Settlement & Annexation Report: December 10, 2021

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.

December 10, 2021

Israel Advances Plan for New East Jerusalem Settlement, “Givat HaShaked”
Israel Decides on a Last Minute (& Temporary) Delay of Atarot Settlement
Shaked Funds, Elevates Settler Municipal Council in Hebron
Demolition of Palestinian Property in Area C Hit a Five Year High in 2020
Israel Escalates Intimidation of Activists Working in the South Hebron Hills
Bonus Reads

Israel Advances Plan for New East Jerusalem Settlement, “Givat HaShaked”

On Wednesday December 8th, the Jerusalem Local Planning Committee advanced a plan to build a new settlement, called “Givat HaShaked,” to be located on the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem – on the northwestern part of the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa. The plan would see construction of 473 settlement units, as well as schools. The plan also includes plots designated for two synagogues, the latter fact casting doubt on the Jerusalem Municipality’s assertion that “the Givat HaShaked plan is not necessarily designed for a specific demographic.”

Ir Amim reports that a portion of the land on which Givat HaShaked would be constructed is privately owned by Palestinian residents of Sharafat, which is a section of the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa on the southern end of Jerusalem. It should be recalled that Beit Safafa – which is suffering from an acute housing crisis that Israeli authorities have refused to address – is 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.

Other parts of the land proposed to be used for the Givat HaShaked settlement plan are managed by the Israeli General Custodian – 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.” [An answer that 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].

It must be remembered that in late 2020 the Israeli government initiated a 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.”

It should also be recalled that Israeli authorities undertook the secret registration of land for the benefit of settlers in Sheikh Jarrah. For further information on the highly sensitive and consequential land registration process in East Jerusalem, please see FMEP’s reporting here and Ir Amim’s reporting here.

Ir Amim said in a statement on the Givat HaShaked plan:

“As 2021 comes to a close, it has become more evident that although the current Israeli government is comprised of a broad coalition, it is unequivocally advancing a hardline rightwing agenda propelled by far rightwing politicians in strategic positions. Since the theoretical “government of change” came to power half a year ago, it has successfully undertaken systematic measures, which sabotage any remaining viability of a negotiated political resolution and carry severe ramifications on Palestinian human rights. Settlement advancements in the most sensitive locations in and around East Jerusalem have accelerated unimpeded, while heightened threats of mass Palestinian displacement from the city have soared to an unprecedented level.”

Terrestrial Jerusalem founder Daniel Seidemann tweeted:

“Atatrot, E-1, Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan and now Givat Hashaked reveal the Bennett Doctrine: ‘Leave no eye un-poked’.”

Israel Decides on a Last Minute (& Temporary) Delay of Atarot Settlement

At a hearing on December 6th, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee ordered an environmental study be completed before it advances a plan for the construction of the new Atarot settlement on the northern border of Jerusalem. The court-ordered study is expected to take about one year. Notably, in ordering the study, the Court made it clear that the environmental study is “standard practice” and expressed support for the underlying plan, saying it believes the plan represents a proper use of unutilized land reserves.

The decision to delay the advancement of the Atarot settlement plan came as a bit of a surprise, as Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had assured settlers only last week that the plan would indeed be advanced at the meeting. However, Bennett has come under sustained scrutiny and pressure from the U.S. – most pointedly in a call on December 2nd with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In the call, as reported by The Times of Israel, Blinken made it clear to Bennett that the U.S. would be unhappy if the plan was advanced, even if Israel committed that the construction would not move forward (as reports suggested was the preferred Israeli solution — one that the Israeli government likely thought would appease both settlers and the U.S.). Blinken is reported to have made it clear that any advancement of the project would be unacceptable. Notably, U.S. diplomats were in attendance at the December 6th hearing, which came one day after Thomas Nides presented his credentials to the Israeli government to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Nides’ ceremony was originally scheduled for December 6th (the day of the hearing) but was reportedly rescheduled to not coincide with the Atarot hearing.

Meanwhile, Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frej (Meretz) is considering how to advance his own plan to build a new airport at the Atarot site, a plan which has the support of Israeli Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli (Labor).

As a reminder, the Atarot plan calls for a huge new settlement on the site of the defunct Qalandiya Airport, located on a sliver of land between Ramallah and Jerusalem. In its current form, the plan provides for up to 9,000 residential units for ultra-Orthodox Jews (assuming, conservatively, an average family size of 6, this means housing for 54,000 people), as well as synagogues, ritual baths (mikvehs), commercial properties, offices and work spaces, a hotel, and a water reservoir. If built, the Atarot settlement will effectively be an Israeli city surrounded by Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhoods on three sides and Ramallah to its north. Geopolitically, it will have a similar impact to E-1 in terms of dismembering the West Bank and cutting it off from Jerusalem. For more on the Atarot settlement plan, please see here.

Shaked Funds, Elevates Settler Municipal Council in Hebron

On December 1st, an Israeli news station reported that Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked allocated $158,000 to the settlers in Hebron for the “development of municipal services.” Al-Monitor reports that this is the first such allocation of funds for Hebron’s nascent settler municipal body, which Shaked was part of establishing in 2017, when she served as Justice Minister.

Prior to receiving permission to form a municipal body in 2017, the loose cluster of settlements located in Hebron’s city center (home to around 1,000 settlers) had technically fallen under the municipal jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, while for all practical purposes operating as an enclave under full Israeli control and authority.

Hebron Mayor Taysir Abu Sneineh warned that Israel has repeatedly stoked tensions in Hebron – citing Israel President Isaac Herzog’s recent Hanukkah celebration at the Tomb of the Patriarchs/Al-Ibrahimi Mosque. The Mayor believers that Israel is trying to replace the Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality with a settler organization, telling Al-Monitor:

“This is not to mention the daily attacks [by settlers] in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and al-Shuhada Street. The city is sitting on a volcano, and things might explode at any moment.”

Karim Jubran, director of field research at the Jerusalem-based nonprofit organization B’Tselem, told Al-Monitor:

“Settlers are tightening the noose around the lives of half a million Palestinians in Hebron, especially those who live in the H2 area, as hostages of settlers and the Israeli army.”

Demolition of Palestinian Property in Area C Hit a Five Year High in 2020

According to data from the Israeli Civil Administration, Israel demolished 797 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C of the West Bank – marking a five year high. The data was obtained via a freedom of information request filed by the Israeli NGO Bimkom.

The soaring number of demolitions is congruent with the escalating, government-funded and government-equipped campaign run by settlers to more aggressively wield building laws against Palestinians in Area C, even as settlers continue building unauthorized outposts in violation of the same building laws, and rarely facing consequences. Just last month, settlers formed a new task force coordinating settler advocacy on the topic. In October 2020, the Israeli government allocated nearly $2650,000 to 14 settler councils in order to buy drones and hire policeman to patrol Palestinian construction in Area C. The government also set up a hotline for settlers to report illegal construction.

As a reminder, under the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was divided into 3 “areas” – Area A, B, and C – pending a permanent status Israeli-Palestinian agreement that would determine final control over all the land (an agreement that was supposed to have been reached by by May 1999). Area C – which accounts for around 60% of the West Bank – was to be (temporarily, until an agreement was concluded) under full Israeli control over Area C. However, throughout the 28 years since the Oslo Accords were signed (and with no peace agreement achieved or in sight), Israel has systematically expanded settlements and its control over lands in Area C, including by denying Palestinians in Area C permits to build “legally” (under Israeli law) on their own land. As a result, Palestinians have been forced to build without Israeli permits (i.e., “illegally” in the eyes of Israeli authorities), and Israel has responded by issuing wide-scale demolition orders and carrying out frequent demolitions.

In recent years, Israel has increasingly treated Area C as indistinguishable from sovereign Israeli territory, extending its laws and regulations to the area and its Israeli settler inhabitants. In parallel, settler groups – most notably the notorious “Regavim” – have lobbied Israeli authorities to crack down on “illegal” Palestinian construction, claiming that Palestinians are trying to “take over Israeli land”.

As part of these ongoing efforts — by settlers and the Israeli government — to entrench and expand Israel’s control over/de facto annexation of the entirety of Area C, in September 2020 the Israeli government allocated 20 million NIS ($6 million USD) for the newly created “Settlement Affairs Ministry.” That ministry was given the mission of surveying and mapping “unauthorized” (by Israel) Palestinian construction in Area C (the same construction which Israel has been aggressively demolishing). This funding further empowers a domestic Israeli body to exert extraterritorial sovereignty over Area C – in effect, treating the area as land already annexed by Israel.

The Knesset has also repeatedly hosted forums to discuss the alleged (by settlers and their allies/advocates) “Palestinian takeover of Area C.” This framing is predicated on the assertion that Area C belongs to Israel (an assertion that is not supported by the Oslo Accords) and must be defended against Palestinian efforts to “steal” it. Consistent with this framing, and under pressure from various outside groups, many members of the Knesset have criticized the Israeli government’s alleged failure to robustly “defend” Israel’s rights and interests in Area C (e.g., failure to prevent/destroy “illegal” Palestinian construction, failure to block foreign government-funded humanitarian projects that support Palestinians’ presence in the area; failure to clear out Palestinians from the area, expand settlements, and consolidate state-built settlement infrastructure; etc.).

Israel Escalates Intimidation of Activists Working in the South Hebron Hills

In two separate – but by all indications connected – actions over the past week, Israeli authorities detained and interrogated several Jewish Israeli activists (some of whom are American citizens) involved in Palestinian solidarity and anti-occupation efforts related to raising awareness around settler violence, land seizures, and firing zones in the South Hebron Hills.

In Jerusalem, police twice raided the home of several Jewish activists on allegations that some of the residents were involved in spraying graffiti on public property as part of an anti-occupation action. In the course of those two raids, police ransacked the house and photographed all the residents, later summoning them for interrogation about the allegations of graffiti and opening cases against some of them.

Later the same day, there was an incident in A-Tuwani, a Palestinian village in the South Hebron Hills. A settler jogging through A-Tuwani – a bizarre action by a settler given that A-Tuwani has been the target of intense settler attacks – was confronted by Palestinians. The incident was eventually resolved in the presence of Israeli police and Israeli activists staying in the village in solidarity with Palestinians. Subsequently, the IDF summoned three of the Israeli activists for questioning about the incident. Those three activists (plus another two) were then detained, interrogated, and charged — with charges ranging from obstructing justice, assault, and failure to prevent a crime. The charge of assault was later dropped; the charge of failing to prevent a crime is a novel charge, generally reserved for cases of murder. The activists were later conditionally released, some after accepting a 15-day ban on entering the South Hebron Hills. In parallel, Israeli Police raided two homes in A-Tuwani – one of the homes houses Israeli activists, the other is the home of a Palestinian family prominently involved in activism and documentation of settler violence in the area. The Israeli police confiscated (without a warrant) equipment owned by the activists and the Palestinian Al-Adra family, including cameras, computers, and a jeep – all of which are vital tools in documenting the ongoing settler terrorism.

Attorney Riham Nasra, who is representing the three activists who were charged, told +972 Magazine:

“It is clear that this arrest is an attempt to inflate accusations in order to intimidate and deter activists, to prevent them from continuing their important activities. They were turned into suspects only because they did not cooperate with the investigators’ attempts to indict them. From the hearing it is clear that the activists were never suspected of involvement in the attack. Their arrest is part of the attempts to keep the activists out of the South Hebron Hills, where they expose the atrocities of occupation and human rights violations.”

The actions come at a time when settler terrorism in the South Hebron Hills is a matter of growing international scrutiny, and come only a few short weeks after U.S. members of Congress visited Palestinians in the area. One of the members of Congress, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), followed up his visit by tweeting, “Today ⁦@JamaalBowmanNY & I visited w/ Nasser of Susia in Palestine today to discuss Israeli settler violence to his village. We will be watching to make sure no violence occurs this weekend or anytime.”

For more insight and details on these arrests and the background of the South Hebron Hills, check out FMEP’s latest podcast featuring Oriel Eisner and Maya Eshel – two of the Israelis arrested in Jerusalem and the South Hebron Hills, respectively – entitled, “Israeli Government Escalates Pressure on Israelis Who Stand in Solidarity with Palestinians.”

Bonus Reads

“Israel, sans West Bank, officially joins EU’s huge flagship R&D program” (The Times of Israel)
“New Israeli Government’s Scorecard for Peace: Poor.” (Dahlia Scheindlin for The Century Foundation)
“How settler violence is fuelling West Bank tension” (The Guardian)
“The Temple Mount movement is soaring under Israel’s new government” (+972 Magazine)
“Israeli settlers have a new target, and it’s not in the West Bank” (+972 Magazine)
“Why Settlers Are Quietly Happy With Israel’s post-Netanyahu Government” (Anshell Pfeffer in 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.

December 3, 2021

Israel to Advance Atarot Settlement Plan
New Israeli President Kicks Off Hanukkah with Settlers in Hebron, Sparking Clashes and Raising Ire
Court OKs Demolition of Palestinian Homes in Wadi Yasul (Silwan)
“Day of Destruction” – Israel Demolitions in East Jerusalem & West Bank
Government Contradictions Delay Final Decision on Jerusalem Cable Car Project
Knesset Holds Hearing on Settler Terrorism
Bonus Reads

Israel to Advance Atarot Settlement Plan

At its upcoming meeting scheduled for December 6th, the Israeli Interior Ministry District Planning Committee is set to approve the Atarot settlement plan for public deposit.

The Jerusalem District Planning Committee previously signaled its intent to advance the Atarot settlement plan, most notably by placing it on the December 6th agenda. After apparent pushback from the Biden Administration, on November 25th the plan was suddenly removed from the December 6th agenda, reportedly in fulfillment of a promise to the U.S. to freeze the project. That removal, however, proved short-lived. On November 28th, the Atarot plan reappeared on the agenda, confirming earlier comments Bennett made to the settler-run news outlet Arutz Sheva saying that the plan will indeed be discussed on December 6th. Apparently settling the matter, an Israeli diplomatic source said that the government will act on the plan by approving it for deposit for public review, while at the same time offering the U.S. a rhetorical commitment (but nothing more) that there will be no further advancement in the planning process for at least a year.

Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran cautions:

“‘…please, don’t buy any ‘promise’ that ‘we will not build’ (anyway the planning process takes a while, and even if they work hard and fast they can’t start to build Atarot in less than 3-4 years), what we need is clear: Don’t promote the plan; Shelve it.’ Ofran separately told The Los Angeles Times, ‘As soon as [the committee] approve[s] it, it’s like a snowball.’”

Ir Amim also warns:

“While the Israeli authorities may attempt to relegate the upcoming discussion as a prosaic, bureaucratic step in a lengthy approval process, it is a necessary stage in the plan’s final approval and indeed advances the plan one step closer to full validation.”

For further information about the Atarot plan – and what has transpired over the past week – please see the following two podcasts:

“The Settlement That Wasn’t But Now Is” ft. Daniel Seidemann & Evan Gottesman (Terrestrial Jerusalem Podcast – 11/30/2021)
“Scorched Earth & Settlements in Jerusalem” ft. Daniel Seidemann and Kristin McCarthy (FMEP podcast – 12/2/2021)

New Israeli President Kicks Off Hanukkah with Settlers in Hebron, Sparking Clashes and Raising Ire

Isaac Herzog – the former head of the Jewish Agency who was sworn in as the new Israeli President in July 2021 – opted to make a highly political statement by attending a celebration of the first night of Hanukkah in Hebron, at the Tomb of the Patriarchs/al-Ibrahimi Mosque. Herzog’s choice is correctly understood to be an intentional embrace and legitimization of settlers in Hebron, and of the apartheid reality Palestinians experience everyday. In his speech at the event, Herzog emphasized recognition of “the historical affinity of the Jewish people to Hebron, to the Cave of the Patriarchs,” and spoke about the 1929 massacre of Jews in Hebron. He said nothing about Palestinian links to the city, the 1993 Hebron Massacre, or anything else related to Palestinian equities in the city.

Palestinian and Israeli activists protested the event, which led to clashes with the IDF.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry responded:

“The Israeli government bears full and direct responsibility for this event…[this is] a defiant move aimed at embracing the settlement enterprise and a blatant violation of international law and the international effort to curb unilateral measures.”

MK Ayman Odeh (Joint List) tweeted:

“Herzog did not go to light the first candle, he went to light Hebron…Whoever celebrates with fans of the killer Goldstein cannot be the president of all the citizens of the country.”

Peace Now, commenting on Herzog’s activities, said:

“[Hebron is] the ugliest face of Israeli control over the territories..It is inconceivable that the president, who is supposed to be a unifying figure, would choose, of all places, to light a candle in a place that has become a stronghold of oppression and violence.”

Commenting on the IDF’s preventing protests of Herzog’s appearance, Peace Now also said:

“While the president lights a candle with Baruch Marzel and the Kahanists, security forces are preventing law-abiding citizens from exercising their right to protest”.

In speculating that Herzog’s appearance in Hebron is indicative of his higher political ambitions [to become Prime Minister], Israeli analyst Anshel Pfeffer writes:

“Herzog’s decision to light the first candle of Hanukkah on Sunday night with the settlers of Hebron, [Kahanist MK] Ben-Gvir’s core constituency, should come as no surprise to anyone. These were the kind of people he courted before being elected president and he’s not about to shun them now, or anytime… The visit to Hebron is not an afterthought or a symbolic gesture of ‘unity.’ This was the very first Hanukkah-lighting of Herzog’s presidency, and his choice of venue signals how he intends to build his political brand throughout his term and beyond.”

