Settlement & Annexation Report: July 14, 2022

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 14, 2022

1. Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid & the Biden visit

2. Target: The Ramallah Area

3. Target: Masafer Yatta

4. Around the West Bank

Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid & the Biden Visit

Jerusalem

West Bank (general)

Outposts

Masafer Yatta

The Settlers

Target: The Ramallah Area

Target: Masafer Yatta

Around the West Bank

 

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 7, 2022

1. Settlements & the Biden visit

2. Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid in the International Debate

3. Settler/IDF Violence

4. Ben & Jerry’s vs. Settlements

5. Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

6. Around the West Bank

7. Bonus Read

Settlements & the Biden Visit

Urgent: Illegal plan of at least 33 Israeli right-wing organizations to establish at least 10 new outposts in the West Bank on July 20 (Yesh Din, 7/7/22) [“This plan is being promoted by at least 33 Israeli right-wing movements and bodies, including regional and local municipalities in the West Bank. In preparation for this ‘operation’, Nachala has held multiple conferences,  as well as a number of surveying tours to scope out potential sites for the outposts. Potential sites include Wadi Kana, Uriyad (potentially to expand an existing outpost), lands belonging to the Palestinian village of Iskaka, Neve Beniya, Givat Ha’or and Ma’alot Halhul. Media reports indicate that over 1,000 settlers are involved in the establishment of these outposts. More recently, Nachala has launched campaigns inviting the public to participate in this operation. Although Israeli authorities are well aware of the plan, as far as we know, no actions have been taken to stop this operation, and thus to prevent its catastrophic consequences. Furthermore, no public condemnation nor call has been made to the public to refrain from this illegal activity….”

29 US lawmakers urge Biden to prevent Israeli construction of “doomsday” settlements in W. Bank’s E1 (Quds Network 7/6/22)

Fate of E1 construction plan postponed as Israel gears up for Biden visit (Jewish News Syndicate 7/6/22)

B’Tselem Twitter thread 7/6/22 (reminding the world of 5/14/22 Haaretz article – How a Settlement Outpost Is Born) – excerpt: “The settlement movement is planning a major action, to take place 2 weeks from now: they say they’re going to set up *at least 10 unauthorized outposts* on the night of July 19-20th. These outposts will even be illegal by Israeli standards, not to mention int’l law. The idea of outposts is to create facts on the ground: to take land – often privately-owned Palestinian agricultural land – and build on it, fast, making it extremely difficult for the Israeli authorities (particularly when it’s a weak transitional gov’t) to evict them…Back to the plans for July 20th: we’re not talking about some secret, underground plan. This has been widely advertised & celebrated by the settler movement as a major event. There’s been a big conference about it, fundraising, scouting trips, banners placed all over the oPt etc. [images] And before someone jumps in to say “it’s just a fringe group of extremists! They don’t represent all settlers”—here’s the thing: this plan has the backing of all the major settler regional councils (which get State funding) as well as some of the biggest youth movements in Israel [image]…”]

Israel pushes off contentious E1 settlement project amid US pressure (Times of Israel 7/4/22) [“Israeli authorities on Monday announced that they had delayed a hearing to advance a controversial settlement project in an area of the West Bank that critics say is essential to a future Palestinian state. The session of the Civil Administration’s High Planning Subcommittee — the Defense Ministry body that authorizes settlement construction — was scheduled to take place on July 18, just four days after US President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel and the West Bank. The meeting, during which the panel will hear objections to a massive housing project on the swath of land known as E-1, has been rescheduled for September 12.”]Also see Tweet from FMEP’s Lara Friedman: “On same day they publicly absolved Israel of any accountability for killing an American citizen journalist, the Biden Admin can also celebrate convincing Israel to delay moving ahead with massive new settlement plan long enough to not create awkwardness in Biden visit.”

Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid in the International Debate

How Israel’s Campaign Against the ‘Apartheid’ Label Threatens Free Speech (DAWN 7/5/22)

US Presbyterian Church declares Israel to be ‘apartheid state’ (Middle East Monitor 7/4/22) Also see: Christian groups protest move by Presbyterian Church (USA) accusing Israel of apartheid (Jewish News Syndicate 7/6/22)

Israeli Apartheid: The power of the frame, the shame of the name (Mondoweiss 7/4/22)

Pastor wants to ‘convert the Church to love the Torah, Jews’ (Jerusalem Post 7/3/22) [“One of the main Bible prophecies is helping Jews return to the nation of Israel, so we started working with Keren Hayesod with projects such as making aliyah. We help settlements take over produce farms in the West Bank, which is Judea and Samaria.”]

NBC Corrects: Israeli Settlements Not on ‘Palestinian Territory’ (CAMERA 6/30/22) [“CAMERA’s Israel office this week prompted correction of an NBC article which erroneously cited “Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian territory” (“Netanyahu is again center stage as Israel heads towards elections,” June 22)…NBC agreed that a correction was in order, and subsequently amended the text to accurately refer to “Jewish settlements on disputed territory Palestinians hope will form part of a future state.” In addition, editors commendably appending the following clarification to the bottom of the article: “CLARIFICATION (June 29, 2022, 12:23 p.m. ET): This article has been changed to reflect that Jewish settlements are on disputed land that Palestinians hope will form part of a future state.”]

Settler/IDF Violence

Settlers assault Palestinian family south of Hebron (WAFA 7/7/22)

Israel Police Downgrade Suspicions Against Settler Arrested for Killing Palestinian (Haaretz 7/5/22)

Israel settlers, police attack Sheikh Jarrah protest (Middle East Monitor 7/2/22)

Palestinian elderly brutally assaulted by Israeli settlers near Tulkarm (WAFA 7/3/22)

Ben & Jerry’s vs. Settlements

Ben & Jerry’s sues parent company in bid to block deal allowing sales in settlements (Times of Israel 7/6/22)

Ben & Jerry’s Clashes With Unilever Over BDS (Jewish Currents 7/5/22)

Yair Lapid’s ‘Antisemitic’ Zigzag (Haaretz 7/3/22) [“…what is being sold to us as an Israeli victory over the boycott movement is actually a compromise between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s, according to which the original American brand will be severed from the Israeli company that markets the ice cream, so that it doesn’t mention Unilever anymore. The local version will no longer carry the brand name in English. This spectacular Israeli victory means that in the name of defending the settlements, the original brand has been withdrawn from the entire country.”]

Ben & Jerry’s criticises resumption of sales in Israeli settlements (BBC 7/1/22)

Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

After visiting communities in Masafer Yatta, diplomats say forced displacement violates international law (WAFA 7/7/22)

Tweet from Basel al-Adra 7/6/22: “I wake up, go outside, and see this newly painted sign near my home: ‘Firing zone! Entrance Forbidden!’ Israel’s insane plan to evict thousands of us from Masafer Yatta and make our towns a firing zone is happening on the ground, funded by USA & Europe. It’s like we’re air.”

Fact sheet: Masafer Yatta communities at risk of forcible transfer (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 7/6/22)

Israel expelled my father from Masafer Yatta 20 years ago. Now it’s happening again (+972 Magazine 7/4/22) [“More than two decades have passed since my father was first kicked out of his home. Now that the Supreme Court approved his second expulsion, I spoke to him about how the decision fits into our family’s story of resistance.”]

Israeli occupation forces raid Masafer Yatta community, demolish a residence displacing 15 people (WAFA 7/4/22) — for video, see Tweet from Basel Al Adra 7/4/22

Israeli troops crackdown on anti-expulsion rally in Masafer Yatta, dozens injured (WAFA 7/1/22)

Sami Huraini: ‘Israeli detention won’t stop my resistance!’ (Stop the Wall, 6/29/22)

Around the West Bank

(JORDAN VALLEY) Israel orders halt on house construction south of Tubas (WAFA 7/7/22)

(HEBRON) Israeli forces bulldoze agricultural land, destroy olive trees in Hebron-area village

(WAFA 7/5/22)

(NABLUS) In its efforts to keep Palestinian water resources under its control, Israel destroys water spring pipelines (WAFA 7/5/22]

(RAMALLAH) Israeli occupation forces raze several dunums of privately-owned Palestinian land near Ramallah (WAFA 7/5/22) Also see Tweet from B’Tselem’s Sarit Michaeli: “The Israeli army cut down Palestinian owned olive trees in the village Ni’lin. Seems that the military-colonial complex will not rest until it alleviates Palestinians of all their property” [linked to photos]

(JERUSALEM) Palestinian-owned house, nursery demolished by Israeli bulldozers in occupied Jerusalem (WAFA 7/4/22)

(HEBRON) Israeli forces issue halt-on-construction orders for two homes near Hebron (WAFA 7/3/22)

(JERICHO) Israeli actions threaten historic spring near Jericho (Al-Monitor 7/3/22)

Israeli forces seize farming equipment, machinery from Jericho-district village (WAFA 7/1/22)

(HEBRON) Israeli settlers destroy hundreds of saplings north of Hebron (WAFA 6/30/22)

(BETHLEHEM) Settlers set lands on fire west of Bethlehem (WAFA 6/30/22)

Israeli forces deliver stop-construction notices against two houses, shed south of Hebron (WAFA 6/30/22)

Bonus Read

Protection of Civilians Report | 14-27 June 2022 (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 7/2/22)

“...On 21 June, an Israeli settler stabbed and killed a 28-year-old Palestinian man in Iskaka village (Salfit). A clash erupted between Palestinians and settlers who were setting up tents to take over Palestinian-owned land near the Israeli settlement of Ariel, during which a settler stabbed the man in his chest. Israeli forces prevented Palestinians from providing medical aid or approaching the victim for about thirty minutes. The Israeli Police launched an investigation and arrested a suspect the following day.”…

“Overall, 195 Palestinians, including ten children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank. Some 75 injuries were recorded near Beita and Beit Dajan (both in Nablus) and Kisan (Bethlehem), in demonstrations against settlement expansion and 30 injuries were recorded during a during a tree-planting event in Burin (Nablus). In another three incidents, in Qaryut and Huwwara (both in Nablus), and in Ras at Tin (Ramallah), 64 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces after Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian communities accompanied by Israeli forces, triggering confrontations with residents. Another 23 Palestinians were injured during seven search-and-arrest operations in Jenin, Jericho, Tulkarm, Qalqiliya, Bethlehem and Ramallah. A further three Palestinians, including one child, were injured in three separate incidents near a checkpoint between the H1 and H2 areas in Hebron city, at a flying checkpoint Khirbet al Majaz in southern Hebron, and near the barrier in Far’un (Tulkarm). Of all the Palestinian injuries, 14 were from live ammunition, and 13 from rubber bullets; most of the remainder were treated for inhaling teargas.

