Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

September 23, 2022

1. Booking.com To Post Warning on Settlement Listings (Like Other “Conflict Affected” Areas)
2. Things to Watch During Jewish High Holidays
3. Bonus Reads

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Booking.com To Post Warning on Settlement Listings (Like Other “Conflict Affected” Areas)

The online travel planning giant Booking.com announced this week that it will begin including a safety warning on listings located in “disputed, conflict-affected or high-risk” areas, including on properties located in the West Bank but owned by Israelis (i.e., in settlements). The language has not been finalized, but Booking.com expects the warning will look (in substance and style) like similar warnings for Cyprus and Ukraine, emphasizing for customers that “visiting the area may be accompanied by an increased risk to safety and human rights, or other risks to the local community and visitors.” Other reports suggest that Booking.com will add the word “occupied” to listings located in West Bank settlements (but not on listings located in East Jerusalem settlements).

For years, Palestinian rights advocates have pushed companies like Booking.com and AirBnB to remove from listings for properties located in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – settlements which are illegal under international law. AirBnB was the first to attempt to follow international law, when it announced a plan to remove settlement listings from its site in 2018. AirBnB ultimately reversed that decision amid intense backlash from Israel and in U.S. courts.

The Israeli PR machine has already begun to push back on Booking.com, with Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov releasing a statement threatening a “diplomatic war” against Booking.com, saying:

“A business will not dictate to us what area is Israel and what area isn’t…We intend to act with all the means at our disposal to reverse this decision.”

At the same time, prominent promoter of Israeli settlements, law professor Eugene Kontorovich, framed the planned move by Booking.com as a victory for Greater Israel (in that Booking.com apparently isn’t even considering removing settlement listing), telling the Associated Press:

“It shows Booking.com has paid attention to the massive damage Airbnb and Ben & Jerrys did to themselves when they adopted a boycott of Israeli controlled territories.”

Things to Watch During Jewish High Holidays

The Jewish High Holidays are approaching just as deadly clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces across the West Bank are becoming a daily reality, in most part due to the almost nightly raids by Israeli forces into Palestinian cities over the past several months, including the densely populated cities including Nablus and Jenin. At the same time, there are growing fears in the Israeli security sector that Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority is losing control over the West Bank, as discontent and opposition to the PA has grown – most recently (and notably) resulting in armed opposition to PA forces carrying out an arrest in Nablus. 

As is standard every year, Israel will impose three days of extensive closures while Israeli settlers (and Israeli forces who protect them) celebrate Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) — sharply limiting Palestinian freedom of movement across the West Bank and sealing off Palestinian access into Israel. These closures are the first in a series of multi-day closures over the next month of Jewish holidays.

Adding to concerns about a new intifada, the status quo on the Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif continues to be challenged and eroded, highlighted by the record number of Jewish worshippers permitted by Israel to ascend to the Temple Mount and perform religious ceremonies over the past year. This increase in visits combined with the ascendancy of the Israel’s Temple Mount Movement – an extremist messianic Jewish movement working to build a new Jewish temple on the site of the Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif, one of the most sensitive holy sites in the world – is the cause of great concern for leading Jerusalem experts, including Terrestrial Jerusalem and Ir Amim. Heading into the Jewish High Holidays, during which Israeli forces will escort thousands of Jewish worshippers and tourists to the Temple Mount, Hamas has issued a warning that “The continuation of the Zionist aggression and their brutality against Jerusalem and the holy shrines will be the cause of a major battle,” and that Israel’s “blatant attack on the religious and Islamic status of the city and the mosque…[has] the possibility of dragging the entire region into an open religious war.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Will Israel finally stop Walaje home demolitions?” (The Times of Israel)
2. “Palestinian hurt in alleged settler attack still in prison, settlers not questioned” (The Times of Israel)
3. “Life in an IDF Firing Zone: For These Palestinians, It’s a Daily Nightmare” (Haaretz)
4. “50,000 visits a year: Jews increasingly flock to Temple Mount amid escalation fears” (The Times of Israel)
5. “Arab East Jerusalem schools go on strike to protest edits to ‘inciting’ textbooks” (The Times of Israel)
6. “Ben & Jerry’s founders say Unilever ‘usurped’ its authority with Israel spin off” (The Times of Israel)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

September 9, 2022

1. Israel Advances Givat HaShaked Settlement Plan in East Jerusalem
2. Israel Delays (for now) Consideration of E-1 Settlement
3. Israel Planning to “Legalize” 30+ Shepherding Outposts in Massive Land Grab
4. Israel to Request Another Delay in Demolition of Khan al-Ahmar
5. IDF Issues Orders to Keep Settlers Out of Ramat Migron Outpost Area
6. IDF Removes Amichai Settlement Tower
7. Yesha Council Elects New Leader
8. Settlement Schools are Flourishing
9. Bonus Reads

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Israel Advances Givat HaShaked Settlement Plan in East Jerusalem

On September 5th, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee advanced plans to build a new settlement in East Jerusalem, to be called “Givat HaShaked.” The plan provides for 700 housing units (in 4 highrise towers and several six-story buildings), a school, and commercial buildings –all to be built on a highly sensitive and geopolitically critical sliver of land located within the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa. The plan was approved for public deposit, an advanced stage in the Israeli planning process. The plan for Givat HaShaked is unprecedented, according to the Israeli NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem, in that it is the first settlement of this size that that Israeli government will establish within a Palestinian neighborhood.  Beit Safafa is already in the process of being completely surrounded by Israeli development (for Jewish Israelis) — most notably with final approval of the Givat Hamatos settlement plan, for which tenders were issued in January 2021.

The Israeli NGO Ir Amim also points out that, while the government goes to great lengths to find a way to squeeze in several high rise towers to house Israelis in East Jerusalem, there is no parallel effort to address the decades-long lack of planning and approvals  for Palestinian communities. Ir Amim writes:

“Givat HaShaked is also a flagrant example of the breadth and depth of housing and planning discrimination in the city. While Givat HaShaked is intended for land located along the built-up area of Sharafat, it is not designated for the community’s development needs, but rather a new housing project for Israelis over the Green Line in Jerusalem. Construction of this new settlement will likewise stand in stark contrast to the existing Palestinian neighborhood, dwarfing and engulfing Sharafat with high-rise apartment buildings – the likes of which Israeli authorities refuse to promote or approve for Palestinian areas. In a similar fashion, the remaining land reserves on the eastern side of Beit Safafa, which could have been used to address the neighborhood’s housing needs, were depleted to advance construction of the Israeli settlement of Givat Hamatos.”

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked celebrated the advancement, telling Arutz Sheva: 

“As I promised, despite all the pressures from at home and abroad, the Givat Hashaked plan was approved today by the district committee. This plan is located in the heart of Jerusalem and is unthinkable to prevent development and construction in this area as well as all over the city. This is an important plan that will lead to an increase in the supply of housing units, employment areas and public buildings for the well-being of the residents.”

As a reminder, the Israeli government has been sitting on plans for Givat HaShaked for decades, but has refrained from implementing them because doing so would require the government to seize a sizeable amount of land in East Jerusalem, some of which is privately owned by Palestinian residents of Sharafat (a section of the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa). Other parts of the land proposed to be used for the Givat HaShaked settlement plan are managed by the Israeli General Custodian (but neither owned or claimed by the government of Israel) – a fact Ir Amim calls “highly unusual and seemingly marks a new phenomenon.” The Israeli General Custodian is empowered by the State to  act as a caretaker of land that has unknown ownership until the heirs are located. In an attempt to explain why the General Custodian has the authority to approve a plan for construction on land that the State does not own, the Israeli Justice Ministry told Haaretz that the plan for Givat HaShaked increased the value of the land and that “by law, the administrator general is obligated to care for the assets under his management in a way that will benefit their private owners.”  This answer implies, bizarrely, that if and when Palestinian heirs are located, they will be somehow better off with their land having been used to build a settlement.

Another important facet of how Givat HaShaked is being advanced now is the decision by the Israeli government in late 2020 to initiate a (typically secret) registration process for land in East Jerusalem, including in the Sharafat area. At this time, it is unknown whether the land managed by the General Custodian in Sharafat (and designated for the new settlement) has been – or is in the process of being – registered. On that uncertainty, Ir Amim writes:

“…in the event that it is the same location [where formal land registration has taken place], this move would constitute yet another brazen example of how the settlement of title procedures are repeatedly being used to aid state authorities and settler groups in taking over more land in East Jerusalem…Although portrayed as a measure to ostensibly benefit Palestinian residents, there has been grave alarm that these [land registration and settlement of title] procedures would in fact be exploited to confiscate Palestinian land for political purposes, leading to the expansion of Jewish settlement and widespread Palestinian dispossession in the city.”

For a deep dive into land registration in East Jerusalem, please listen to a new FMEP podcast featuring Kristin McCarthy (FMEP) in conversation with Amy Cohen (Ir Amim).

Israel Delays (for now) Consideration of E-1 Settlement

The Israeli Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration has again delayed its consideration of the E-1 settlement plan, which was scheduled to be taken up at the Committee’s September 12th meeting.  The E-1 settlement is considered a “doomsday” settlement for much of the international community that still hopes to negotiate a two state solution. This same committee was previously scheduled to take up the E-1 plan on July 18th – days after U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Jerusalem.  The Israeli government intervened to postpone the meeting, rescheduling it for September 12th – the hearing that has now also been delayed.

Peace Now said in response: 

“This is welcome news, but we wish to see E1 taken off the table completely. E1 is lethal to the two-state solution, highly detrimental to Palestinian freedom of movement and to connection between different parts of the future Palestinian state. The Israeli government, and in particular Minister of Defense Benny Gantz (in whose jurisdiction these decisions lie), must take the plan off the table completely.”

This repeatedly delayed meeting promises to be a decisive one for the long-pending E-1 plan, and could result in the Committee granting final approval to the highly contentious plan. Barring intensive outside pressure, additional postponement of the hearing seems highly improbable, given the Israeli domestic politics and the upcoming national election. 

As a reminder: in its current form, the E-1 plan provides for the construction of 3,412 new settlement units on a site located northeast of Jerusalem. The site is home to several Palestinian bedouin communities, including Khan al-Ahmar, which Israel has already undertaken to forcibly displace (many attempts). Long called a “doomsday” settlement by supporters of a two-state solution, construction of the E-1 settlement would sever East Jerusalem from its West Bank hinterland, preventing East Jerusalem from ever functioning as a viable Palestinian capital. It would also cut the West Bank effectively in half, isolating the northern West Bank from the southern West Bank and foreclosing the possibility of the establishment of a Palestinian state with territorial contiguity.

Israel’s “answer” to the latter criticism has long been to argue that Palestinians don’t need territorial contiguity, and that new roads can instead provide “transportational continuity.” To this end, Israel has already built the so-called “Sovereignty Road” – a sealed road that enables Palestinians to pass through, but not to enter, the E-1 area. That road is wholly under Israel’s control (meaning Israel can cut off Palestinian passage through it at any time). In January 2021, then-Prime Minister  Netanyahu promised to increase funding for the “Sovereignty Road” as part of the drive to get E-1 built.

And another reminder: there have been attempts to promote the E-1 plan since the early 1990s, but due to wall-to-wall international opposition, the plan was not advanced until 2012, when Netaynuahu ordered it to be approved for deposit for public review (a key step in the approval process), ostensibly as payback for the Palestinians seeking recognition at the United Nations. Following an outcry from the international community, the plan again went into a sort of dormancy, only to be put back on the agenda by Netanyahu in February 2020, when he was facing his third round of elections in the two years.  Also, as a reminder: under the Trump Plan (which the Biden Administration has yet to comment on), the area where E-1 is located is slated to become part of Israel.