The Haaretz Editorial Board – in an editorial entitled “Herzog Decided He Wants to Be the President of the Settlements. It’s Not Too Late to Change It” – pleaded with Herzog to cancel his plan, writing:

“Of all the places in Israel, the president chose Hebron, the ultimate symbol of the ugliness and brutality of the occupation and the violence and domineering of the settlers.

“The visit by Israel’s No. 1 citizen to that place – most of whose Palestinian inhabitants have been forced to flee in fear of the settlers and abandon their homes and stores, turning the heart of Hebron into a ghost town – is tantamount to granting official legitimacy to the appalling injustices perpetrated there every day, both before and after Dr. Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Arab worshipers in the mosque at the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

“In no other place in the West Bank is Israeli apartheid so horrifyingly flagrant: segregated streets on which Palestinians are prohibited from walking; vehicle entry barred to the Palestinians still living there; checkpoints at every turn – only for Palestinians, of course. Violence and humiliation are the daily fare of every Palestinian resident at the hands of the settlers and their children, as well as the army and Border Patrol personnel who are stationed on every corner.

“That is where Herzog believes he must go. His planned visit to Hebron is a gesture of recognition of and solidarity with the most violent settlers and additional proof that occupied Hebron has been annexed to Israel, at least de facto. Otherwise, the president has no reason to go there.”

Court OKs Demolition of Palestinian Homes in Wadi Yasul (Silwan)

Map by Ir Amim

On November 28th the Jerusalem District Court cleared the way for the immediate demolition of 58 Palestinian homes in the Wadi Yasul section of the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem – adjacent to an area known as the “Peace Forest”. The basis for the order is the Israeli claim that the homes lack Israel-issued building permits. The Court rejected an appeal to continue freezing demolition orders, filed by Palestinian homeowners, ruling that demolition orders can no longer be justifiably suspended because there appeared to be no prospect of Israel legalizing the homes, despite a 15-year effort on the part of Wadi Yasul’s residents to advance planning schemes that could have enabled Israel to rezone the land and legalize the homes.

An attorney representing the Palestinian homeowners told Haaretz:

“The residents have spent millions of shekels on these plans, but in the end, [city officials] broke their promises, posed insurmountable obstacles and insist on implementing the demolition orders and throwing the families out onto the street with no alternative.”

The brutal outcome Israel is meting out to the Palestinian residents of Wadi Yasul stands in stark contrast to the Israeli State and judicial system’s treatment of illegal settler construction in the same area — a reality that underscores the systematic discrimination that characterizes Israeli planning policies and enforcement facing Palestinians in Jerusalem. While pursuing the demolition of Palestinian construction and refusing efforts to address the issue, FMEP reported in 2019 how the Israeli government is working hand-in-hand with Israeli settlers to pursue every avenue to secure the retroactive legalization of the Elad settler group’s illegal construction. Even more brazenly, Israeli officials have been working to rezone the “Peace Forest” [something it refuses to do for Palestinians] in order to allow the Elad settler group to build more infrastructure in the area, including a tourist zipline and a promenade meant to connect settlement enclaves in the area.

Haaretz previously explained how Jerusalem authorities have repeatedly assisted Elad in its illegal activities:

“At first the NGO simply trespassed and built illegal structures there [the “Peace Forest”]. But things changed and gradually various local and national bodies – including the Jerusalem Municipality, the Israel Land Authority, the Tourism Ministry and the JNF – began to grant Elad assistance. This assistance has included granting building permits retroactively, allocating land to the group without a proper bidding process, and generous funding to the tune of tens of millions of shekels… It has been sponsoring activities in the Peace Forest since 2005, despite the fact that it has no ownership rights there or permits from the ILA (the legal owner of the land, which was expropriated from private Palestinian owners).”

Ir Amim explains:

“The scope of settlement projects in the vicinity of Wadi Yasul – and the breadth and depth of state support awarded to Elad, including authorities’ overt efforts to retroactively legalize their own unpermitted buildings – illuminate the stark discrimination in planning that empowers the expansion of radical settlement inside Palestinian neighborhoods while putting their native residents at risk of displacement.”

In a 2019 report on Wadi Yasul, B’Tselem told the story of what’s transpiring there:

“The residents of Wadi Yasul built [their homes] adjacent to a forest, also located on privately owned land that was expropriated from its Palestinian owners in 1970. In 1977, the Jerusalem Municipality zoned the forest and the area where Wadi Yasul was later established as a green space, where construction is prohibited.

“In 2004, the neighborhood’s residents submitted a detailed plan to the District Planning and Building Committee for retroactive authorization of their homes. The committee rejected the plan in 2008, citing incompatibility with the Jerusalem 2000 Outline Plan, which states that the area where the neighborhood was built must remain a green space.

“At the same time, the municipality and the JNF (Jewish National Fund) – the body in charge of managing the forest – gave their approval to settler organization El-Ad to move forward with plans for group campgrounds, including building the longest recreational zipline in Israel. Some of the facilities have already been built in the forest, without building permits. While the city did issue demolition orders against them, it has refrained from following through.

“In contrast, over the last decade, the city has filed indictments with the Court of Local Affairs against all Wadi Yasul homeowners. The court then issued demolition orders for all of the homes and imposed heavy fines, fining each family tens of thousands of shekels. Three of the families appealed these decisions with the District Court. The appeals were dismissed in April on the grounds that “there are no clear and near planning prospects” for the approval of a plan that would see the appellants’ homes, or other homes in the neighborhood, approved. An appeal the families filed with the Supreme Court was also rejected. In late April, 47 other families filed a motion with the District Court seeking an interim injunction staying execution of the demolition orders. The court’s decision is still pending. Consequently, all of the homes in the neighborhood are still under immediate threat of demolition.

“Ever since 1967, planning policy in Jerusalem has been geared toward establishing and maintaining a Jewish demographic majority in the city. Under this policy, it is nearly impossible to obtain a building permit in Palestinian neighborhoods. The outline plans the city has prepared for these neighborhoods are largely aimed at restricting and limiting building opportunities in Palestinian neighborhoods. One way the plans do so is by designating vast areas as open green spaces, thereby barring Palestinians from building there. The resulting housing shortage forces Palestinian residents to build without permits.”

“Day of Destruction” – Israel Demolitions in East Jerusalem & West Bank

On November 23rd, Israeli forces carried out a demolition campaign targeting Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, under the pretense that these homes lack Israeli-required Israeli-issued building permits (permits Israel systematically refuses to issue to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and in Area C). As a result of these demolitions, 22 people, including 15 children, were rendered homeless in a single day.

The demolitions included:

3 homes in the Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood of East Jerusalem. One of the buildings was a multi-unit apartment buildings;
1 home and a burial building (perhaps a funeral home) in villages in the South Hebron Hills;
1 tent and 3 livestock structures belonging to bedouin families living east of Ramallah;
An agricultural road near Nablus. The road was used by the residents of ‘Asirah al-Shamaliyah to reach their farmland and also connects the town to Nablus.

B’Tselem writes:

“The wave of demolitions expresses the perception of the Israeli regime, which holds that land is a resource intended primarily to serve the Jewish population. This regime uses a variety of administrative, planning and bureaucratic tools to implement this concept. Governments come and go, but the apartheid regime remains untouched.”

Government Contradictions Delay Final Decision on Jerusalem Cable Car Project

On November 28th, the Israeli High Court of Justice held what was scheduled to be the final hearing to determine the fate of the Jerusalem cable car project — a project which has been promoted by the government and the Elad settler organization until this point. But instead of reaching a decision, the Court ended up giving the Israeli government a 21-day extension, by the end of which the government must explain its position on the project.

The proximate cause of the Court’s action was Israeli Minister of Transportation Merav Michaeli’s (Labor) statement, delivered two days before the Court hearing, saying that “the cable car has no significant transportation role, and the harm will exceed the benefits.” That statement contradicts and completely undermines the rationale for the project that the government has put forward until this point — i.e., that the cable car will provide a legitimate transportation benefit. Given Michaeli’s statement, the Court issued its order for the State to clarify where it stands.

Commenting on the Court’s action, the Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh – which specializes in archaeology – said:

“We are pleased that after three years, the transport minister has said what we have been saying all along: that the Jerusalem cable car project is not a transportation project and is not an answer to the traffic issues near the Old City. We believe that its value for tourism has also been greatly misrepresented and although the plan is being advanced by the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Tourism Ministry it will primarily benefit a powerful interest group (the Elad Foundation) by transporting thousands of tourists to its hub at the City of David to the detriment of the historic city and its residents. We hope that the judges will rule that the approval process for the cable car plan severely undermined principles of good governance and on those grounds decide to put a stop to the plan.”

As a reminder, the Jerusalem cable car project is an initiative backed by the powerful, state-backed Elad settler group and advanced by the Israeli Tourism Ministry. The State of Israel – which has pushed the project forward in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and despite commitments by the government to focus on public health matters only – was previously forced to publicly admit that the implementation of the cable car project will require the confiscation of privately owned Palestinian land in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

While public efforts to “sell” the cable car plan have focused on its purported role in helping to grow Jerusalem’s tourism industry or in serving supposedly vital transportation needs, in reality the purpose of the project is to further entrench settler control in Silwan, via archeology and tourism sites, while simultaneously delegitimizing, dispossessing, and erasing the Palestinian presence there. Notably, the cable car line is slated to terminate at the settler-run Kedem Center compound (Elad’s large tourism center, currently under construction at the entrance of the Silwan neighborhood, in the shadows of the Old City’s walls and Al-Aqsa Mosque).

Emek Shaveh and other non-governmental organizations, including Who Profits and Terrestrial Jerusalem, have repeatedly challenged (and provided evidence discrediting) the government’s contention that the cable car will serve a legitimate transportation need in Jerusalem, and have clearly enumerated the obvious political drivers behind the plan, the archeological heresies it validates, and the severe negative impacts the cable car project will have on Palestinian residents of Silwan.

Knesset Holds Hearing on Settler Terrorism

On November 22nd a group of Knesset members – all hailing from political parties considered to be part of the Israeli Left – convened a hearing on settler violence against Palestinians.

As part of the hearing, several experts were asked to testify, including Ali Awad, a journalist and anti-settlement activist in the South Hebron Hills. Awad testified regarding his experience growing up in Tuba (read about that here), saying:

“I grew up in Tuba in the South Hebron Hills, under the threat of settlers my whole life. The military and settlers are working to steal our resources, rob us of our freedom, and take our land. There is full cooperation between the settlers and the army” [paraphrased by Breaking the Silence]

Peace Now Executive Director Shaqued Morag also testified, and emphasized that unauthorized outposts radiate settler terrorism and violence, serving as a tool for settlers (and the state) to take over more and more land.

A group of retired Israeli commanders – called Commanders for Israeli Security – delivered a written testimony for the hearing, writing:

“Groups of settlers have been perpetrating deadly acts of violence against Palestinians — for the most part helpless villagers — in areas under our control…This is completely unacceptable from an ethical and humanitarian perspective, and it stands in contradiction to Israel’s Jewish values.”

The hearing was not without controversy, as it was held the one day after a Palestinian killed one Jewish Israeli and injured four others in a shooting attack in the Old City of Jerusalem. Right-wing members of the Knesset, including Kahanist MK Ben Gvir, asked for the hearing on settler violence to be cancelled altogether. When it was allowed to proceed, Ben Gvir used the podium to shout his criticism of the Knesset members who organized the hearing, eventually resulting in his removal from the hearing room.

Decrying the lack of participation of many MKs, Meretz Party Chairman Nitzan Horowitz said:

“Their silence and lack of interest is tantamount to the endorsement and encouragement of continued violence.”

Horowitz also said:

“Some people in the Knesset minimize its existence or even deny it entirely. I invite them to visit the area, to meet with the victims of this violence, and to see the photos and video clips they produce.’’

Bonus Reads

“Highway of hope and heartbreak” (Washington Post)
“The Gaza Bantustan – Israeli Apartheid in the Gaza Strip” (Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights)
“‘Hate crime’ attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians spike in the West Bank” (Washington Post)
“Democratic Lawmakers Warn Against ‘Doomsday’ Israeli Settlement Plan” (Haaretz)
“‘The occupation is trying to uproot us. Art can bring us back’” (+972 Magazine)
“Israelis attacked, car set on fire after entering Ramallah” (i24 News)
“The Long Reach of Restraint: For Israel’s Supreme Court, to exercise power might be to lose it.” (Jewish Currents // Elisheva Goldberg)

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.

November 19, 2021

Israeli Government Advances A New Settlement Under Guise of Ariel “Expansion”
In Order to Advance Construction of Givat Hamatos, Israel Court Rules For the First Time that Palestinians Can Apply to Live There Too
IDF Evacuates Two Illegal Settler Outposts in the Shiloh Valley
As Settler Terrorism Continues, Gantz Takes a Look at the Data
Settler Participation in Israel’s Mass Surveillance of Palestinians
Terrestrial Jerusalem Warnings & Predictions on Key East Jerusalem Settlement Crises
New B’Tselem Report: Settler Violence Accomplishes State’s Goals
Ir Amim: Israel’s 2040 Plan for Jerusalem Will Displace More Palestinians
Bonus Reads

Israeli Government Advances A New Settlement Under Guise of Ariel “Expansion”

On November 15, Peace Now reported details on the Israeli Ministry of Construction’s issuance of tenders for a new settlement, called “Ariel West,” in the heart of the West Bank — under the guise of a plan to “expand” the Ariel settlement. 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. These tenders were issued on October 24th by the Construction Ministry, without public debate.

The scope and impact of the new project is only now coming into focus, and is just the latest illustration 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, and restrict Palestinians’ access to agricultural lands they rightfully own, for the past year.

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 (leaving Palestinian land in some places nearly completely surrounded by land given to 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, 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.”

Peace Now said in a statement:

“It is hard to believe that this tender would have been published if it had been brought for government approval or to any public discussion. The Ministry of Housing took advantage of a plan approved 30 years ago to dramatically change the heart of the West Bank. 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. This is not only a severe damage to the lives of thousands of Palestinians in the area, but also to the chance of reaching peace and two states in the future.”

In Order to Advance Construction of Givat Hamatos, Israel Court Rules For the First Time that Palestinians Can Apply to Live There Too

In response to a petition filed by the Israel anti-settlement watchdog Ir Amim, the Israeli government updated key eligibility requirements related to future residents of the Givat Hamatos settlement in East Jerusalem. With this petition threatening to slow the project, the government elected to eliminate a discriminatory requirement and thereby make Palestinian permanent residents of East Jerusalem eligible, for the first time ever, to participate in a lottery for government subsidized housing in the new settlement, slated for imminent construction on the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem.

Until this point, all such housing lotteries were open only to Israeli citizens, in effect prevent the 90+% of Palestinian Jerusalemites – who Israel classifies as “permanent residents” – from eligibility. Some 40% of the 1,257+ settlement units awaiting construction in Givat Hamatos are designated as part of the relevant government-subsidized housing program.

Following the government’s offer to change the eligibility criteria for the subsidized housing program, the Jerusalem District Court dismissed Ir Amim’s petition. In dismissing the petition, the judge failed to require the government to acquiesce to two key demands of the Ir Amim petition: that the government reserve some of the new housing units in Givat Hamatos specifically for Paelstinian residents of Beit Safafa (a neighborhood which the new settlement will complete the encirclement of), and that the government be required to publish an Arabic language announcement regarding the change in policy. The judge on the case did, however, require the Jerusalem municipality to pay Ir Amim $1,600 in expenses.

IDF Evacuates Two Illegal Settler Outposts in the Shiloh Valley

On November 17th, the Israeli army removed two settler families from the illegal (even under Israeli law) outpost called “Guelat Zion,” located in the Shiloh Valley, demolishing the four structures standing there. Predictably, settlers reacted violently, resulting in the arrest of three settlers. This is not the first time the IDF demolished Geulat Zion, the last time being in 2018. Established in 2011, the outpost is adjacent to the new “Amichai” settlement, which Israel built as a pay-off to settlers it was forced by the courts to remove from the illegal Amona outpost.

Following the evacuation of the Geulat Zion outpost on November 17th, the IDF also razed the nearby Ramat Migron outpost. Five additional settlers were arrested for throwing stones and assaulting Israel troops.

As Settler Terrorism Continues, Gantz Takes a Look at the Data

On November 18th, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz – the man who recently designated six Palesitnian human rights groups to be “terrorist organizations” – held a meeting at the Defense Ministry to hear data on the rise of settler violence against Palestinians. Gantz – who referred to settler violence as “hate crimes” and “a grave phenomenon” – appointed Deputy Defense Minister Alon Schuster as the point person in a new Israeli effort to “address locations in the West Bank that are flash points of friction or that have been in the past” which can include the deployment of “special units to address the issue.” Haaretz reports that Gantz also called for the “forces on the ground to be provided with the necessary legal resources,” though it is unclear what that entails.

