Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

November 20, 2020

1. Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 1: Historic Shifts in US Settlements Policy
2. Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 2: Full Steam Ahead on Givat Hamatos Settlement
3. Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 3: Israel Expected to Advance Har Homa E Settlement Plan
4. Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 4: Israel Set to Start Process of Land Registration in East Jerusalem
5. Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 5: Settlers Push to Re-Establish Abandoned Settlements in Northern West Bank
6. Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 6: Bibi Seeks U.S. OK for More Settlement Projects, Settlers Push for Outpost Authorization
7. Israeli Education Minister Celebrates New Settlement Yeshiva
8. IDF Pays for Use of Yeshiva After Settlers Destroy Army Base
9. Impending Sheikh Jarrah Evictions
10. Bonus Reads

Questions/Comments? Email Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org).

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Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 1: Historic Shifts in US Settlements Policy 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Israel on November 19th for a two-day visit in which he made history with respect to U.S. support for settlements, delivering a series of extraordinary (though entirely predictable) victories to Israeli settlements and Israel’s Greater Israel pro-annexation movement. 

First, Pompeo became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit the Israel-occupied Golan Heights since the Trump Administration recognized Israeli sovereignty there in March 2019, . 

Second, Pompeo became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit a West Bank Israeli settlement, in a visit publicly framed as establishing the legitimacy of settlements. Pompeo’s visit to the Psagot Winery – located near Ramallah – flouted international law and international consensus, which views Israel’s settlement enterprise as illegal [for a deep dive in the history of the Psagot settlement and the significance of Pompeo’s visit – check out this FMEP podcast with Dror Etkes, Fadi Quran, and Lara Friedman]. 

Third, in conjunction with his visit to the Psagot Winery settlement, Pompeo announced new U.S. guidelines that require products made in all areas under Israeli control to be labelled as “Made in Israel” (or iterations thereof) when being exported to the U.S. This is a massive and highly consequential shift in U.S. policy that offers recognition of Israeli sovereignty not only over settlements (as the Trump Administration has previously done) but over all of Area C – some 60% of the West Bank. The announcement was urged on by a group of four Republican Senators ahead of Pompeo’s trip. The policy, which if focused on territory, not people, would require even Palestinian-made goods originating from villages in Area C to be labelled as “Made in Israel”. Roughly 150,000 Palestinians live in Area C, where they are subjected to an escalating Israeli campaign to make life untenable for them via discriminatory planning policies and demolitions. 

Laying out the new policy, the State Department issued a statement saying:

“Today, the Department of State is initiating new guidelines to ensure that country of origin markings for Israeli and Palestinian goods are consistent with our reality-based foreign policy approach.  In accordance with this announcement, all producers within areas where Israel exercises the relevant authorities – most notably Area C under the Oslo Accords - will be required to mark goods as ’Israel’, ’Product of Israel’, or ‘Made in Israel’ when exporting to the United States.  This approach recognizes that Area C producers operate within the economic and administrative framework of Israel and their goods should be treated accordingly.  This update will also eliminate confusion by recognizing that producers in other parts of the West Bank are for all practical purposes administratively separate and that their goods should be marked accordingly.”

Pompeo made this announcement following his visit to the Psagot winery – which not only named a vintage after Pompeo but has also been at the center of Israel’s global effort to push nations to treat Israeli settlements as indistinguishable from sovereign Israeli territory, with the winery involved in international legal battles over how Israeli businesses located in the settlements are required to label their products. U.S. labelling requirements will now stand at odds with European policy on the matter, which requires differentiation between products made in Israel and products made in settlements. 

As part of the major change in U.S. labelling policy, Pompeo also changed how Palestinian-made products (produced in Areas A & B, and in the Gaza Strip) must be labelled, replacing the “West Bank/Gaza” label with separate “West Bank” and “Gaza” labels – another symbolic move laced with antagonism towards Palestinian rights and national aspirations. The change also contradicts the Oslo Accords, under which the Gaza Strip and West Bank are to be treated as a single territorial entity. The U.S. State Department statement on the labelling policy reads:

“We will no longer accept ’West Bank/Gaza’ or similar markings, in recognition that Gaza and the West Bank are politically and administratively separate and should be treated accordingly.”