“The Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced people to demolish 39 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits; nine of the structures had been provided as donor-funded humanitarian aid. As a result, 12 people, including six children, were displaced, and the livelihoods of about 225 others were affected. Some 36 of the targeted structures were in Area C, including 19 structures in Ibziq area which is designated as a ‘firing zone’ for military training, and where Palestinian communities are at risk of forcible transfer. Three structures were demolished in East Jerusalem, including one home destroyed by its owners to avoid paying fines.

“On four occasions, Israeli forces conducted military training exercises near the 13 Palestinian herding communities of Masser Yatta in southern Hebron. This area has been designated by the Israeli authorities as a ‘firing zone’ and closed for Israeli military training. The training is expected to continue intermittently for a month, restricting the access of Palestinians to basic services and sources of food, and possibly risking their safety, as use of live fire and explosions was reported on two occasions. On 4 May, the Israeli High Court of Justice approved the eviction of Palestinians living in Massafer Yatta, putting 1,144 people, including 569 children, at imminent risk of forcible transfer. On 23 June, the Humanitarian Coordinator a.i., called for a halt to demolitions, military activities and other increasingly coercive measures, so that residents can remain in their homes in safety and dignity.

“Israeli forces restricted the movement of Palestinians in several locations across the West Bank. Since 10 June, Israeli forces have blocked and closed the main gate installed at the main entrance to the village of Abud (Ramallah), disrupting the access of about 2,400 Palestinians to livelihoods and services and forcing long detours; this closure is presumably linked to Palestinian stone-throwing at Israeli settler vehicles. On four other occasions, Israeli forces blocked the main entrance to Al Jalazun refugee camp (Ramallah), disturbing the access of about 9,000 Palestinians to livelihoods and services, forcing long detours; subsequently, Israeli forces shot teargas canisters at residents who threw stones; in one of the incidents a teargas canister landed inside a balcony, causing a fire to break out in the house…

“Israeli settlers injured 18 Palestinians, and people known or believed to be Israeli settlers damaged Palestinian property in eleven instances. In five incidents in Turmus’ayya, Ras at Tin and Al Mu’arrajat East (all in Ramallah), in Burqa (Nablus) and in the H2 area of Hebron city, Israeli settlers, attacked Palestinian farmers while the latter were working on their lands; settlers used sticks, batons, and metal bars, and threw stones, injuring twelve Palestinians, including one child. On 15 June, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and pepper-sprayed family members sitting in a car that stopped in an Israeli flying checkpoint near Duma (Nablus); three of them were injured, including a two-month-old baby. The following day, dozens of Israelis, including settlers physically assaulted and stabbed two Palestinian men while they were working in an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem. In an additional incident near Deir Sharaf (Nablus), a group of Israeli settlers physically assaulted a group of Palestinian residents, injuring one man. In six incidents, about 160 Palestinian-owned trees were uprooted or vandalized near Israeli settlements next to Qaryut and Burin (both in Nablus), Palestinian-owned cars and a tractor were vandalized, and stone-throwing was reported, causing damage to two Palestinians homes and shops. Another five incidents, in Nablus, Jenin and Ramallah, included settlers breaking into a house and farmland, damaging a water facility, and vandalizing at least ten vehicles, as well as cultivated crops.

“People known or believed to be Palestinians injured two Israelis and damaged multiple Israeli vehicles. Two Israeli settlers were injured by stone-throwing at vehicles while traveling on West Bank roads in Hebron and Jerusalem governorates. Israeli-platted vehicles were damaged by stones or Molotov cocktails thrown at them in seven other incidents.”

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**

June 30, 2022

1. Settlements & the Biden visit

2. Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid at the Center of Domestic Israeli Politics

3. Settler/IDF Violence

4. Ben & Jerry’s vs. Settlements

5. Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

6. Around the West Bank

7. Jerusalem & Its Environs

8. Bonus reads

Settlements & the Biden Visit

Israeli settlers are acting in advance of Biden’s visit and another election (Middle East Eye 6/28/22)

Old City hotelier facing eviction: ‘Biden, give Christians 10 minutes of your visit’ (Times of Israel 6/27/22)

Israeli settlement plan in West Bank stirs tensions ahead of Biden trip (Al-Monitor 6/24/22)

Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid at the Center of Domestic Israeli Politics

How the Bennett-Lapid Government Ruled Over the West Bank (Haaretz 6/26/22) [“The presence of left-wing parties in the coalition did little to hinder the ‘change government’ from continuing construction in the West Bank and destroying Palestinian residences”]

How threats of a second Nakba went mainstream (+972 Magazine 6/23/22)

Settler/IDF Violence

Israeli settlers destroy hundreds of saplings north of Hebron (WAFA 6/30/22)

Settlers throw stones at Palestinian’s home; security forces then arrest and abuse him for 72 hours (B’Tselem 6/26/22)

Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian vehicles (Middle East Monitor 6/26/22)

Re: Alleged murder of a Palestinian last week by a settler

Video report: Palestinian family in Hebron traumatised after repeated Israeli settler attacks (Middle East Eye 6/24/22)

Ben & Jerry’s vs. Settlements

Sale puts Ben & Jerry’s ice cream back in West Bank, kind of (Associated Press, 6/29/22)

Ben & Jerry’s Israel, Unilever reach deal to end settlement boycott (Times of Israel 6/29/22)

Tweet from FMEP’s Lara Friedman 6/29/22: “Based on reports, hard to see why this is being spun as a victory by anti-BDS folks. In effect this marks B&J – the intl brand’s – complete withdrawal from both Israel & West Bank, replaced by a wholly distinct Israeli brand (permitted to sell ONLY in Israel & WB).”

Israel’s claim it defeated Ben & Jerry’s melts under scrutiny (Electronic Intifada 6/29/22)

Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

‘They’re not arriving with trucks to deport us, but the goal is the same’ (+972 Magazine 6/29/22) [“From holding a mini-census to confiscating vehicles, the Israeli army is reminding the residents of Masafer Yatta who rules their lives.”]

Israeli settlers, forces assault activists involved in tree planting activity in Masafer Yatta (WAFA 6/29/22)

Israel orders halt on construction of three dwellings in Masafer Yatta (WAFA 6/28/22)

B’Tselem thread 6/28/22: “After Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled the state can expel some 1,000 Palestinians from their homes in an area it designated ‘Firing Zone 918’ in Masafer Yatta, the military informed the Palestinian DCO that troops will be training in the area for a month. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, from 12:00 to 6:00 P.M. On the morning of 21 June 2022, the military placed targets around the community of Khirbet al-Maghaz. According to residents, some of the targets were placed on a water container, on a tractor wagon and on sheaves of straw. At around 3:00 P.M., two Merkava tanks approached the community along with an infantry troop. The force advanced slowly, with the tanks emitting blue camouflage smoke and damaging farmland. When it was about 100 to 150 meters from the community, it turned back and left. On 22 June 2022, at around 12:00 P.M., a military force left a base within Israel’s borders and headed northeast, arriving at an area that lies between the communities of Khirbet al-Markaz and Khirbet Jenbah in Masafer Yatta. Upon arrival, the force, which included tanks and two bulldozers, stayed motionless for some three hours. It then advanced into farmland and entered a harvested wheat field. Community residents heard explosions, apparently caused by shelling from the tanks.The force then advanced east to the outskirts of Khirbet al-Fakhit, where it stopped for about 15 minutes, during which about 20 infantry soldiers trained in the fields with a helicopter flying low above them. The soldiers destroyed part of a wheat field that had not yet been harvested. Several activists protested the training. Soldiers pushed some of them, knocking them to the ground. Two Israeli activists were detained for about 15 minutes. This week the training has resumed. For more information on the high court ruling: Supreme Court rules: Israel above the law”

Activists who interrupted IDF military training accused of ‘endangering lives’ (Israel Hayom 6/24/22) [“Video circulating on social media shows soldiers shoving and dragging away activists that entered the area of the military training illegally.”]

Around the West Bank

Palestinian families ordered to leave their homes in Jordan Valley during Israeli military training (WAFA 6/29/22)

Israeli settlers steal 10 dunums of Palestinian-owned land south of Bethlehem (WAFA 6/28/22)

Israeli occupation forces demolish agricultural facilities in the south of West Bank town (WAFA 6/28/22)

Israeli occupation forces demolish a Palestinian-owned water pond used to irrigate a grape field (WAFA 6/27/22)

Demolition of Palestinian-owned structures reported in Jordan Valley community (WAFA 6/27/22)

Jerusalem and Its Environs

The court ordered the state to address the question of the legality of the declaration of the Sumarin family home as an Absentee’s Property (Peace Now 6/30/22)

Israel demolishes seven Palestinian-owned structures near Jerusalem (WAFA 6/29/22)

Podcast – E1, E1, E1 (Terrestrial Jerusalem/Axis Mundi, ft. Danny Seidemann 6/29/22) [“It’s all about E1 on this episode of Axis Mundi—the contentious settlement proposal is back in the headlines ahead of a July Israeli Civil Administration planning meeting. Evan Gottesman speaks with TJ’s Danny Seidemann about E1, its geopolitical relationship with Jerusalem, and its impact on a future two-state outcome—plus, what all this means for U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming visits to Israel and Saudi Arabia.”’]