As a reminder, settler violence against Palestinians has been well documented for years, and continues on a weekly or even daily basis. Gantz’s plan to reduce friction does not address the core mechanism by which settlers are permitted to terrorize Palestinians – as detailed by the recent B’Tselem report entitled “State Business: Israel’s misappropriation of land in the West Bank through settler violence,” which is summarized below.

Incidents of settler terrorism in the past week alone include:

On November 15th, Palestinians were attacked by settlers while attempting to access their land near the dismantled settlement of Homesh in the northern West Bank. Though the vacant site of the Homesh settlement is a closed military zone, settlers have continued to visit the site and maintain an outpost with a yeshiva there (though the IDF has intermittently intervened to clear them out). A group of 15 masked settlers launched a brutal attack on the Palestinians. As a reminder: Homesh is one of four settlements in the northern West Bank that Israel dismantled in 2005 under the Disengagement Law, which primarily removed all Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip. After Israel removed settlers from these four sites, the IDF issued military orders barring Palestinians from entering the areas, let alone building in them. At the same time, settlers have regularly entered the areas and even repeatedly built a yeshiva at the Homesh site. Settlers have been openly obsessed with the desire to re-establish Homesh, hosting religious events and protests at the site of Homesh, some of which have been attended by Israeli MKs and politicians.
On November 12th, a group of 12 settlers launched an attack on Palestinian olive harvesters and Israeli activitists near the settlement of Bat Ayn, located south west of Bethlehem. According to one of the Israeli solidarity activists, Gil Marshall, the Israeli IDF was present on the scene earlier in the day, but suddenly left which allowed the settlers an opportunity to attack. Afterwards, the IDF declared the area — a Palestinian olive farm — to be a closed military zone for one months time, which will require Palestinians (and, theoretically, the settlers) to request permission from the IDF in order to access the land – resulting in more land loss for Palestinian olive farmers. The attack resulted in injuries to three Israeli activists – including the prominent solidarity activists Rabbi Arik Ascherman, who wrote about the experience here. The Israeli military reportedly arrested three settlers in connection to the attack.

Basil al-Adraa, a Palestinian journalist for +972 Magazine and community youth organizer in the South Hebron Hills, wrote a new account of the settler terrorism he experienced on November 10th. In a piece entitled, “The soldiers got into their jeeps — and left us with a settler militia,” al-Adraa writes:

“Until that moment there were no casualties, and the army was still present in the area. In the darkness of the desert, I could count dozens of settlers. They were holding rifles, batons, and slingshots. They waved their rifles from behind the soldiers’ backs, as if to scare the Palestinians.

Then, suddenly, the soldiers got into their jeeps and left — leaving behind a militia of armed settlers. With the soldiers gone, the settlers advanced in our direction.

From that moment on, everything became blurry. I heard screaming and saw young people trying to block the settlers from advancing to the village with their bodies. Then the gunshots started. It took me several seconds to even realize they were directly firing live rounds in our direction…On the phone, Quamar Mashraqi-Assad, a Palestinian Jerusalem-based lawyer who helps the residents of the area, told me that she was in contact with the army, who were telling her that the soldiers were at Khallet a-Daba’. But it was a lie. A minute later, another young man was hit by settler gunfire. We were completely alone. Only after about 40 minutes of carnage did the army return to the scene. The settlers retreated and continued throwing stones, while the soldiers pushed and cursed the Palestinians…

The attack on Khallet a-Daba’ is only the tip of the iceberg. Residents, activists, and human rights groups have witnessed an alarming increase in settler violence in the West Bank in recent months. Most of these events are either not documented or filmed from a distance for safety reasons. In contrast to the settler pogrom that took place in the village of Mufagara in broad daylight in late September, this time in Khallet a-Daba’, the darkness prevented Palestinians from filming what took place. In the South Hebron Hills, the backing these attacks receive from the army is part of a concerted effort to create a sense of friction in the run-up to the High Court’s decision on the legality of the firing zone, in order to create a “justification” for military presence in the area.”

Settler Participation in Israel’s Mass Surveillance of Palestinians

According to new reporting by the Washington Post, based on testimonies compiled by Breaking the Silence, settlers have been helping the IDF build a facial photo database of West Bank Palestinians. The database serves to buttress the facial recognition capabilities of the Israeli army, as part of its pervasive surveillance arsenal, including a growing network of cameras and smartphones.

As reported by the Washington Post, settlers use a smartphone app called “White Wolf” to scan the identification cards of Palestinians, and the data is then uploaded to the army’s surveillance system. The photos and information gleaned by White Wolf are then added to the IDF’s larger system, called “Blue Wolf,” which “captures photos of Palestinians’ faces and matches them to a database of images so extensive that one former soldier described it as the army’s secret ‘Facebook for Palestinians.’ The phone app flashes in different colors to alert soldiers if a person is to be detained, arrested or left alone.”

The “Blue Wolf” system is itself a mobile-friendly version of Israel’s even larger database of Palestinian faces and identities, called “Wolf Pack.” Former soliders told The Post that “Wolf Pack…contains profiles of virtually every Palestinian in the West Bank, including photographs of the individuals, their family histories, education and a security rating for each person.”

Breaking the Silence Executive Director Avner Gvaryahu said:

“Whilst surveillance and privacy are at the forefront of the global public discourse, we see here another disgraceful assumption by the Israeli government and military that when it comes to Palestinians, basic human rights are simply irrelevant.”

Roni Pelli of ACRI told The Post:

“While developed countries around the world impose restrictions on photography, facial recognition and surveillance, the situation described [in Hebron] constitutes a severe violation of basic rights, such as the right to privacy, as soldiers are incentivized to collect as many photos of Palestinian men, women and children as possible in a sort of competition… [the Israeli] military must immediately desist.”

Terrestrial Jerusalem Warnings & Predictions on Key East Jerusalem Settlement Crises

In a new report, Terrestrial Jerusalem (TJ) reviews and analyzes the state-of-play regarding four key settlement issues that are quickly approaching decision points. Those issues and relevant insights from Terrestrial Jerusalem (TJ) are:

Evictions in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan: Though not able to predict the outcome of the Court’s final judgement regarding the Dweik family case, TJ says the judgment can be handed down at any time.
Construction of the Atarot Settlement: In anticipation of a key hearing on December 6th to discuss depositing the plan for public review, Terrestrial Jerusalem warns: “The deposit of the plan for public review marks the beginning of the serious stages of the planning process, turning what has been until now a distant concept into a an operational plan being seriously pursued. There is no room for complacency, and the earlier the Israeli authorities are engaged on this the greater the chances that such a dangerous plan can be stopped.”
Construction of the E-1 Settlement: Ahead of the last and final hearing on E-1 scheduled for December 13th, TJ cautions: “After the hearings, we will be only one decision away from the final approval of the plan, which will basically rest on the Defense Minister’s decision to convene the Higher Planning Council.”
Evictions in Sheikh Jarrah: Following the Palestinians’ choice to reject a Court-authored “compromise,” TJ writes: “Given the court’s pace in hearing the case until now, we believe a verdict is likely to be handed down before year’s end. While anticipating the content of future court rulings is fraught with dangers and uncertainty, it appears more rather than less likely that the Supreme Court will not overrule the rulings of the lower courts, and the eviction orders will stand. There is no further appeal.”

In conclusion, Terrestrial Jerusalem warns:

“If our analysis and projections are correct, by year’s end or shortly thereafter there will likely be a Supreme Court verdict against the Palestinian families in Silwan, and the sub-Committee of the Higher Planning Board will approve E-1. Thereafter, the evictions can take place at any time, and the only step required for the final statutory approval of E-1 is its ratification by means of the signatures of the Minister of Defense, both technicalities which can be performed within a matter of hours. In the weeks to come, we will likely hear from the senior members of the Bennett government: “don’t worry, we will not evict anyone in Sheikh Jarrah, nor will we build in E-1”. They will be very convincing, because they will likely be sincere. Yet, all it will take is a coalition crisis, a new election, or a terror attack with numerous casualties and the evictions will happen, and E-1 will be approved. The evictions in Sheikh Jarrah can be greenlighted at any time, and all it will take is one or two strokes of the pen – signatures on a dotted line by Defense Minister Benny Gantz – and E-1 will be approved. There will be no trip wire, no advanced warning.”

In a separate – and equally excellent – article dealing with these developments, in addition to several other key political elements (including the pending fate of reopening a U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem), Terrestrial Jerusalem founder Daniel Seidemann writes:

“In the weeks to come, we will likely hear senior members of the Bennett-Lapid government deliver lines such as: “Fear not, we will not evict anyone in Sheikh Jarrah, nor will we build in E-1.” They will be very convincing, but dead wrong. It is enough to have a coalition crisis, a new election, or a terror attack for the government to move forward with its plans. All it will take is two strokes of the pen — signatures on a dotted line by Defense Minister Benny Gantz — and E-1 would be approved, and the expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah can commence. There will be no trip wire, no advanced warning.”

New B’Tselem Report: Settler Violence Accomplishes State’s Goals

In a new report entitled “State Business: Israel’s misappropriation of land in the West Bank through settler violence”, B’Tselem details how systematic and ongoing settler violence is in effect a policy of the State of Israel, and a tool that the State uses to take over more and more land in the West Bank. The report presents five cases of settler violence – of lands in/near the Jordan Valley, the South Hebron Hills, Ramallah, and Nablus – and land takeover, drawing an alarming picture of how the State of Israel aids and abets settlers in their targeted violence, and then rewards those settlers with control over more land.

In a striking passage, B’Tselem writes:

“From the beginning of 2020 to the end of September 2021, B’Tselem documented 451 settler attacks on Palestinians and on their property – 245 were directed at Palestinian farmers. This figure excludes the Jordan Valley, where violence takes place on a daily basis. Of the 451 attacks recorded, in 27 cases settlers fired live ammunition, 180 included physical assault, 145 included damage to private property, 77 included attacks on homes, and 35 attacks on passing vehicles. 123 cases included damage to trees and crops, and in 59 settlers damaged farming equipment. The presence of Israeli security forces was recorded in 183 of these incidents: In 66 forces were present and did nothing, in 104 they participated in the attack, usually using rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades. In 22 incidents, security forces arrested Palestinians who had been attacked by settlers. In addition, five Palestinians were killed during joint attacks by settlers and soldiers.19 Rather than preventing violent actions against Palestinian farmers, the military has developed a “coordination” system that treats settler violence as a given. This system ostensibly enables Palestinian farmers to access their land, but in fact denies them almost any possibility to do so by limiting their access to a handful of days a year. Even on these days, if settlers violently prevent the farmers from cultivating their land, the military will remove the latter. Settlers, meanwhile, have unfettered access to Palestinian land all year round. Under this system, Palestinian farmers are consigned to partial cultivation of their land that keeps them from maximizing its potential, if they are able to extract anything from the land at all.”

And in conclusion, B’Tselem writes:

“Settler attacks against Palestinians are a strategy employed by the Israeli apartheid regime, which seeks to advance and complete its misappropriation of more and more Palestinian land. As such, settler violence is a form of government policy, permitted and aided by official state authorities with their active participation. The state legitimizes this reality in two complementary ways. It allows settlers to live, farm and graze livestock on land from which Palestinians have been violently ejected, and to that end pays for security, paves roads, provides infrastructure and supports financial enterprises in these outposts through various government ministries. At the same time, it gives settlers free rein to commit violent acts against Palestinians. The military does not confront violent settlers. It does not prevent the attacks, and in some cases, soldiers even participate in them. The Israeli law enforcement system does not take action against settlers who harm Palestinians after the fact and whitewashes the few cases it is called upon to address. “

Ir Amim: Israel’s 2040 Plan for Jerusalem Will Displace More Palestinians

In a new report, entitled “Planned Negligence: How Palestinian Neighborhoods Disappeared from Jerusalem’s Current and Future Urban Planning Policies,” Ir Amim analyzes how Israel’s “Jerusalem 2040 Strategic Plan” projects the continuation of decades-old policies of deliberate under-development and suppression of urban planning in Palestinian neighborhoods, in favor of the expansion and prosperity of Jewish Israeli neighborhoods. The report looks in detail at three planning policies adopted by Israel – for the benefit of Israeli Jews – in Jerusalem:

The framework agreement between the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Land Authority, which provides funding for 23,000 housing units in Israeli neighborhoods, yet does not include construction in a single Palestinian neighborhood;
The plan’s urban renewal project that outlines a potential for 30,000 more housing units, designated exclusively for Jewish Israeli neighborhoods; and
The light rail densification project, which is estimated to provide an additional 25,000 housing units which by definition will be limited almost entirely to Jewish Israeli neighborhoods (because the current and planned routes of the light rail are either located in or pass almost exclusively through Israeli neighborhoods).

The report concludes that the implementation of the “Jerusalem 2040 Strategic Plan” will result in further displacement of Palestinians from the homes in East Jerusalem. In Ir Amim’s words, Israel’s plan has

“…essentially sentenced hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem to the ever-worsening planning chokehold. The Israel 2040 Strategic Plan will drastically exacerbate the crisis beyond the already-astronomical cost that planning discrimination currently exacts from East Jerusalem’s residents.”

In conclusion, Ir Amim writes:

“Ongoing planning discrimination is creating a crippling housing crisis that is violating East Jerusalem residents’ basic right to a home, and is displacing them from the city. Those who are forced to relocate away from Jerusalem will face growing environmental problems, remain plagued by housing shortages and issues of inadequate infrastructure that continue to worsen. The government’s new planning policy is transforming the existing planning discrimination against East Jerusalem residents into a pre-determined, quasi-professional policy quagmire which will shape the planning landscape for decades to come. There is an essential and urgent need to act imminently to amend these government decisions to include tailored solutions for Palestinian neighborhoods and to provide for the housing needs of East Jerusalem residents.”

Bonus Reads

“Israeli Defense Minister’s New Settlement Aide Isn’t a Settler, in First Since 2015” (Haaretz)
“Sheikh Jarrah families ‘determined’ despite lingering uncertainty” (Al Jazeera)
“EU-funded Palestinian school faces Israeli demolition” (Al Jazeera)
“We don’t just live through one home demolition — we live through them all” (+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.

November 12, 2021

Settlers Secure Deal for Eventual Eviction of Another Sheikh Jarrah Family
Increasing Pressure on the Government, Settlers to Operationalize Plan to Increase Control Over Area C
JNF Stops Funding 18-Year Legal Battle Over Beit Bakri in Hebron
Demolitions in East Jerusalem Continue, Including in Al-Walaja
Settler Violence & Expansionism Continue to Escalate in the South Hebron Hills
Bennett Pledges Evyatar Outpost will be Legalized, Sparking Palestinian Ire & More Coalition Threats
Government Punts on Outpost Legalization Bill, Knesset Might Move Forward Anyway
Bonus Reads

Settlers Secure Deal for Eventual Eviction of Another Sheikh Jarrah Family

Israel Hayom reports that a Palestinian family in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood has reached a Court-approved “deal” with settlers to recognize settler ownership of their home (where they have lived since 1956), in exchange for being allowed to stay as paying tenants for a period of at least ten years. The “deal” follows the broad outline of a Court-authored compromise that was rejected last week by four other Palestinian families (the cases are separate, but not unrelated).

Israel Hayom additionally speculates:

“The compromise, which was given the force of a legal ruling in the Jerusalem Magistrates Court a few days ago, could serve as a precedent for other local Arab families and is seen as a blow to the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which are both pressuring Arab residents of Sheikh Jarrah-Shimon HaTzadik to refuse any proposed deals to vacate the properties.”

Increasing Pressure on the Government, Settlers to Operationalize Plan to Increase Control Over Area C

In a closed meeting on November 10th, the heads of settler regional councils met to discuss their ongoing effort to get the Israeli government to annex Area C of the West Bank. According to Arutz Sheva (the settler media outlet), the meeting resulted in significant decisions that create a more unified settler operation on the matter, including the formation of a “joint command center” through which all of the councils will act together, and a commitment by all the regional leaders to form a unified front to pressure the government.

Following the meeting, the participants released a statement saying:

“This struggle is over whether we continue to exist or to fold. This is an existential battle involving the entire Nation of Israel. We are all committed towards working together in order to stop the hostile takeover of our lands and in order to preserve the future of Jewish life in Judea and Samaria.”

An op-ed published in Israel Hayom on November 11th – entitled “In Area C, the time has come to get off the fence” – seemingly making the case for such an effort, the settlement activist Sara Haetzni-Cohen writes:

“Efrat’s dedicated residents have established their own war room. They track every brick and every bit of cement that is spilled and report it to the authorities. They know every demolition order that is issued but not enforced, and they do not give up. But the state quite simply does not exist. The Civil Administration is failing at its task and by choice…We’ve reached a stage where there is no state on which to rely on major issues. Real leadership from leaders who will get off the fence is needed. Local leadership in Judea and Samaria, whether elected or civilian organizations, must get off the fence and protect state lands, settlement lands, our homeland. It should be done intelligently, responsibly, and in a law-abiding manner. We should not resort to violence or vandalism against the Arab population, but rather go about this in a positive way, by planting trees and working the land, by showing our presence on the ground. If we will not be for ourselves, who will be for us? There simply isn’t any choice. We must get off the psychological and physical fence and defend our land.”