Israel Planning to “Legalize” 30+ Shepherding Outposts in Massive Land Grab

Haaretz reports that the Israeli Civil Administration is in the midst of a years-long process of drafting new protocols that will allow the State to “legalize” settlers’ claims to huge areas of the West Bank (mainly in Area C) that settlers have de facto seized through illegal shepherding activities (grazing settler-owned flocks of sheep, etc on the land). The Civil Administration is working to “legalize” this land theft in areas where the land in question is categorized by Israel as “State land.” 

The phenomenon of “shepherding outposts” has been extensively documented by the Israeli NGO Kerem Navot, which has identified it as currently the “most significant mechanism for dispossessing Palestinian communities” in the West Bank. According to Kerem Navot’s May 2022 report, entitled “Wild Wild West,” settlers have taken control of nearly 7% of Area C of the West Bank (around 60,000 acres) via 77 of these grazing outposts.

The Haaretz Editorial Board – in a piece entitled “Settler Crime Always Pays” – writes:

“Once again, the settlers have proved that Jewish crime in the territories always pays. The Civil Administration began formulating the draft regulation about two years ago, against the background of the increase in the number of these outposts. The proper response to the growing number of farms established illegally would have been to see to their removal and to step up enforcement. Instead, the agency bowed down to the settler masters and seeks to cut the law to fit their vices…It must be hoped that he [Gantz] recognizes that it is a looting mechanism designed to take control of more and more of Area C, to prevent Palestinians from working their land and to reduce their living space.”

As a reminder: Israel has a legal responsibility under international law regarding stewardship of “state land” held under its occupation. As the Association for Civil Rights in Israel explains:

“Israel holds state land in an occupied territory as a trustee, and must do everything possible to preserve and develop it for the benefit of the local Palestinian population. The very use of state land for the purpose of building settlements and/or developing infrastructure and industrial zones not in favor of the Palestinian population constitutes a violation of international law.”

Israel to Request Another Delay in Demolition of Khan al-Ahmar

Facing a September 11th deadline to complete the forcible relocation of the Khan al-Ahmar community from their longtime lands just east of Jerusalem (an act that would constitute a war crime), Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has become just the most recent Israeli premier to ask the Court for an extension.  As a reminder, the High Court has ordered the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, which it declared to be illegally built (i.e., lacking Israeli building permits that are virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain).

The Israeli High Court imposed a deadline on the State to demolish Khan al Ahmar in response to a petition filed by the right-wing pro-settler group Regavim, which sued the government for failing to carry out the demolition of the community in the wake of the Court’s ruling that the community was built illegally. That demolition order has been pending since 2018. The Court granted several delays to the Netanyahu government, and one to the Bennett government. When granting the government another delay in September 2020, the Court said that it would not be granting any more delays. It then granted several more delays, most recently in July 2021, ostensibly due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Prior to becoming Prime Minister, Lapid opposed the State’s plan to forcibly relocate Khan al-Ahmar. Reports suggested that the government has been preparing a plan that would entail the demolition of the Khan Al-Ahmar, followed by (bizarrely) the rebuilding of the community some 300 meters from where it currently stands.

IDF Issues Orders to Keep Settlers Out of Ramat Migron Outpost Area

After three weeks of repeatedly demolishing the “Ramat Migron” outpost, only to have settlers rebuild it, the IDF has issued a new order declaring the area a “closed military zone” — apparently in hopes of barring settlers from entering the area. The order is effective for only one month. As a reminder: The IDF already viewed it as illegal for settlers to enter the area (which is why the IDF arrested settlers in the area last week), so it is not clear (at least as of this writing) what is different about this new order.

The IDF informed the settlers of the new order as they were in the process of constructing buildings at the Ramat Migron site. Settlers have already vowed to continue fighting to establish a settlement on the hilltop.

IDF Removes Amichai Settlement Tower

On September 8th, Israeli authorities demolished a tower built by settlers on land that has been allotted to the Amihai settlement, located in the Shiloh Valley in the northern West Bank. Settlers built the tower apparently in order to surveil a nearby Palestinian village where new homes are being built. Settlers have already vowed to rebuild the tower.

The Amichai settlement was approved for construction in 2017, making it at that time the first new settlement formally approved by the Isareli government in 25 years. Aerial imagery from 2021 show the massive growth Amichai has enjoyed in the years that followed its establishment, a previously empty hilltop with cultivated fields nearby have been transformed into a sizable suburban neighborhood. In addition to new construction, Amichai was also massively expanded, subsequent to its initial construction, when the Israeli Civil Administration announced that its plan to retroactively legalize the Adei Ad outpost by significantly expanding the borders of the Amichai settlement to turn Adei Ad into a (non-contiguous) neighborhood. In effect, this was a slight-of-hand by Israel to turn the Adei Ad outpost into an entirely new official, legal settlement.

Yesha Council Elects New Leader

The Yesha Council – an association of heads of settlements and regional council leaders that acts as the settler lobby to the government – has elected a new chair, Shlomo Ne’eman. Ne’eman is set to take over the post from David Elhayani.

Ne’eman has earned his stripes as the chairman of the Gush Etzion Regional Council. Upon his election (he was unopposed), Ne’eman said:

“The first task before us is to strengthen the sovereignty and the Jewish presence in the region. This is the time to unite against those who seek our harm, the Palestinian Authority and other terrorist organizations that fight us with guns and knives, as well as with plows and concrete pumps, and to continue working to develop and strengthen Israeli settlement in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.”

Settlement Schools are Flourishing

According to a newsletter issued by the Friends of Beit El Settlement (an organization that former Ambassador David Friedman used to chair), as the new school year starts there are 86,000 children living in settlements and enrolled in 270 elementary schools across the West Bank. In addition, the newsletter reports that 35,000 settler students attend ~200 post-elementary schools. Gloating, the newsletter boasts:

“Beautiful numbers like these don’t just happen on their own. We can barely imagine the amount of idealism and effort and self-sacrifice over the course of decades, under severely difficult economic and security conditions, that has gone into the Yesha enterprise.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Settlement Org Eyes a New Target, and Israeli Authorities Go Out of Their Way to Help” (Haaretz)
2. “IDF preparing to use armed drones in West Bank operations” (The Times of Israel)
3. “U.S. Examining Allegations Against Israel’s Orthodox West Bank Battalion” (Haaretz)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

September 1, 2022

1. Ramat Migron Outpost Demolished for Third Time in Three Weeks
2. Settlers’ Stealth Visit to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus Ends in Gun Fight
3. Settlers Decry Removal of Trees Planted to Take Over Palestinian Land
4. Palestinians Campaign for Nabi Samwil Recognition as New Docs Show Original Israeli Intent to Expel Them for Settlement
5. Bonus Reads

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Ramat Migron Outpost Demolished for Third Time in Three Weeks

On August 30th, Israeli forces cleared settlers and their makeshift structures — comprising the illegal outpost settlers have named “Ramat Migron” — off of land privately owned by Palestinians, as recognized by the Israeli High Court of Justice in 2012. Five settlers were arrested for violating a military order which makes it illegal to enter the area (both for settlers and even for the Palestinians who own the land), and for obstructing the work of a police officer.

Starting in 2017, settlers have repeatedly attempted to re-establish an outpost at this site, which is where the outpost of Migron once stood. The Migron outpost was dismantled by the Israeli government in 2012 after the Israeli High Court of Justice left the government no other option. Israeli forces have demolished the setters’ repeated attempts to set up a new outpost there more than 10 times, most recently on August 15th and August 11th of this year.. 

Notably (in light of his rising popularity and the upcoming Israeli elections), Kahanist MK Itamar Ben Gvir seized on the repeated razing of the outpost to campaign against Defense Minister Gantz, saying:

“Community-Eviction Minister Gantz continues time and time again to evacuate outposts and surrender to Abu Mazen, a Holocaust denier, his friend. Today there is another evacuation in Ramat Migron. They are uprooting and destroying – we will plant and resettle. The answer to the evacuation will be given On November 1st with a real right-wing government.”

Settlers’ Stealth Visit to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus Ends in Gun Fight

Two Israeli settlers were wounded this week by Palestinian gunfire in the course of trying to access Joseph’s Tomb, a holy site located in the heart of Nablus, along with a group of other settlers. Notably, that visit was undertaken without the required (by Israeli authorities) approval of and coordination with the Israeli military, which regularly escorts settlers to the site under heavy protection. While Joseph’s Tomb is in Nablus (Area A of the West Bank), the Oslo Accords afford the Israeli army control over the site.

The incident comes amidst a series of clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians in Nablus, including the high profile killing of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi as a result of a gun battle with the IDF. Just last week, FMEP reported on the IDF is planning to bulk up its security control over Joseph’s Tomb in order to protect settlers who wish to visit.

Settlers Decry Removal of Trees Planted to Take Over Palestinian Land

The High Court of Justice recently issued an injunction to stop the Israeli Civil Administration from continuing to uproot trees illegally planted by settlers on Palestinian land near the settlement of Nokdim, located southeast of Bethlehem. Settlers filed the petition leading to the freeze after the Court ordered the removal of the trees three months ago. 

The settlers made their case for the injunction by arguing that (a) Palestinians who petitioned to have the trees removed had not proven their ownership of the land; and (b) the Civil Administration does not have the authority to uproot these trees, some of which are a protected species — notwithstanding the fact that they were planted illegally under Israeli law (such environmental work requires a permit signed by the staff officer in charge of agriculture, who works for the IDF’s Civil Administration). In effect, the settlers are arguing for the High Court to create/sign off on a new method of land takeover by settlers.

The battle of the trees and the plot of land dates back over 20 years, when settlers first built a fence to prevent Palestinians from accessing the area — which until then had been actively cultivated by Palestinians. In 2013, the IDF involved itself when Palestinians requested that it remove settlers from the site. The IDF ended up agreeing to do so and promised to ensure Palestinian access to the area (which it did, but very infrequently). Then, in 2017, settlers once again invaded the area and began planting trees as a means of taking control of the land. Since then settlers further developed the site into a park that is, of course, inaccessible to Palestinians.

In 2021, Palestinians, with the help of Haqel (an Israeli NGO), filed a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice asking for the trees to be removed, and asserting that the land has been privately owned for generations.

Palestinians Campaign for Nabi Samwil Recognition as New Docs Show Original Israeli Intent to Expel Them for Settlement

+972 reports that newly released archival documents show that, in 1971, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir signed off on a plan to expel Palestinians from Nabi Samwil in order to build a luxury settlement on the ruins of the village (which is now an archeological site). Plans for the new settlement – which Meir at one point dubbed “New Savyon” after a wealthy Tel Aviv suburb – were eventually abandoned by the Israeli government in the mid 1980s, but (of course) Palestinians were not allowed to return.

Instead, refugees established a new village some 200meters from their original homes, still located on a strategic and highly prized hilltop (inside an area that Israel has declared to be a national park) just outside of the municipal borders of Jerusalem but on the Israeli side of the separation barrier. Israel considers the village to be in the occupied  West Bank and so Nabi Samwil has been left in a Kafka-esque situation: they are cut off from the West Bank by the separation barrier but barred entry to Jerusalem. They are legally forbidden from taking the one road out of the village because it passes through Jerusalem, and the West Bank is accessible to them only via a circuitous route that passes through an Israeli checkpoint (for background see: The Palestinian village where Israel forbids everything, and this Twitter thread of resources curated by Lara Friedman). 

Palestinian refugees of Nabi Samwil, in conjunction with activists, have held weekly protests to demand recognition from the Israeli government, in order to be able to build legal structures and be granted permits to enter Jerusalem. Refugees have petitioned the Israeli government for over 20 years to accept a formal building plan for the village, in order to allow the buildings to be deemed legal, but the government has refused. Eid Barakat, an activist in Nabi Samwil, told +972 Magazine:

“Every few years, a new officer in the Civil Administration comes, makes promises, and in the end nothing is done..all our homes have demolition orders. I dug a well; they destroyed it. I built a fence; they destroyed it. I planted trees; they were uprooted.”