Ir Amim Twitter thread 6/28/22: “The Israeli Supreme Court will hold a hearing regarding the Sumreen Family. For 30 years they been in a legal battle against their forced eviction from their home in Wadi Hilweh, Silwan at the hands of the KKL-JNF in coordination with the settler org ELAD. The Sumreen Family’s story is intertwined w the worst of Israeli policies to consolidate Israeli control over the Old City Basin & erase Palestinian presence, narrative & identity from this area.”

In a Dramatic Development, Israel Initiates Settlement of Land Title Procedure on Land Adjacent to Al Aqsa and Across Abu Thor (Ir Amim & Bimkom, 6/27/22) [“the initiation of the process in Abu Thor and in the Umayyad palaces excavations/Ophel archeological site is a dramatic development, severely increasing the risk of state appropriation of Palestinian properties and threatening to further destabilize the conditions in Jerusalem and the region.”] Also see:

  • Israel Moves to Register Lands Near Al-Aqsa Using Funds Earmarked for Palestinians (Haaretz 6/26/22) [“The registration process – carried out using funds earmarked for narrowing economic disparities and improving the quality of life of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem – could spark protests from the Muslim religious trust that administers the Al-Aqsa mosque compound”]
  • No Change for East Jerusalem (Haaretz editorial 6/38/22) [“...the Justice Ministry used the budget intended to improve the situation of the Palestinian residents of the capital to accelerate the ‘Judaization’ of the eastern part of the city. If anyone hoped that the ‘government of change’ would stop the process, they were wrong. During the tenure of Gideon Sa’ar as justice minister the situation only grew worse. Three weeks ago, things advanced further when the official in charge of land registration published a plan to begin to register land ownership in the Ophel Archaeological Park, adjacent to the wall of the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Not only is this the most sensitive piece of land in Jerusalem – the Palestinians and the Jordanian Waqf Islamic trust in any case are convinced that Israel wants to use this area to damage their status on the Temple Mount – this is an area where clearly no Palestinian could register ownership. Those who could benefit from it, again, are the entities active in tourism and archaeology at the site, first and foremost Elad, which recently received more government funding to excavate a channel that will reach the Ophel park.”]

A Game-Changing Achievement: “Mukhtar Protocol” Canceled (Regavim 6/26/22) [“Attorney Boaz Arzi, Director of Regavim’s Legal Division, added: ‘The State of Israel should have conducted full regulation procedures for all properties in Jerusalem immediately upon the city’s reunification, and the foot-dragging has resulted in the loss of thousands of dunams of land to fraudulent claims and the erosion of governance…’”]  Also see:

Israeli authorities force Palestinian to demolish his own house in East Jerusalem neighborhood (WAFA 6/26/22)

Bonus Reads

Palestine Under Occupation III: Mapping Israel’s Policies and Practices and their Economic Repercussions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (UN/ESCWA June 2022)

“Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian Territory constitute a matrix of control and domination, that seeks to control the land and dominate the people; a matrix comprising policies and practices that, in violation of international law, have fragmented the Palestinian people and the occupied territory and eviscerated the economy rendering it asymmetrically dependent on Israel. A rights-based approach to development and relief efforts grounded in human rights and international law is therefore called for.”

AP Photos: Israel’s separation barrier, 20 years on (Associated Press 6/267/22) [photo essay] Text intro:

“Twenty years after Israel decided to build its controversial separation barrier, the network of walls, fences and closed military roads remains in place, even as any partition of the land appears more remote than ever. Israel is actively encouraging its Jewish citizens to settle on both sides of the barrier as it builds and expands settlements deep inside the occupied West Bank, more than a decade after the collapse of any serious peace talks. Palestinians living under decades of military occupation, meanwhile, clamor for work permits inside Israel, where wages are higher. Some 100,000 Palestinians legally cross through military checkpoints, mainly to work in construction, manufacturing and agriculture.”

Israel settlers escape high prices by shopping in West Bank (Middle East Monitor 6/25/22)

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**

June 23, 2022

1. Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid at the Center of Domestic Israeli Politics

2. Settler/IDF Violence

3. Expanding/Consolidating De Facto Annexation & Apartheid

4. Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

5. Jerusalem & Its Environs

6. Bonus reads

Settlements/Annexation/Apartheid at the Center of Domestic Israeli Politics

The Settlement Enterprise and the Demise of Israel’s Post-Netanyahu Government (J Street/Dr. Debra Shushan)

Knesset defeats two bills to apply sovereignty to West Bank settlements (Jerusalem Post 6/22/22) [“Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton (New Hope), who spoke on behalf of the government, chastised Smotrich and Karhi for bringing forward the bills. She reminded them that Likud party head Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to suspend sovereignty plans when he was prime minister in exchange for the Abraham Accords, under whose rubric Israel normalized ties with four Arab states. These sovereignty bills, she said, are an example of ‘national irresponsibility.’ This is an attempt to undermine the upcoming visit of US President Joe Biden, Biton said. She accused Smotrich and Karhi of pushing forward the sovereignty issue to salvage their conscience for voting against a directive that extended residency rights of settlers for five years, thereby allowing them to operate as though they lived within Israel’s sovereign borders.”]

How Netanyahu and apartheid brought down Israel’s government (+972 Magazine 6/22/22) [“At the end of the month, Israel’s ‘emergency regulations,’ ”a set of temporary laws that establish legal segregation between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, which has been renewed every five years by every government for 55 years, were set to expire. The opposition decided to vote against renewing what have been dubbed by some the “apartheid regulations,” which they fully support in principle, in order to spite the government and try to bring it down. At a press conference on Monday evening, Bennett stated that the threat of these regulations expiring is what prompted his decision to go to elections, since a breakdown in Israel’s regime of segregation and occupation would have caused ‘severe security damages and legal chaos.’ Now that the Knesset will be disbanded, the emergency regulations will be automatically renewed, leaving it up to the next Knesset to re-authorize them once again.”]

Explainer: Israel on course for another election (Reuters 6/21/22) [“The decisive deadlock was over the renewal of regulations that enable the legal administration of settlers in the occupied West Bank. They will be automatically extended if the decision to dissolve the Knesset passes before they expire at the end of June, according to the Israel Democracy Institute. Bennett said he did not want the settlers, because of political feuding, to find themselves under the same military rule as millions of Palestinians.”]

Lapid, Gantz now control the fate of settlers in Israel’s West Bank (Jerusalem Post 6/20/22)

Settler/IDF Violence

Eyewitnesses: Settler stabbed Palestinian to death as Israeli forces looked on [“Ali Hasan Harb was stabbed while settlers tried to erect a tent on his family’s land in the occupied West Bank, eyewitnesses say.”] (+972 Magazine 6/22/22) Also see:

Israeli Settler Indicted for Throwing Stones at Left-wing Activists (Haaretz 6/20/22)

‘I Got a Rock in the Face’: No Arrests After Series of Attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem (Haaretz 6/20/22)

Israel settlers attack elderly West Bank Palestinian (Middle East Monitor 6/18/22)

Expanding/Consolidating De Facto Annexation & Apartheid

Bad Faith – The illegal outpost of Mitzpe Kramim and efforts to retroactively approve it (Yesh Din, 6/22/22) [“The unauthorized outpost of Mitzpe Kramim and the dubious process by which it was established did not appear out of thin air. Like other settlements built in the OPT, an entire system driven by the ideology of the settlement movement and involving a plethora of state agencies led to the installation of the outpost on privately owned Palestinian land and the subsequent concerted efforts to have it retroactively approved. This report takes a close look at how the Israeli authorities and the individuals who settled in the area worked together, using a pincer movement that combined legal efforts with practical steps on the ground to legitimize the landgrab.”]

No One Claims Responsibility Over Construction of Illegal Road in West Bank (Haaretz 6/22/22) Also see tweet from Kerem Navot’s Dror Etkes: “A settler wakes up one morning and decides that he wants to open 3 km road in land that belongs to hundreds of Palestinians who live nearby. So he does it. Welcome to the West Bank.”

Israel Begins Building Multi-million Shekel Wall in Northern West Bank (Haaretz 6/22/22) [“…The route of the wall will protrude deep into the West Bank, reaching Kfar Salem, and continue until the central Israel community of Bat Hefer.”] Also see: Israel building new stretch of concrete wall in West Bank (Middle East Monitor 6/22/22) [“

Palestine’s Tourism and Archeology Under Israel’s Colonial Occupation (PLO/Negotiations Affairs Department 6/20/22)

Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

Masafer Yatta Palestinians at increased risk since court ruling (UN/Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 6/23/22)

Expert Q&A: Israel’s Expulsion of Palestinians from Masafer Yatta (IMEU 6/22/22)

Masafer Yatta: An Israeli firing zone and the ancient Palestinian village fighting for survival (Middle East Eye 6/22/22)

Israeli army to proceed with Masafer Yatta drills despite Palestinian outrage (The New Arab 6/21/22)

Tweet (with video) from Youth of Sumud 6/21/22: “Right now Israeli tanks are between the villages in Masafer Yatta , Israeli occupation forces have commenced their military exercises in between villages of Masafer Yatta , as first steps in the demolition and mass forced eviction of the communities.”

Twitter thread (with photos) from Ori Givati (of Breaking the Silence) 6/21/22: “Yesterday the Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice, Esther Chayut, approved a military exercise in Masafer Yatta, saying: ‘With regards to the safety measures detailed in order to prevent harm to people or property […] the instruction [is] not to pass through agricultural land….and to completely avoid passage through residential areas. Earlier today the IDF placed these shooting targets on private Palestinian property in the village of Majaz [includes photos]. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may as well drive one of the tanks.”