As a reminder, under the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was divided into 3 “areas” – Area A, B, and C – pending a permanent status Israeli-Palestinian agreement that would determine final control over all the land (an agreement that was supposed to have been reached by by May 1999). The Oslo Accords gave Israel complete control over Area C, which accounts for around 60% of the West Bank. Throughout the 28 years since the Oslo Accords were signed (and with no peace agreement achieved or in sight), Israel has systematically denied Palestinians in Area C permits that would enable them to build “legally” (under Israeli law) on their own land. As a result, Palestinians have been forced to build without Israeli permits (i.e., “illegally” in the eyes of Israeli authorities), and Israel has responded by issuing wide-scale demolition orders and carrying out frequent demolitions. In recent years, Israel has increasingly treated Area C as indistinguishable from sovereign Israeli territory, effectively extending its laws and regulations to the area and its Israeli settler inhabitants. In parallel, settler groups – most notably the notorious “Regavim” – have lobbied Israeli authorities to crack down on “illegal” Palestinian construction, claiming that Palestinians are trying to “take over Israeli land”.

As part of these ongoing efforts — by settlers and the Israeli government — to entrench and expand Israel’s control over/de facto annexation of the entirety of Area C, in September 2020 the Israeli government allocated 20 million NIS ($6 million USD) for the newly created Settlement Affairs Ministry. That ministry was given the mission of surveying and mapping “unauthorized” (by Israel) Palestinian construction in Area C (the same construction which Israel has been aggressively demolishing). This funding further empowers a domestic Israeli body to exert extraterritorial sovereignty over Area C – in effect, treating the area as land already annexed by Israel.

The Knesset has also repeatedly hosted forums to discuss the alleged (by settlers and their allies/advocates) “Palestinian takeover of Area C” — framing predicated on the assertion that Area C belongs to Israel (an assertion that is not supported by the Oslo Accords) and must be defended against Palestinian efforts to “steal” it. Consistent with this framing, and under pressure from various outside groups, many members of the Knesset have criticized the Israeli government’s alleged failure to robustly “defend” Israel’s rights/ interests in Area C (e.g., failure to prevent/destroy “illegal” Palestinian construction, failure to block foreign government-funded humanitarian projects that support Palestinians’ presence in the area; failure to clear out Palestinians from the area, expand settlements, and consolidate state-built settlement infrastructure; etc.).

JNF Stops Funding 18-Year Legal Battle Over Beit Bakri in Hebron

The Jerusalem Post reports that the Board of the Jewish National Fund in Israel has decided to stop funding the legal costs of a group of settlers battling to win control over a contested home in Tel Rumeida, in the heart of downtown Hebron (and to that end, forging documents). Israeli Courts have ruled against the settlers’ claim to the home twice, most recently in December 2019, in a ruling which affirmed that the Palestinian Bakri family is the rightful owner (the house is known as “Beit Bakri”).

At the request of the settlers, the JNF has agreed to pay installments on a legal guarantee to Israeli courts in order to allow the settlers to avoid eviction while pursuing an appeal against the December 2019 ruling against them. Since 2019, the JNF has paid some $35,000 (110,000 NIS) towards the case.

The Palestinian homeowners – the Bakri family – temporarily fled their home under constant settler harassment during the Second Intifada, a time when Tel Rumeida could have been accurately described as an “urban battlefield.” While the family was gone, settlers broke into the house, damaged it, destroyed the Bakri’s property, and ultimately took up residence there.

The Bakri family has spent the past 18 years petitioning Israeli police and the courts to remove the settlers — cases the Bakri family repeatedly won. The settlers have managed to repeatedly delay their eviction by essentially exploiting every possible legal defense, no matter how absurd or contradictory. For example: At different points over the past 18 years, settlers argued in court that they had a rental agreement; that they purchased the home; that the plot of land was owned by a Jewish trust prior to 1948 and they are “reclaiming” the property; and that because they had invested so much money in improving the land since taking it over, under Ottoman Law it now legally belongs to them, regardless of the means by which they acquired it. When at one point some years ago the courts ruled that the settlers had to evacuate, the settler occupants of the Bakri home did, indeed, leave, only to be immediately replaced by other settlers — at which point the Israeli Attorney General told the Bakri family that they had to start eviction proceedings anew. For a detailed timeline of the Bakri family’s saga, see this report from Peace Now.

Throughout the course of this saga, the settlers’ effort to hold on to the Bakri home was aided by the State’s unwillingness to implement court orders against the settlers. Peace Now said in a statement:

“This is not only a matter of cruelty, deceit and theft of settlers who are not loathe to take control of assets that are not theirs, but also a matter of the lack of government accountability. For 18 years the government did not enforce the law against the invading settlers, and even assisted them and allowed them to continue to steal the house and terrorize their Palestinian neighbors in Tel Rumeida. Furthermore, it should be remembered that Hebron is under Israeli occupation and the Palestinian residents cannot remove the settlers from their homes by appealing to the Palestinian Authority. The power lies in the hands of the Israeli government, which does nothing to fulfill its responsibilities to protect abandoned Palestinian property.”

Demolitions in East Jerusalem Continue, Including in Al-Walaja

Over the past week the Israeli government has moved forward with demolitions in Palestinian neighborhoods across East Jerusalem, including:

The demolition of three Palestinian homes in the village of Al-Walajah on November 9th. For more on Israel’s systematic campaign to demolish homes in Al-Walajah – including its refusal to approve building plans initiated by Palestinians – see FMEP’s September 9, 2021 settlement report;
Israeli authorities delivered demolition notices to 10 Palestinian families (70 individuals) living in an apartment building in the al-Tur neighborhood. The notice ordered the families to self-demolish the four-story building within one week, or have Israeli forces demolish the building, with the cost of the demolition billed to the residents. The families reportedly began removing their belongings from the building on November 5th in anticipation of demolition;
Under coercive Israeli policies, a Palestinian family opted to self-demolish an apartment building in the Beit Hanina neighborhood;
Under coercive Israeli policies, a Palestinian family opted to self-demolish its house in the Jabel al-Mukaber neighborhood.

As is always the Israeli position, the State asserts that the homes being demolished and under threat of demolition have been built by Palestinians without the required Israeli permits (often on land that even Israel recognizes they privately own). Such permits are generally all but impossible for Palestinians to obtain; in the case of al-Walajah, they are literally impossible to obtain, since the area lacks the required Israeli-approved “outline plan,” without which permits are an impossibility. Facing the reality of having Israel demolish their homes and being required to pay excessive costs and fees associated with such demolitions, Palestinians sometimes choose to self-demolish their homes.

Settler Violence & Expansionism Continues to Escalate in the South Hebron Hills

On Wednesday, November 10th a group of settlers attempting to install a campsite and graze their flocks on land near the Palestinian village of Khilet al-Daba clashed with local Palestinians, who worried that the settlers were making an attempt to take over the land – an understandable concern giving the growing phenomenal of farming outposts as a means for settlement expansion. The clashes – which took place at night after a full day of building tensions – took a violent turn when settlers set a Palestinian agricultural structure on fire. The evening ended with two Palestinians being shot by settlers with live rounds, three Palestinians wounded by settlers throwing rocks, and damage to several cars owned by Palestinians.

The land on which the settlers were grazing their flocks and attempting to install a campsite was declared to be a firing zone by the Israeli government, making it illegal for Palestinians to build there or even enter. According to Haaretz, the Israeli state has plans to evict Palestinians who live in this area (who have ostensibly lived in the area prior to it being declared by Israel to be a firing zone).

The IDF, which had been at the scene intermittently during the day, eventually sought to separate the groups by declaring the area a closed military zone. South Hebron Hills activist Basil Al-Adraa explained how this practice works to allow settlers to accomplish their goals, saying:

“The army arrived, declared it a closed military zone and kicked us out. But they didn’t kick out the settlers or take down the tent they put up today.”

The South Hebron Hills is a hotbed for settler violence, and was the scene of a settler attack – a Jewish pogrom – in September. Earlier this week, settlers from a nearby outpost – aided by the IDF – temporarily blocked Palestinian access to a playground in the village of Susiya. In addition to settler violence, the Israeli government is also acting to significantly expand settlements and retroactively legalize outposts in the South Hebron Hills.

Notably, two U.S members of Congress – Mark Pocan (D, WI-2) and Jamaal Bowman (D, NY-16) – visited the village of Susiya in the South Hebron Hills on November 10th (prior to the outbreak of violence that night). They pair met with local Paelstinian activist where they were told of the violence settlers inflict on the local population.

In an interview with Jewish Currents in October 2021, Basil Al-Adraa explained how violence and land takeovers are two sides of the same coin in the South Hebron Hills,

“Settlers have long been attacking the communities here. The [Israeli] Civil Administration gives them land stolen from the Palestinians: They declared it state land so they can take it by force, for settlers to build settlements and outposts and farms. This year, the settlers have started these new sheep farms around the West Bank, where they bring volunteers to work on these farms. But the settlers aren’t content with the tens of thousands of dunams [one dunam equals 1,000 square meters] they’ve been granted: They bring their animals to our private fields, which the state can’t take from us. They bring them to our orange trees, to drink from our water systems—like the well where we collect rainwater—and to graze on our grass. And what’s been happening recently, especially since May, is they’ve been organizing big attacks on Shabbat and holidays because settlers don’t have much work to do on those days. Dozens of settlers will come masked, with hammers, machine guns, sticks, and stones. The army escorts them two or three kilometers from their settlements to our villages. They burn houses, cut down olive trees. If the army sees some Palestinian trying to defend themselves, then they will shoot at [that Palestinian] with live stun grenades, or tear gas, or rubber bullets. They use all the force. We are under army law as Palestinians in Area C, but the settlers are under civilian law, so the soldiers in the area can’t deal with the settlers, who are under the jurisdiction of the police. But the police take three or four hours to come, only after the attacks have finished. In my community, al-Tuwani, there have been at least seven organized attacks. A lot of people look at these as [isolated] incidents, and this time, there was more media attention to the issue because there was a three-year-old child who was wounded. But it’s part of a policy, in which settlers and the Israeli army don’t want us to feel safe where we live. Like the home demolitions, the blocking of roads, the cutting water and electricity networks, it’s all leading to one goal: They want to kick us out of this land, out of Area C toward Area A [areas under Palestinian administrative and police control, like Ramallah]. But our land is here, our life is here.”

Bennett Pledges Evyatar Outpost will be Legalized, Sparking Palestinian Ire & More Coalition Threats

In a press conference on November 7th, Prime Minister Bennet affirmed his commitment to granting retroactive legalization to the unauthorized outpost of Evyatar – which was built on a strategic hilltop named Mount Sabih, located just south of Nablus on land historically belonging to nearby Palestinian villages Beita, Yatma, and Qablan. Even before Bennett’s most recent statement, several members of his fragile coalition have spoken out to insist that the reestablishment of Evyatar is a redline that, if crossed, could bring down the coalition (FMEP covered a few such statements two weeks ago). In the wake of Bennett’s press conference, more continued to do so, which only adds to the growing public fracture in the coalition over outposts and settlement building more broadly.

Public Security Minister Bar Lev (Labor) pledged to block the legalization of Evyatar, said this week:

“There are enough ways to dissolve this agreement. The Evyatar community [outpost] was illegal and illegal communities should be evacuated.”

The Mayor of Beita predicts that Bennett’s pledge to legalize the outpost (coupled with the end of the olive harvest season, which consumed protestors’ time elsewhere) will spark renewed energy in Palestinian-led protests in the town of Beita. Since settlers struck a deal with the government to temporarily vacate the outpost back in July 2021, Palestinians have staged regular protests against Evyatar outpost, and against the continue denial of access to the land on which the outposts continues to exist (the area is a closed military zone, where Palestinians are denied the ability to access). The protests over the summer were particularly violent, resulting in the killing of at least five Palestinian protestors by Israeli soldiers.

An organizer of the protests, Amal Bani Shamseh, told The New Arab:

“the people in Beita can not stand the idea of a single settler moving back to Mount Sabih and are willing to intensify protests, and women are the first to affirm it.”

As a reminder, the fate of the Evyatar outpost was the first controversy that threatened to divide the fragile Bennett-led government when it was sworn in. Bennet’s partners were bitterly divided on whether to evacuate the outpost or let it be, while the government sought to grant it retroactive legalization. In the end, the government reached a “deal” which saw the settlers (temporarily) vacate the outpost on Friday, July 2nd. In return, the government left the settlers’ illegal construction at the site in place (i.e., did not demolish it) — including buildings and roads — while it “examines” the status of the land to see if it can be declared “state land” and therefore “legally” turned into a settlement (opening the door for the settlers to return). Under the agreement, the outpost is being used as a military base in the interim.

The fact that the “compromise” left in place the settlers’ structures and allowed Israel to maintain complete control over the site during the “survey” process signalled from the start that the government is not concerned with enforcing Israeli law, but rather is focused on finding a political solution that works for the settlers. It was further clear from the terms of the “compromise” that the Bennet government believed it will be succeed in finding a pretext to assert that the land on which the outpost stands is “state land” which can be used by the state as it sees fit (i.e., give it to the settlers). If the state decides, pursuant to the investigation, that it has a basis on which to declare the site to be “state land,” the settlers will be allowed to return and resume the establishment of what would from that point no longer be an illegal outpost, but a new “legal” settlement.

Government Punts on Outpost Legalization Bill, Knesset Might Move Forward Anyway

The Jerusalem Post reports that the Ministerial Committee on Legislation has decided to delay by four months its decision on whether to grant government backing to a bill that would grant retroactive authorization (i.e., legalize) nearly 70 West Bank settlement outposts that Israel has failed to find any other way to legalize (because they are built on land even Israel recognizes is privately owned by Palestinians). As a reminder, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation is composed of government Ministers, and decides whether or not the governing coalition will throw its support behind a bill in the Knesset – ensuring either its passage or defeat.

In response to this news, MK Orit Struck (Religious Zionist Party) — who is also a longtime Hebron settlement leader — said that she intends to bring the bill to the Knesset for an initial reading despite lacking government-backing. Struck believes a strong majority of Knesset Members, regardless of the government’s position, will support the bill. Members of the Knesset attempted to fast-track the passage of this same bill in May 2021, while Bennett and Lapid were in negotiations to form the current governing coalition.

The bill introduced in May 2021 included an explanatory text claiming that the proposed law is in line with a decision the Security Cabinet took in 2017, when it tasked a new committee – headed by notorious settler leader Pinchas Wallerstein – to prepare individualized plans for each outpost to gain retroactive legalization based on the passage of the Regulation Law and the recommendations in the Zandberg Report. Bills similar to this have been filed several times in the past, and the Israeli government has debated granting retroactive authorization to the outposts via a government decision – and came close to doing so in the waning days of the Trump Administration.

Bonus Reads

“Israeli Settlers Escalate Violence in West Bank” (Foreign Policy)
“Nearly 20 years on, Israeli barrier shapes Palestinian lives” (AP)
“Far-right protestors clash with cops in Jerusalem over settler teen’s death” (The Times of Israel)
“They should have been lawyers. Instead they’re at Israeli construction sites” (Basil al-Adraa in +972 Magazine)
“How the Occupation Harms Not Only the Palestinians, but the Planet Too” (Haaretz)
“Palestinians say no to work in settlements” (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.

November 5, 2021

Sheikh Jarrah Families Reject Court-Proposed “Deal” with Settlers; Eviction Orders Expected Soon
Supreme Court Rules Sheikh Jarrah Businesses – Built on Privately-Owned Palestinian Land But Near Settler Sites – Will Be Demolished
Israel Demolishes East Jerusalem Muslim Cemetery, In Order to Make Way for Public Garden (& Increase Israeli Control Over Old City Perimeter
Israeli Court OKs Refusal of Israeli Custodian of Absentee Properties to Disclose Extent of Control Over Palestinian Properties
New Report from HaMoked: The ‘Seam Zone’ & Israel’s Ongoing Dispossession/Annexation
Bonus Reads

Sheikh Jarrah Families Reject Court-Proposed “Deal” with Settlers; Eviction Orders Expected Soon

On Tuesday, November 2nd, four families facing imminent eviction from their longtime homes in Sheikh Jarrah in favor of settlers released a statement rejecting a Court-authored “compromise” that would have allowed the families to temporarily remain in their homes as “protected tenants” paying rent to settlers, whose ultimate ownership over the properties would be made official (but technically – though not realistically – still open to legal challenge by the Palestinians). You can review the full terms of the deal here.

The Court ordered both parties to respond to the “deal” by November 2nd. It was only after the Palestinians put forth their statement that we learned that the settlers reportedly accepted the terms, as relayed by Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King, a staunch supporter and prolific financier of settlements in East Jerusalem, to the AP (this information remains unconfirmed, as the settler-submitted position has not been published).

It’s important to point out — as the Palestinian families note in their statement — that the Court’s handling of the case neatly constructed a lose-lose scenario for the Palestinians. If they had accepted the deal they would have been painted as legitimizing the theft of their property and the claims of the settlers. When they instead refused it, they were immediately painted as rejectionists, in contrast to the settlers who — having waited for Palestinians to reject the deal — positioned themselves as the “reasonable” party in the eyes of the Court.

