime targeting individual settlers and increasingly connected entities that are alleged to have participated in acts of violence in the West Bank. In July, reports began circulating that the European Union was/is considering sanctions against Regavim specifically. Fearing sanctions, settlers and their allies in the government have mobilized a concerted effort to push back against the continued escalation of those sanctions – which to date have not touched Israeli government officials or major settler organizations other than Amana (which was sanctioned by the Canadian government only).
Canada Revoked JNF Tax Exemption
In addition to being the first state to issue sanctions on the Amana settler organization, Canada has also become the first state to revoke the tax exempt status of organizations – in this case the very prominent Canadian arm of the Jewish National Fund and the Ne’eman Foundation – because of its illegal activities in the West Bank. Haaretz reports that the revokation was prompted by complaints submitted to the government by Palestinian rights groups, alleging that the organizations finance illegal settlement construction.
Bonus Reads
- “New Settlement, expanding outposts, represent wholesale attack on World Heritage Site of Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir” (Joint alert by Peace Now, Combatants for Peace, Emek Shaveh)
- “While We Were at War: The Government’s Annexation Revolution in the West Bank Since October 7th” (Peace Now)
- “Israel is redrawing the West Bank, cutting into a prospective Palestinian state” (Washington Post)
- “Israel’s Top Court: IDF Must Protect Palestinians From West Bank Settlers, Even During War” (Haaretz)
- “US leads international condemnations of Ben Gvir’s ‘provocations’ at Temple Mount” (The Times of Israel)
- “What if the U.S. Doesn’t Veto Sanctions Against Israel? ‘It’s the End of the World,’ Says Legal Expert” (Haaretz)
- “Which countries have sanctioned Israeli settlers – and does it mean much?” (Al-Jazeera)
- “US to continue aid to Israeli military unit involved in Palestinian American’s death” (Middle East Eye)
- “IDF says US activist shot by troops accidentally at West Bank anti-settlement rally” (The Times of Israel)
- “Is the wall around the West Bank for protection or separation?” (Israel Hayom)