Tweet (with photos) from B’tselem 6/21/22: “Today the military launched its training in Masafer Yatta, which is planned to last a whole month, by positioning targets, pictured here, on the vehicles and property of Palestinians from the community of al-Majaz.” 

Tweet (with photos) from Breaking the Silence 6/21/22: “Happening *right now* in Masafer Yatta: Major IDF training exercise, including the use of tanks, 100 meters from the village of Majaz. The 1,000+ residents of Majaz and seven other villages are in imminent danger of being evicted.”

UPDATE: Growing Fear that Israel Intends for the Mass Forced Transfer of the Masafer Yatta residents (ACRI 6/19/22)

 

Jerusalem & Its Environs

Demolitions in Jerusalem area, May 2022: Israeli authorities demolish 29 structures; 59 people, including 30 minors, lose homes (B’Tselem 6/23/22)

Sheikh Jarrah: Ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem (Mada Masr/Tareq Baconi 6/20/22)

A plan to build a settlement park east of Jerusalem is the last bullet into the two-state solution – Premier (WAFA 6/20/22)

Bonus reads

The Wild West – Grazing, seizing and looting by Israeli settlers in the West Bank (Kerem Navot May 2022 — pdf of full report; interactive map)

“This report describes and analyzes the development of Israeli sheep and cattle grazing in the West Bank, which has gradually become Israel’s most significant mechanism for dispossessing Palestinian communities. At issue are tens of thousands of acres of open areas expropriated by the Israeli authorities and settlers through dozens of shepherd outposts and farms, the great majority of which have been established over the past decade. As noted above, the use of grazing to seize land began in the early 1970s and it continued intermittently in the 1980s and 90s. In recent years, however, the phenomenon mushroomed in terms of area size, resources invested and destructive repercussions for the Palestinian communities.”

WhatsApp’s reclusive founder has quietly become a megadonor to Jewish causes – (Times of Israel 6/18/22)

“At least a few of his donations reflect his right-wing political views on Israel. Donations of $600,000 went to the Maccabee Task Force Foundation, an organization founded by the late Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson to support Israel advocacy on college campuses. The foundation has also given $6 million to Friends of Ir David, the American fundraising arm of Elad, a group trying to expand Jewish settlement in parts of largely Arab East Jerusalem, and $175,000 to the Central Fund of Israel, which has been accused of supporting violent extremists in 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.

**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**

June 16, 2022

1. Biden Admin–Israel

2. Expanding/Consolidating De Facto Annexation & Apartheid

3. Settler/IDF Violence

4. Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

5. Settlements at the Center of Domestic Israeli Politics

6. Norway & the Accurate Labeling of Settlement Goods

7. Differentiation for We (Israeli Govt) but Not for Thee (everyone else)

8. Bonus Reads

Biden Admin–Israel

US Asks Israel to Dial Back Oppression of Palestinians—But Just During Biden’s Visit (Common Dreams 6/15/22) [“One critic wryly observed that Israel ‘can resume killing, dispossessing, and persecuting’ Palestinians ‘without restrictions once Biden leaves.’”]

US pushing Israel to avoid unilateral steps in lead-up to Biden visit (Times of Israel 6/15/22)

Scoop: U.S. asks Israel to avoid actions that could create tensions ahead of Biden visit (Axios 6/15/22) Also see Tweet from Terrestrial Jerusalem’s Daniel Seidemann: “Great news for Israel!! The final statutory hearing on E-1 – a move vetoed by every POTUS since 1996 and a move no Israeli govt dared make  – is scheduled for July 18, 3 days AFTER the Biden visit, so it’s cool! So Israel can go ahead w/ E-1.”

An unsettled matter in Biden’s Middle East (Politico 6/14/22) [“The lack of clarity about the Biden team’s views on the legality of settlements underscores, first, that Trump aides were savvy in making many of their moves toward the Israelis and Palestinians hard to switch back.”]

Expanding/Consolidating De Facto Annexation & Apartheid

B’tselem Twitter thread 6/16/22: “Throughout May 22, on orders of the Jerusalem Municipality and the Civil Administration, 29 structures were demolished in the parts of the West Bank annexed to Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries and in adjacent areas lying within the al-Quds District of the Palestinian Authority. The demolished structures included 20 homes, six of which were demolished by their owners. Twelve were occupied, and their demolition left 59 people, including 30 minors, homeless. Eight additional homes were under construction and slated to house a family of seven, including one minor, and for the future residence of five newly-wed young men. A part of another demolished home under construction was slated to house a young couple. The nine remaining structures were non-residential, and five were used for businesses that supported at least 45 people.”

Israeli authorities order four Palestinian siblings to evict [abandon] their land in a Bethlehem-area village of Wadi Fukin (WAFA 6/14/22)

Judea-Samaria leaders planning quarter-million acre national park (Israel Hayom 6/13/22) [“An ambitious new plan from leaders in Judea and Samaria calls for the establishment of a new national park on nearly 1 million dunams (247,000 acres) of land between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, which would transform the area into a tourist attraction. The area in question begins in the west of Kochav Hashahar and extends to the Herodian site in eastern Gush Etzion. According to the plan, the park will include approximately half the land bordering the Dead Sea, from Qasr al-Yahud – the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism – to the Darga and Hazazon ravines. The territory is considered the only open land separating Judea and Samaria, and the political ramifications of implementing the new plan are still unclear.”]

Israel’s E1 Building Plan: The Most Strategic, Consensual – and Frozen – Project (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs 6/13/22)

Settler/IDF Violence

Israeli settlers assault Palestinian in Nablus-district town & Two Palestinians sustain wounds in settler attack near Nablus (WAFA 6/16/22)

West Bank: How Nablus became the main hub for Israeli settler violence (Middle East Eye 6/16/22)

Under the Israeli Commander’s Nose: Nablus Has Become Settlers’ Violent Playground (Haaretz 6/15/22) [“Israeli defense officials are seeing a sharp rise in attacks on Palestinians, and settlers previously thought to be ‘mainstream’ are joining the ultra-radicals”]

Israeli settlers attack Palestinian commuters on a northern West Bank road (WAFA 6/14/22)

B’Tselem on Twitter 6/14/22: “This morning Mahmoud Rateb Hussein discovered that settlers had cut down eight ancient olive trees in his grove in Qaryut. Photo credit: the local council. For more updates on recent settler and military attacks in Qaryut: Settler Violence = State Violence”

The Settlers’ Brigade Commander (Haaretz 6/13/22)

Army stands by as settlers attack activists in Masafer Yatta (+972 Magazine 6/14/22) [“A settler smashed an activist’s car and returned safely to his outpost, after soldiers violently dispersed a protest against Palestinian expulsion.”]

Two Left-wing Activists Wounded as Settler Hurls Stones in the West Bank (Haaretz 6/10/22)

Twitter thread 6/10/22 with video of settler attack on activists

Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

IDF to Carry Out Live-fire War Games Around Several Palestinian Villages Under Threat of Eviction (Haaretz 6/16/22) Also see Tweet from Btselem: “Alternative headline: Israel continues efforts to expel Palestinians in Masafer Yatta”

The Israeli government is trying to destroy my village – we need your help (The Independent/Basel Adra, 6/15/22)

Israeli Army Raids Palestinian Villages for ‘Intel Mapping’ (After Cutting Practice of ‘Intel Mapping’) (Haaretz 6/14/22) [“During the raid, soldiers logged and photographed residents of Masafer Yatta, where 1,000 Palestinians face eviction. Residents worry the intel gathered will be used to expel them”]

Good Shepherd Collective thread on Twitter 6/14/22: “Last night, hours after delivering four new demolition orders to the people of Masafer Yatta who are facing the existential threat of forced displacement, Israeli forces raided the village of Atuwani after midnight. They woke sleeping children and parents with sound bombs. This is the most recent in a series of targeted raids on the village of Atuwani, a village known internationally for its resistance against settler-colonialism. The raids happen randomly, provoking fear and insecurity and creating lasting anxiety for community members. When we talk about systematic oppression, we cannot limit our analysis to physical violence, baseless and prolonged incarceration, and mass displacement. We must also consider the long term health impacts—the daily wear—of the violence and intimidation, the lack of security. These raids are an attempt to weaken the steadfastness of Palestinian communities that continue to demonstrate their refusal to be intimidated. We must #StandwithMasaferYatta to stand in solidarity as Palestinians #SaveMasaferYatta…”

Twitter thread from B’Tselem (with video) 6/12/22: “This is not a drill: Over the weekend, the Israeli military began what appears to have been preparations for the expulsion of some 1,000 Palestinian residents of Masafer Yatta. Starting Friday evening and throughout Saturday, soldiers arrived at the communities of Khirbet a-Taban, Khirbet al-Fakhit, Khirbet Khilet a-Dabe’, Khirbet a-Safai a-Tatha, Khirbet a-Safai al-Foqa, Khirbet al-Majaz and Khirbet Jenbah patrolling among the residents’ homes, photographing ID cards and demanding to know who lived in each house. For years, Israel has been implementing a policy designed to make the residents leave their homes in order to take over their land.Recently, Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled – in a judgment replete with lies, misrepresentation and errors – that there was no legal barrier to the expulsion. With this ruling in the background, the “census” conducted in Masafer Yatta over the weekend is a worrying development. Read more about the ruling allowing the State to commit a war crime: Supreme Court rules: Israel above the law”

Largest Palestinian Displacement in Decades Looms After Israeli Court Ruling (US News 6/12/22)

Settlements at the Center of Domestic Israeli Politics

Orbach will not vote with coalition until Judea and Samaria law passed (Arutz Sheva 6/13/22) [“Yamina faction chairman says he will not vote for coalition bills until Judea and Samaria Regulations law is passed.”]