Both parties were under pressure from the Court to accept the deal. According to Terrestrial Jerusalem, the Court has previously indicated that if either party rejects the deal, the Court would move to swiftly issue a final decision on the cases. Peace Now’s analysis of the Supreme Court’s position predicts that the Court will now rule in favor of the settlers (leading to the eviction of the Palestinian families), like lower Courts have done.

Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann also predicts that the Court will rule against the settlers, further speculating:

“There will likely be an eviction verdict [against] the Palestinians soon. Bennett/Lapid will say “we won’t carry out the eviction”. They will likely be sincere – and wrong. One coalition crisis, one terror attack and they will be evicted. This is very bad indeed.”

The statement of rejection from the Palestinians families (the El Kurd, Jaouni, Abu Hasna, and Askafi families) is worth reading in full:

“We reject the ‘proposal’ by the ‘Israeli Supreme Court’ which would have rendered us ‘protected tenants’ at the mercy of settler organizations. We stand firm in our refusal to compromise on our rights despite the lack of institutional guarantees that would protect our presence as Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem.

The Israeli justiciary is circumventing its duty to adjudicate the case and is forcing us instead to choose between our own dispossession or submitting to an oppressive agreement. Naturally, we refuse to commit someone else’s crimes.

Such ‘compromises’ create the illusion of the ball in our court, fabricating a farming in which we reject a ‘generous deal,’ in a situation where our dispossession would still be imminent and our homes would still be regarded as someone else’s. Such ‘deals’ distract from the crime at hand: ethnic cleansing perpetrated by a settler-colonial judiciary and its settlers.

The international community has long maintained that settler expansion and forced expulsion in Sheikh Jarrah are war crimes. Thus it must respond to grave international law violations with real diplomatic and political repercussions. The culture of inaction and impunity must not be maintained.

It is time for our Nakba to end. Our family deserve to live in peace without the looming ghost of imminent dispossession.”

On November 10th, Ir Amim is hosting a briefing with MK and lawyer Gaby Lasky on the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan cases. RSVP here.

Supreme Court Rules Sheikh Jarrah Businesses – Built on Privately-Owned Palestinian Land But Near Settler Sites – Will Be Demolished

Map by Peace Now

On October 31st, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected the appeals of Palestinian business owners seeking to save their establishments located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood from demolition. The businesses – a bus parking lot and a carwash – are now cleared to be demolished in order to make way for a “public garden” as well as a driveway that will service an as-of-yet-unbuilt Israeli hotel in the neighborhood. Notably, the businesses are located very close to the tomb of Shimon the Righteous, which is a religious site closely associated with the settler enclave in Sheikh Jarrah.

The Jerusalem Municipality previously expropriated the land — which was privately owned by Palestinians – on which the businesses exist. The land was expropriated “for public use,” a tactic that Israeli law permits the State to use in order to confiscate even privately owned land ostensibly to benefit the “public” (a “public” that it seems never includes Palestinians in East Jerusalem), if the State finds it necessary.

Offering critical context, Peace Now raises several absurdities regarding the land expropriation order:

“The decision to expropriate raises several questions. First, the timing. As far as we know to date, no application has been opened for a construction permit for the construction of the hotel. That means there do not appear to be any procedures for starting construction of the hotel soon. The designation for open public space is directly related to the hotel, so it is not clear why it was urgent for the municipality to act right now. We will also mention that the State Comptroller recently remarked to the Ministry of Transportation about the severe shortage of hundreds of parking spaces for buses in Jerusalem, and now the Municipality is cancelling parkings of dozens of buses.

Another issue to wonder about is the proximity of the area to the area of the tomb of Shimon the Righteous (Shimon Ha’tzadik), which is a pilgrimage site for Jews, especially ultra-Orthodox, throughout the year. It is possible that the municipality’s desire to carry out the expropriation is related to the desire to act for the benefit of Jewish visitors to the neighborhood and to allow the Israeli grip of the neighborhood to expand, even if it is formally an open public space intended for the entire Israeli and Palestinian public. Another issue to wonder about is the proximity of the area to the area of the tomb of Shimon the Righteous (Shimon Ha’tzadik), which is a pilgrimage site for Jews, especially ultra-Orthodox, throughout the year. It is possible that the municipality’s desire to carry out the expropriation is related to the desire to act for the benefit of Jewish visitors to the neighborhood and to allow the Israeli grip of the neighborhood to expand, even if it is formally an open public space intended for the entire Israeli and Palestinian public.”

While the court case that will lead to the demolition of the Palestinian businesses in Sheikh Jarrah is not formally linked to the ongoing effort to forcibly dispossess four Palestinian families of their homes in this same neighborhood, radical Kahanist Itamar Ben Gvir did not shy away from making the (obvious) connection between the two cases, commenting that the demolition of the businesses is a:

“necessary step, and now is the time to also evacuate the families of Sheikh Jarrah.”

Israel Demolishes East Jerusalem Muslim Cemetery, In Order to Make Way for Public Garden (& Increase Israeli Control Over Old City Perimeter)

For over ten consecutive days, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli Parks and Nature Authority have been demolishing parts of the Yusufiya cemetery near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to turn the area into yet another “public park”. The area in question includes a monument to, and graves of, Palestinians and Jordanians who fought in the 1967 war. Palestinians, many of whom fear that their relatives’ graves will be demolished and exhumed (fears that the Jerusalem Municipality has sought – and failed – to assuage) have protested and clashed with Israeli authorities as they attempt to stop the desecration of the cemetery, the erasure of Arab history, and denial of Palestinian life in the city.

Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at the Ir Amim, explained:

“The park in question is part of a series of government-funded projects which aim to link settler compounds in the Old City Basin…Similar projects are taking place on the Mount of Olives, [in] Silwan and [in] Sheikh Jarrah…The incidents at the Yusufiya Cemetery are an extreme example of the Israeli government’s lack of respect toward Palestinian property rights, heritage and holy places and its determination to make over the Old City Basin.”

The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Muhammad Hussein, told Al-Monitor:

“The cemeteries are part of the identity of the holy city and its narrative, and evidence of the Arab and Islamic presence in the city for thousands of years. Obliterating the city’s landmarks is in the interest of the Jewish settlement project and the Israeli narrative, which is embodied by changing the names of Arab cities, neighborhoods, and streets, and the Judaization of public places and landmarks.”

Hamza Quttaineh, a lawyer advocating for the Martyrs’ Cemetery before the Israeli courts, told Middle East Eye:

“There are huge machinations undertaken by the occupation municipality, along with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the judicial system, that provide the legal coverage needed for the Judaisation project encompassing the historical wall of Jerusalem’s Old City.”

Israeli Court OKs Refusal of Israeli Custodian of Absentee Properties to Disclose Extent of Control Over Palestinian Properties

Haaretz has in-depth reporting on a recent freedom of information case relating to the Israeli Custodian of Absentee Properties. The Custodian of Absentee Properties is a government body within the Israeli Finance Ministry that has possession of properties in East Jerusalem that under Israel’s “Absentee Property Law” were “abandoned” by Palestinians during and after the 1948 war, becoming the property of the Israeli state.

In response to a freedom of information request, the Custodian refused to disclose the number of “absentee” properties that it currently controls. The Custodian – Ronen Baruch, who has held the position since 2005 – gave multiple excuses for refusing the request, asserting at different points that his office doesn’t know how many properties it controls, that the process of gathering that information is too complicated, and that revealing this information may compromise the country’s foreign relations (ultimately the winning argument).

During the subsequent Court hearing on the freedom of information request, a senior official from the Israeli Foreign Ministry was granted permission to privately brief the judge, after which the judge ruled against the freedom of information request – a ruling the petitioners intend to appeal. The judge wrote,

“I have been convinced that the disclosure of the requested information may jeopardize the state’s foreign relations…I am satisfied that delivery of the information will cause an unreasonable allocation of resources… Which may disrupt and even paralyze the Custodian’s work.”

The two Israeli lawyers who filed the freedom of information request (Amir Adika and Ram Cohen) told Haaretz:

“What harms the state’s foreign relations? Revealing the information, or the very existence of the law, over 70 years after the country’s founding?…This law is very powerful in regard to the state’s authority over people’s private property…There is public and economic importance in knowing how it conducts itself with this power, how many such properties there are, how many they release, how many they sell. This is a very unconventional law. The impression is that they’re either presenting a very imprecise picture, or that they’re not managing at all.”

As a reminder, Israel’s Absentee Property Law affords Jews the right to reclaim property they owned in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the period before Israel became a state in 1948, and that they were forced to abandon as a result of the 1948 War. Israel’s law affords no such right to Palestinians who as the result of that same war were likewise forced to abandon property inside what became the State of Israel. After the war, Israel designated such properties “absentee properties” control over which was transferred wholesale to the Israeli state. Use of the Absentee Property Law by settlers organizations with the willing participation of the Israeli government is a key legal mechanism behind past, present, and future evictions of Palestinains from the most sensitive areas of East Jerusalem (like Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan) where Palestinians are facing mass eviction.

New Report from HaMoked: The ‘Seam Zone’ & Israel’s Ongoing Dispossession & Annexation

In a new report, entitled “Creeping Dispossession: Israeli Restrictions on Palestinian Farming Beyond the Barrier,” the Israeli NGO HaMoked takes an in-depth look at the Israeli military bureaucracy which governs – – and systematically infringes upon — the right of Palestinian landowners and farmers to access and effectively cultivate their land which falls in the “Seam Zone” (i.e. the West Bank land that, when Israel constructed its Seperation Barrier along a route that cuts deeply into the West Bank, was left on the Israeli side of the wall/fence).

This important topic shows just how Israel’s policies work to systematically dispossess these Palestinians of their land. The report sarts with an important reminder about the “original sin” involved in this dispossession — Israel’s choice to build its separation barrier not along the 1967 Green Line (which, at the time of the barriers conception in 2002 was an internationally agreed upon divider between Israeli territory and occupied territory) but instead along a route that, for the sake of keeping settlements (and land upon which to expand settlements) on the Israeli side of the barrier, de facto annexed some 9.4% of West Bank land to Israel. [map] The West Bank lands which fell on the Isareli side of the barrier – the “Seam Zone” – were declared “closed military zones,” requiring Palestinians who live on the other side of the barrier to traverse a complicated Israeli bureaucracy in hopes of obtaining access their land (or the land upon which they are employed to cultivate). The matter gets even more complicated from there.

HaMoked writes in conclusion:

“Nearly two decades since the construction of the Barrier, we see the logic of a creeping dispossession – more and more restrictions on Palestinians trying to access areas trapped between the Barrier and the Green Line, and as a result, fewer and fewer people willing to navigate the permit bureaucracy Israel has put in place. Any agricultural community will tell you that land is not merely functional. The land is a source of produce and income, but its benefits cannot be quantified solely in monetary terms. The land is also a site for family and community events, and connection to the land is integral to the local culture. For dozens of Palestinian communities, and tens of thousands of people, all of this has been destroyed by the Separation Barrier. Even those who receive permits to cross the gates during their limited opening hours cannot have a picnic with their family or a spontaneous outing to their land as they once did.

The permit regime reverses the basic logic of international law, that individuals enjoy freedom of movement within their own country, and that movement can only be restricted with just cause. For Palestinians living near the Separation Barrier that Israel built on a route that cuts through the West Bank, free movement is the exception, and the restriction on movement is the rule. And whereas initially Israel promised access to lands behind the Barrier except when security needs warrant precluding access, now no security need is required to deny access. Instead, the premise of the permit regime is now that only Palestinians who prove a need to enter these areas will be allowed to do so. Furthermore, the military periodically amends its definition of “need” to be more and more narrow.

HaMoked has had success in overcoming some of the restrictions: individuals who were denied permits eventually received them following litigation; some restrictive policies have been reversed and others are still under judicial review. However, none of this changes the overall picture emerging from this report: steadily increasing restrictions on Palestinians’ access to the areas of the West Bank known as the Seam Zone have decimated the livelihoods of individuals, families and entire communities.”

Bonus Reads

“Israel OKs Palestinian homes after advancing settlements” (AP)
“Israeli forces demolish Palestinian-owned house in occupied Jerusalem” (Quds News Network)
“Thirty Years On: The Ruse of the Middle East Peace Process” (Inez Abdel Razek for Al-Shabaka)
“Israel Moves to Silence the Stalwarts of Palestinian Civil Society” (Zena Agha in The New York Times)

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.

October 29, 2021

Supreme Court Hearing Ends Without Verdict on Key Silwan Case, But Court Appears to Support Settlers’ Ownership Claims
Final Numbers: Israeli Civil Administration Advances Plans for 3,130 Settlement Units
Israeli Housing Ministry Publishes Tenders for 1,335 Settlement Units, + 83 More Units in Givat Hamatos
Elkin Announces Plan to Double Settler Population in Jordan Valley by 2026
With Back-to-Back Major Settlement Announcements – and Ongoing Dispossession Cases – U.S. State Department Offers its Criticism
Shaked & Settler Leader Push for Retroactive Legalization of Evyatar Outpost
Israel Advances Annexation via Rent Protection Program
New from FMEP
Bonus Reads/Watches

Supreme Court Hearing Ends Without Verdict on Key Silwan Case, But Court Appears to Support Settlers’ Ownership Claims

On Monday, October 25th the Israeli Supreme Court held a key hearing on the case of the Palestinian Duweik family, the fate of which holds monumentous reprecussions for 85 other families in the Batan al-Hawa section of Silwan, all of which are similarly fighting eviction proceedings initiated by the Ateret Cohanim settler group. Contrary to expectation, the Court adjourned without reaching a verdict on the case, but in the course of the hearing the Court’s jurists did the following:

The Court appeared to agree with two decisions by lower Courts, holding that the Benvenisti Trust (which is controlled by the Ateret Cohanim settler organization) is the rightful owner of the property.
The Court questioned the Israeli Administrator General’s actions over the course of decades, with Justices openly questioning why – for the sixty years in which the Duweik family has been living in the property – the Administrator General did not act to either inform the family that they were living on Jewish-owned land, or initiate eviction proceedings before now.
The Court rejected a request by a group of leading Israeli lawyers to join the case and present an amicus curiae brief. The brief, organized by Peace Now and led by Michael Sfard, argues that the Palestinian’s right to remain in their longtime home trumps any landownership claims made by the settler group.

Last week, after repeated extensions on a Court-ordered deadline, the Israeli Attorney General finally submitted his position on the case to the Court. The document submitted by the Attorney General was only 1 page, and simply stated that the case does not merit intervention either on the specific case of the Duweik family or the wider legal principle at stake, which threatens an additional 85 families living under threat of eviction in Batan al-Hawa.

As a reminder, Ateret Cohanim has waged a years-long eviction campaign against Palestinians living in Silwan, on property the settler NGO claims to own. In total, Ateret Cohanim’s campaign stands to ultimately dispossess 700 Palestinians (85 families) in Silwan. The group’s claim is based on having gained control of the historic Benvenisti Trust, which oversaw the assets of Yemenite Jews who lived in Silwan in the 19th century. In 2001 the Israeli Charitable Trust Registrar granted Ateret Cohanim permission to revive the trust and become its trustees, (following 63 years of dormancy). In 2002, the Israeli Custodian General transferred ownership of the land in Batan al-Hawa to the Trust (i.e., to Ateret Cohanim). Since then, Ateret Cohanim has accelerated its multifaceted campaign to remove Palestinians from their homes, claiming that the Palestinians are illegally squatting on land owned by the trust.

Final Numbers: Israeli Civil Administration Advances Plans for 3,130 Settlement Units

On Wednesday, October 27th the Israeli Civil Administration advanced plans for a total of 3,130 settlement units in 25 settlements across the West Bank. Of that total, the Israeli body gave its final approval to 1,804 units, including two plans which will grant retroactive legalization to two unauthorized outposts – effectively creating two new legal (under Israeli law) settlements. The numbers appear higher than what was reported last week, which can be accounted for by different methods of counting units by the Israeli Civil Administration and the settlement watchdog Peace Now – which argues the Israeli government double counts some units “for certain bureaucratic reasons.”

Details on the units advanced this week can be found in last week’s Settlement Report.

Israeli Housing Ministry Publishes Tenders for 1,335 Settlement Units, + 83 More Units in Givat Hamatos

On Sunday, October 24th, the Israeli Ministry of Housing – which is headed by Likud MK Zeev Elkin – published tenders for the construction of 1,335 new settlement units across the West Bank. In addition, the Ministry also published tenders for the construction of an additional 83 units in the Givat Hamatos settlement, located in East Jerusalem. Tenders for the construction of 1,257 units in Givat Hamatos were issued in January 2021.