Bonus Reads

1. “The Fall and Rise of Israel’s First ultra-Orthodox Settlement” (Haaretz)
2. “I tracked down the house Israel stole from my grandfather” (Al Jazeera)
3. “WATCH: Women of Masafer Yatta tell their stories of resistance” (+972 Magazine)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

August 25 2022

1. Ir Amim Gets Set to Sue Settlers & State Over Plan for Settler-Run Cultural Center in Silwan
2. This Week in Area C: Evangelical Group Launches Land-Grab as Demolition Rates for Palestinian Construction Spike
3. IDF Prepares to Fortify Settlers’ Access to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus
4. Bonus Reads

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Ir Amim Gets Set to Sue Settlers & State Over Plan for Settler-Run Cultural Center in Silwan

Ir Amim announced that, after exhausting every avenue for administrative remedy, it will likely proceed with a civil lawsuit in light of the State’s move last month to proceed with the construction of a “Yemenite Jewish Culture Center” in the Batan al-Hawa section of Silwan, despite two pending legal petitions against the project.

Last month (July 2022), the Israeli government announced that the Jerusalem District Court had accepted a plan that would allow the project to move forward. That plan would see the building at the center of the dispute to be leased to a new company, which would establish and manage the cultural center. Hatched in secret by senior government officials and a body known as the Benvenisti Trust (which is at the center of the two pending legal petitions), the plan creates the appearance that the Benvenisti Trust is no longer directly involved in the project — but Ir Amim reports that there is reason to believe that this new company is an affiliate or subsidiary of Ateret Cohanim, the settler body that controls the Benvenisti Trust.

As a reminder, the two legal petitions filed by Ir Amim and residents of Batan al-Hawa against the project are:

1. A June 2020 petition directly challenging the legitimacy of Ateret Cohanim’s (a settler group) resuscitation and takeover of the Benvenisti Trust – the Jewish endowment fund which allegedly held title to land in Batan al-Hawa in the late 19th century. 
2. A December 2020 petition challenging the issuance of a tender for the new culture center, pending the resolution of the first petition regarding the relationship between the  Benvenisti Trust and Ateret Cohanim. 

Ir Amim explains that, in response to the State’s new plan, it has requested an update on its petitions. Describing a letter it recently sent to the the Ministry of Justice (which was supposed to have launched an investigation into the allegations) Ir Amim provided the following update:

“Ir Amim called again for suspension of the project, stating numerous arguments, including the fact that announcement of such an initiative by Ministers Elkin and Sa’ar (the new State Camp Party) during a transitional government constitutes “campaign advertising” and therefore violates election campaign regulations. Moreover, the letter emphasized that leasing the property to “some other organization” for the establishment of a tourist site still violates the trust’s charter and designated purpose of the property, which is for residential use only. In light of the conduct of the trustees’ (i.e. Ateret Cohanim) and state authorities’ to date, there is reason to believe that this purported organization is a subsidiary or affiliate of Ateret Cohanim.

As the letter states, “if this is indeed the case, this is yet further decisive proof that the Benvenisti Trust is clearly being harnessed for the purposes of Ateret Cohanim and its affiliated bodies. This is another layer of a serious conflict of interest in the trustees’ activity to the point of attempting to alter its official goals, which the Registrar of Trusts considered not in accordance with the law and the opinion of the original grantor. It likewise evades the obligation to comply with the grantor’s instructions concerning the trust’s assets through creating a measure to try and underhandedly circumvent these barriers.” As such, Ir Amim demands the complete suspension of the project and an immediate freeze on the state’s allocation of public funds.”

This Week in Area C: Evangelical Group Launches Land-Grab as Demolition Rates for Palestinian Construction Spike

In its monthly report, OCHA reports that the month of June saw a 48% spike in the number of Palestinian-owned structures demolished or seized by Israel. Recall that this spike comes against the backdrop of settlers’ ongoing campaign to push the Israeli government to more expansively and expeditiously destroy Palestinian buildings in Area C. Four of the structures demolished by Israel in June were demolished within 96 hours of their discovery, under an expedited process Israel formulated and implemented, by fiat, via a military order (Military Order 1797).

Meanwhile, Haaretz reports that an American Evangelical Christian group calling itself “Hayovel” has undertaken a tree-planting campaign on privately-owned Palestinian land in Area C. The group,  a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to support “Israel’s right to exist in their biblical heart”, is charging donors $25 per tree, and has begun planting trees near the Har Bracha settlement in the central West Bank, south of Nablus. According to Dror Etkes – founder of the settlement watchdog group Kerem Navot – over 90% of the land in the area where the trees are being planted is owned by Palestinians from the nearby town of Burin. The land was once richly cultivated by its Palestinian owners, but has been left fallow for years because the Israeli military and settlers have prevented Palestinians from accessing the area. The American group’s stated objective is to plant 3,000 new trees in the West Bank by the end of 2022, and then 20,000 trees every year following. 

When asked about the land on which the trees are planted, Hayovel asserted that it was given permission by several Israeli authorities, telling Haaretz:

“We do not own any of the land where we plant trees. We work closely with individual farmers, local Jewish communities, and local municipality governments. Most of the Greening Israel Project forestry sites are located on land owned and controlled by the State of Israel.”

IDF Prepares to Fortify Settlers’ Access to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus

Arutz Sheva reports that the IDF is preparing to increase its protection for settlers who regularly visit Joseph’s Tomb, located inside the Palestinian city of Nablus, near the Balata refugee camp. Settlers regularly visit the religious site, escorted by the IDF, which regularly results in clashes with Palestinians. 

As a reminder, Nablus is located in Area A of the West Bank, where the Oslo Accords afford Israel no jurisdiction. However, the Oslo Accords designated Joseph’s Tomb as one of two holy sites in Area A over which Israel retained control.

A former IDF Major General (Res.) Gadi Shamni, stressed the absurdity of the situation, telling a radio station:

“The entire story of Joseph’s Tomb is one big mistake. This is a huge operation of bringing people, transportation and other events around the prayers…There are parties who earn a lot of money there and there are many political interests. We have to stop endangering soldiers. Every entry into the site causes friction and it’s only a matter of time until a disaster happens there.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Jewish extremists accused of slashing tires, graffitiing in Palestinian town” (The Times of Israel)
2. [Video] “Palestinians in Masafer Yatta fear displacement” (Middle East Eye)
3. “Demolishing our community center won’t destroy our resistance” (+972 Magazine)
4. “Editorial | Denying the Green Line” (Haaretz)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

August 19, 2022

1. Ir Amim on East Jerusalem Land Registration & State Land Seizures 
2. Israel Advances Plan to Build New Settlement “Ariel West”
3. IDF Razes “Ramat Migron” Outpost for Second Time in a Week
4. Ultra-Orthodox Settlers Establish Their First-Ever Outpost
5. Israel Pauses to “Rethink” Plan to Build on Historic Site of Lifta
6. Bonus Reads

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Ir Amim on East Jerusalem Land Registration & State Land Seizures 

In an alert issued August 11th, Ir Amim adds important information and analysis of Israel’s seizure of a plot of land in East Jerusalem last week. Importantly, Ir Amim explains how Israel is using the process of land registration to (sometimes covertly) take control over more and more land in the most sensitive areas in East Jerusalem. 

Ir Amim writes:

“The area between Jabal Mukkaber and Abu Dis has long been targeted by the state and settlers due to its strategic location…Upon investigation, Ir Amim discovered that 12 dunams of land (bloc 31735) situated in the same location referred to in the article were recently registered under the management of the General Custodian in the Land Registration Office…Rights, bloc 31735 recently underwent settlement of land title procedures (formal land registration). Initiated on May 31, 2021, the settlement of land title process was swiftly completed in just over a year with little to no transparency and formally registered in the Tabu (land record) on July 14, 2022. The official order transferring the respective plot of land into the management of the General Custodian was issued on June 8, 2021—a mere days after the announcement of the settlement of title process on the same bloc of land. It should be underscored that the General Custodian is one of the state institutions formally and integrally involved in the settlement of title process. The timing is certainly not coincidental, and it was clearly carried out as a means to assert Jewish ownership claims of the land. In contrast, the process has yet to be initiated on the adjacent thousands of dunams of land owned by Palestinians in the same area.

 

Such a move constitutes yet another cynical exploitation of the settlement of land title procedures which are being conducted in the framework of Government Decision 3790—a decision aimed at ostensibly improving the well-being of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. As reported previously, an examination of the locations where the procedures have been completed or currently underway reveals the driving rationale: settlement of land title is largely being promoted in areas where the state and/or settlers have a particular interest and have some capacity to lay claim to the land in the framework of the proceedings. As such, these procedures are being used as yet another mechanism to seize more territory in East Jerusalem under the guise of a decision and budgets earmarked for Palestinians.”

Israel Advances Plan to Build New Settlement “Ariel West”

On August 18th, the Israeli Civil Administration discussed an amended plan to build an access road leading to an area of land where Israel is intending to build a new settlement, dubbed “Ariel West.” At the time of publication, it is unclear the outcome of the discussion is not yet known. We do know that Israel was forced to amend its original plan to build the access road to the new settlement site when it was proven that the route went through privately owned Palestinian land belonging to the village of Salfit.

The plan for “Ariel West” was first discovered in November 2021, after the Israeli Ministry of Construction issued tenders (on October 24, 2021) for the new settlement, under the guise of a plan to “expand” the Ariel settlement, located south of Bethlehem. Under the plan, 731 new settlement units will be built on a hilltop located 1.2 miles away from Ariel, in an area that is non-contiguous with the built-up area of the current Ariel settlement.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“The government has been given another opportunity here to stop the establishment of the new settlement. After the Ministry of Housing rushed to issue tenders for the sale of the building rights, construction can still be halted if the defense minister stops the planning process. The “Ariel West” plan is not just a plan for thousands of housing units, but it is a new settlement designed to block the town of Salfit and prevent the development of Palestinian space in the area. Road comprise the infrastructure of the occupation, and the undercurrents of apartheid in the occupied West Bank. This dangerous plan must be stopped.”

“Ariel West” is one of many clear illustrations of how Israel systematically rewards unauthorized/illegal construction undertaken by settlers. In this case, settlers established an unauthorized outpost (i.e., illegal even under Israeli law) called “Nof Avi”on the hilltop where the new settlement is slated for construction. The Israeli government has allowed that outpost to remain in place for the past year, and thereby restrict Palestinians’ access to agricultural lands they rightfully own.

The hilltop and the Nof Avi outpost is located on land declared by Israel to be “state land” inside of the jurisdictional boundaries of the Ariel settlement, as authorized by the Israeli government. The jurisdictional boundaries of Ariel include several non-contiguous land areas — due to the fact that the area is dotted with land that even Israel recognizes to be legally owned by Palestinians (de facto annexing private Palestinian land to the settlement by leaving it in some places nearly completely surrounded by land controlled by the settlement).

The new settlement will further exacerbate the limitations that the settlements inflict on Palestinian agricultural workers, in addition to the future development of the nearby Palestinian town of Salfit, as illustrated in this video by Peace Now.  Even before the “expansion” plan, Ariel’s jurisdictional area was identified as a direct hindrance on the future development of Salfit. 

With news of the new settlement in October 2021, the Mayor of Salfit – Abdullah Kamil – explained to Haaretz:

​​“Salfit is slated for expansion. It has a university and there are plans to add 10,000 students over the next few years. The city’s master plan will have to be enlarged, and the site where the new settlement is planned is exactly the direction toward which we wanted to expand. This situation will explode. We also told the Israelis this; it will open a new front and it will harm Israeli security. It’s clear that part of the plan’s purpose is to eliminate any chance of a political solution.”