Settlement councils demand Yesha leader quit over backing coalition West Bank bill (i24 News 6/13/22)

Yesha leader faces rebellion for backing coalition bill crucial to settlers (Times of Israel 6/13/22)

Infighting in Israel imperils legal safeguards from West Bank settlers (Washington Post 6/12/22)

Norway & the Accurate Labeling of Settlement Goods

A Reminder From Norway (Haaretz/Akiva Eldar 6/13/22)

Israel threatens Norway with ‘adverse’ impact following change in settlement labels (Middle East Monitor 6/13/22)

[Accurately] Labeling of Judea and Samaria goods is about discrimination, not law, say experts (Jewish News Syndicate 6/13/22)

Norway to label products from Israeli settlements (AFP 6/12/22)

Norway mandates labelling of products from Israeli settlements (Middle East Eye 6/12/22)

Arab League welcomes Norway’s decision to label products from Israeli settlements (Arab News 6/12/22)

Israel slams Norway’s move to label products from settlements (YNet/AFP 6/12/22)

Differentiation for We (Israeli Govt) but Not for Thee (everyone else)

Settlements excluded from EU cultural program joined by Israel (Israel Hayom 6/13/22)

Israel enters EU culture program which excludes West Bank settlements (Jerusalem Post 6/12/22)

Settlement Cultural Institutions Left Out of EU Deal May Get Israel’s Help (Haaretz 6/12/22)

Israel bristles as Norway mandates labels for produce from West Bank, Golan (Times of Israel 6/11/22)

Bonus Reads

Hidden In Plain Sight: US Nonprofits As Drivers of Illegal Israeli Settlements (Just Security/Elana Hodges 6/10/22)

“…So far, U.S. nonprofits that are responsible for funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to sustain and expand illegal Israeli settlements have largely escaped scrutiny. Indeed, these organizations maintain 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, providing them access to substantial tax breaks. While these nonprofits have so far evaded legal or other material consequences, their activity has been a source of longstanding efforts to seek redress against them. U.S. tax law is a promising and largely untapped source of accountability…”

Booklet #261: An Example of Israel’s Legal System in the West Bank (Arab Center Washington/Jonathan Kuttab 6/13/22)

“The maintenance of separate legal and administrative structures for Israeli settlements and Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank is well documented in the booklets that Israel uses to “legislate” in the occupied territories. Importantly, this practice meets the very definition of apartheid as detailed in international law, while the settlements themselves are also illegal. An examination of Booklet #261 and other Israeli “legislation” in the occupied territories therefore not only offers a detailed look at a crucial aspect of the occupation, but it also provides the opportunity to witness apartheid in action. Moreover, the booklets themselves could provide crucial evidence of Israel’s crime, should the country ever be brought before the International Criminal Court.”

 

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**

June 9, 2022

1. E-1 & Al-Walaja

2. UN Commission of Inquiry Issues 1st Report

3. Renewing [or not] Israeli Legalized Apartheid in the West Bank

4. More Settlements, Land Grab, Apartheid, Violence

5. Jerusalem

6. Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

7. Bonus Read

E-1 & Al-Walaja

Alert – Israeli Authorities Advance New Settlement Plan on Al-Walaja Lands (Ir Amim & Bimkom, 6/9/22) [“The Israel Civil Administration (ICA) has indicated its intent to deposit for public review the outline plan (TPS 401-4-1) for “Har Gilo West,” a new settlement south of Jerusalem on Al-Walaja lands (Area C), which will abut the built-up section of the village. Unless halted, the plan will be formally published for deposit in the public records within days, kicking off the 60-day period for submitting objections – a crucial step in advancing outline plans towards their approval.”] Also see: Israel to build new settlement near Bethlehem (Middle East Monitor 6/8/22)

An Urgent and Dire Warning about E-1 (Terrestrial Jerusalem 6/8/22) [“Overshadowed by events on the ground around the killing of Palestinian journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh and the Jerusalem Day Flag March, a major development occurred on Jerusalem Day itself which has potentially devastating ramifications. The Government of Israel announced that on July 18, the final hearing on the notorious settlement project of E-1, would be held by the Higher Jerusalem Planning Committee. If, as anticipated, the Plan is approved by the committee, we will be just two strokes of a pen away from the final statutory approval of E-1.]”

UN Commission of Inquiry Issues 1st Report

The Report: 

Text of report – including a lot of facts/analysis related to settlements, settler violence, etc.

New Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, issues first report (UN/OCHA 6/76/22)

Occupation, discrimination driving Israel-Palestine conflict, recurring violence (UN 6/7/22)

Media coverage:

UN-mandated rights inquiry rebukes Israel for seeking ‘complete control’ (Reuters 6/7/22)

UN probe blames Israel for perpetuating conflict with Palestinians (Times of Israel 6/7/22)

Responses:

MFA response to the report of the Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry published today (Israeli Foreign Ministry 6/8/22) [“The Commission of Inquiry and the biased report it published are the result of the HRC’s extreme anti-Israel bias. The Commission members, who claim to be objective, were only appointed to their roles because of their public and well-known anti-Israel stances, in direct opposition to the rules set out by the United Nations.”]

US slams ‘one-sided’ UN probe blaming Israel for perpetuating the conflict (Times of Israel 6/8/22) [official press statement]

Statement on the Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry on Gaza Report (UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 6/8/22) [“The cause of advancing human rights in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is not served by the disproportionate focus on Israel.”]

Renewing [or not] Israeli Legalized Apartheid in the West Bank

Before the vote:

‘Is there an alternative?’: MK Rozin says Meretz has no option on settlement bill (Times of Israel 6/4/22)

Israel’s government faces survival test with settlement bill (Al-Monitor 6/3/22)

In doomsday move, Knesset may affirm settlers don’t live in Israel – analysis [“To show that Bennett’s government is weak, politicians may reject the law that gives settlers in the West Bank the same legislative status as an Israeli resident.”] (Jerusalem Post 6/3/22)

Israel: Doubt over bill ‘constituting apartheid’ in West Bank throws government off (Middle East Eye 6/2/22)

Report: MK Silman to oppose bill renewing application of Israeli law to settlers (Times of Israel 6/2/22)

After the vote:

Want to dismantle Israeli apartheid? Start with this law (+972 Magazine 6/8/22)

What the failure of legal jurisdiction bill could mean for Israelis in Judea and Samaria [spoiler: not much] (Jewish News Syndicate 6/8/22)

Israel: Self-interest the winner in government’s settler bill defeat (Middle East Eye 6/8/22)

The Settler-Protection Law No Israeli Government Can Survive Without (Jewschool 6/8/22) [“It is crucial to emphasize that that the discrimination embodied in these regulations is based on ethnicity, not merely citizenship. Settlers entitled to the range of Israeli laws listed in the regulations include both Israeli citizens and people ‘entitled to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return.’”]

Smotrich: Our first priority is to overthrow the government [“Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich explained his party’s vote last night against the Judea and Samaria Law: ‘Our first commitment to Israel and the Settlement enterprise is to overthrow the government. To my friends in the Settlement enterprise: The sky will not fall down just because of this law.’”] (Arutz Sheva 6/7/22)

Settler leader says Netanyahu and allies ‘spitting on West Bank settlers’ (YNet 6/8/22)

Sa’ar to try again to advance settler law bill, admits coalition may be on last legs (Times of Israel 6/7/22)

Israel’s Government Teeters Again, Losing Vote on Law that Supports West Bank Settlers (New York Times 6/7/22)

Lapid says MKs who can’t back coalition ‘should leave,’ after some torpedo key bill (Times of Israel 6/7/22)

Judea and Samaria law fails in the Knesset [“2 govt members, MKs Ganaim and Rinawie Zoabi, vote against bill applying Israeli law in Judea and Samaria. Silman absent from vote.“] (Arutz Sheva 6/6/22)

Israel: Failure of settlement bill would create ‘absolute chaos’ for West Bank settlers (i24 News 6/6/22)

Israeli coalition suffers loss, faces uncertain prospects (Associated Press 6/6/22)

More Settlements, Land Grab, Apartheid, Violence

Israel settlers rebuild illegal outpost in occupied West Bank (Middle East Monitor 6/9/22)

Regavim: Israel has failed to formulate policy on Judea and Samaria (Arutz Sheva 6/9/22)

Israeli settlers torch wheat crops in Nablus-district town (WAFA 6/9/22)

Settlers uproot and break about 190 olive seedlings near Turmusaya – vandalizing grove for second time this year (B’Tselem 6/8/22)

***Under Settler Pressure, Israel Extends Antiquities Authority’s Powers Into West Bank (Haaretz 6/7/22)***

Settlers threaten 10 new outposts during Biden visit amid Evyatar dispute (Israel Hayom 6/6/22)

Palestinians in a northern West Bank village prevented by Israeli soldiers from working on their lands (WAFA 6/7/22)

Israel seizes a large tract of Palestinian cultivated land northwest of Hebron (WAFA 6/6/22)

Hamas slams Israel’s decision to build 820 settlement units (Middle East Monitor 6/4/22)

Jerusalem

Israeli court rules in favor of settler takeover of high-profile Christian hotel in Jerusalem (WAFA 6/9/22) Also see: It’s Final: Ateret Cohanim’s Purchase of Jerusalem Old City Properties is Legal (Jewish Press 6/9/22); Israeli Supreme Court Supports the Radicals Against the Patriarchate of Jerusalem ( Patriarchate of Jerusalem 6/8/22)

EU Heads of Mission and likeminded countries visit Wadi Qaddoum in East Jerusalem (WAFA 6/7/22)

Ir Amim on Twitter 6/7/22: Thread – “In light of the impending demolition of a 4-story residential building in Wadi Qaddum, EJ – home to over 70 Palestinians – representatives of EUREP, EU Member States & likeminded countries along w @ochaopt  & @UNRWA met today w the families facing imminent displacement. Their building is subject to demolition under the pretext of lacking a bldg permit. Construction permits are nearly impossible for Palestinians to procure bc of discriminatory Israeli urban planning policies in EJ that are driven by political and demographic considerations. The families called upon the international community to compel Israel to fulfill its obligation to uphold their basic right to housing and shelter. #SaveSilwan”

Imminent Israeli demolition of a building in East Jerusalem may leave 74 Palestinians homeless – UN (WAFA 6/6/22)

Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

Basel al-Adra 6/9/22: Tweet – “In January, the occupation police raided one of the towns in my area and with a truck ran over and killed Suleiman Hathlin, an activist for freedom in Masafer Yatta. Today, settlers destroyed his tomb. The hatred and racism continues even after his death.” [with photos]

Life in the firing zone: the occupation of Masafer Yatta (The Guardian 6/8/22)

Basel al-Adra 6/7/22: Tweet – “Today a soldier entered Taban, a village in Masafer Yatta, and gave residents demolition orders for all they have: Their homes, water wells, roads – to be destroyed probably this week. A community erased. WE’RE BEING ETHNICALLY CLEANSED AND THE WORLD’S SILENT.  SaveMasaferYatta”

Israeli military forces Palestinian to demolish section of his home in Masafer Yatta area (WAFA 6/6/22)

Bonus Read

The Israel Defense Forces and Settlements Are One and the Same (Israel Harel/Haaretz 6/7/22) [“Because military doctrine, the outcome of Zionist ideology, determines that ‘the army and the settlements are one,’ any deviation from that is surrender to politicization.”]