Fourth, in a press conference alongside PM Netanyahy, Pompeo announced that the U.S. holds the “global BDS campaign” to be anti-Semitic, and said that the U.S. will “immediately take steps to identify the organizations that engage in hateful BDS conduct and withdraw US government support from such groups.” Pompeo called BDS a “cancer.” This is particularly relevant to settlement and annexation watchers because the new U.S. designation makes no distinction between boycotts aimed at Israel and boycotts limited to Israeli settlements – yet another legal step towards offering official U.S. recognition of Israel’s annexation of the settlements. It had previously been reported that the U.S. State Department were preparing to label Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, and Amnesty International as anti-Semitic organizations, based on the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.

Fifth, under the protection of a large Israeli security escort, Pompeo visited the Elad settler organization’s archeological projects in the City of David, an Israeli national park which was declared on top of the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, located right outside of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Under Elad’s direction, and with the support of the Israeli government and the Trump Administration, archeology is being weaponized to erase the historic memory and the modern presence of Palestinians, while emphasizing the Jewish heritage at that site. At the same time, settler organizations including Elad and Ateret Cohanim are battling to implement the mass eviction of Paelstinians from their longtime homes in Silwan.

Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh – a group of expert archaeologists – previously explained:

“The use of archaeology by Israel and the settlers as a political tool is a part of a strategy to shape the historic city and unilaterally entrench Israeli sovereignty over ancient Jerusalem. It is a process which is likely to produce devastating results for both Israel and the Palestinians.  It is inexcusable to ignore the Palestinian residents of Silwan, carrying out extensive excavations of an underground city and to use such excavations as part of an effort to tell a historic story that is exclusively Jewish in a 4,000 year-old city with a rich and diverse cultural and religious past.”

And in a piece entitled “Israel Is Using Archeology To Erase Non-Jewish History,” Emek Shaveh further explained:

“The exploitation of archaeology in Jerusalem has been spearheaded by the Elad Foundation, a group of settlers turned archaeology entrepreneurs, who are using ancient sites to take over land and shape the historical narrative. Elad, which emerged 30 years ago with a mission to settle Jews in Palestinian homes in the neighborhood of Silwan, manages the popular archaeological park, the City of David. Visitors to the site are treated to a heavily biblical narrative where discoveries that resonate with the story of King David or the Kingdom of Judea are highlighted. The fact the archaeologists dispute the evidence of a kingdom in the 10th century BCE often goes unmentioned. Furthermore, not many of the half a million people who visit the park annually know about life in the Palestinian neighborhood since Elad arrived on the scene. They will probably never hear about how Elad took over 75 homes in the neighborhood, or closed off virtually the last of the public areas used by the residents and annexed it to the archaeological park. With an annual budget of approximately 100 million shekels, the Elad Foundation now commands several excavation projects in the City of David, including tunnels along an ancient Roman street, which it is marketing as a Second Temple era pilgrims’ route to the Temple. It has recently branched out to establish new projects within the Old City and in other areas throughout the Historic Basin. But Elad couldn’t have done it on their own. If at first they were greeted with mistrust by the authorities in the 1990s, today they have an open door to many government agencies and ministries. From the Israel Antiquities Authority, which is in charge of most of the excavations at the City of David, and the Nature and Parks Authority, which subcontracted Elad to run the site, to the minister of tourism, who is aggressively advancing a cable car to link West Jerusalem to the City of David, to the mayor of Jerusalem, the government and all the relevant agencies are committed to the project of shaping a large tourist zone dedicated to the First and Second Temple periods.”

Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 2: Full Steam Ahead on Givat Hamatos Settlement

On November 15th, the Israel Land Authority published the long-feared/long-awaited (depending who you are) tender for the construction of the Givat Hamatos settlement in East Jerusalem. The tenders provide for the construction of 1,257 settlement units, which is about 200 units more than expected. The tender is set to close for bids on January 18, 2021 – exactly two days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. In a carefully worded statement to the press, Netanyahu acknowledged that the publication of the Givat Hamatos tender had been coordinated with the Trump Administration (but not the Biden transition team).

Terrestrial Jerusalem writes:

“The decision to proceed with the construction of Givat Hamatos is the most defiant and inflammatory settlement move in recent memory, and should be treated as such. The construction of Givat Hamatos will create a buffer, contributing to an effective seal between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In addition, Givat Hamatos will, for the first time, completely surround an East Jerusalem neighborhood, Beit Safafa, with Israel construction, making the implementation of the Clinton parameters in East Jerusalem impossible.  Givat Hamatos will have a devastating impact on the very possibility of a future two-state outcome.”