Now that the tenders are published, contractors will bid on the projects and the Housing Ministry will award the tender. Following that, construction may commence. [graph]

The following tenders were published this week:

731 units in the Ariel settlement, located in the central West Bank;
346 units in the Beit El settlement, which also received final approval this week from the Civil Administration for 52 new units. The Beit El settlement is located in the heart of the northern West Bank [as a reminder, former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has deep ties to the Beit El settlement]; Construction on 350 new units in Beit El began earlier this year;
102 units in the Elkana settlement, located about half way between the Ariel settlement and the cluster of settlements slated to be united into a “super settlement” area (Oranit, Barkan, Shiva Tikva, and others);
96 units in the Adam (aka Geva Binyamin) settlement, located northeast of Jerusalem, just beyond the separation barrier. Israel has for some years been steadily building the Adam settlement in a manner meant to connect the settlement seamlessly with East Jerusalem settlements and infrastructure, erasing the Green Line;
57 units in the Emanuel settlement, located in the northern West Bank east of the Palestinian village of Qalqilya.
22 units in the Karnei Shomron settlement, located in the northern West Bank, east of the Palestinian village of Qalqilya. Israel has openly declared its intention to continue expanding settlements in this area with the stated goal of bringing 1 million settlers to live in the area;
1 unit, 2 commercial buildings, and 1 employment building in the Beitar Illit settlement, located west of Bethlehem, near the Green Line.

At the announcement of the tenders, Minister Elkin said in celebration:

“Strengthening and widening the settlements in Judea and Samaria is a necessary and very important part of the Zionist enterprise.”

Peace Now said in response to the new tenders:

“Unfortunately, there is no longer any doubt that this government is not a government of change but rather a government of annexation. The commitment to a political status quo in settlements turned out to be a lip service on the way to continuing Netanyahu’s annexation policy. It is unfortunate to see how while the right is celebrating another step towards the total prevention of a Palestinian state, supporters of the two states within the government are silent. Labor and Meretz must wake up and demand an immediate halt to the construction rampage in the settlements that harms the prospect of a future political solution.”

Elkin Announces Plan to Double Settler Population in Jordan Valley by 2026

According to Haaretz, while announcing the publication of 1,355 settlement construction tenders, Housing Minister Elkin also announced that his ministry plans to double the settler population in the Jordan Valley by 2026, saying that he intends to advance plans for 1,500 new settlement units in the area. Haaretz further reports that the ministry’s initiative in the Jordan Valley will have a budget of nearly $70 million (224 million shekels).

With Back-to-Back Major Settlement Announcements – and Ongoing Dispossession Cases – U.S. State Department Offers its Criticism

In widely reported diplomatic news, the U.S. State Department has been engaged with its Israeli counterparts over the past week to offer its criticism of the multiple settlement advancements announced by Israel over the past week.

According to Axios, the following interactions took place:

Last week, U.S. Acting Chief of Mission in Jerusalem Michael Ratney called Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s foreign policy adviser, Shimrit Meir, to press Meir to restrain Israel’s plan to announce settlement activity. The call has been described as “difficult.” Ratney reportedly offered a specific objection to the fact that most of the settlement plans Israel intended to advance (and in fact did advance this week) are located deep in the West Bank.
On Friday October 22nd, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken reportedly had a “tense” call with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz to protest the forthcoming settlement approvals. Blinken reportedly told Gantz that the number of settlements and their location are both “unacceptable” to the Biden Administration.
On October 26th, at a briefing at the U.S. State Department, spokesperson Ned Price said:
- “When it comes to what we’ve heard recently, we are deeply concerned about the Israeli Government’s plan to advance thousands of settlement units tomorrow, Wednesday, many of them deep in the West Bank…In addition, we’re concerned about the publication of tenders on Sunday for 1,300 settlement units, for – 1,300 settlement units in a number of West Bank settlements. We strongly oppose the expansion of settlements, which is completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and to ensure calm, and it damages the prospects for a two-state solution. We have been consistent, as I said, and clear in our statements to this effect. We also view plans for the retroactive legalization of illegal outposts as unacceptable. We continue to raise our views on this issue directly with senior Israeli officials in our private discussions.”

Haaretz dubbed this U.S. criticism “harsh.” The Washington Post called it a “rebuke.” The Jerusalem Post called it “strong opposition” and said that the statements made by Price are the “strongest statement to date on the matter.” The Times of Israel called it “ire.”

However, Axios reports and important viewpoint from with the Israeli government:

“Senior Israeli officials admit that the U.S. position on settlements was tougher than they had expected, but note that the criticism is coming mainly from the State Department, with the White House not weighing in publicly for now.”

And further, despite U.S. criticism of Israel’s settlement activity, the U.S. formally announced that it is considering adding Israel to the Visa Waiver Program – – which has been a longtime ask of Israel but has, to this point, not been implemented by successive Democratic and Republican administrations (including under Trump) due to a multitude of concerns, including Israel’s systematic discrimination against Arab Americans at Israeli ports of entry.

Shaked & Settler Leader Push for Retroactive Legalization of Evyatar Outpost

Divisions within Naftali Bennett’s governing coalition are locking horns over a proposal to grant retroactive legalization to the unuathorized outpost of Evyatar, which has been the site of sustained Palestinian protest and routine violence inflicted on the protestors by settlers and the IDF alike. Evyatar is located just south of Nablus on Jabal Sabih, which is land historically belonging to nearby Palestinian villages, including Beita, on a a strategic hilltop between the villages of Beita, Yatma, and Qablan.

The division within the coalition falls along predictable lines, with Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina) pushing for legalization (under Israeli law) of the outposts, and leaders of the Labor and Meretz parties opposed – with Labor leader Merav Michaeli calling the proposed move a “red line.” The settler-run media outlet Arutz Sheva reports Labor and Meretz leaders have met with Bennett and “made it clear to him that Evyatar will not be resurrected. The Labor party will not lend a hand.”

Responding to Michaeli’s statement, Shaked told Channel 12 News that “despite Michaeli’s statement – Evyatar will be established.” Shaked enjoys the support of veteran settler leader Daniella Weiss, a leader of the Evyatar settlers. Weiss predicts that the government will move to legalize the outpost within two or three weeks. Weiss further told Arutz Sheva:

“I see that the time is trickling out. There is a stopwatch. We know there are discussions and I hear that there are intentions to bring the yeshiva and the fifty families back to Evyatar…there is progress that we in Nahala and the Samaria Council know about. It is not yet intended for public information.Things in politics progress at a different pace.”

The fate of the Evyatar outpost was the first controversy that threatened to divide the fragile Bennett-led government when it was sworn in. Bennet’s partners were bitterly divided on whether to evacuate the outpost or let it be, while the government sought to grant it retroactive legalization. In the end, the government reached a “deal” which saw the settlers (temporarily) vacate the outpost on Friday, July 2nd. In return, the government left the settlers’ illegal construction at the site in place (i.e., did not demolish it) — including buildings and roads — while it “examines” the status of the land to see if it can be declared “state land” and therefore “legally” turned into a settlement (opening the door for the settlers to return). Under the agreement, the outpost is being used as a military base in the interim.

On July 8, 2021, Palestinians submitted a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice that challenges the agreements the Israeli government and settlers struck. The petition against the deal is led by the local councils of Beita, Yatma and Qabalan (three villages whose land is impacted by the outpost) and a group of nine individual Palestinian landowners. The petitioners seek the demolition of all illegal settler structures and infrastructure at Jabal Sabih, and the lifting of an military seizure order for the land issued by the Israeli army in the early 1980, based on security reasons (i.e., in order to build a military base at the site). The petition further seeks an investigation into the officials and entities that assisted the settlers in establishing the outpost, including Defense Minister Gantz, the Israeli Civil Administration, and the settler regional council governing the area (the Shomron Regional Council).

The petitioners also seek to prove to the Court that they are the rightful owners of the Jabal Sabih land. Since the land was not registered under the Jordanian government at the time Israel took control over the West Bank (after which Israel promptly froze the land registration process, making it impossible for Palestinian to register land), the petitioners are using Ottoman tax records as well as aerial photos to document and demonstrate that they own the land and cultivated it prior to the time the area was seized by the Israeli army in the 1980s. Notably, by the 1990s the IDF no longer used Jabal Sabih as an army base, yet Israel continued to define the area as a closed military zone and continued to actively prevent Palestinians from accessing and cultivating their land.

Now, as Palestinians seek to have Israel recognize their ownership, the fact that Israel has closed the land to its Palestinain owners for such a long period may itself become the basis for Israel declaring that the land is now “state land.” Such a declaration would be based on the twisted logic holding that since Palestinian owners failed to cultivate the land for more than 10 years — years when Israel actively prevented them from doing so — these owners have in effect abandoned their rights to the land and it is legally state land. [And no, this isn’t a joke.}

Israel Advances Annexation via Rent Protection Program

On October 24th, the director-general of the Israeli Construction & Planning Ministry, Aviad Friedman, announced that the government will include settlement housing in a new long-term rental housing program managed by the government. The extension of Israeli domestic law to settlements located outside its borders – often called “extending Israeli sovereignty” – is an act of formal, even if undeclared, annexation. It is a tactic that Israel has used to gain more and more control over not only the settlements but over the entire West Bank. For more examples of de facto annexation, see FMEP’s table tracking such efforts from 2016-2020 [see Table 2 of 3].

New from FMEP

Webinar [10/29] – “Israel’s Designation of Six Palestinian NGOs as “Terrorist”: Costs and Consequences” w/ Shawan Jabarin (Al Haq), Sahar Francis (Addameer), Ubai Al-Aboudi (Bisan Center), Khaled Quzmar (DCI-P), Fuad Abu Saif (UAWC), Tahreer Jaber (UPWC). Co-moderated by Khaled Elgindy and Lara Friedman
Podcast [10/29] – “Spotlight on Al Haq with Shawan Jabarin” w/ Peter Beinart
Podcast [10/27] – “Using ‘Terrorism’ Charges to Target NGOs: Lessons from the Case of Mohamed Halabi” w/ Lara Friedman and Daoud Kuttab
Podcast [10/26] – “Not Without Precedent: Unraveling the History of Israel’s Escalating War on Palestinian Solidarity Work” w/ Lara Friedman and Omar Shakir
Podcast [10/22] – “Israel Declares War on Palestinian Human Rights Defenders” w/ Lara Friedman, Sarit Michaeli, and Inez Abdel Razek
Podcast [10/18] – “The Occupation & the Biden Administration” w/ Lara Friedman, Khaled Elgind, Danny Seidemann, and Yehuda Shaul

Bonus Reads/Watches

“PODCAST: Tourism in Service of Israeli Settler Colonialism with Halah Ahmad” (Al-Shabaka)
“VIDEO: How Israel Stole the Palestinian Olive Harvest” (PIPD)
“Israeli electrical company to cut power to West Bank Palestinians over debts” (The Times of Israel)
“Politics and Money Block East Jerusalem High-tech Quarter” (Haaretz)
“Palestinians fear for loved ones’ remains as Israel plans Jerusalem park” (Reuters)
“Israeli demolition of historic Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem a ‘move to erase history’” (The New Arab)
“Israel to Join Key EU Research Program That Bans Use of Funds in Settlements” (Haaretz)
“Red Cross says settlers maced personnel in West Bank” (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.

October 22, 2021

Israel to Advance Plans for Nearly 3,000 Settlement Units & 1,300 Palestinian Homes in Area C
Israeli Supreme Court to Hold Hearing on Batan al-Hawa, Silwan Dispossession Cases Next Week; AG Declines Intervention
Israel Begins Construction on New Settlement in Downtown Hebron
Israel Advances “Silicon Wadi” Project in East Jerusalem
Recap: Israel Advances Settlement Plans Across Greater Jerusalem Area
Recap: Court Pushes for Palestinians to “Compromise” with Settlers in Sheikh Jarrah
New Report: State-Backed Settler “Tourism” Projects in East Jerusalem
Bonus Reads

Israel to Advance Plans for Nearly 3,000 Settlement Units & 1,300 Palestinian Homes in Area C

The Israeli Civil Administration’s High Planning Council will convene next week — for the first time since Bennett and Biden took over leadership in Israel and the U.S., respectively — to advance the construction of 2,862 new settlement units (of which 1,231 will be eligible to receive final approval). These plans include the retroactive legalization of two unauthorized outposts (Mitzpe Danny and Haroeh Haivri), which should be properly understood as the creation of two new settlements.

Peace Now data

In addition, reports suggest that Israel will also advance plans for 1,303 Palestinian homes in Area C – about half of which, importantly, are already built. A majority of these units have been awaiting Israeli approval for many, many years. If approved, the permits under consideration next week for Palestinians will be the first of any significant quantity issued by Israel since, at least, 2009 (data from before this period has not been released by the Israeli government). Between 2009 and 2018, Israel issued a total of 98 building permits to Palestinians according to data released by the Israeli government in response to a freedom of information request submitted by Bimkom.

As a reminder, Area C is the 60% of the West Bank over which Israel enjoys absolute authority. For years Israel has systematically denied Palestinians the right to build on land in Area C that even Israel recognizes is privately owned by them, At the same time, it has continuously promoted the expansion of settlements and unauthorized outposts, while systematically demolishing Palestinian private construction. In terms of numbers: between 2016 to 2018, Israel issued only 21 building permits to Palestinians in Area C, while issuing 2,147 demolition orders against Palestinians during.

Commenting on the Planning Council agenda’s Peace Now observed:

“The approval of a handful of plans for the Palestinians is only a fig leaf intended to try to reduce criticism of the government. For years, Israel has pursued a policy of blatant discrimination that does not allow almost any construction for Palestinians in Area C, while in the settlements it encourages and promotes the construction of thousands of housing units each year for Israelis. The approval of a few hundred housing units for Palestinians can not cover up discrimination and does not change the fact that Israel maintains an illegal regime of occupation and discrimination in the territories.”

It is worth noting that many of the settlement units and Palestinian permits on next week’s agenda were expected to have been advanced earlier this year, in August 2021, but the High Planning Council never convened to do so.

Below are lists of settlement plans expected to be given final approval and plans expected to be advanced next week (italicized plans represent those which appear to have been added to the slate of plans that were expected to be advanced in August 2021).

Settlement plans expected to be granted final approval include:

629 units, including the retroactive legalization of 61 units, in the Eli settlement – located south of Nablus and southeast of the Ariel settlement in the central West Bank. Though the Eli settlement previously received Israeli government approval, a “Master Plan” – which officially zones land for distinct purposes (residential, commercial, public) – has never been issued for Eli, meaning all construction there is illegal under Israeli law;
286 units in the Har Bracha settlement, located south of Nablus. If implemented, these new units will double the size of Har Bracha;
224 units in the Talmon settlement, located west of Ramallah;
146 units in the Kfar Etzion settlement, located between Bethlehem and Hebron and on the Israeli side of the planned route of the barrier (which is not yet built in this area);
110 units in the Alon Shvut settlement, located just north of the Kfar Etzion settlement and between Bethlehem and Hebron;
82 units in the Karnei Shomron settlement, located in the northern West Bank, east of the Palestinian village of Qalqilya. Israel has openly declared its intention to continue expanding settlements in this area with the stated goal of bringing 1 million settlers to live in the area.;
52 units in the Beit El settlement, located in the heart of the northern West Bank [as a reminder, former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has deep ties to the Beit El settlement]; Construction on 350 new units in Beit El began earlier this year;
42 units in the Givat Zeev settlement, located south of Ramallah in an area that is on the Israeli side of the barrier;
24 units in the Haroeh Haivri outpost, a plan that will effectively grant retroactive legalization to this outpost. The Haroeh Haivri outpost is located just east of Jerusalem, within eyesight of the Khan al-Ahmar community, which Israel is threatening to demolish (forcibly relocating the Palestinian bedouin community that has lived there since the 1950s) — ostensibly because the structures in Khan al Ahmar were built without necessary Israeli approvals. The Haroah Haivri outpost was also built without the necessary Israeli approvals, but instead of demolishing the construction, Israel is moving to retroactively legalize it — demonstrating once again that, when it comes to administering the occupation, Israel prefers “rule by law” – where law is turned into a tool to elevate the rights/interests of one party over another, over the democratic rule of law.;
14 units in the Ma’aleh Mikhmash settlement, a plan that will effectively grant retroactive legalization to one of Ma’aleh Mikhmash’s outposts – – Mitzpe Danny;
10 units in the Barkan settlement, located about half way between the Ariel settlement and the cluster of settlements slated to be united into a “super settlement” area (Oranit, Elkana, Shiva Tikva, and others);
5 units in the Shima’a settlement, located in the southern tip of the West Bank;
7 units in the Peduel settlement, located in the northern West Bank and part of a string of settlements and unauthorized outposts – most notably Ariel – extending from the Green Line into the very heart of the West Bank and on towards the Jordan Valley.