 

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**

May 19, 2022

1. Settlements at the Center of Israeli Policy

2. Welcoming Biden with More Settlements & Land Grab

3. Jerusalem

4. Settler Terrorism Continues, Enabled by IDF Tolerance/Support

5. Israel Goes Forward with Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

6. Illegal Outpost (Still) at the Center of Israeli Domestic Politics

7. International Community

8. Bonus Read

Settlements at the Center of Israeli Policy

Minister: Vote on renewing civil law for settlers a test for coalition survivability (Times of Israel 5/31/22)

Sa’ar warns coalition’s future depends on renewal of application of Israeli law to settlers (Times of Israel 5/31/22)

Lacking votes, coalition pulls bid to extend application of Israeli law to settlers (Times of Israel 5/30/22) [“Originally enacted in the aftermath of the 1967 Six Day War, the law remains an ‘emergency measure’ that must be renewed every five years. Last passed in 2017, it is set to expire at the end of June.”]

Israeli Commander Says Army, Settlements Are ‘One and the Same’ (Haaretz 5/30/22) [“An Israeli commander said Sunday that ‘the army and the settlements are one and the same,’ while speaking at a yeshiva in the West Bank settlement of Elon Moreh… ‘It has often been said that the army and the settlements work together. I disagree with that, I think the army and the settlement enterprise are one and the same,’ Zweig said…”]  Also see: IDF commander censured after saying IDF and settlements ‘one and the same’ (Jerusalem Post 6/1/22)

Welcoming Biden with More Settlements & Land Grab

Israel puts E1 settlement project back on agenda, weeks ahead of Biden trip (Times of Israel 5/31/22)

Israel unfreezes West Bank E1 plan, hearings for settler homes resume (Jerusalem Post 6/1/22)

Jerusalem

UPDATE (2): Settlers, backed by Israeli police, attack Palestinian residents’ homes in Silwan (WAFA 5/31/22)

Urgent: Nearly 100 Palestinians are Under Threat of Immediate Displacement from Wadi Qaddum, East Jerusalem (Ir Amim/Bimkom Alert 5/30/22)

Settlers attack Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood (WAFA 5/29/22)

Settler Terrorism Continues, Enabled by IDF Tolerance/Support

Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian-owned vehicles in the city of al-Bireh (WAFA 6/2/22)

Israeli settlers beat herders, destroy crops south of Hebron (WAFA 6/1/22)

West Bank town becomes flashpoint in settler-Palestinian clashes (YNet 6/1/22)

Israeli army opens fire at Palestinians protesting intrusion of settlers into a mosque in a southern West Bank town (WAFA 5/31/22)

Israeli settlers attack farmers in the north of the West Bank, herders in the south (WAFA 5/31/22)

IDF chief ‘strongly condemns’ settler banners slamming Central Command chief (Times of Israel 5/31/22)

Israeli settlers set fire to large tracts of land south of Nablus (WAFA 5/30/22)

Settlers attack Palestinian homes in Nablus-area village with Molotov cocktails (WAFA 5/29/22)

Settlers assault a Palestinian man near Ya’bad (WAFA 5/29/22)

Settlers attack Palestinians’ homes in Burin (WAFA 5/28/22)

Settlers attack Palestinian children in downtown Hebron (WAFA 5/27/22)

Settlers open gunfire at Palestinian farmers near Tulkarm (WAFA 5/27/22)

Israel Goes Forward with Masafer Yatta Ethnic Cleansing

Palestinians in Masafer Yatta made homeless twice over by Israeli demolitions (+972 Magazine 6/1/22)

Israeli forces tear down dwellings, agricultural structures south of Hebron (WAFA 6/1/22)

Twitter thread (with video) from Basel Adra 6/1/22: “Insane violence. Today, 21 people, my neighbors, were evicted in Masafer Yatta. I saw kids come back from school to find their home gone. They’re destroying us. A shameless occupation with a cruel, announced plan, to turn our towns into a military training zone. The woman crying in the video, her name is Wadha. Soldiers destroyed her home in May shortly after the the occupation ruled to evict thousands of people here. Since then, she slept in a tent with her kids. Today they CAME BACK, specially to destroy her tent. No limits. No heart.  Our towns have existed long before 1948 – but the occupation declared our land a ‘firing zone’ in the eighties. Why? Recently it was uncovered, in Israeli documents – they said the reason was to evict our villages in Masafer Yatta. Now they’re doing it. Help us resist. Speak up.”

Progressive Lawmakers Demand Stop to Israeli “War Crime” in Masafer Yatta (Jewish Currents 5/31/22) Also see: press release from Rep. Bush (D-MO)

This is how Israel plans to annex the occupied West Bank (Middle East Monitor 5/30/22, by Ramzi Baroud) [“What is happening in Masafer Yatta is not only the largest ethnic cleansing scheme to be carried out by Israel since 1967, but the move should also be considered as the first step in a much larger scheme of illegal land misappropriation, ethnic cleansing and official mass annexation.”]

Two Palestinian-owned homes in Masafer Yatta receive Israeli demolition orders (WAFA 5/30/22)

Supreme Court rules: Israel above the law (B’Tselem 5/29/22)

Illegal Outpost (Still) at the Center of Israeli Domestic Politics

Footage Casts Doubt on Israel’s Claim to Enforce Ban on Evacuated Outpost [“A ban on the West Bank settlement of Homesh forbids outsiders from entering, but many Israelis successfully evade them, as steps to enforce the law are not always taken“] (Haaretz 6/2/22)

Peace Now’s Protest at the Illegal Outpost of Homesh (Peace Now 6/1/22)

There’s no place like Homesh: The West Bank’s most politically charged hilltop (Times of Israel 5/31/22)

Homesh will be evacuated but not now, Gantz says (Jerusalem Post 5/30/22)

Israel tells top court it will demolish Homesh outpost (i24 News 5/29/22)

Government tells court it’ll raze Homesh outpost, but won’t give timeline (Times of Israel 5/29/22)

Hundreds of settlers clash with Palestinians around illegal West Bank outpost (Times of Israel 5/28/22)

Police, left-wing activists clash ahead of planned protest at illegal outpost Homesh (Times of Israel 5/28/22)

International Community

Tweet from Yishai Fleisher (Spokesman for the settlements) 5/31/22: “An honor to host #Arizona Governor @DougDucey – the FIRST sitting US governor to visit #Hebron and the Tomb of the Forefathers and Mothers!! Tour led by Hebron’s awesome Director General  Hebron @UriKarzen” [linked to Ducey’s 5/20/22 tweet from the Hebron settlements)

Israel Prize winners call for Belgium to boycott West Bank products (Jerusalem Post 5/31/22)

Israeli police clash with anti-settlement activists, 3 arrested (Middle East Monitor 5/29/22)

Joint EU statement: Israeli settlements are a clear violation of international law (WAFA 5/27/22)

Ambassador David Friedman: Israel must ‘grow up’ and decide its eastern border (Jewish News Syndicate 5/26/22) Also see: Israel shouldn’t let the US dictate its final borders, Friedman says (Jerusalem Post 5/28/22 – excerpt – “Friedman urged Israelis not to abandon their sovereignty plans and to begin to prepare a national consensus for what its final borders should be based on US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.”)

Bonus Read

Will Someone Finally Say Israel Has Lost It? (Haaretz 5/31/22)

“’The Arabs are raising their heads. They’re taking liberties,’ complained Efrat Raz, a resident of the unauthorized, illegal outpost of Kida, to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Because he was killed, we know that her husband Noam Raz was a member of the Yamam police counterterrorism force that raided Jenin on May 13 and bombarded a house while its residents, including 11 children, slept inside. The armed men of the force also took a father and his daughter as human shields.

“How many residents of the illegal settlements and illegal/unauthorized outposts serve enthusiastically, with devotion and high spirits in units that terrorize Palestinian children and induce trauma and fury in them for their entire lives? How many of their wives – and it’s reasonable to assume that they themselves – think “the Arabs are raising their heads?” How many of those wearing the white shirts that we saw in Sunday’s march of horrors in Jerusalem dream about joining the Yamam?