Ir Amim writes:

“The opening of the tender significantly decreases the potentiality to effectively block Israeli building in the area. Concerted opposition and pressure to freeze the tender is therefore vital in this limited window of time. If carried through, Givat Hamatos would become the first new settlement in East Jerusalem in 20 years. Located in a particularly strategic area, Givat Hamatos (along with Har Homa E and E1) has constituted a longstanding international red line due its impact on the prospects of a viable two-state framework with two capitals in Jerusalem. By creating a contiguous Israeli built-up area between the existing settlements of Gilo and Har Homa, construction in Givat Hamatos will serve to seal off the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem from Bethlehem and the southern part of the West Bank, while isolating the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa. The next two months in lead-up to the change in the US Presidential Administration will be a critical period. We believe that Israel will attempt to exploit this time to advance moves that the incoming administration will potentially oppose. It is crucial that the international community remain vigilant.”

Peace Now writes:

“Construction in Givat Hamatos will severely hamper the prospect of a two-state solution because it will ultimately block the possibility of territorial contiguity between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem–the main Palestinian metropolitan area–and will prevent Palestinian Beit Safafa from connecting with a future Palestinian state…The meaning of the publication of the Tender Booklet is that now the tender is open for bids and contractors may submit their proposals to win the right to build the units in Givat Hamatos. The final day for submitting the proposals is January 18th, 2021, three days before the change in the US administration…This is a major blow to the prospects for peace and the possibility of a two-state solution. This Netanyahu-Gantz government was established to fight the coronavirus but instead it is taking advantage of the final weeks of the Trump administration in order to set facts on the ground that will be exceedingly hard to undo in order to achieve peace. This tender can still be stopped. We hope that those in this government who still have some sense of responsibility for our future will do what they can to cancel the tender before bids are submitted.”

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, said: 

“Israel is trying to benefit from the unlimited support of the current U.S. administration, which has provided it with all possible support for the sake of settlement expansion and the takeover of more Palestinian lands.”

PA Prime Minister Muhammed Shtayyeh said in a statement:

“There appears to be an escalating and intensive assault plan for the next 10 weeks in a race against time to create a new fait accompli before Donald Trump leaves the White House on January 21. We look with concern at the frequent reports about new colonial settlement projects in Arab Jerusalem and the West Bank, which aim to encircle and stifle the Palestinian Arab neighborhoods and prevent interaction between them and the rest of the West Bank and to completely isolate the city of Jerusalem.”

International reaction to Israel’s decision to publish the tender for the construction of the Givat Hamatos settlement — long treated as a red line by the international community — was predictably tempered. Several foreign governments issued statements of “concern,” including Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, the UK, Russia, and Italy, in addition to statements from UN Envoy Nikolay Mladenov and European Union High Commissioner Josep Borrell. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution – by an overwhelming majority — calling on all governments to refrain from treating Israel’s settlements in the West Bank or East Jerusalem as part of sovereign Israeli territory. B’Tselem Director Hagai El-Ad urged European governments to move from words to action.

Meanwhile, a delegation of European Union representatives received a hostile greeting from right-wing settlement supporters organized by hardline Israeli NGO Im Tirzu when the delegation attempted to visit the site of the future Givat Hamatos settlement on November 16th. The diplomats’ caravan was actually chased off by the right-wing protestors, which included Jerusalem city councilman and settlement empresario Ariyehh King, who shouted “Go home, anti-Semites!” at the visiting EU diplomats.

Though many settlers celebrated the publication of the Givat Hamatos tender, settlers who are currently living in the area of Givat Hamatos remain skeptical that the government will actually follow through. It’s worth noting that the government has provided mobile homes to about 30 families who live in the Givate Hamatos hillside as squatters, having waited 30 years since the Givat Hamatos plan was given final approval for construction to happen. Wall-to-wall international opposition to the settlement plan deterred the Israeli government from publishing them.