IDF Razes “Ramat Migron” Outpost for Second Time in a Week

On August 14th Israeli forces once again cleared settlers and their property off of a hilltop where the settlers are attempting to establish a permanent outpost, which the settlers call Ramat Migron. Israeli forces cleared the site just four days prior, but settlers quickly re-occupied the area.

As a reminder, in 2012 an illegal outpost known as Migron was dismantled by the Israeli government when the Israeli High Court ruled the land is privately owned by Palestinians. Since then settlers have continually sought to reestablish a settlement there. Israeli forces have razed outposts at the site at least 10 times in the past 10 years — all the while denying Palestinians the ability to reclaim control over land that an Israeli court affirmed they own.

In addition to the IDF retaining control over the Migron outpost site, Israel rewarded the settlers it forcibly removed from the Migron outpost by promising to establish two new official settlements: “New Migron” as well as 184 housing units to be built east of the settlement of Adam (aka, Geva Binyamin). Construction of the “New Migron” settlement was completed in July 2020. All said, the two new settlements and temporary housing for the evicted settlers cost Israeli taxpayers millions of dollars – sending a clear message that settler law-breaking pays.

Ultra-Orthodox Settlers Establish Their First-Ever Outpost 

On August 16th, a group of 15 settler families announced the establishment of a new outpost near the settlement of Metzad, located in the southern West Bank. The settlers, notably, are ultra-orthodox Jews – making this the first outpost established by ultra-orthodox settlers. The settlers, who are calling the outpost “Derech Emunah,” have built 15 makeshift structures already at the site, which they are using as a yeshiva, synagogue, and homes.

A leader of the group, Moshe Rotman, said:

“The establishment of Derech Emunah is designed to increase awareness within the ultra-Orthodox community of the religious commandment of settling the land, as well as showing that the housing crisis in the community can be resolved through settlement construction in Judea and Samaria.”

The Ultra-Orthdox have long been viewed as distinct from religious-nationalistic settlers. Most ultra-Orthodox settlers moved to homes in the settlements for cheap housing (and their desire to live in homogenous communities) rather than out of a religious or nationalistic belief that Israel has a right and/or obligation to reclaim all of the land between the river and the sea. The establishment of this outpost challenges that understanding. Rotman called the Ultra-Orthodox a “dormant volcano,” insisting that the new outpost was established not merely by members from the fringe of the ultra-Orthodox community, and suggesting that many more ultra-Orthodox settlers will follow suit. 

Peace Now said in response:

“Security forces must demonstrate zero tolerance to the outpost criminals, whether they are ultra-Orthodox, Zionist ultra-Orthodox or just criminals. Defense Minister Benny Gantz is avoiding evacuating the Homesh outpost. We call on him to instruct today, to demolish the new outpost. Any minute that the outpost is still standing shows that all he (Gantz) cares about is pleasing [right-wing Justice Minister Gideon] Saar and [right-wing Knesset member] Matan Kahana. It shows that he tries pleasing the ultra-Orthodox parties at the expense of the State of Israel.”

It’s also worth noting that Rotman said that the outpost was established in response to what his group perceives as the Israeli government’s selective enforcement against illegal construction by Israelis and the Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank. As FMEP has routinely covered, settlers and their allies in the Israeli government have perpetuated a false narrative – which at this point is deeply held by settler leadership – that the Israeli government is failing to thwart an alleged campaign by the Palestinian Authority to take over land in Area C via “illegal” construction – referring to construction by Palestinians on their own land, but without Israeli-required permits that Israel systematically refuses to issue. Settlers are using this story to push the government to more swiftly and systematically demolish any/all Palestinian construction in Area C.

Playing on this narrative, settler leader Tzvi Succot, who plans to run for the pro-settler Religious-Zionist (Orthodox) party Knesset list primaries, said:

“It is very exciting to see how members of the ultra-Orthodox community join with dedication to the holy mission of settling the land of Israel, breaking through the choking ring placed on the settlement enterprise in the West Bank. I hope the state of Israel won’t play a discrimination game and won’t demolish the new community, while all around it are hundreds of Arab-constructed illegal buildings that are not subjected to the law.”

Israel Pauses to “Rethink” Plan to Build on Historic Site of Lifta

The Times of Israel reports that the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Lands Authority have agreed to “rethink” their plans to build a luxury housing development on the ruins of the historic Palestinian village of Lifta, located in West Jerusalem. Lifta is the last Palestinian village in West Jerusalem to remain partially intact. Israel has prevented Palestinian refugees and landowners from returning to it, but has not yet demolished all the original structures (55 out of the original 400 structures still remain). In 2017 the ruins of Lifta were named by the World Monuments Fund as one of 25 at-risk sites around the world, and Lifta on the list of UNESCO’s tentative World Heritage Sites for bearing “unique testimony of the traditional village life.” 

The Times of Israel further reports that after visiting the site, Israel’s Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Leon is considering a plan to “preserve the village and turn it into a World Heritage Site.” However, in commenting on the Mayor’s new directive, the Israeli Municipality erased Palestinians, their history and their culture, from the story of Lifta. In a statement, the Jerusalem Municipality said:

 

“[Lifta] serves as an important heritage symbol for Jerusalemites, Israelis and all those who come to Jerusalem. In the past, a plan to build housing units on the site was approved. The mayor discovered that this plan does not consider the preservation needs to the proper degree and in his opinion, is not appropriate at all. Therefore, in coordination with the ILA, it was decided not to market [the project] and to have a rethink. At the heart of the new thinking is the preservation of Lifta and its transformation into a world heritage site.”

Israel’s plans to build on top of Lifta’s ruins surfaced In May 2021, when Israel announced it planned to open bidding on a tender for the construction of 259 luxury housing units, commercial buildings, and a hotel. The announcement spurred a strong reaction, including daily protests on the land and several legal petitions. A lawyer representing a group of Palestinians refugees from Lifta submitted a petition against the plan in August 2021. In addition, the Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh submitted a petition against the plan, including three expert opinions with its submission, one from a civil engineer, a second from an ecologist, and a third written by a team of five architects and conservation planners. 

While FMEP’s settlement and annexation report focuses on settlement building in areas located over the 1967 Green Line, the story of Lifta – and of other Palestinian villages forcibly depopulated by Israeli forces in the 1948 – is another facet of the Israeli government’s policy of erasure of Palestinians via the establishment of Jewish Israeli communities. You can read one Palestinian’s account of forced her forced displacement from Lifta, here.

Bonus Reads

1. “Jerusalem girls school repaints iconic Homesh water tower” (Arutz Sheva)
2. “Israel recovers rare findings from alleged antiquities traffickers in West Bank” (The Times of Israel)
3. “Peace Now is taking direct action against settler outposts. Can it succeed?” (+972 Magazine)
4. “Why did the army shut down a Palestinian village? So settlers could pray in it” (+972 Magazine)
5. “Extreme left opposes Mosh Ben Ari’s performance in the Hinnom Valley in Jerusalem“ (Arutz Sheva)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

August 11, 2022

1. Israel Completes Secret Registration of New Land in East Jerusalem
2. Israel Asks Court to Stay Out of Homesh Outpost Case on Promise to Evacuate Settlers (Eventually)
3. IDF Removes Settlers from Ramat Migron Outpost
4. This Week in Area C: Continued Annexation & Harassment
5. Not Just Area C: Settlers Eye Archaeological Site in Area B
6. Update: Israeli University Defends Excavation Near Nabi Saleh
7. New Analysis of “Silicon Wadi” Project
8. Bonus Reads

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Israel Completes Secret Registration of New Land in East Jerusalem

Israel Hayom reports that Israel has succeeded in secretly registering State ownership of 16 dunams (four acres) of land in East Jerusalem, opening the possibility for constructing a new settlement enclave there. 

The Israeli Justice Ministry secretly completed the acquisition of the land after the Israeli Custodian General hired researchers tasked with finding evidence that the land was purchased by Jews in the 1920s as part of a larger land purchase, though this part of the land was not registered. A court recently accepted new evidence found by the researchers, resulting in the land being placed under the control of the Israeli Custodian of Absentee Property on a temporary basis, while the State searches for the Jewish owners (or their heirs).

The newly-registered land is surrounded by Palestinian neighborhoods, close to the West Bank barrier (which in this location is an actual wall) to the East – with Abu Dis on the far side – and the Palestinian neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukhaber to the west. According to Haaretz, the location is considered one of the most sensitive in East Jerusalem, due to its proximity to the building designated as the future home of the Palestinian parliament and its distance from other Jewish neighborhoods. 

This land is south of the area where that has been planned for the settlement called Kidmat Tzion, though this plan has been frozen. In 2017 (during the Trump-Netanyahu era), Ir Amim reported that Kidmat Zion was one of nine Jerusalem area settlements that Israel planned to move forward.

Israel Asks Court to Stay Out of Homesh Outpost Case on Promise to Evacuate Settlers (Eventually)

On August 10th, lawyers representing the Israeli government told the High Court of Justice that it plans to remove settlers from the illegal Homesh outpost site as soon as the Defense Minister sets a date for the evacuation, asking the Court to allow it to delay the evacuation until it finds “the right time from a security standpoint.” This is the second time the State has assured the Court that it will dismantle the outpost without committing to a deadline to enforce Israeli law against the settlers illegally living and studying there.

The Israeli NGO Yesh Din said in response:

“The state continues its foot-dragging and refuses to carry out its legal and moral obligation, which is to evacuate the outpost built illegally on private land belonging to the village of Burqa. The expulsion of Palestinians and the stealing of their land must end. Every day that passes increases the injustice and rewards lawbreakers. The defense minister and the prime minister, like their predecessors, prove that the rule of law will always take second place in the face of political interests and appeasing the settlers. The Supreme Court must bring them back into line by a clear judicial ruling that expresses its displeasure at this conduct, which is a complete infraction of the law and infringement of Palestinian rights.”

The State has, for over a year, delayed its response to a 2019 petition filed by Yesh Din seeking the removal of settlers and settler structures from the site of the former Homesh settlement, located in the northern West Bank, and a guarantee of the site’s return to Palestinian landowners. The Homesh settlement was dismantled by the Israeli government as part of the 2005 Disengagement Plan (along with two other small settlements in the area). Despite Homesh being dismantled, Israel never permitted Palestinians to regain access to or control of the land, declaring it a closed military zone. That status has prevented Palestinians from entering the area,  while allowing settlers to routinely enter and (illegally, under Israeli law) inhabit the land, even (illegally) establishing a yeshiva there. That yeshiva, according to the Israeli NGO Kerem Navot, has become one of the West Bank’s “hardcore centers of settler terror”. Settlers have also wreaked terror on nearby Palestinian villages, most notably Burqa and Sebastia. One Israeli politician even went so far as to say that settlers are “carrying out a pogrom” in Burqa.

Settlers and and their powerful allies in the government ramped up their lobbying campaign pressing the Israeli government to officially reestablish the Homesh settlement in the wake of the death of settler Yehuda Dimentan in December 2021. Dimentan studied at the illegal yeshiva at the Homesh site. In January 2022, settlers staged a massive march to Homesh as part of its pressure campaign to legalize the yeshiva in his memory.

IDF Removes Settlers from Ramat Migron Outpost

In the early morning hours of August 11th, Israeli forces cleared the illegal outpost dubbed by settlers “Ramat Migron”, removing three mobile homes and razing a structure used by settlers as a synagogue. The Times of Israel reports that three families and several young settlers were living in the outpost, which is located north of Ramallah on a hilltop where the illegal outpost of Migron, evacuated by the government of Israel a decade ago, formerly stood. Settlers remain defiant, saying:

​​“We have something to tell you, ministers of the government: we do not intend even for a moment to give up, and we intend to continue to hold on to the hill until it becomes an established and flourishing permanent settlement.”

As a reminder, the illegal outpost known as Migron was dismantled by the Israeli government in 2012 when the Israeli High Court ruled the land is privately owned by Palestinians. Since then settlers have continually sought to reestablish a settlement there. Israeli forces have razed outposts at the site at least 10 times in the past 10 years — all the while denying Palestinians the ability to reclaim control over land that an Israeli court affirmed they own.