“It would be important if they set the policy under which the role of the army and its policing branches is to protect and deepen the settlement enterprise. But the opposite is true: For over 50 years the messianic-nationalist stream has served as a convenient tool in the hands of secular Israeli governments, which worked diligently on advancing the Zionist project while grabbing the remnants of the Palestinian space, captured in 1967. A tool, let us repeat. A means…”

 

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**

May 19, 2022

1. Welcoming Biden with More Settlements & Land Grab

2. Settler Terrorism Continues, Enabled by IDF Tolerance/Support

3. Escalating Battle Over Key Illegal Outpost

4. America’s Settler Advocates Go on the Offensive

5. Bonus Read

Welcoming Biden with More Settlements, Land Grab, Apartheid

The Minister of Defense approved the declaration of the largest “Nature Reserve” in 25 years in the West Bank  [5,445 acres south of Jericho] (Peace Now 5/25/22)

Israel legalises settlement outpost in Hebron (Middle East Monitor 5/25/22) Also see: Israel legalizes colonial settlement outpost south of Hebron (WAFA 5/25/22)

Ahead of Biden visit, Israel launches biggest eviction of Palestinians in decades (Washington Post 5/22/22) Also see: In the firing zone: evictions begin in West Bank villages after court ruling (The Guardian 5/22/22), Israel says this book justifies Masafer Yatta expulsions. Its author begs to differ (+972 Magazine 5/25/22)

Settler Terrorism Continues, Enabled by IDF Tolerance/Support 

Israeli settlers assault and injure three Palestinians near Nablus (WAFA 5/26/22)

60 Palestinians injured by Israeli violence in Nablus region [“Israeli settlers stormed the village of Burqa and the town of Huwarah, near Nablus, escorted by the Israeli army, and were confronted by Palestinians.”] (The New Arab 5/26/22)

Israeli settlers set Palestinian-owned vehicle on fire near Nablus (WAFA 5/25/22)

Infant seriously hurt when Israeli settlers spray pepper into his parent’s car in north of West Bank (WAFA 5/24/22)

Israeli forces erect watchtowers at entrances of Hebron-district neighborhood (WAFA 5/24/22)

Army filmed protecting settlers taking down Palestinian flag in West Bank town (Times of Israel 5/20/22)

Israeli settlers continue to raze Palestinian land in northern Jordan Valley (WAFA 5/20/22)

Israeli settler runs over a child south of Nablus (WAFA 5/20/22)

Escalating Battle Over Key Illegal Outpost

Homesh to be evacuated – again [“The Bennett-led government appears to have caved to leftist demands and the fledgling community of Homesh will face another evacuation.”] (Arutz Sheva 5/26/22)

‘Evacuation of Homesh settlement may be final nail in government’s coffin’ (YNet 5/25/22)

Illegal Outpost Must Go, Israeli Minister Says, as Colleague Promises the Exact Opposite (Haaretz 5/25/22)

Right-wing Israel MKs threaten to bring down gov’t if illegal settler outpost is dismantled (Middle East Monitor 5/25/22)

Knesset to vote on repealing Disengagement Law that makes Homesh illegal (Jerusalem Post 5/25/22)

Shaked to do ‘everything’ to prevent evacuation of illegal West Bank outpost Homesh (Times of Israel 5/25/22)

Next coalition crisis? Ahead of High Court debate, Gantz says Homesh to be evacuated (Times of Israel 5/24/22)

Right-wing MKs visit Homesh ahead of Knesset vote to repeal disengagement (Jerusalem Post 5/22/22)

America’s Settler Advocates Go on the Offensive

Blasting Israeli Settlement Construction Will Get Biden Nowhere – Settlement growth in the West Bank is a product of population pressure, not policy. (Elliot Abrams/Foreign Policy, 5/23/22)Jewish Settlements in Judea & Samaria, a.k.a. the “West Bank”: A Legal Defense (American Center for Law and Justice, 5/19/22)

Bonus Read

The New Battle in the Israeli Right’s Relentless War on Palestinians (Haaretz 5/24/25)

“…Between being squeezed off their land, the constant threat of demolition or expulsion, starved of water, vulnerable to rising, brazen settler violence and tired of fighting just to survive, many leave for Palestinian cities or towns – Areas A or B – serving the overarching Israeli political aim: the fewest possible number of Palestinians in Area C.

“But proof of Area C’s towering importance to Israel is the psychological warfare, in recent years, over the truth itself. The most bitterly fought aspects of the Israeli Palestinian conflict have always been subject to manipulation of ‘narrative.’ Lately, Israel’s narrative is that Area C is threatened by – wait for it – a Palestinian takeover.”

 

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**

May 19, 2022

1. Ethnic Cleansing Advances in Masafer Yatta

2. Settler Impunity/Supremacy, Backed Israeli Government/Military

3. Israel Government Policy of Settlement Expansion & Apartheid

4. International Community – Inconsequential Concerns

5. Jerusalem

6. Bonus Reads

Ethnic Cleansing Advances in Masafer Yatta

Israel demolishes homes of 8 families – 47 people, including 19 minors – and 4 agricultural structures in South Hebron Hills after High Court approves expulsion of more than 1,000 area residents (B’Tselem 5/18/22)

Israeli settlers chop down olive trees, destroy crops in Masafer Yatta area (WAFA 5/18/22)

Video – Israeli settlers scuffle with [euphemism for: “are harassed/attacked by”] Palestinian protesters (Associated Press 5/18/22)

Fear of Displacement Hovering Over Masafer Yatta [EN/AR] [UN/Relief Web 5/17/22]

“‘When you have a home, you can close the door and feel safe inside’. This is what Reem said the day her house was demolished in 2019. Today, Reem as well as over 2,000 Palestinians face yet another imminent threat of displacement in Masafer Yatta.”

Tweets from journalist/activist Basel Al-Adra:

  • 5/17/22: “You make dinner, clean your room, go to bed, and know tomorrow morning bulldozers might crush your home. Recently that’s reality for us in Masafer Yatta after the Occupation decided to destroy our villages so ‘the army can train’ in place of them. Imagine how that feels.”
  • 5/18/22: “Cruelty: Soldiers stop my neighbor’s tractor, confiscate it, and fine him 8,000 Shekels (3 monthly salaries) – for carrying building blocks in it. His family’s home was demolished 4 days ago. Ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta, 2022. Educate yourself about this. Urgently.”
  • 5/14/22: “See this kid? He’s 10. I give him a ride to school, sometimes. 3 days ago, the occupation bulldozed his home, in Masafer Yatta. Since then he’s been living in a tent, that used to be a sheep pen, with his mom, dad, and 6 siblings. ‘We barely sleep’, he told me. #SaveMasaferYatta“

—————————————————————-

Settlers Impunity/Supremacy, Backed Israeli Government/Military

–>Settlers Take Over Another Building in Hebron [& then agree to leave but on condition that they get to come back…]

Settlers Leave Hebron Building They Took Over, but Say Army ‘Won’t Let Arabs Invade’ (Haaretz 5/16/22)

IDF to guard new Hebron building, settlers leave until permit approved – An Israeli flag still waved from the top of the structure and a blue and white sign with the words Beit Tekumah hung from its wall. (Jerusalem Post 5/16/22)

Jewish Settlers Take Over Hebron Building, Ignoring Palestinian’s Ownership Claim (Haaretz 5/15/22)

Settlers said to occupy building in Hebron without a permit (Times of Israel 5/15/22)

Israeli settlers forcibly seize Palestinian-owned building in Hebron (Middle East Eye 5/13/22)

–>Never Enough Outposts!

‘They Don’t Want Evyatar – We’ll Build 10 Others’: How a Settlement Outpost Is Born (Haaretz 5/14/22)

Radical Israeli settler group plans to create 10 new illegal settlements in the West Bank (The New Arab 5/15/22)

—————————————————————-

Israel Government Policy of Settlement Expansion & Apartheid

Palestinians Eight Times More Likely to Face Home Demolition Than Settlers (Haaretz 5/18/22)

Israeli army demolishes Palestinian-owned house despite its location in an area controlled by the Palestinians [Area A] (WAFA 5/18/22)

PM says ‘settlement, security and aliyah’ form Zionist response to terrorism (Israel Hayom 5/17/22)

Israeli PM welcomes expansion of West Bank settlements (ABC News 5/17/22)

Israel Prime Minister makes controversial visit to West Bank settlement (Middle East Monitor 5/17/22)

Dozens Protest Bennett’s First Settlement Visit Since Becoming Prime Minister (Haaretz 5/17/22)

Gantz in Washington Wednesday to Defend ‘Settlements,’ Israeli Measures in West Bank (Asharq Al-Awsat 5/17/22)

UN envoy condemns latest Israeli settlement expansion plan (Modern Diplomacy 5/15/22)

In first since becoming PM, Bennett to visit W. Bank settlement (Jerusalem Post 5/15/22)

European nations urge Israel to scrap plans for new settlement homes (Times of Israel 5/14/22)

—————————————————————-

International Community – Inconsequential Concerns

Canada: settlement ‘Product of Israel’ labels break law, rules federal food inspection agency (Middle East Monitor 5/18/22)

Biden’s trip to Israel is getting trickier by the day (Responsible Statecraft 5/18/22)

Ahead of Possible Biden Visit, Israel, US Tread Carefully on Settlement Expansion (The MediaLine 5/18/22)

Israeli PM ignores Macron’s concerns, welcomes settlement expansion (The Arab Weekly 5/18/22)

Macron talks down settlement activity with Bennett as PM visits Elkana (Jerusalem Post 5/17/22)

—————————————————————-

Jerusalem

Jerusalem Day Flag March to proceed through Damascus Gate (Jerusalem Post 5/18/22)

Israeli municipality forces Palestinian in East Jerusalem to demolish his own home (WAFA 5/14/22)

Opponents of Jerusalem cable car lose Supreme Court case – Court green lights project, expected to boost tourism and ease traffic around Jerusalem holy sites; Palestinian opponent say the project would erase their heritage in areas they seek for a future state (YNet 5/15/22)

Twitter thread from Ir Amim 5/15/22: “BREAKING: The cable car project has been largely spearheaded by the ELAD settler organization working in cooperation with state bodies. The planned route will funnel tourist traffic into the hub of ELAD’s settler operations in Silwan, the City of David. The aim here is to alter the Palestinian space by superimposing exclusively Jewish narrative over the area and expand Jewish presence through residential settlement (settler takeovers of Palestinian homes) and settler-operated tourist sites.”