MK Miki Zohar (Likud) celebrated the new tender in a tweet saying:

 “Now we can talk about it. Before the last elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised me that he would publicize the building tender in Jerusalem’s Givat Hamatos; this neighborhood is in a strategic location between Beit Safafa and Hebron road. It important to build there in order to maintain a Jewish land continuum … We have a one-time opportunity these days to strengthen our hold in the land of Israel. I am sure that our friend, President [Donald] Trump, and Prime Minister Netanyahu will be wise enough to take full advantage of this opportunity.”

Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 3: Israel Expected to Advance Har Homa E Settlement Plan 

As anticipated in last week’s Settlement Report, the Israeli government has decided to press forward with a highly controversial and consequential plan to expand the East Jerusalem settlement of Har Homa westward, toward the site of the future Givat Hamatos settlement (discussed above). Ir Amim reports that on November 23rd, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee is scheduled to take up the plan for 570 new units – called Har Homa E – for the second time this year, and is expected to approve the plan for deposit for public review, one of the final steps before implementation.

Ir Amim warns: 

“The rapid advancement of this plan is indicative of the Israeli government’s intent to accelerate as many settlement construction projects as possible in East Jerusalem and its vicinity in the waning days of the Trump administration.”

The construction in Har Homa E will solidify a continuum of Israeli settlement construction within the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem – from Har Homa, to Givat Hamatos, to Gilo – detaching East Jerusalem from Bethlehem and completing the encirclement of the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa.

The plan for Har Homa E was last discussed in September 2020, when the District Planning Committee signaled its support for approving the plan for deposit, but requested several amendments prior granting that approval. With the modifications made, the expectation is that the committee will now give its formal approval, setting off a period of 60 days during which the public can submit objections to the plan.

The plan for 570 units currently set for approval represents the first detailed plan under a much larger Master Plan for Har Homa E, which involves a total of 2,200 units. Plans to build the remaining units permitted under the Master Plan are not yet being advanced.

Ir Amim writes:

“Construction in Har Homa E will serve as another step in connecting the existing Gilo and Har Homa neighborhoods/settlements and create a contiguous Israeli built-up area along the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem. This will likewise detach Bethlehem and the southern West Bank from East Jerusalem while isolating the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa. In line with the new reality created by the Trump Plan and its unilateral recognition of Israeli sovereignty of East Jerusalem, these developments will constitute a major obstacle towards the future establishment of a Palestinian capital in the city and the prospect of a viable two-state framework.”

Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 4: Israel Set to Start Process of Land Registration in East Jerusalem

In an interview celebrating the publication of a tender for Givat Hamatos settlement project, Jerusalem Affairs & Heritage Minister Rafi Peretz connected the project to a larger Israeli effort to begin registering all East Jerusalem land in Israeli records, an effort which Peretz is spearheading. Al-Monitor reports that, as part of the Givat Hamatos project, the Israeli Finance and Justice Ministry’s acted swiftly to approve a budget, remove legal impediments, and finalize “financial compensation packages with the Palestinian land-owners” so that the land can be properly registered in Israeli government books.

Perez stated:

“The fact that almost all of the land in the eastern part of Jerusalem is not registered properly is something that should have been addressed a long time ago already. The plans that I have developed for registering land plots and properties have now been adopted by the various government ministries concerned, and once they are implemented, they will go a long way to improving the situation for the residents of these areas. A united Jerusalem is not a slogan – it’s a vision, and one that needs to apply to the eastern part of the city just as it applies to the west.”

The Israel-run process of registering ownership of land in East Jerusalem land will have far-reaching consequences for Palestinians, who have not had a formal legal avenue for registering land ownership with the Israeli government since East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in 1967. Palestinians who wanted/needed to prove their land ownership were forced to rely on the “mukhtar protocol” — a procedure in which Palestinians in East Jerusalemites document/prove ownership by collecting signatures from local Palestinian leaders acknowledging that the land in question does, indeed, belong to them. This policy was developed by the Israeli government as an alternative to the formal land-registration process, which was frozen in East Jerusalem since 1967. 

In 2019, a mini-saga over the “mukhtar protocol” revealed the uphill battle facing Palestinians if formal registration proceeds. In March 2019, the Jerusalem Planning & Building Committee, at the urging of the Regavim settler group (acting with the clear goal of preventing Palestinian development and undermining Palestinian land ownership claims to land in the city), annulled the mukhtar protocol as a legally acceptable basis for establishing land ownership in the eyes of the Israeli government, putting Palestinian land ownership in East Jerusalem in limbo. The result: having no recognized means to prove their land ownership, Palestinians were prevented from building in East Jerusalem. One month later, the Israeli authorities reversed the decision and again recognized the mukhtar protocol, reportedly following appeals to Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon by a city council member.