As a reminder: In addition to the IDF retaining control over the Migron outpost site, Israel rewarded the settlers it forcibly removed from the outpost by promising to establish two new official settlements: “New Migron” as well as 184 housing units to be built east of the settlement of Adam (aka, Geva Binyamin). Construction of the “New Migron” settlement was completed in July 2020. All said, the two new settlements and temporary housing for the evicted settlers cost Israeli taxpayers millions of dollars – sending a clear message that settler law-breaking pays off.

This Week in Area C: Continued Annexation & Harassment

The Israeli state and its settlers have not taken a summer break from the ongoing campaign to effect the de facto and de jure annexation of Area C. 

• On a tour of the northern West Bank, Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar called for a new National Plan to “protect” Area C.
• Also in the northern West Bank, work began this week on a large, new Torah center in the Immanuel settlement – a settlement currently enjoying a construction boom as reported by Arutz Sheva.
• And finally, settlers continue to closely monitor and report on Palestinian construction in Area C – this time on a new water park that opened this summer and a few new Though settlers allege the water park was built illegally, the Israeli Civil Administration assured Israel Hayom that illegal construction has already been dismantled.

Not Just Area C: Settlers Eye Archaeological Site in Area B

As FMEP has chronicled, settlers and the Israeli state have undertaken an organized campaign that weaponizes archaeology to serve their own political agenda. Just last week, FMEP covered how the Sambuski cemetery in East Jerusalem is a part of the effort.

An August 3rd report by Israel Hayom details Palestinian plans to develop a national park at a historical site that settlers refer to as “Tel Orma,” which is the site of an ancient fort and reportedly rich with remnants of Jewish heritage in the area. The report suggests that the Palestinian Authority has damaged the site and is also determined to destroy evidence of Jewish civilization and antiquities that are potentially located there. This site is in Area B of the West Bank, where Israel does not exercise civil control of matters like culture and archaeology, but that has not stopped settlers from flying a drone over the site to see what the Palsetinians have been developing there, or from visiting the site to see the work in person. 

Head of the Samaria Regional Council Yossi Dagan – whose ambitions to take over more land for the settlements are not confined to Area A – told Israel Hayom:

“We call on the Israeli government, the defense minister, and the public security minister to take action right away and protect these important places. Just like no other country in the world would allow its people’s history to be attacked, we must not allow rioters from the Palestinian Authority to harm our history. Tel Orma is [part of] the Jewish people’s legacy and an important part of Jewish history, and we cannot stand by as the place is systematically destroyed.”

Update: Israeli University Defends Excavation Near Nabi Saleh

Following media attention to an excavation being conducted by Bar Illan University in the West Bank, the university has now publicly defended the dig, saying that it is located on “State land.” The Israeli Civil Administration also stated that the dig is being conducted legally and that a permit had been issued in accordance with Israeli military law which governs the occupied territories. 

The area is located between the Palestinian villages of Nabi Saleh and Deir Nidham, just north of Ramallah. Palestinians claim that the land is privately owned.

New Analysis of “Silicon Wadi” Project

This week Ir Amim issued a new report on the “Silicon Wadi” project being implemented by the Jerusalem Municipality, which calls for the establishment of a major high-tech hub along the western side of East Jerusalem’s Wadi Joz neighborhood, requiring the eviction of many Palestinian businesses located there. The report is a useful summary of where the project stands, what its implications are, and how the “Silicon Wadi” initiative connects to larger plans by the State and settlers to increase Israeli hegemony over Jerusalem. 

 Most importantly and urgently, Ir Amim stresses regarding the Silicon Wadi project:

• Palestinian businesses are in a “tenuous position” because most are able to operate based on “special use” permits allowing them to conduct business on land that is not zoned/designated for such use. Theoretically, Israel can revoke those permits if it chooses.
• The land in question has not been registered, and Israel has been re-initiating the land registration in other parts of Jerusalem. If the process were to be restarted for this land, the land could be placed under the control of the Israeli Custodian General. Ir Amim also reports that the attorney hired by Israel to conduct an unofficial mapping of the area is known to have ties to settler groups.
• The project fails to address the primary need of East Jerusalem: housing. The ongoing housing crisis in East Jerusalem is at an all-time high.
•  And finally, Ir Amim writes: “The land slated for the Wadi Joz Business Park is located between the Kerem al-Jaouni section of Sheikh Jarrah, where settler groups have been working to evict approximately 30 Palestinian families, 5 and the northeastern part of the Old City. …there is speculation that the plan aims to extend the ring of settlements within Palestinian neighborhoods around the Old City and establish an Israeli stronghold on the northeastern side under the guise of economic development.”

Bonus Reads

1. “More U.S. Jews Moved to West Bank Settlements in 2021 Than Any Other Year in Past Decade” (Haaretz)
2. “Israel expands West Bank security fence as violence escalates in Jenin” (Al-Monitor)
3. “Israel Demolished a Palestinian’s Home in Violation of Court Orders. He Now Lives in a Tent With His Children” (Haaretz)
4. “Top British Funder of Israel Trips to Probe Surprise Overnight Stays in Settlement” (Haaretz)
5. “Jewish groups fume at construction of illegal Palestinian water park“ (Israel Hayom)
6. “Opinion  Shame on me for believing courts could stop the Israeli settlement machine” (Gershom Gorenberg / Washington Post)
7. “Basketball Team From West Bank Settlement Should Be Kicked Out of Israel League, Says Ex-pro Player” (Haaretz)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

August 4, 2022

1. Encircling Jerusalem: Israel Advances Settlement Plans Across the City, While Settler Projects Tighten the Noose
2. Dumping Any Pretense of Respect for Rule of Law, Israeli High Court Reverses Course, Allows Mitzpe Kramim Outpost to be “Legalized”
3. Settlers Acquire Another Home in Downtown Hebron
4. Elad Closes Palestinian Access Road Near Sambuski Cemetary in Silwan
5. This Week in Area C, Part 1: JNF Approves Purchase of Palestinian Land In Jordan Valley While High Court Weighs Petition
6. This Week in Area C, Part 2: Regavim Files Petition Pushing for Immediate Demolition of Palestinian Construction in Area C
7. This Week in Area C, Part 3: Settlers Continue to Occupy Six Sites After Recent Attempt to Establish New Outposts En Masse
8. Groups Petition to Cancel New Israeli-Led Archeological Dig in the West Bank Citing Legal Questions
9. Bonus Reads

 

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Encircling Jerusalem: Israel Advances Settlement Plans Across the City, While Settler Projects Tighten the Noose

It must be stressed that events over the past several months (while the Settlement Report has taken an abbreviated form) have rapidly accelerated the encirclement of Jerusalem by settlements and settler-backed projects — developments which come at the direct expense of Palestinians — their presence in Jerusalem, their rights as land owners, and their quality of life. This encirclement continues to progress, unabated and almost entirely unchallenged, each day.

Last week, on July 25th, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee advanced plans for two brand new settlements in East Jerusalem – “Givat HaShaked” and the “Lower Aqueduct” plan. These two settlements that would nearly complete the encirclement of Jerusalem to the south. Details of those plans are: 

• The Lower Aqueduct plan (1,465 new units) was approved for deposit for public comment. This plan would see a new settlement – called the Lower Aqueduct Plan – built on a small sliver of land between the controversial settlements of Givat Hamatos and Har Homa – and is intended to connect them. In so doing, it will establish an uninterrupted continuum of Israeli settlements on the southern rim of Jerusalem, and destroy the contiguity of Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 
• The Givat HaShaked settlement was also discussed, and the Committee opted to increase the total number of units that the plan outlines for construction, from ~400 to 700 housing units, plus schools and synagogues. Ir Amim and Terrestrial Jerusalem both report that, after a few technical requirements are met, the plan to build Givat HaShaked is expected to receive final approval when the Committee reconvenes in the coming weeks. The plan for Givat HaShaked is unprecedented, according to Terrestrial Jerusalem, in that it is the first settlement of this size that that Israeli government will establish inside of a Palestinian neighborhood – Beit Safafa, which will be completely encircled by Israeli construction if Givat HaShaked is built.

For more background on the Lower Aqueduct plan, see resources by: Terrestrial Jerusalem and Ir Amim.

These plans are significant developments in the effort to establish settler hegemony over East Jerusalem, but are only part of the story of how the encirclement of East Jerusalem has rapidly advanced over the past months. In addition to the construction of new settlements and growth of existing ones, settlers are succeeding in advancing new projects under the guise of tourism (like: the Cable Car, a new visitors center in Batan Al Hawa, and more) and the State is undertaking systematic efforts to take over more and more land. Those methods include the revival of a politicized land registration process in East Jerusalem and the expansion of “national park” lands onto the Mount of Olives. Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan also continue to face the looming threat of dispossession through Court proceedings. In a rare piece of good news — on July 21st the Israeli Supreme Court partially accepted a petition filed by the Duweik family, which has led to the (temporary) freezing of their eviction.

Another facet is the looming threat is the seemingly growing inevitability of the construction of the E-1 settlement to Jerusalem’s east. Prior to the arrival of U.S. President Joe Biden in Jerusalem on July 13th, the Israeli government intervened to postpone a critical hearing on the E-1 settlement, rescheduling it for September 12th. The rescheduled hearing, if it is not postponed yet again, could result in granting final approval to the highly contentious plan (and barring intensive outside pressure such additional postponement seems highly improbable, given the Israeli domestic politics and the upcoming national election). See Terrestrial Jerusalem for a recap of President Biden’s visit.

Dumping Any Pretense of Respect for Rule of Law, Israeli High Court Reverses Course, Allows Mitzpe Kramim Outpost to be “Legalized”

Nearly two years after ruling there is no possible legal basis by which the Mitzpe Kramim outpost can be retroactively “legalized” under Israeli law, the Israeli Supreme Court has now reversed course and will allow the State to formally legalize the settlement using the so-called Market Regulation principle.

In its original ruling, issued in September 2020, the High Court held that construction of the Mitzpe Kramim outpost was not undertaken in “good faith” because there were “multiple warning signs” that the land was privately owned by Palestinians. The outpost was ordered to be dismantled at that time. Now, with apparently no new evidence, the Court decided to accept the settlers’ claim of “good faith.”

The “good faith” condition for retroactive legalization of illegal settler construction on privately-owned Palestinian land is a central element of the “market regulation” legal principle which was devised by former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit in December 2018 as an alternative to the (now overturned) Settlement Regulation Law. The principle offers a path to grant retroactive legalization to the settlers for what this principle treats as “unintentional” land theft – throwing the principles of both rule of law and private property rights out the window. Peace Now has a comprehensive breakdown of the legal opinion, including the specific criteria outlining which outposts can qualify under the new scheme. It is estimated that 2,000 illegal settlement structures qualify for retroactive legalization using this principle.

Yesh Din writes on the significance of this ruling:

“This ruling overtly indicates Israel’s intentions to continue to pursue retroactive legalization of illegal Israeli construction in blatant disregard of the rights of the local Palestinian population of the West Bank. The State of Israel continues to ignore the duties bestowed upon it by IHL, as the occupying power, to protect the occupied population. Additionally, as the occupying power, Israel is prohibited from transferring the occupier’s population into occupied territory. The interpretation of the Supreme Court’s majority opinion will, in practice, undoubtedly serve to fulfill the intentions of the repealed Regularization Bill from 2017. It will enable settlers, backed by the Civil Administration and other State authorities, to take over thousands of dunams of Palestinian land, leading to human rights violations on a massive scale all over the West Bank and serving as the basis for future negligent and illegal policies, which are now more likely to be given the go-ahead by the Supreme Court. This ruling symbolizes a turning point of Israel’s Supreme Court, which, for the first time, has endorsed the forced confiscation of privately owned land, which is not required for military needs, for the sole purpose of use by Israeli civilians for the establishment of a new settlement.”