—————————————————————-

Bonus Read

The imperial roots of ‘shrinking the conflict’ (+972 Magazine 5/17/22)

“Various academic studies indicate that over the last two decades, limiting Palestinian movement has become a major part of the day-to-day management of the Israeli occupation. The settlers themselves are well aware of this: for example, the real estate company ‘Lev Hahar Yazamut,’ which markets homes in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, recently launched a campaign entitled ‘The New Pioneers,’ aimed at ‘families who see community and settlement as a top value, but would be happy to live in a spacious 197 square meters, 5 bedroom home.’ The campaign included the imperative: ‘You shall not live in a settlement that lacks a bypass road leading to it.’…”

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**

May 12, 2022

1. Massive Expansion of West Bank Settlements

2. Jerusalem

3. South Hebron Hills

4. Across the West Bank

5. Bonus read

Massive Expansion of West Bank Settlements

–>Israel Advances Massive Settlement Expansion

Israel advances plans for over 4,000 new West Bank settler homes (Jerusalem Post 5/12/22) [“Israel advanced and approved plans for 4,427 West Bank settler homes on Thursday, ignoring a US request that it refrain from such activity. One outpost, Mitzpe Dani was given final approval as a new neighborhood of the Ma’aleh Mikhmas settlement, at the meeting of the Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria when it convened for the first time this year.  The council allowed for plans to be deposited that transform the Mizpe Lachish outpost into a new neighborhood of the Negahot settlement and would authorize conservation land in Gush Etzion in an area known as Oz V’Gaon. A 180-room hotel is attached to that project.”] Also see: Israel approves 2,700 housing units in illegal West Bank settlements (The Guardian 5/12/22); Israel authorizes plans for 4,427 West Bank settlement homes – More than half of units got final approval for construction; interior minister hails retroactive legalization of two outposts as a ‘celebration for the settlement movement’ (Times of Israel 5/12/22)

The government is promoting 4,500 housing units in the settlements (Peace Now 5/9/22 – full details, incl: “Among the plans submitted for approval: Retroactive approval of three illegal outposts; a fivefold expansion of the Shvut Rachel settlement south of Nablus with 534 new housing units; doubling the size of the Dolev Settlement west of Ramallah with 454 housing units; 120 housing units in Kiryat Arba next to Hebron; Adding 332 dunams to the Ariel Industrial Zone; and 1061 housing units in Beitar Illit west of Bethlehem.”)

Israel’s new settlement plan is a ‘blatant challenge’ to US, says Palestinian Authority (Middle East Eye 5/7/22)

Israel to approve 4,000 housing units for Jewish settlers in occupied West Bank (Axios 5/6/22)

Israel set to advance 4,000 settlement homes, testing US opposition (Times of Israel 5/6/22)

Israel to approve some 4,000 West Bank housing units next week – A majority of the allotted housing units will be in ultra-Orthodox settlements (i24 News 5/6/22)

Danny Seidemann (Terrestrial Jerusalem) on Twitter 5/6/22: “In 2010, Netanyahu greeted VP Biden in Jerusalem by announcing 1600 settlement units in E Jrslm. ‘It’s only a plan’ we said. 12 years on & the kids living in these ‘only a plan’ homes are real cute. Not to be outdone, we’re getting started early this time” Linked to Haaretz 5/6/22 article – Israel to Advance Some 4,000 West Bank Housing Units for Jews Next Week

–>Biden Admin Pro Forma Objection Highlights US Impotence/Complicity/Hypocrisy

US slams slated settlement approvals: ‘Deeply damages prospect for 2 state solution’ [“Pressed whether there would be repercussions for Jerusalem if it moves forward with the expansion beyond the Green Line, Porter declined to offer any, instead referring to a long-used US talking point calling on the sides ‘to avoid unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions.’”]  (Times of Israel 5/7/22)

While welcoming the US State Department’s position on Israeli settlements, Foreign Ministry says it is not enough (WAFA 5/7/22)

US ‘strongly opposes’ Israel’s plan to expand settlements, but Biden’s visit still scheduled (JTA 5/6/22)

US asks Israel to stop settlement construction pending Biden visit (Jerusalem Post 5/6/22)

–>Israeli Govt to US: Your Concerns Don’t Concern Us

Israel to advance plans for 1,000 Palestinian homes in West Bank’s Area C – official – Last time such approvals were granted, the majority of the 1,300 were for houses already built; this move comes as Defense Ministry greenlights 4,400 new Jewish settlement homes (Times of Israel 5/12/22]

Lapid: Israel doesn’t need permission from the US to build in settlements (Jerusalem Post, 5/10/22) [also see: Why is Joe Biden so obsessed with Israeli settlements? (Jerusalem Post 5/9/22)]

Israel should be smarter about settlement announcements [“If the government believes that it should build, then by all means it should build. But do it in a way that won’t embarrass Washington.  Especially when it comes to Biden.”] (Jerusalem Post 5/10/22) [also see Tweet response from Danny Seidemann: “No. Israel should not be smarter about settlement announcements. We should be smarter about settlements. By not building any more of them.”]

Israeli officials say cancelation of settlement building would bring down government (i24 News 5/8/22) Also see response from journalist/analyst Dalia Hatuqa on Twitter 5/8/22: “If we don’t commit war crimes, then our coalition will fail is a very convincing and righteous argument”]

Coalition would fall if settlement homes plan not okayed, officials said to tell US (Times of Israel 5/7/22)

Barak Ravid (Axios) on Twitter 5/6/22: “Israeli officials told Biden administration officials that if no new building was approved in the settlements, the government could collapse due to the fragile state of the coalition”. Also see response from the Arab Center’s Yousef Munayyer on Twitter 5/6/22: “We must commit war crimes to keep our coalition together is not really the excuse you think it is”

–>Related Stories

***For first time in 24 years, another local council established in Samaria*** (Israel Hayom 5/10/22) [settler leader Yossi Dagan: “The path to one million Jews [living] in Samaria is more large communities, which will become urban centers and attract masses of people. History has shown that unifying councils under one local council in Judea and Samaria contributes to growth and prosperity.”]

Ombudsman decries lack of funds to protect border towns, settlements from attacks (Times of Israel)

Ra’am pressured to exit coalition over Israel’s settlement expansion plan (Israel Hayom 5/8/22)

From the Settlers to Biden, Israel’s West Bank Plans Try to Appease Almost All (Haaretz 5/7/22)

Jerusalem

Israel demolition in East Jerusalem leaves 35 homeless (AFP 5/11/22)

Israel approves 1600 settlement units in Jerusalem as Bennett says ‘no foreign intervention’ on Al-Aqsa (The New Arab 5/11/22) [Also see: Over 3,000 new homes approved for Jerusalem (5/9/22)

West Jerusalem Israeli municipality demolishes Palestinian-owned building in occupied East Jerusalem (WAFA 5/10/22)

Israel notifies for demolition of two-storey apartment building in Silwan (WAFA 5/8/22)

South Hebron Hills

Israeli forces deliver stop-construction notices against 19 structures in southern Hebron (WAFA 5/11/22)

Israel levels Palestinian homes ahead of settlement approval (AP 5/12/22)

Israel’s High Court Rules in Favor of Forced Population Transfer (+972 Magazine 5/10/22)

EU blasts Israeli plan to evict Palestinian families in occupied West Bank (Al Anadolu 5/10/22)

PA calls for ICC probe into Israeli plan to expel Palestinians from Hebron (Middle East Monitor 5/10/22)

WATCH: Soldiers assault +972 writer Basil al-Adraa [Al-Adraa, who regularly reports on army and settler violence, was beaten while documenting Israeli soldiers near his West Bank village.] (+972 Magazine 5/8/22)

Israeli settlers chop off olive trees south of Hebron (WAFA 5/8/22)

Another Phase of the Palestinian Nakba, With Israeli Court Approval (Haaretz/Hagai El-Ad, 5/9/22)

Across the West Bank

Israel Police lack resources to probe land fraud in West Bank’s Area C (Jerusalem Post 5/10/22)

Settlers uproot olive trees, damage room in a West Bank town (WAFA 5/10/22)

Israel opens ‘settler-only’ road covered in barbed wire in Bethlehem (The New Arab 5/10/22)

Months after 4G service okayed, plodding talks keep Palestinian networks throttled – Officials slam Israeli ‘delaying tactics’ and say Jerusalem is offering barely any cellular bandwidth for Palestinians — even as it expands Israeli networks in settlements (Times of Israel 5/10/22)

Palestinians Wounded by Israeli Soldiers’ Rubber-coated Bullets After Reporting Settler Attack [“Three Palestinian family members say Israeli settlers hurled stones at their house and beat them. Soldiers called to the scene used riot control gear, leaving the three hospitalized”] (Haaretz 5/9/22)

Settlers attack vehicles east of Hebron (WAFA 5/8/22)Settlers torch a junk car business north of Hebron (WAFA 5/8/22)

Palestinian shepherd assaulted, wounded by settlers south of Hebron (WAFA 5/6/22)

Israeli settlers attack Palestinian vehicles with stones near Bethlehem (WAFA 5/6/22)

Israeli settlers torch vehicles, vandalize property in West Bank (WAFA 5/6/22)

Israeli settlers chop off trees, embark on a new outpost in West Bank (WAFA 5/5/22)

Israeli authorities expropriate 22,000 dunums of land near Jericho (WAFA 5/5/22)

Bonus Read

A Palestinian Family Is Brutally Attacked by Settlers, Then Interrogated by Police (Haaretz 5/6/22)

“Dozens of settlers swooped down on a Palestinian family tending its olive grove, throwing stones and beating them. Three Palestinians were wounded; the eldest remains hospitalized. When the family filed a complaint, they were interrogated for allegedly throwing rocks.”