This news about starting the land registration process in East Jerusalem comes only a few weeks after Israel was reported to be advancing plans to begin a process of land registration for Area C of the West Bank — a process that opens another door for Israel to seize more Palestinian land. The registration process in East Jerusalem is expected to have similar results.

Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 5: Settlers Push to Re-Establish Abandoned Settlements in Northern West Bank

A group of 100 settlers, including children, invaded and set up camp at the abandoned site of the Sa-Nur settlement in the northern West Bank in an attempt to pressure the government to allow them to re-establish the settlement, which the state dismantled as part its 2005 disengagement from Gaza. After the Israeli army arrived at the site to evict the trespassers, MK Miki Zohar (Likud) persuaded the settlers to abandon their illegal campsite and leave the area, with the promise of raising the issue of Sa-Nur’s re establishment directly with Netanyahu.

MK Zohar is a staunch supporter of reestablishing Sa-Nur, along with three other settlements in the area that were likewise dismantled by the Israeli government in 2005 (Homesh, Ganim, and Kadim). Zohar has participated in previous visits to the site to support the settlers’ bid, frequently accompanied by his Likud colleagues, including former Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein. In July 2018, the Israeli Cabinet had the opportunity to lend government backing to a bill that would have cancelled the 2005 disengagement and allowed the settlers to rebuild those settlements – but the Cabinet blocked the bill. The settlers and their allies are no doubt raising this issue now, at a time when it seems like the wildest wishes of the settler enterprise are being fulfilled one after another.

As a reminder, even though Israel evacuated the four settlements in the West Bank, the IDF issued military orders barring Palestinians from entering the areas, preventing Palestinians from taking control over the area and building there. At the same time, settlers have regularly entered the areas and even repeatedly built a yeshiva at the Homesh site.  

Final Days of Trump Admin, Part 6: Bibi Seeks U.S. OK for More Settlement Projects, Settlers Push for Outpost Authorization

In addition to the extraordinary settlement plans unleashed over the past two weeks, Israeli media reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu is seeking the blessing of the Trump Administration to push forward additional East Jerusalem settlement projects in the immediate future. Israel’s Kan News Radio reported that Netanyahu planned to raise the settlement projects with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his trip to Israel this week. With developments related to Givat Hamatos and Har Homa E making the news this week, we can speculate that Netanyahu might be asking specifically about the Atarot settlement plan (northern tip of Jerusalem) and/or the E-1 settlement plan (just east of Jerusalem) – as FMEP laid out last week.

Another possibility is, of course, outpost legalizations. Settlers and their allies in the Israeli government are continuing their campaign to pressure Netanyahu to grant retroactive authorization to all of Israel’s outposts and illegal settler construction across the West Bank before Trump leaves office. Since FMEP’s last reporting two weeks ago, the Israel Land Caucus has begun collecting signatures on a petition calling on Netanyahu to act immediately on this matter. According to the Times of Israel the petition states that the Knesset committee, which includes senior members of Netanyahu’s own Likud Party, is “united in the position that the regulation of young settlements must be done now…it is not fair, reasonable or responsible to leave the settlements without status and the tens of thousands of their residents deprived of their rights.”

Just this week Defense Ministry legal advisor Moshe Frucht stated that a government declaration authorizing the outposts is required prior to any actions that treat the outposts as legal communities – specifically rebuffing the request by settlers for the Defense Ministry to connect unauthorized outposts to Israeli state utilities. Frucht’s statement, combined with Netanyahu’s lack of action, enraged MK Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina) who sharply scolded Netanyahu’s top settlements advisor in a Knesset hearing this week.

Israeli Education Minister Celebrates New Settlement Yeshiva

Israeli Minister of Education Yoav Galant (Likud) attended the opening of a new religious school (yeshiva) in the Bruchin settlement, located in a finger of continuous settlements that extends from the 1967 Green Line to the Ariel settlement in the very center of the northern West Bank.