Settlement plans expected to be approved for deposit (an earlier stage in the planning process) include:

399 units in the Revava settlement, located just east of the Barkan settlement and west of the Ariel settlement, in a string of settlements and unauthorized outposts – most notably Ariel – extending from the Green Line into the very heart of the West Bank and on towards the Jordan Valley.
380 units in the Kedumim settlement, located just east of Nablus. Israeli MK Bezalel Smotrich lives in the Kedumim settlement on a section of land in the settlement that has been found to be privately owned by Palestinians.;
100 units in the Elon Moreh settlement, located east of Nablus (for background on the significance of the Elon Moreh settlement, please see here);
100 units in the Sansana settlement, located on the southern tip of the West Bank on the Israeli side of the separation barrier;
73 units in the Givat Zeev settlement, which is also expected to receive final approval for 42 units. Givat Zeev is located south of Ramallah in an area that is on the Israeli side of the barrier;
68 units in the Tene settlement, located on the southern tip of the West Bank;
45 units in the Vered Yericho settlement, located just west of the Palestinian city of Jericho in the Jordan Valley;
27 units in the Karnei Shomron settlement, which is also expected to receive final approval for 82 units. Karnei Shomron is located in the northern West Bank, east of the Palestinian village of Qalqilya. Israel has openly declared its intention to continue expanding settlements in this area with the stated goal of bringing 1 million settlers to live in the area.;
18 units in the Alon Shvut settlement, which is also expected to receive final approval for 110 units. Alon Shvut is located just north of the Kfar Etzion settlement and between Bethlehem and Hebron;
10 units in the Tal Menashe settlement, located located on the tip of the northern West Bank, inside the “seam zone” between the 1967 Green Line and the Israel separation barrier, which was constructed along a route designed to keep as many settlements and as much adjacent land as possible on the Israeli side of the wall/fence.
7 units in the Hermesh settlement, located in the northern West Bank;
4 units in the Efrat settlement, located south of Bethlehem, inside a settlement block that cuts deep into the West Bank. Efrat’s location and the route of the barrier wall around it, have literally severed the route of Highway 60 south of Bethlehem, cutting off Bethlehem and Jerusalem from the southern West Bank. The economic, political, and social impacts of the closure of Highway 60 at the Efrat settlement (there is literally a wall built across the highway) have been severe for the Palestinian population.

Peace Now reports that the Planning Council will also consider advancing the following plans for Palestinian homes:

270 houses in the Bir al-Bash village, located south of Jenin in the northern West Bank;
270 houses in the Al-Ma’asara village, located south of Bethlehem;
233 houses in the the Almasqufa village, located near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank;
200 houses in the Dkeika village in the South Hebron Hills;
170 houses in the Khirbet Abdallah Younas village, located in the Jenin area;
160 houses in the Abba a-Sharqiya village, also located south of Jenin in the northern West Bank;

Israeli Supreme Court to Hold Hearing on Batan al-Hawa, Silwan Dispossession Cases Next Week; AG Declines Intervention

On October 25th, the Israeli Supreme Court is scheduled to hold an important hearing on the case of the Palestinian Duweik family which is under threat of being dispossessed of their longtime home in the Batan al-Hawa section of the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem by the Ateret Cohanim settler organization.

In advance of that hearing – and after repeated extensions on a Court-ordered deadline – the Israeli Attorney General finally submitted his position on the case to the Court. The document submitted by the Attorney General was only 1 page, and simply stated that the case does not merit intervention either on the specific case of the Duweik family or regarding the wider legal principle at stake, which threatens an additional 85 families living under threat of eviction in Batan al-Hawa.

Ir Amim writes:

“Among the 85 families facing eviction, the Duweik family case is the first to reach the Supreme Court level, and its outcome will inevitably set a precedent, significantly impacting the rest of the cases in the neighborhood…As in the eviction cases in Sheikh Jarrah, the Attorney General and by extension, the government, was given a rare opportunity to take a moral stand by providing a legal opinion and policy position to help prevent the mass displacement of these families. Yet, at this point, the Attorney General’s response appears to imply that he has declined to intervene. Now, the decision concerning the fate of these families seems to lie solely in the hands of the Supreme Court. The rights of Palestinians to housing and shelter and the right to family and community life are fundamental and must be upheld. The same discriminatory legal system, which led to the confiscation of these families’ original homes in 1948, is now being exploited 73 years later to displace them for a second time from their current homes in which they have lived for decades. The Supreme Court has the power to make a principled and just decision to uphold the rights of these families to remain safely in their homes, free from the constant threat of being forcibly uprooted and driven from their homes and communities.”

Peace Now said in response to the AG’s decision to not intervene:

“The Attorney General’s response actually says that for the Israeli government, there is no problem to kick hundreds of residents out from their homes, on the basis of a discriminatory law, in favor of a settlement. The government was given an opportunity here to try to prevent moral injustice and political folly, but instead of taking a stand, it chose to remain on the sidelines, as if Silwan’s story, like that of Sheikh Jarrah, was a legal matter and not a political one.”

In July 2021, Peace Now assembled a coalition of Israeli lawyers to submit an amicus brief to the Court regarding the Duweik case. Peace Now summarizes:

“The brief addresses an approach that has emerged in international jurisprudence on human rights law which puts an emphasis on group vulnerability of occupants facing eviction and institutional, systemic discrimination against them. Where these are present, in certain circumstances, the occupants’ rights, stemming from the human right to housing and specifically, to live in their home and their family’s home – trump the right of the original owner or their substitute to regain possession of the property.

The brief reaches the conclusion that in the Duweik case, the occupants’ property rights and their right to housing supersede the right of the settlers acting on behalf of the pre-1948 original owners to receive possession of the property, based on the following:

1 – The fact that Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are underprivileged, vulnerable and subjected to discrimination in every aspect of life, and particularly the fact that Israeli law on the restitution of property that changed hands due to wars, openly and deliberately discriminates against them;

2 – The fact that the family entered the property in good faith and/or in accordance with the law applicable at the time, and has developed a legitimate expectation to continue residing in it permanently and without interruption;

3 – The imbalance between the devastating harm the family would suffer and the minor damage the Benvenisti charitable endowment (represented by the settlers), which claims ownership of the property, would sustain, which clearly tips the scales in favor of the family.

In other words, according to the brief, even if the court finds the settlers do, in fact, have ownership, they are not necessarily entitled to remedy in the form of the families’ eviction from their homes, but rather to compensation from the state.”

Israel Begins Construction on New Settlement in Downtown Hebron

Peace Now reports that construction has begun on 31 new settlement units at the site of an old bus station previously repurposed as an IDF base, located in the heart of the Old City of Hebron on the infamous Shuhada street. This is a new settler enclave in the city and is, in effect, a new urban settlement, disconnected from already existing settlements in the city. It will be the first new settlement construction approved in downtown Hebron – where Palestinians already live under apartheid conditions – since 2002.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“The government is acting like an annexation government, not as a change government. Since the 1980s, no government has dared to build a new settlement in the heart of the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, with the exception of one building built under the auspices of the second intifada in 2001. The Defense Minister has to stop construction, even if the plan was approved by the previous government. The settlement in Hebron is the ugly face of Israeli control of the territories. The moral and political price of having a settlement in Hebron is unbearable.”

As a reminder: in October 2017, the Israeli Civil Administration approved a building permit for the 31 units, on the condition that the Palestinian municipality of Hebron and others would have the opportunity to file objections to the plan. Soon after, two appeals were filed with the Defense Ministry: one by the Palestinian municipality of Hebron and one by the Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now. The legal objections were based on the legally questionable process by which Israel made land in downtown Hebron available for settlement construction. Located in the Israeli-controlled H-2 area of Hebron (where 500 Israeli settlers live amongst 40,000 Palestinians), Israel seized the land in the 1980s from the Hebron Municipality, for military purposes. In 2007, the Civil Administration’s Legal Advisor issued an opinion stating that once Israel is done using the land for military purposes, it must be returned to the Hebron Municipality, which has protected tenancy rights to the land. Nonetheless, in 2015, the Israeli Civil Administration, with the consent of the Minister of Defense, quietly authorized the Housing Ministry to plan the area for Israeli settlement use, paving the way for that same ministry to subsequently present the plan for the 31 units.

In October 2018, with the legal challenges still pending, the Israeli Cabinet voted to expedite the planning of the new settlement and allocated approximately $6.1 million (NIS 22 million) for the project, which will require Israel to significantly renovate the bus station/military base in order to build the 31 new settlement housing units, as well as a kindergarten, and “public areas” for the new settler residents. Peace Now explains:

“The approval of the building permit in the heart of Hebron is an extraordinary move not only because it is a new settlement in Hebron for the first time since 2001, but because it indicates a significant change in Israeli legal interpretation of what is allowed and forbidden in occupied territory. The area in question was owned by Jews before 1948, and it was leased by the Jordanian government in protected tenancy to the Hebron municipality for the purpose of establishing the central bus station. Since 1967, the Israeli authorities managed the land and continued the lease to the Hebron municipality, until in the 1980s when the area was seized for military purposes, the bus station was closed and a military base was established there. A legal opinion of the Judea and Samaria Attorney General on the issue in 2007 emphatically stated that by law the municipality’s protected lease must not be revoked.”

Israel Advances “Silicon Wadi” Project in East Jerusalem

On October 13th, the Jerusalem Local Planning Committee met to initiate the planning process for the “Silicon Wadi” project, which was initiated by the Jerusalem Municipality and outlines plans to build a large industrial zone for hi-tech, commercial, and hospitality businesses in the heart of East Jerusalem’s Wadi Joz neighborhood. The project requires the demolition of some 200 Palestinian-owned businesses that currently operate in the area; dozens of demolition notices for which were issued in November 2020.

Ir Amim writes:

“Beyond the devastating impact of widespread demolitions of existing businesses and structures, the plan also raises concerns that the Israeli authorities will exploit the planning procedures to locate alleged Palestinian absentee properties and transfer lands into the hands of the State. It should also be noted that while Israel focuses on bolstering employment and economic activity in East Jerusalem, it simultaneously continues to suppress residential development in Palestinian neighborhoods. As with nearly all outline plans advanced in East Jerusalem in recent years, the Wadi Joz business park plan only allocates a marginal amount for residential use, which hardly meets the acute housing needs of the Palestinian population. Rather than undertaking measures to rectify the housing crisis, these plans only exacerbate the current situation and perpetuate the residential planning stranglehold, which ultimately serves to push Palestinians out of the city.”

Recap: Israel Advances Settlement Plans Across Greater Jerusalem Area

Over the past two weeks, the government of Israel has advanced four highly controversial and politically consequential settlement plans in the Greater Jerusalem area:

The Givat Hamatos Settlement: On October 13th, the Jerusalem Local Planning Committee approved the expropriation of lands designated for public use in the Givat Hamatos area for the construction of roads, public buildings and the development of open space for the planned new settlement/neighborhood. For more on the Givat Hamatos settlement plan, please see here.
Map by Haaretz
The E-1 Settlement: The Israel Civil Administration moved forward with advancing plans for the construction of the E-1 settlement, setting a date for a third hearing to discuss public objections to the plan (now set for November 8th). The first hearing was held on October 4th, but Palestinians were denied the ability to participate in that hearing (which was held virtually, making it inaccessible to the many Palestinians affected by the plan who do not have internet access). As a result, the Court scheduled this 3rd hearing (to allow the participation of Palestinians). The second hearing was held on October 18th; at that hearing three objections were presented (one by the Palestinian village of Anata, a second by the Palestinian village of Al-Azariya, and a third joint submission filed by Ir Amim and Peace Now). Ir Amim reports that there was no substantive discussion of these objections, with the Civil Administration panel offering no questions or comments on them. For more on the E-1 settlement plan, please see Terrestrial Jeruaslem’s excellent and thorough reporting.
The Atarot Settlement: The Jerusalem District Planning Committee formally signaled that it will proceed with a hearing on the Atarot settlement plan – scheduled for December 6th – to build a huge new settlement on the site of the former Qalandiya airport (located at the northern tip of East Jerusalem). In its current form, the plan provides for up to 9,000 residential units for ultra-Orthodox Jews (assuming, conservatively, an average family size of 6, this means housing for 54,000 people), as well as synagogues, ritual baths (mikvehs), commercial properties, offices and work spaces, a hotel, and a water reservoir. If built, the Atarot settlement will effectively be a small Israeli city surrounded by Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhoods on three sides and Ramallah to its north. Geopolitically, it will have a similar impact to E-1 in terms of dismembering the West Bank and cutting it off from Jerusalem. For more on the Atarot settlement plan, please see here.
The Pisgat Ze’ev Settlement: The Israeli government advanced plans for 470 new settlement units in Pisgat Ze’ev, the largest settlement located in East Jerusalem.

Recap: Court Pushes for Palestinians to “Compromise” with Settlers in Sheikh Jarrah

The Israeli Supreme Court has set November 2nd as the deadline for Palestinian families living at risk of forced displacement in Shiekh Jarrah to decide wether or not to accept a Court-authored deal which would help them – at least temporarily – avoid eviction from their homes, in part by requiring them to recognize settler ownership over the properties.

Under the terms of the Court’s deal, which it is pressuring both parties to accept, the following would take place:

The settler group Nahalat Shimon will be recognized as the owners of the site.
The Palestinians will be recognized as protected tenants and be required to pay an nominal annual rental fee to the attorney of the settlers (in effect recognizing the settlers as the owners) but
- The Palestinians will be able to continue pursuing legal challenges to the underlying ownership of the land
- The Palestinians are permitted to renovate the properties without interference
Settlers will be able to instigate eviction proceedings against Palestinians if they are in violation of the Court’s compromise agreement or in violation of Israel’s tenancy laws.

Terrestrial Jerusalem writes:

“The most problematic element of the settlement relates to the settlers’ ability to institute evictions even if the residents are not in violation of the agreement or of the tenancy laws. The settlers will be entitled to institute such proceedings in the event that the ownership rights are conclusively awarded to them, or after 15 years, the earlier of the two. This can be done if the settlers either wish to personally use the property or to demolish and rebuild. Under these circumstances, the settlers will need to offer the residents alternative equivalent quarters. Palestinian residents might hope settlers reject the deal to avoid having to make an ‘excruciatingly painful decision.’”

According to Terrestrial Jerusalem, the Court has signaled that further negotiations are acceptable, but that if either party rejects the agreement a decision on the eviction cases will be handed down swiftly.

New Report: State-Backed Settler “Tourism” Projects in East Jerusalem

In a new report entitled, “The Valley of Hinnom: Trees and Flowerbeds in the Political Struggle over East Jerusalem,” the Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh surveys the multitude of recent “tourism” projects jointly undertaken by the Elad settler organization and the Israeli government in the Ben Hinnom Valley — a strategic area between East and West Jerusalem (stretching past the 1967 Green Line), and located within the area designated by Israel as the Jerusalem “Walls National Park”.

Emek Shaveh writes:

“The nature of the tourism-settlement activity in the Valley of Hinnom conducted jointly by Elad and government authorities is familiar to us from the City of David/Silwan. The series of joint ventures such as the café, the Center for Ancient Agriculture and the cable car in effect hand over large expanses of land to the settlers of the Elad Foundation under the guise of tourism. Although unlike Silwan, the valley is sparsely populated, the activity there must be viewed as an integral part of the struggle for the Old City Basin of Jerusalem and as a means to clear this highly strategic area from the presence of Palestinians.”

In conclusion, we wish to emphasize the following points:

1 – Development in East Jerusalem is almost always driven by political objectives. Recent developments in the Valley of Hinnom are part of the grand plan to change the character and the landscape of the Old City Basin and ought to be considered an integral component of the settlement enterprise in the Palestinian neighborhoods surrounding the Old City.

2 – Halting the destructive development schemes in the areas surrounding the Old City is vital in order to preserve Jerusalem as a multicultural historic city and is indirectly essential for safeguarding the status quo at the holy places.

3 – The Palestinian protests against the expansion of the settlers’ grip over the open spaces such as the Hinnom Valley is part of the struggle by the residents of Silwan and the surrounding neighborhoods to preserve the character of their neighborhoods. In our view, one ought to view the various activities by the settlers and the authorities in the Historic Basin such as the expulsion of residents from their homes, taking over land and the shaping of a historic narrative as part of the same general bid to cement their control over the Historic Basin.”