In +972 Magazine, Orly Noy writes:

“The court’s ruling could potentially pave the way for the retroactive legalization of thousands more homes in outposts built on privately-owned Palestinian land…The legalization of Mitzpe Kramim is only a footnote in Israel’s policies of dispossession and land theft on both sides of the Green Line, carried out through what the Israeli regime deems completely “legal” expropriations…And one more word regarding the concept of “good faith,” which was sufficient reasoning for the High Court to retroactively legalize the theft of private Palestinian land. This same line of argumentation did not protect the residents of Umm al-Hiran, a Bedouin village in the Negev/Naqab, from being threatened with destruction and expulsion, even though they were physically placed where the village exists today in the 1950s by the military government after it expelled them from their original land, on which Kibbutz Shoval now sits. Although the state itself was the one to move them to their new location, the residents of Umm al-Hiran have lived for decades without basic infrastructure such as water and electricity — that is, until the state decided to destroy the village in order to build Hiran, a town for Jews alone, on its ruins. Unlike the settlers of Mitzpe Kramim, the residents of Umm al-Hiran did not take over land that did not belong to them, nor did they settle on private land that belonged to others. And yet, the state did not hesitate to brutally deport them — even killing a local resident, Yacoub Abu al-Qi’an, in the process. The same court that will allow the residents of Mitzpe Kramim to remain on land it itself admits does not belong to them did not hesitate to legalize the cleansing of Umm al-Hiran. Because, after all, in the apartheid regime, even the concept of “good faith” applies solely to Jewish citizens.”

Settlers Acquire Another Home in Downtown Hebron

On July 28th, a settler group called Harchvi announced it has purchased a three-story house in central Hebron, very close to the Tomb of the Patriarchs/Al-Ibrahimi Mosque and on the Palestinian side of a key IDF checkpoint (the “Pharmacy” checkpoint), which Israeli Jews are supposed to be prohibited from crossing. The group was granted a purchase agreement by the Israeli Defense Ministry this week, which seemingly legitimizes the settlers claim to have purchased the property – but it is not a final determination of the legality of the transaction. This is the second such house in Hebron that settlers have claimed to have purchased from Palestinians owners this year. 

Providing more detail on the status of the house, Peace Now writes:

“Peace Now has no information regarding the alleged deal in this case. We know from many other cases in Hebron and in the West Bank that these are dubious purchases, which are sometimes based on forgery or the purchase of only small parts of the property. It almost always turns out that the settlers may have managed to acquire the rights from one person, but the rest of the rights holders did not agree and the issue gets to courts for lengthy hearings. When settlers entered the Za’atari house in March 2018, the case got to the courts and the legal argument is still pending, but the settlers are still in the house. Every purchase of land in the territories requires the approval of the Minister of Defense – according to the law in the Occupied Territories, in order to make a transaction and register it in the land registry, a transaction permit from the Civil Administration is required. Any such transaction-permit requires the prior approval of the Minister of Defense. In this case, it is hard to believe that the settlers have a transaction permit from the Minister of Defense. In all previous cases the settlers hurry to establish a fact on the ground, enter the house and only then submit applications for registration of purchase, and only then does it come to the Defense Minister’s approval. The defense minister can refuse and prevent the execution of the deal.”

In addition to the settlement activity in Hebron that the state of Israel has formally (and publicly) sanctioned, +972 Magazine reports this week that over the past month settlers have been bulldozing Palestinian stores that have been inaccessible to their owners for more than 20 years under Israel closure orders. Though the Israeli Civil Administration has denied authorizing the settlers’ destruction of the stores over the past month, one of the Palestinian shop owners, Tareq Al-Kiyal, raises the point that “Nothing moves in the Old City — and certainly no bulldozers come in and destroy buildings — without a green light from the army.” Palestinians have filed a police report regarding the damage to the stores, which they believe were demolished by settlers in order to expand the nearby settlement enclave, Avraham Avinu.

The shops are in an area referred to as the Kiyal Market, which was “temporarily” shuttered by the Israeli army in 2001 during the Second Intifada. Since then, Palestinians have been forbidden from reopening the shops and cannot even enter their shops to remove valuable equipment. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers have systematically looted the stores, and have been using the buildings for warehouses, recreational spaces, and even as housing. 

Elad Closes Palestinian Access Road Near Sambuski Cemetary in Silwan 

Emek Shaveh reports that the Elad settler group has blocked an access road near the Sambuski cemetery in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, a move which blocks car traffic to the Wadi Rababa area of Silwan where some 150 Palestinian families live. Palestinian residents, in partnership with Emek Shaveh, have appealed to several Israeli authoritative bodies (including the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority, the Jerusalem Municipality, and the Israeli police) to remove the boulders blocking the road, but Elad has failed to cooperate with efforts to negotiate a solution and has instead continued their work at the site. Emek Shaveh reports that the ongoing blockage of the road has led to daily friction between Palestinians and Elad employees.

The Sambuski cemetery is deeply integrated into Elad’s overarching, comprehensive plan to control the Silwan neighborhood. However, the cemetery was a relatively unknown, neglected site until recent years. In 2020, the Trump “Peace to Prosperity” plan identified the Sambuski cemetery as a place of prime historical and religious importance to Israel, elevating the status of the cemetery. The Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh – which has a special expertise on archaeology and the way archeology has been weaponized to serve the political agenda of the settlers and the state – wrote a report on exactly how the Trump “Vision” supports settler efforts to use Jerusalem’s history and antiquities to promote Israeli-Jewish hegemony and control over the city.

Emek Shaveh explains how the cemetery is connected to other settler endeavors in Silwan:

“For the Elad Foundation the cemetery is a strategic site as it links together two important focal points of its enterprise – the neighborhood of Silwan, home to the City of David archaeological park and specifically to the Pool of Siloam at the southern tip of the site, and the Hinnom Valley an area which Elad has been developing for the past two years (more below).”

This Week in Area C, Part 1: JNF Approves Purchase of Palestinian Land In Jordan Valley While High Court Weighs Petition

At the urging of the Israeli government, the Board of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) approved the allocation of $18 million for the purchase of 250 acres (1,000 dunams) of Palestinian-owned land in the Jordan Valley, land that is the subject of a petition with the High Court of Justice. 

Israel has controlled the land in question since issuing a military closure order in 1969. In the 1980s, the World Zionist Organization then allocated the land (which is privately owned by Palestinians) to settlers without any documentation of either having received control of the land from the government, or documentation allocating the land to the settlers. Since then, settlers have developed the land into profitable date farms. In 2018, several Palestinian landowners have filed a petition with the High Court of Justice to have the settlers removed from the area and the land returned to their control. In a contentious court hearing in June 2022, in which the State conceded that it does not know how or why the settlers were allocated the land in the first place, High Court Justice Esther Hayut told the State lawyer: “Given that you cannot explain how the land was given to those to whom it was given, does that give them the right to remain there forever?” 

The JNF – via its subsidiary group Himnuta, which handles West Bank transactions –  allegedly secured a deal with a Palestinian landowner to purchase the land in phases, starting with a smaller plot in 2018. Further phases of the the transaction were canceled due to criticism of the JNF’s involvement in land purchases in the occupied West Bank at the time. The deal is now back in process at the request of the Isareli Defense Ministry in order to finalize the transaction before the High Court.

This Week in Area C, Part 2: Regavim Files Petition Pushing for Immediate Demolition of Palestinian Construction in Area C

The settler group Regavim filed a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice seeking to change operational procedures within the Civil Administration so that Palestinian construction in Area C can be immediately demolished – eliminating any chance for Palestinian landowners to challenge the demolition of their property – if it is believed to be illegal. Regavim calls it “absurd” that the Civil Administration would allow Palestinians a chance to assert their legal rights to build on land in Area C before demolition is carried out.

While settlers push for faster demolition of illegal (under Israeli law) Palestinian construction in Area C, a new piece by +972 Magazine reveals that an Israeli official who is in charge of handing out demolition orders against Palestinian buildings  in the Massaffer Yatta region, himself lives in an illegally built home in an illegally built outpost. This only furthers the clear message that settler groups are not interested in ensuring the faithful enforcement of Israeli law, but are rather interested in wielding Israeli law as a weapon to displace and replace Palestinians.

This Week in Area C, Part 3: Settlers Continue to Occupy Six Sites After Recent Attempt to Establish New Outposts En Masse

According to an op-ed by Arlene Kushner, settlers continue to ”maintain a presence” at six sites located in Area C where they are planning to establish new outposts. These are the same sites that were part of a large-scale effort two weeks ago, led by the Nahala settler movement, to establish six new outposts all at once. That effort was thwarted by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who ordered Israeli security forces to prevent and remove settlers from the sites.

The determination of settlers to violate the law is unsurprising, in the ensuing hours after the failed operation a leader of the Nahala Movement, Daniela Weiss, told Haaretz:

“We’ll be back, of course. We’ll try to come back in a day or two. If it’s this Shabbat, I can’t say. We’re taking it one step at a time.”

Groups Petition to Cancel New Israeli-Led Archeological Dig in the West Bank Citing Legal Questions

The Israeli NGOs Haqel and Emek Shaveh report that on July 25th, an Israeli archaeologist launched a new excavation of the “Tel Tibnah” site in the Ramallah district, with sponsorship from the Israeli Bar-Ilan University. The NGOs jointly raised concerns about the political motivation behind the excavation, given “several fundamental legal and ethical issues” with the dig. The groups have called for the immediate cancellation of the excavation.

Haqel and Emek Shaveh further explain:

To the best of our knowledge, the site is situated on private and public lands of three Palestinian villages: Deir-Nisham, Beit Rima and Nebi Salah, and lies in proximity to the village of Abud. These lands are used by the local Palestinian population for agriculture and herding. In addition, within the site there is a spring that serves for drinking and irrigation. Initiating archaeological projects on privately owned land, even if these are declared as archaeological sites, demands that notification be given to the owners of these lands and their approval is required in advance. Entering private property without the permission of the owner is defined as a criminal act of incursion, even more so when conducting actions that might damage property and prevent access to the property, as is a frequent occurrence throughout the West Bank. The local residents unambiguously submitted their objection to the proposed excavations which will have a dramatic effect on their lives, impact their freedom of movement and violate their property rights. So far, this objection has not been taken into consideration.

The main question at stake is the State of Israel’s range of legitimate courses of action and that of Israeli academia. Initiation of an academic archaeological excavation serves, by nature, a scientific-academic motivation. This project does not serve an immediate necessity or mitigate against a pending danger, and does not meet the criteria as a “salvage excavation”, nor does it serve the local population living around the site. Any attempt to “govern” archaeological sites that are not within the sovereign borders of Israel is a political act and not a scientific one.

In addition, the claims of “antiquity robbery” should not justify state actions, and the political act should not be concealed as an archaeological one. The erosion of the distinction between heritage protection on the one hand and settlement and annexation on the other, threatens the future of archaeology.”

 

As FMEP has chronicled, settlers and their allies are intent on taking control of archaeological sites in the West Bank, and and seizing artifacts that are currently under Palestinian control. Settlers claim the sites are neglected and/or damaged. To that end, the settler groups known as “the Shilo Forum” and the “Shomrim al HaNetzach” (“Preservers of the Eternal”) — see background on these groups here — issued a report surveying 365 sites in the West Bank and arguing that the Palestinian Authority is moving to “erase all traces of Israel’s ancient Jewish heritage.” The accusations were in addition to allegations of neglect, mismanagement, and intentional damage. The report is part of the organizations’ campaign to push the Israeli government to assert control over these sites.