Making it clear that opening yeshivas is part of Israel’s entrenchment and expansion of settlements across the West Bank, Galant said at the event:

“I am delighted to be here in order to celebrate the inauguration of this new building for a yeshiva high school in Bruchin, together with my good friend Yossi Dagan, who has done so much to develop Jewish settlement in the Samaria region and specifically to advance the educational network here. This new building will serve all the students of the local communities and neighborhoods that have been established in the area in the last few years. I am deeply committed to promoting Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. As Education Minister, I will continue to do all I can to further settlement here, just as I did when I was Housing & Construction Minister – and, indeed, as I have done throughout my life. It’s time that we settled the entire Land, from the Jordan River to the sea. I hope that the students who come to learn here will be able to commence their studies this winter.”

IDF Pays for Use of Yeshiva After Settlers Destroy Army Base

The Times of Israel reports that Israel has agreed to pay the operators of a violent yeshiva associated with the Yitzhar settlement a sum of $118,750 (400,000 NIS) to cover the cost of the building’s use by security forces over the past six years.

In 2014, a mob of violent settlers stormed an army base near the Yitzhar settlement, leaving several officers wounded and destroying all military equipment at the site. After the attack, the IDF seized the yeshiva to use as a temporary base (since theirs was destroyed). It has continued to use the yeshiva since that time, and will now pay the settlers for the inconvenience.

Impending Sheikh Jarrah Evictions

Earlier this month, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s court notified four Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah that they must vacate their longtime homes by November 24th, or else be forcibly evicted. One of those families is the Sabbagh family, whose legal struggle against Israeli settler groups has previously caught international attention and sparked weekly protests in Sheikh Jarrah to stop their eviction. 

The Sabbagh family has lived in their home for over 64 years, and have been battling the settler organization Nahalat Shimon for their right to remain in their home. Nahalat Shimon was awarded ownership rights of the Sabbagh’s house through the use of the “Legal and Administration Matters Law,” which allows Israeli Jews (but not Palestinians) to reclaim property lost/abandoned during the 1948 war. Nahalat Shimon managed to find the Jewish Israeli family who owned the home prior to the 1948 War and convinced that family to hand over their ownership rights.

Muhammed al-Sabbagh told the Middle East Eye recently:

“I know that the Israeli court will not do justice to me. They will not be on my side against Israeli settlers. But I will fight until the very end to protect my home where I grew up, the only safe haven for me and my family.”

Sami Ershid, the family’s lawyer, told Middle East Eye: 

“For years, these [families] wake up thinking what the court will rule against them. They live a life completely devoid of stability, thinking when they will be forcibly expelled from their homes. The [Israeli] goal is clear: to create a new settler neighbourhood on the rubble of their homes.”

Just Vision – who shared one Sheikh Jarrah family’s story in the docuseries “My Neighborhood,” said in an email drawing attention to these evictions:

“While the cases in Sheikh Jarrah are thinly veiled as a legal matter, the political motivations are clear. This latest round of evictions is part of a broader attempt by the Israeli state to forcibly displace Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The process is methodical and impacts thousands of lives on a daily basis. In the past month alone, Israel hid under the US election media frenzy to undertake the largest demolition of Palestinian homes and structures in a decade, and just yesterday, announced a new settlement, Givat Hamatos, that would effectively cut East Jerusalem off from Bethlehem. This all happens under the United States’ watch – subsequent US administrations have done little to hold the Israeli government to account, and the latest administration has given a carte-blanche for unjust activity like this.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Occupied Thoughts: “Pompeo in Psagot” ft. Fadi Quran, Dror Etkes, & Lara Friedman” (FMEP)
2. “Israel Impounds Palestinian’s Cows Grazing on Nature Reserve, Ignores Settlers’ Cows” (Haaretz)
3. “Israeli settlers in the West Bank confront the Biden reality and dig in for a fight” (Washington Post)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

November 13, 2020

1. Anticipating Biden, Part 1: Givat Hamatos Tender Expected Soon
2. Anticipating Biden, Part 2: Israel Rushes to “Legalize” Illegal Settler Construction
3. Anticipating Biden, Part 3: Israel Issues Permits for 96 Units in Ramat Shlomo Settlement
4. Anticipating Biden, Part 4: What Else Might Be Coming Down the Pike?
5. Pompeo To Visit Settlement, A First for a U.S. Secretary of State
6. Emek Shaveh on Status of Settler-Backed Tourism Projects in East Jerusalem
7. Normalization or Annexation? Settlers Go to UAE to Talk Business
8. Peace Now Reflects on Four Years of Trump
9. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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Anticipating Biden, Part 1: Givat Hamatos Tender Expected Soon