Bonus Reads

“[PODCAST] The Occupation & the Biden Administration” (FMEP ft. Danny Seidemann and Yehuda Shaul with Lara Friedman and Khaled Elgindy)
“How offshore accounts turned the British Virgin Islands into an east Jerusalem landlord” (JTA)
“Beita residents reach lands for first time since settler takeover” (Al Jazeera)
“After Years of Neighborly Relations, Settlers Try to Foil Recognition of Palestinian Hamlet” (Haaretz)
“Palestinian protests turn deadly as Israel considers the future of a new settlement” (NPR)
“These Palestinian Families Face Eviction From Their East Jerusalem Homes” (Haaretz)
“When Settler Becomes Native” (Jewish Currents)

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 settlement report is on a two-week break, and is planned to return the week of October 18th. In the meantime, we are pleased to offer you links to the main settlement-related stories of the past week**

October 15, 2021

Palestinian Olive Harvest Under Atttack (as it is every year)
Settlers vs. IDF/Israeli Police
Israel Advances Jerusalem-area Settlements — E-1, Givat Hamatos, Atarot, Pisgat Ze’ev
Sheikh Jarrah “Compromise”
Apartheid, or Not Apartheid?
Facts & Figures (OCHA)

Palestinian Olive Harvest Under Attack (as it is every year)

The New Arab 10/14: Israeli settlers destroy 80 olive trees, assault Palestinian farmer near Ramallah
Haaretz 10/13: Hateful Graffiti Scrawled, Tires Punctured in West Bank Hate Crime [“The harvest period, which began last week, has become a time of increased settler arson attacks on property and violence against Palestinians. Figures from the nongovernmental organization Yesh Din show that since the start of the current harvest there have been three cases involving a total of 150 trees being cut down, five cases of olives being stolen and one assault on a farmer.”] [Also see: video report from TRT]
Middle East Monitor 10/13: Israel settlers uproot 900 olive trees in Palestinian farms
Center for Jewish Non-Violence 10/12: Twitter thread, starting with – “Last night, settlers from the Chavat Maon outpost uprooted and destroyed dozens of trees in the Mothers of Sumud Garden in the village of Tuwani. Some of the trees were eight years old. They also cut water pipes.”
+972 Magazine 10/12: Israeli soldiers beat, arrest Palestinian activist during olive harvest
International Committee of the Red Cross 10/12: 2021 Olive harvest season in the West Bank amidst a triple challenge [also see ICRC tweet – “Olive harvest is never easy for Palestinian families living near the West Bank barrier or close to the settlements. We ask for efficient coordination and protection to be put in place to enable free and safe access for the farmers to their olive groves” with accompanying video]
WAFA 10/12: Israeli settlers uproot dozens of olive trees in Masafer Yatta area [south of Hebron]
WAFA 10/12: Israeli settlers steal olive harvest, uproot hundreds of saplings from Nablus farmers
TRT World 10/12: Red Cross urges Israel to ensure safe olive harvest for Palestinians
Middle East Monitor 10/11: Israel settlers attack Palestinian olive pickers near Nablus
Al Jazeera 10/11: Palestinian farmers threatened by Israeli settlers as olive harvest approaches (video)
Al Jazeera 10/11: Beita residents reach lands for first time since settler takeover
Al Jazeera 10/10: Palestinian village [Kisan] target of settler attacks and land theft

Settlers vs. IDF/Israeli Police

Times of Israel 10/14: Gantz orders ‘aggressive’ crackdown on settler violence after soldiers attacked
Haaretz 10/14: West Bank Settler Attacks Two IDF Soldiers With Tear Gas Near Illegal Outpost
YNet 10/14: IDF troops come under attack from West Bank settlers
Times of Israel 10/13: IDF troops maced by settlers while responding to alleged attack on Palestinians
Haaretz 10/12: Israeli Police Go Easy on Violent Settlers ‘Because We Were in a Jewish Community’ [“In a radio interview, Superintendent Hagai Saban said that he did not make extensive use of riot control means because he understood he was in a Jewish community”]
Jerusalem Post 10/12: Zero tolerance for violence [against Israeli forces] Gantz says after settlers attack police
Haaretz 10/12: High Court Slams Israel for Allowing Settlers to Enter Evicted West Bank Settlement
Times of Israel 10/11: Extremist settlers injure cop in clash near flashpoint West Bank settlement

Israel Advances Jerusalem-Area Settlements – E-1, Givat Hamatos, Atarot, Pisgat Ze’ev

Associated Press 10/14: Israel quietly advances settlements with little US pushback
Haaretz 10/14: Israel Advances Thousands of Housing Units in East Jerusalem as Biden Remains Silent
NPR (Radio) Report 10/14: Israel moves ahead with settlements in sensitive locations surrounding Jerusalem
State Department 10/14: In response to question about whether the Biden Administration’s concern about settlements has increased given these recent developments, State Department spokesman – “We have been clear in public and in private about where we stand on settlement activity, on annexation. We oppose any unilateral steps that put a two-state solution further out of reach…our position on this has remained constant.”
Al Jazeera 10/14: Israel approves building plan in illegal Jerusalem settlement – The plan would cut off the neighbourhood of Beit Safafa from Palestinian villages while linking Israeli settlements.
Middle East Eye 10/14: First East Jerusalem settlement in 25 years met with US silence
Middle East Monitor 10/14: Israel approves thousands of illegal settlement homes in East Jerusalem
Danny Seidemann/Terrestrial Jerusalem 10/11: Dangerous Developments towards Construction in E-1
Jerusalem Post 10/9: US: ‘Our position against unilateral Israeli settlement activity is clear’

Sheikh Jarrah “Compromise”

Miftah 10/13: Israeli settlement proposal in Sheikh Jarrah: solution or evasion?
Danny Seidemann/Terrestrial Jerusalem 10/11: Important Legal Developments regarding Sheikh Jarrah

Apartheid, or Not Apartheid?

Haaretz 10/14: After Years of Neighborly Relations, Settlers Try to Foil Recognition of Palestinian Hamlet
Haaretz 10/11: The Time Has Come to Admit: Israel Is an Apartheid Regime [by Yehudit Karp, former Deputy Attorney General of Israel)
I24 News 10/10: Israel is not an apartheid state, Pompeo says

Facts & Figures (OCHA)

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): Protection of Civilians Report | 21 September – 4 October 2021, including:

“Overall, Israeli forces injured 328 Palestinians across the West Bank. Of them, 217 were hit during protests against settlement activities in the Nablus governorate, near Beita (117), Beit Dajan (73) and Deir al Hatab (27).”
“Twenty-nine Palestinians, including a young child, were injured by Israeli forces or settlers in Umm Fagarah (Hebron). On 28 September, Israeli settlers injured nine Palestinians in this Palestinian community, which is in an Israeli-declared ‘firing zone’. One of those injured, a three-year-old boy, was hit by a stone in his head while in his bed, and was taken to an Israeli hospital. The remaining 20 injured Palestinians were treated for inhaling teargas. Israeli settlers also killed five sheep and damaged ten homes, 14 vehicles and several solar panels and water tanks. During the incident, Palestinians threw stones and Israeli forces fired teargas canisters and arrested three Palestinians who were released later that night. Israeli police have arrested six settlers in connection with the incident, two of whom remain in detention.”
“Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured eight Palestinians (in addition to the abovementioned nine in Umm Fagarah), and people known or believed to be settlers damaged or stole the harvest from over 180 olive trees. These included four farmers injured while working their land near As Seefer (Hebron), two shepherds near the community of Arab ar Rashayida (Bethlehem), and another farmer in Ein Yabrud (Ramallah) and an activist in Susiya (Hebron). According to eyewitnesses or landowners, settlers vandalized around 160 olive trees in Umm Fagarah (Hebron) and Burin (Nablus), and stole the olives from another 26 trees in Salfit. A number of attacks by settlers in the H2 area of Hebron were recorded, including breaking into a number of houses and stealing agricultural tools, surveillance cameras and water pumps, in addition to stealing olives.”

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.

October 8, 2021

Settler Pogrom in the South Hebron Hills
Smear Campaign Targeting Palestinian Who Filmed Settler Pogrom
Sheikh Jarrah “Compromise” & E-1 on the Agenda
Settlements & US-Israel Relations
Other Settlement News – West Bank & Jerusalem
Reports/Analysis/Commentary

Settler Pogrom in the South Hebron Hills

Associated Press 9/29: Israeli settlers attack Palestinian village, wound toddler
Times of Israel 9/29: ‘This is terror’: Lapid slams settler stone-throwing attack on Palestinians
Haaretz 9/29: Settler Attack on Palestinians in Hebron Hills Serves Israeli Policy
Haaretz 9/30: A Pogrom, and Silence
Haaretz 9/30: Palestinian Villagers Stunned by ‘Worst Ever’ Settler Attack Fear They’ll Be Back
+972 Magazine 10/2: Scenes from a Jewish pogrom
Jerusalem Post 10/2: US, EU condemns settler attack on Palestinian village in Hebron Hills
Haaretz 10/2: Hundreds March in West Bank to Demand Water for Palestinian Village After Settler Attack
Haaretz 10/3: Violence Against Palestinians on the Rise Amid Israel’s ‘Hands-off’ Approach in West Bank
Haaretz 10/4: Editorial | Israel Needs to Deal With Its Jewish Terrorists
Middle East Eye 10/4: Israel-Palestine: Settler attacks on Palestinians more than double in two years, says report
Haaretz 10/4: Israeli Bus Companies Remove Ad on Settler Violence Amid Right-wing Pressure
Middle East Eye 10/5: ‘He wakes up crying’: Palestinian families traumatised after Israeli settlers attack village
Haaretz 10/6: Assailants Tried to Attack Wounded Palestinian Child Inside Ambulance, Israeli Police Say
Associated Press 10/6: In brazen attack by settlers, Palestinians see larger threat
Haaretz 10/6: Editorial |Israeli Bus Companies’ Embarrassing Capitulation to the Right

Smear Campaign Targeting Palestinian Who Filmed Settler Pogrom

+972 Magazine 10/7: Israel’s top news show falsely accuses +972 writer of framing settlers for arson
+972 Magazine 10/6: I filmed a settler pogrom. Now the Israeli media is smearing me
See more on Twitter: Sarit Michaeli (Btselem), +972 Magazine
Also see: FMEP’s Occupied Thoughts podcast 10/7: Pogrom in Mufagara and ‘Fighting for our justice’

Sheikh Jarrah “Compromise” & E-1 on the Agenda

Sheikh Jarrah

Jerusalem Post 10/4: Sheikh Jarrah Court deal to keep families in homes for 15 years
Haaretz 10/4: Israel’s Top Court Proposes Compromise to Prevent Sheikh Jarrah Eviction
Haaretz 10/5: Palestinians Residents of Sheikh Jarrah Can Breathe Easier Now – for a Price
Twitter thread 10/5 from Mohammed El-Kurd: Opening with – “Update regarding #SheikhJarrah: the so-called Israeli Supreme Court ruled that both the settler organization Nahalat Shimon and the affected Palestinian families (4 families in this particular case) must agree to a “compromise” by Nov. 2. Here is some key information:”
See more on Twitter: Danny Seidemann (Terrestrial Jerusalem) and Hagit Ofran (Peace Now)

E-1

Jerusalem post 10/3: IDF to hold hearing on contentious E1 settler building project
Haaretz 10/4: Israel Holds Hearing on E1 Construction Plan Without Palestinians Objectors
Jerusalem Post 10/4: Attorney, NGOs boycott E1 hearing over lack of access for Palestinians

Settlements & US-Israel Relations

Times of Israel 9/27: Bennett tells settlers he said no 3 times to Biden, on Iran, consulate, [settlement] building
Axios 10/6: Biden quietly puts pressure on Israel over West Bank settlements [“The Biden administration has been privately pressuring the Israeli government to show restraint ahead of a key decision on settlement building in the West Bank, Israeli and U.S. officials tell Axios.”]
Times of Israel 10/7: US discreetly pressing Israel to ease off settlement construction — report
Department of State Press briefing 10/7: “suffice to say we have made our position very clear, and when it comes to unilateral action like settlement activity, we have also made that very clear. And in fact, I just reiterated where the United States stands on settlement activity. There should be no question about that.”

Other Settlement News – West Bank & Jerusalem

West Bank

Haaretz: 9/27: Jewish National Fund Approves $34,000 Deposit to Keep Settler in Hebron Home
Haaretz 9/30: Israel’s Top Court to Postpone West Bank Settlement Eviction Based on Jewish Farming Sabbatical
WAFA 10/4: Israel to demolish Palestinian structures in Masafer Yatta in the south of the West Bank
Sarit Michael (Btselem) on Twitter 10/5: thread – “This morning, Palestinian farmers in Qaryut, Nablus District, discovered settlers felled 12 ancient olive trees. The nearest settlement in the area is Eli and its outposts. The olive harvest season officially opens in 10 days.” [with photos]. Also see tweets from Dror Etkes (Kerem Navot, in Hebrew)
Btselem 10/5: Twitter thread (with video) – “Video: Settlers drive out a family that went out to graze with its flock On Sunday morning, 3 October 2021, a family from Khirbet Lasefar in the South Hebron Hills came to graze its flock in pastureland that remained on the other side of the Separation Barrier >”…
WAFA 10/6: Israeli settlers expel shepherds from pastures in northern Jordan Valley
The New Arab 10/6: Israeli settlers burn olive crops as Palestinians mark harvesting season
Middle East Monitor 10/6: Israel settlers burn Palestinian land in West Bank
Haaretz 10/7: Israeli Army Identified Settler Who Shot at Palestinians With Soldier’s Gun, but Did Nothing

Jerusalem

Jordan Times 10/6: Jordan deplores Israeli court decision granting Jewish extremists right to pray at Aqsa
Israel Hayom 10/7: In first, court backs ‘silent’ Jewish prayer on Temple Mount
Jerusalem Post 10/7: Palestinians outraged over court ruling allowing Jewish prayer on Temple Mount
Middle East Monitor 10/7: Jewish settler organisation takes over Palestinian apartment in Jerusalem
Al Jazeera 10/7: Israeli settlers take over home in Jerusalem’s Silwan

Reports/Analysis/Commentary

France 24 9/29: Report lists 670 European firms with links to Israel settlements
Middle East Monitor 9/29: Israel: settlement plan will take thousands of dunams of Palestinian land
Haaretz 9/30: ‘Cleansed by the Torah’: Why These Afrikaners Converted to Judaism and Moved to Israel
MIFTAH 10/2: Analysts and experts: The registration of Palestinian properties is aimed at transferring them to Israeli authorities

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 settlement report will be taking a two-week break, and is planned to return the week of October 18th**

September 24, 2021

New Givat Hamatos Settlement Plan – to Replace Existing, Approved, & Tendered Plan – Advances in Jerusalem
Settlers, IDF Continue to Impose Control Over Sebastia Archaeological Site As Settlers Amp Up Campaign to Takeover Sites in Palestinian Areas
Bonus Reads

New Givat Hamatos Settlement Plan – to Replace Existing, Approved, & Tendered Plan – Advances in Jerusalem

Ir Amim reports that, on September 12th, the Jerusalem Local Planning Committee approved for public deposit a new outline plan for the Givat Hamatos settlement in East Jerusalem. This new plan would replace the existing outline plan for Givat Hamatos, under which tenders for the construction of 1,257 settlement units were awarded in January 2021.

Ir Amim explains:

“According to the information currently available, the new plan neither expands the territorial area of the future settlement nor does it explicitly call for an increase in the number of housing units. However, it does cite a 30% increase in the total scope of construction, which appears contradictory. Additional information is still needed to definitively confirm the details of this apparent 30% increase; however, it could be allocated, for example, towards the enlargement of individual housing units. The Jerusalem Municipality has long sought to expand the number of housing units in Givat Hamatos as demonstrated by a master plan it attempted to advance last year, which included an additional 3,900 units. The plan, however, did not move forward.

It should be noted that the approval process for the new outline plan (TPS 979336) will be fast-tracked since it is under the jurisdiction of the Local Planning Committee and will therefore not need to go before the District Planning Committee. While submission of new outline plans after completion of a tender process does occasionally occur, it is typically initiated by contractors in order to maximize future profits. In this instance, it is the municipality who has submitted the new outline plan.

The new plan’s potential impact on the tendered units is still unclear; however, it will certainly not terminate the contracts with the tenders’ winning bidders. Moreover, the ongoing construction of infrastructure works on Givat Hamatos indicates that the process is advancing at full speed. These measures underscore that the current government is continuing to accelerate further settlement and steps towards de facto annexation regardless of promoting the notion of change and reform to Israel’s policies and actions.”

The existing outline plan for Givat Hamatos, under which the tenders were issued, continues to face a legal challenge initiated by Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem (with the assistance of Ir Amim). That petition – which alleges that the planned construction of government-subsidized housing has discriminatory eligibility guidelines – is still pending. A hearing was scheduled on May 27th, but was delayed at the request of the State. The hearing has been rescheduled for October 20th, and Ir Amim secured the Court’s condition that applications for Givat Hamatos housing will not be accepted in the intervening period.

Givat Hamatos has long been regarded as a doomsday settlement by parties interested in preserving the possibility of a two-state solution, in that it will prevent the division of Jerusalem into an Israeli capital and a Palestinian capital (if the Givat Hamatos settlement is built, the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa in East Jerusalem will be completely surrounded by Israeli construction, severing its connection to the West Bank). Indeed, regardless of the implications of Givat Hamatos on a two-state solution, the impact of the new settlement on the Beit Safafa neighborhood are severe.

Settlers, IDF Continue to Impose Control Over Sebastia Archaeological Site As Settlers Amp Up Campaign to Takeover Sites in Palestinian Areas

In what has become routine, on September 22nd the Israeli army sealed off the archaeological site in the Palestinian city of Sebastia, in order to allow a settler tourist group to visit the site. In addition to securing the site itself, the Palestinian Mayor of Sebastia, Mohammad Azem, told Palestinian media that Israeli troops were also stationed at the town’s entrances as well as all the roads leading to the site, and prevented Palestinains from opening their stores and businesses.

As FMEP has chronicled, settlers and their allies are intent upon taking control of archaeological sites in the West Bank, including Sebastia, 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 — recently 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.

An advocate for this strategy – – Michael Freund, who served as a deputy communications director in the Netanyahu government – – wrote in the Jerusalem Post:

“Ever since the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords, and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinians have been serially abusing our heritage, from digging up the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to attacking and burning Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem (Nablus). It should be clear to all that the Palestinians cannot be entrusted with safeguarding or administering Jewish historical sites under any circumstances whatsoever. The State of Israel needs to assume and assert responsibility for the national and historical heritage of the Jewish people in Judea and Samaria.”

Bonus Reads

“Palestinians aim to prove right of return with ancestral land titles” (Middle East Eye)
“The Illegal Settler Outpost Has Running Water. Its Palestinian Neighbors Don’t. This Is Apartheid at Its Starkest” (Haaretz)
“Why the climate movement must support the Palestinian cause” (Middle East Eye)
“Opinion | Israel Is Crushing My Right to Protest Its Occupation” (Haaretz // Galia Golan)