Bonus Reads

1. “Saving Masafer Yatta: The Fight Against Expulsion” (Mondoweiss)
2. “Military Rule: Testimonies of soldiers from the Civil Administration, Gaza DCL and COGAT (2011-2021)” (Breaking the Silence)
3. “Palestinian family encircled by Israeli settlement” (Al-Monitor)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

**The regular FMEP Settlement & Annexation report is on break, and is planned to return around the first week of August. In the meantime, we are pleased to offer you links to the main settlement-related stories of the past week**

July 28, 2022

1. Israel High Court Greenlights Theft of Palestinian Private Land

2. Masafer Yatta

3. Israel Advances New East Jerusalem Settlement Plans

4. Grab Bag

5. Bonus Read

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Israel High Court Greenlights Theft of Palestinian Private Land

Supreme Court overturns its decision in the case of Mitzpe Kramim – enabling retroactive authorization of the outpost on private Palestinian land (Yesh Din 7/28/22)

“This ruling overtly indicates Israel’s intentions to continue to pursue retroactive legalization of illegal Israeli construction in blatant disregard of the rights of the local Palestinian population of the West Bank. The State of Israel continues to ignore the duties bestowed upon it by IHL, as the occupying power, to protect the occupied population. Additionally, as the occupying power, Israel is prohibited from transferring the occupier’s population into occupied territory.

“The interpretation of the Supreme Court’s majority opinion will, in practice, undoubtedly serve to fulfill the intentions of the repealed Regularization Bill from 2017. It will enable settlers, backed by the Civil Administration and other State authorities, to take over thousands of dunams of Palestinian land, leading to human rights violations on a massive scale all over the West Bank and serving as the basis for future negligent and illegal policies, which are now more likely to be given the go-ahead by the Supreme Court. This ruling symbolizes a turning point of Israel’s Supreme Court, which, for the first time, has endorsed the forced confiscation of privately owned land, which is not required for military needs, for the sole purpose of use by Israeli civilians for the establishment of a new settlement.”

Israel’s Top Court Reverses Ruling on West Bank Outpost, Allowing Settlers to Stay [“Two years ago the court ruled that the Mitzpeh Kramim outpost could not be recognized because the sale of its lands to settlers was not made in ‘good faith,’ but an expanded panel now reversed that ruling”] (Haaretz 7/27/22)

More reports: Times of Israel, Middle East Eye, i24 News, Middle East Monitor

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Masafer Yatta

• The scars that don’t heal in Masafer Yatta (+972 Magazine 7/27/22) [“Palestinians share the stories behind the physical scars inflicted by Israeli settlers and soldiers, of their struggles with survival and grief, and of relearning their bodies in the face of unending violence.”]
• ‘It’s 2022 and we live in caves’: herders besieged by settlers on West Bank but still clinging to hope (The Guardian 7/27/22)
• Israeli military drills in Masafer Yatta turn Palestinian villages into a shooting range (Mondoweiss 7/27/22)
• B’tselem Twitter thread, 7/27/22: “Last week, the Civil Administration demolished a home, two livestock enclosures and a rest tent, and confiscated three water containers in the community of al-Jawaya in the South Hebron Hills [includes video]. Israel’s apartheid regime uses water deprivation as a weapon against the most vulnerable communities under its control. This is only one, particularly cruel measure to make their lives unbearable and force them to leave in order to facilitate the takeover of their land.”
• Israeli settlers assault farmers, herders in Masafer Yatta (WAFA 7/26/22)
• Ten people displaced as the Israel military demolishes their residence in Masafer Yatta (WAFA 7/25/22)
• Israeli occupation authorities tear down house, structures in southern West Bank village (WAFA 7/25/22)

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Israel Advances New East Jerusalem Settlement Plans

• Shaked Defies Lapid, Authorizes Committee Hearing on Building 2,000 Housing Units in Eastern Jerusalem (Jewish Press 7/27/22)
• Israel advances 700 Jerusalem Jewish housing plans delayed [briefly] by Biden visit (Jerusalem Post 7/26/22)
• Jerusalem panel advances new Jewish neighborhood that would bisect Palestinian areas (Times of Israel 7/26/22) [“District Planning and Building Committee approves project in Lower Aqueduct that breaks up contiguity between Sur Baher and Beit Safafa, complicating prospects for 2-state solution”]
• Tweet from Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran 7/25/22: “The District Planning Committee discussed the Givat Hashaked plan today. Plan that will take over the last piece of land left for the development of Beit Safafa. 750 units. Later today the Lower Aqueduct plan will be discussed. [map]”

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Grab Bag

• Israeli settlers seize house in the Old City of Hebron (WAFA 7/28/22) Also see: Twitter thread from Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran 7/28/22: [translated from Hebrew] “Settlers are entering a Palestinian house in Hebron south of the Cave of the Patriarchs at this time. The building is located outside the settlement’s security boundaries, and for the purpose of entering it, they placed metal stairs to pass the roadblock that the IDF placed there years ago. IDF soldiers are with them in the building and have even seized nearby roofs, apparently to secure them [includes video]. It doesn’t matter if they bought the house or not, it’s an illegal settlement for all intents and purposes. A handful of settlers must not set the foreign and security policy for an entire country and establish a settlement in the heart of a Palestinian city. If the government does not evacuate them immediately, the settlement will be named after Prime Minister Lapid (who once said something about two states).”
• In the West Bank, Israeli settler violence explodes (Le Monde 7/27/22)
• Five people sustain injuries in a settlers’ attack southwest of Nablus (WAFA 7/27/22)
• Israel Elections: Using settlement activity as a campaign tactic [“The Nahala Movement campaign is an effort to focus the attention on the settlements, and to bring the spotlight back on the issue of a Palestinian state.”] (Jerusalem Post 7/22/22)
• [collective punishment] Israeli army demolishes family homes of settler killing suspects (Middle East Eye 7/26/22) [“Yusef Aasi and Yehya Miri are currently in Israeli custody and have yet to face trial for the charges”]
• Archaeological Excavation in the West Bank Sponsored by an Israeli University (Emek Shaveh 7/26/22) [“Any attempt to ‘govern’ archaeological sites that are not within the sovereign borders of Israel is a political act and not a scientific one.”]
• Israeli Shepherd Settlements-Ecological Colonialism in the Jordan Valley (StopTheWall 7/25/22)

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Bonus Read

Report to the UN Security Council (Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Lynn Hastings 7/26/22; also see UN press release)

Excerpt:

“Mister President, Settler-related violence continued during the reporting period, with particularly concerning incidents in the West Bank community of Ras al-Tin. On the night of 6 July, individuals believed to be Israeli settlers set fire to four points around the community, damaging several structures, including tents. The attack comes on the heels of additional settler attacks against the community in recent weeks, during which two residents were injured. I reiterate that perpetrators of all acts of violence must be held accountable and brought swiftly to justice. I also reiterate that security forces must exercise maximum restraint and use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. Mister President, On 20 and 21 July, thousands of Israelis participated in a widely publicized campaign by a settler organization to establish settlement outposts across the West Bank. In advance of the campaign, Israeli Defense Minister Gantz issued a statement that such efforts “are illegal activities that the security services are preparing to thwart.” The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli police also issued similar statements. On 21 July, ISF removed the seven makeshift encampments that had been set up and evacuated the Israeli civilians from the area. I welcome the statements and actions by the Government of Israel to prevent the establishment of new outposts. I reiterate that all settlements are illegal under international law and remain a substantial obstacle to peace.

“Mister President, During the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished, seized or forced owners to demolish 77 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C and five in East Jerusalem, displacing 61 Palestinians, including 31 children. The demolitions were carried out due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain. In the wake of the 4 May ruling by the Israeli High Court of Justice allowing the eviction of the communities in Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank to proceed due to their presence in an Israeli-declared “firing zone”, Israeli forces continued to adopt restrictive measures negatively affecting Palestinian communities and humanitarian actors providing support. Such measures include ongoing military training, related movement restrictions, arrests, including those involving use of force, as well as restrictions on the access of staff of international organizations and Palestinian NGOs to the area. I remain deeply concerned by the potential implications of the High Court’s ruling and the humanitarian toll on the communities in question if the eviction orders are carried out.”

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

**The regular FMEP Settlement & Annexation report is on break, and is planned to return around the first week of August. In the meantime, we are pleased to offer you links to the main settlement-related stories of the past week**

July 21, 2022

1. Settlers Announce, Fundraise for, & Carry Out Plans to Break Israeli Law

2. Masafer Yatta

3. Around the West Bank

4. Grab Bag

5. EU Sounds the Alarm Re: Settlements

6. Bonus Read

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Settlers Announce, Fundraise for, & Carry Out Plans to Break Israeli Law

The Settlers Trumpeted Their Plans [also see coverage in past editions of FMEP’s Settlement & Annexation Report]

• How a Jewish Settler Group Raised Millions to Set Up Illegal Outposts (Haaretz 7/21/22) [“The Nachala settler organization announced that it would set up three West Bank outposts on Wednesday. Even though this is illegal, it raised five million shekels for the operation in three days through affiliated groups, a money transfer app and a Chabad crowdfunding platform”]

The Israeli Government Responded Weakly & Too Late

• Gantz, IDF warn settler activists against ‘illegal’ bid to form West Bank outposts (Times of Israel 7/19/22)
• Gantz warns settlers against illegal outpost construction (Jerusalem Post 7/19/22)
• Twitter thread from journalist Neri Zilber 7/19/22: “Official IDF announcement: “’The establishment of outposts in Judea & Samaria that is not in accordance with the processes and approvals required by law and against the law – is illegal and prohibited…Following the announcement by the political echelon, the IDF, the Israel Police, the Border Police and the security forces are preparing for roads, checkpoints, and key points in the Judea and Samaria area to maintain security and law and order.’…”

The Settlers Did **Exactly What They Said They Would Do**

• Settlers seeking to build a settlement outpost set up tents on Palestinian-owned land east of Hebron (WAFA 7/21/22)
• Israeli settlers break into Palestinian land west of Ramallah to set up colonial outpost (WAFA 7/21/22)
• Settlers declare 6 new outposts, clash with authorities (Israel Hayom 7/21/22)
• Thousands of Jewish activists flock to West Bank to build outposts (i24 News 7/21/22)
• Thousands of settler activists create mayhem in West Bank campaign (Times of Israel 7/20/22)
• Settlers Camp Out in Six Locations Across the West Bank, Planning to Establish New Outposts (Haaretz 7/20/22)
• Police, army gear up for clashes as settler group to try set up 3 illegal outposts (Times of Israel 7/20/22)
• Settlers set up tents on Palestinian land east of Hebron, a prelude for takeover (WAFA 7/20/22)
• Settlers gather in the north of West Bank in preparation to establish illegal outpost (WAFA 7/20/22)
• Settlers attempt to establish illegal outposts on West Bank (YNet 7/20/22)
• Settlement Movement Readies to Erect Series of New West Bank Outposts on Wednesday (Haaretz 7/19/22)

The Aftermath: Land Grab, Palestinians’ Fears, Politicians’ Praise

• 5 arrested in clashes as cops try to block settlers from building West Bank outposts (Times of Israel 7/21/22)Palestinians fear revenge attacks after settler outposts removal (Al Jazeera 7/21/22)
• Hundreds remain at new illegal outpost as forces dismantle other settler encampments (Times of Israel 7/21/22) [“According to the Nachala settlement activist group, which conducted the operation, close to a thousand people were present at a hilltop just northeast of the Kiryat Arba settlement in the southern West Bank, consisting of 700 youths and 55 families. Nachala circulated pictures and videos Thursday morning from the new outpost, dubbed Givat Netanel, showing numerous activists at the site alongside several tents and dozens of sleeping bags. Activists could also be seen clearing land on the hilltop, building crude stone walls and marking out pathways…MKs Orit Strock and Simcha Rothman from the far-right Religious Zionism party arrived at the new outpost on Thursday morning to lend their support to the initiative…Numerous other right-wing MKs from Likud and the Religious Zionism party also expressed their support as the operation unfolded. And on Thursday morning, World Zionist Organization Chairman and acting chair of the Jewish Agency Yaakov Hagoel expressed admiration and support for settlement activity in general, crediting historic pre-state settlement for the renewal of Jewish life in Israel.”]
• Israeli Forces Evacuate Short-lived Outposts Set Up by West Bank Settler Movement (Haaretz 7/21/22) [“Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked took to Twitter to criticize what she said was a violent evacuation of the makeshift outposts. ‘The police should save their energy to eradicate real crime in the country,’ Shaked wrote. ‘The wonderful youth who have mobilized to settle this country are a real inspiration.’“]
• Security forces begin to evacuate 6 new West Bank settler encampments (Jerusalem Post 7/21/22)
• Religious Zionism MK gives full backing to new illegal outposts (Times of Israel 7/20/22)