Peace Now reports that Israel is on the precipice of publishing the tender for the construction of the Givat Hamatos settlement in East Jerusalem. The publication of the tender for 1,077 units in the approved-but-as-yet-not-started Givat Hamatos settlement has been delayed three times. Government sources have indicated to Peace Now that the tender will be published this week; a government official told Haaretz that the tender will be issued ahead of the swearing in of Joe Biden in January 2021. Upon Peace Now breaking this news, Ir Amim’s researcher Aviv Tatarsky visited the site of the future settlement and noted heavy machinery at work. A person at the site self-identified as a member of the Israel Antiquities Authority and told Tatarsky that the work being done was to check the area for antiquities (if antiquities are present at the site, it will delay/complicate any construction).

Givat Hamatos has long been regarded as a doomsday settlement by parties interested in preserving the possibility of a two-state solution, assuming that Jerusalem will need to be divided and shared. 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. 

Terrestrial Jerusalem – in addition to providing a detailed history of the Givat Hamatos settlement plan and a great explanation of the tender process – writes on the timing of this news:

“It is highly unlikely that the timing of this is unrelated to the complex and sensitive situation that exists after the US elections and before the inauguration of President Biden. The Trump administration has not objected to, and at times has been supportive of Israeli settlement expansion. Under the Trump Plan, all of Jerusalem, including Givat Hamatos, are destined to remain under exclusive Israeli sovereignty. The awarding of tenders in the interregnum between the Trump and Biden administrations would not augur an auspicious beginning to Netanyahu’s relation with the Biden administration. Still, Netanyahu seems to assume that what he can do this week (as far as DC is concerned) will be far more costly to him as of January 20. And if he succeeds with Givat Hamatos, the final approval of E-1 is much more likely.”

Ir Amim writes:

“Although there is yet no official announcement on the opening of bidding for the Givat Hamatos tenders, Peace Now’s information must be seriously taken into consideration. After years that Israel has been forced to stay construction on the new settlement of Givat Hamatos, these two months before the turnover of the US Presidential Administration will be a critical period. We believe that Israel will try to make the most of this time to advance motions that it believes that the incoming administration will oppose. Due to the sensitive nature of the site, the opening of the tender for Givat Hamatos is one of the first on the list of settlement construction that Israel is bound to advance.”

Anticipating Biden, Part 2: Israel Rushes to “Legalize” Illegal Settler Construction

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz is spearheading an effort to expedite the retroactive legalization of at least 1,700 illegally built structures in settlements across the West Bank, including notoriously radical and violent outposts like Yitzhar. The other settlements and outposts reportedly slated to receive approvals from the Israeli government are Beitar Illit, Modi’in Illit, Maale Adumim, Ariel, Ateret, Halamish, Adora, and Otniel. The process of granting retroactive legalization to illegal construction both in settlements and in illegal outposts has been an ongoing effort from within and outside of the Bibi government for decades, and has adopted a renewed urgency during the Trump-Bibi era – especially now that Trump is poised to exit the White House in January 2021. In fact, Jerusalem Post reports that granting authorization to 70-100 outposts is at the top of the settlers’ lobbying agenda as the Trump days dwindle.

Gantz is reportedly working with his fellow Blue & White party member and Defense Ministry official Michael Biton to secure approvals for these illegal structures using the “market regulation” principle as a legal basis for doing so. As FMEP has documented, the “market regulation” principle (explained in detail here) is the brainchild of Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandleblit, and it stipulates that illegal settler construction that was undertaken in “good faith” (i.e. without any involved parties having knowledge that the land upon which they built without permits was/is Palestinian land) is eligible for legalization. The 1,700 structures that Benny Gantz has reportedly identified as eligible are said to have been built by the settlers with the state’s support on land that was believed at the time to be “state land,” but was later discovered to be either owned by Palestinians or to fall outside the borders of state land declarations. Arutz Sheva suggests that there are no known claims by Palestinians on the land. [Reminder: as the occupying force in the West Bank, Israel has a duty to correctly record and protect land status, its failure to do so is now being used as a basis for which to strip Palestinians of their property rights in favor of the settlers].