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Masafer Yatta

• Israeli settlers assault sheep shepherds south of Hebron (WAFA 7/21/22)
• One week in Masafer Yatta (Times of Israel – blogs 7/17/22)
• Israel demolished homes and agricultural property in South Hebron Hills (B’Tselem 7/17/22)
• Several Palestinians suffocate by tear gas fired by Israeli forces in Masafer Yatta area (WAFA 7/17/22)
• Six Palestinian workers injured while chased by Israeli forces south of Hebron (WAFA 7/16/22)
• A Joyless Holiday in the South Hebron Hills Amid an Israeli Army Training Exercise (Haaretz 7/16/22)
• The Plight of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta (MSNBC video report 7/15/22)

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Around the West Bank

• Israel to expel Palestinians from their dwellings east of Jerusalem (WAFA 7/21/22)
• B’Tselem Twitter thread (including video) 7/20/22: “On Monday afternoon, dozens of settlers escorted by soldiers set fire to Palestinian olive groves in the Surif area. The settlers threw stones at Palestinians who had gathered in the area, and the latter threw stones back. The soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinians who came out to defend their lands. Settler violence = State violence.”
• Israel legalises settlement outpost, expands it with 114 new housing units (Middle East Monitor 7/19/22) [“Israeli occupation authorities today legalised the illegal Mitzpe Dani settlement outpost built east of Ramallah and approved a plan to add 114 new housing units to it on an area of 150 dunums (37 acres).”]

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Grab Bag

• Ben Shapiro to CPAC Israel: ‘Don’t Freeze Settlements Interminably’ (Jewish Press 7/20/22)
• Rabbis Call Out West Bank Winery Over LGBTQ Event Violating ‘Jewish Family Values’ (Haaretz 7/20/22)
• Palestinian Bedouins in the E-1 Corridor: A Critique of Donor Aid (Al Shabaka 7/18/22)
• Palestine urges US pressure on Israel to stop fresh settlement plans (Middle East Monitor 7/18/22)
• Biden says he wants a two-state solution. Why is he silent on Israeli settlements? Vox 7/14/22)
• Israel legalises settlement outpost, expands it with 114 new housing units (Middle East Monitor 7/19/22) [“Israeli occupation authorities today legalised the illegal Mitzpe Dani settlement outpost built east of Ramallah and approved a plan to add 114 new housing units to it on an area of 150 dunums (37 acres).”]

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EU Sounds the Alarm re: Settlements

• EU sounds alarm over Israel’s ‘continuously increasing settlement expansion’ (Times of Israel 7/21/22)
• 2021 Report on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem Reporting period -January – December 2021 (pdf) (Office of the European Union Representative, West Bank and Gaza Strip, UNRWA)

Summary:

In comparison to the previous year, 2021 experienced an even higher rate of settlement units advancements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem (22,030), enforcing the trend of a continuously increasing settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian territories. Adding to the exponentially high figures in 2021 were particularly the advancement of settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem, which more than doubled compared to the previous year, from 6,288 housing units to 14,894. 

This trend of deepening settlement projects through plans and tenders occurred despite the announcement by the new Israeli government, which started its tenure on 13 June 2021, that it would be committed to a status quo when it comes to occupation-related matters.

The advancement, in 2021, in particular of three settlements – E1, Atarot and Lower Aqueduct – is a serious cause of concern. The settlements, if constructed, would disconnect East Jerusalemites from major West Bank urban areas, such as Hebron and Ramallah, and would thus have serious implications on Palestinian urban continuity and pose a serious threat to a viable two-state solution. 

Other trends and developments contributing to settlement expansion in the reporting period included advancements of infrastructure and road projects as well as the establishment of new illegal so called outpost farms. The rise in settlement expansion plans by the Israeli authorities was also accompanied by a worrisome trend of rising settler violence in the oPt. 

As outlined in several statements by the EEAS Spokesperson on new settlements announcements in 2021, the EU has repeatedly called on Israel to end all settlement activity, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001. It remains the EU’s firm position that settlements are illegal under international law. Israel’s decision to advance plans for the approval and construction of almost new settlement units in 2021, i.a. for Givat Hamatos and  Har Homa,  further undermines the prospects of a viable two-state solution.

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Bonus Read

End-of-Mission Statement of the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices (UN Human Rights Council 7/15/22)

Settlement-related excerpts:

“The Special Committee’s visit took place in the context of increasing settler violence and Israeli security force violence against Palestinians, arbitrary arrests and detention, and restrictions on the freedom of expression and movement, as well as a deepening culture of impunity. The Special Committee was briefed that in the first half of 2022, Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians in the West Bank in the context of law enforcement operations, compared to 41 in the same period in 2021. Israel continues to hold the bodies of 325 Palestinians, denying families burials and closure. Settler violence has continued to increase at an alarming rate. 575 incidents of settler violence resulting in Palestinian deaths, injury and/or property damage were reported between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022, compared to 430 in the previous year. Perpetrators are very rarely held accountable. Gross violations of Palestinian human rights, including the right to self-determination, are the result of discriminatory and systematic policies and practices negatively impacting almost every aspect of Palestinian life.”

“Illegal Israeli settlements have also continued to expand, resulting in demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures and displacement of the Palestinian residents, notwithstanding UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning such practices. The Special Committee was informed that Israel has established or allowed the establishment of 279 settlements, outposts or satellite neighbourhoods in the West Bank, facilitating settlement population growth to approximately 700,000. Israeli and international settler organisations actively promote settlements and recruit prospective settlers, and are offered tax incentives. New settlement housing units continue to proliferate, and in May 2022, Israeli authorities advanced plans for the construction of more than 4,000 settlement housing units in Area C. The expansion of settlements has resulted in a commensurate increase in the demolition of Palestinian structures. The Special Committee was briefed that since the beginning of 2022, 387 Palestinian structures, including 68 donor-funded structures, were demolished, displacing 496 Palestinians. Only five percent of construction plans submitted by Palestinians in Area C are reportedly approved by the Israeli authorities. The Special Committee was also informed that in addition to settlement housing units, private land owned by Palestinians is often seized for the purpose of building infrastructure, such as roads, highways and walls, to connect settlements, or creating natural reserves or national parks. As reiterated by the Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Security Council and other UN bodies, settlement activities are a flagrant violation of international law and must immediately cease.”

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

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**The regular FMEP Settlement & Annexation report is on break, and is planned to return around the first week of August. In the meantime, we are pleased to offer you links to the main settlement-related stories of the past week**

July 14, 2022

1. Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid & the Biden visit

2. Target: The Ramallah Area

3. Target: Masafer Yatta

4. Around the West Bank

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Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid & the Biden Visit

Jerusalem

• Despite Lapid’s promise, the 2000 units in East Jerusalem are promoted during President Biden’s visit (Peace Now 7/13/22)
• Israel Advances Plans for Over 1900 New Housing Units in East Jerusalem (Ir Amim 7/14/22)
• Ahead of Biden visit, Israel delays hearing on construction in East Jerusalem (Times of Israel 7/12/22) [“The projects for housing in Jewish neighborhoods scheduled to come before the Jerusalem District Planning and Construction would have seen one new neighborhood built in Givat Shaked and another between Har Homa and Givat Hamatos, totaling roughly 2,000 homes.” and “Following reports that the project was being removed from the committee’s agenda, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked stressed that it was simply being briefly delayed by a week, not canceled.”]

West Bank (general)

• Israeli settlers uproot hundreds of olive saplings west of Nablus (WAFA 7/14/22)
• Israel Okays West Bank Construction for Palestinians Ahead of Biden’s Visit (Haaretz 7/12/22)
• Israel advances Palestinian development in Area C on eve of Biden visit (Jerusalem Post 7/12/22) [“‘Approval of six zoning plans for Palestinians in the Judea and Samaria area,’ stated the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.”]
• On the eve of Biden’s visit, two new settlements in East Jerusalem are being promoted (Peace Now 7/12/22)

Outposts

• World Zionist Organization to Invest $8.5 Millions of State Funds for West Bank Outpost Legalizations (Haaretz 7/12/22) [“In recent weeks, the World Zionist Organization Settlement Division has mapped dozens of outposts to determine where improvements in security can be made, and where help in planning is required ahead of legalizing them”]
• Settler group plans to erect 28 new outposts after Biden visit (Israel Hayom 7/11/22) [“Nachala movement is preparing the logistics and handing out kits to groups of settler activists who will take to strategic hilltops in Area C. Nachala chairwoman Daniella Weiss: The people are behind us.”]

Masafer Yatta

• IDF Pauses Training in Masafer Yatta During Biden’s Visit, Week After Bullet Hits Palestinian Home (Haaretz 7/14/22) [“Training could restart as soon as next week, the Israeli military tells the High Court of Justice”]
• By staying silent on Masafer Yatta, Biden is green lighting forced population transfer (+972 Magazine 7/10/22)

The Settlers

• Judea and Samaria leaders weigh in on Biden’s Israel visit (Jewish News Syndicate 7/12/22)
• Settlers fear Biden visit may strengthen Palestinian hold on Area C (Jerusalem Post 7/11/22)

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Target: The Ramallah Area

• Biggest official Israeli land heist in West Bank to expand illegal settlements north of Ramallah – official (WAFA 7/13/22) [“He pointed out that this step is the largest land grab intended to expand the colonial settlements and outposts that surround the villages and came as per a military order, which the Israeli occupation authorities issued on April 14 but did not disclose until after the deadline for objections to the order has expired at the end of May.”]
• How to Chase Palestinians Off Their Land (Haaretz 7/12/22) [“With clubs and threats, residents of 10 Israeli shepherd outposts north of Ramallah are chasing Palestinians off their land. The pattern repeats itself: attacking Palestinians and then claiming they were attacked first”]
• Settlers uproot around 450 trees belonging to Palestinian residents in Ramallah-area towns (WAFA 7/11/22)

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Target: Masafer Yatta

• Palestinians Ask Israel’s Top Court to Halt Army Training Near Contested Villages After Bullet Hits House (Haaretz 7/13/22) [“In addition, residents claim that as part of the training exercise the army brought in heavy equipment that damaged plowed farm fields. They also said the army had closed roads without notifying residents in advance, causing severe restrictions on travel in the area.”]
• Classified document reveals IDF ‘firing zones’ built to give land to settlers (+972 Magazine 7/11/22)

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Around the West Bank

• Erdoğan urges Israeli PM to avoid new settlements and preserve status quo of Masjid al-Aqsa (Hurriyet Daily News 7/11/22)
• Israeli military forces suppress protest against Israel’s seizure of Palestinian land east of Hebron (WAFA 7/11/22)
• Beleaguered head of key settlement umbrella group announces resignation (Times of Israel 7/10/22) [“Yesha Council chief David Elhayani’s popularity has been low within West Bank settlers’ political leadership, due to his support for Netanyahu rival Sa’ar’s New Hope party”] Also see: Settler Group Leader Resigns, Cites ‘Political Developments’ and New Election (Haaretz 7/10/22)