While pushing for full authorization to be granted to all outposts and illegal settlement structures, settlers have also prepared additional policy options for Netanyahu should the clock run out on the Trump Administration’s pro-settlement posture (10 weeks and counting). For example, Netanayhu might consider issuing a government decision declaring that all outposts are legal in principle, irrespective of the details of each case, and leaving the means and process of retroactive legalization to be dealt with down the road (with the outcome predetermined). Another option the settlers suggest is to have Netanyahu allow all outposts to be connected to Israeli state utilities.

Anticipating Biden, Part 3: Israel Issues Permits for 96 Units in Ramat Shlomo Settlement

On November 10th, the Jerusalem Municipality issued building permits for the construction of 108 units in East Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomo settlement. A municipality source told Kan radio that planning authorities are planning even more approvals for Ramat Shlomo ahead of Biden’s swearing in ceremony in January 2021.

Israel’s approval of new units in the Ramat Shlomo settlement carries a special connection to incoming U.S. President Joe Biden. The new building permits are part of a larger plan for 1,500 units in Ramat Shlomo (tenders for almost all of which have now been published that was announced by Israel in 2010, during a visit to Jerusalem by then-Vice President Joe Biden. The timing of that announcement, and the inflammatory nature of settlement approvals in East Jerusalem (which the Obama Administration pressured Israel to halt), sparked outrage and prompted Biden to issue harsh criticism of Israel while on the ground. The incident earned the 2010 Ramat Shlomo plan the nickname the “Biden Plan.”

Peace Now writes:

“A building permit is the last hurdle before construction can begin; after the plan is approved and the tender is completed, the winning contractors prepare detailed program for the construction of the buildings and they have to go through a bureaucratic permit procedure in the Jerusalem municipality. Normally the issuance of a building permit would not have reached the news, but because of the political sensitivity, and the special history of President-elect Biden with Ramat Shlomo, the issue made headlines. It is not impossible that there was someone who hurried to issue the permits right now, but it is possible that this was done in accordance with the normal pace of bureaucratic progress.”

Anticipating Biden, Part 4: What Else Might Be Coming Down the Pike?

Haaretz reports that Israeli authorities in Jerusalem  have been ordered to expedite the planning process for several East Jerusalem settlement projects (in addition to the Givat Hamatos and Ramat Sholomo settlement plans, detailed above). Included in the rush are reportedly orders to move quickly on plans for: 

1. The Atarot settlement. Israel’s plan to build the Atarot settlement in East Jerusalem can be approved for deposit for public review, having been introduced formally by the Israeli government in February 2020. The plan, which has been rumored since 2007, calls for up to 9,000 residential units aimed for ultra-Orthodox Jews (assuming, conservatively, an average family size of 6, this means housing form 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 huge Israeli enclave, surrounded by Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhoods on three sides and Ramallah to its north. The settlement is slated to be built on the site of the now defunct Atarot airport, which is an important commodity and, during pre-Trump negotiations, was promised to the Palestinians for their state’s future international gateway. It is located at the northern tip of East Jerusalem next to the Qalandiya checkpoint – an area that the Trump Plan would be located entirely inside the state of Israel, and therefore subject to the complete control of Israeli authorities (the Trump Plan seems to suggest it would be the site for a Palestinian tourism zone).
2. The Har Homa E settlement. Israel’s plan to expand the Har Homa settlement to the east, via a plan called “Har Homa E” can also be approved for deposit for public review. The construction in Har Homa E would solidify a continuum of Israeli settlement construction along the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem, detaching East Jerusalem from Bethlehem and completing the encirclement of the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa.

In addition, settler leaders are calling on Netanyahu to allow the Higher Planning Council – the body within the Israeli Defense Ministry which regulates all construction in the West Bank – to meet one final time in 2020. The High Planning Council could advance plans for thousands of settlement units across the West Bank through various stages. This could include – to the delight of settlers – a greenlight for the construction of the E-1 settlement on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem. In March 2020, plans for the construction of the E-1 settlement were deposited for public review, and can now be given final approval by the High Planning Council (assuming that the comment period – normally only 60 days – is closed).

Long called a “doomsday” settlement by supporters of a two-state solution, construction of the E-1 settlement would cut the West Bank effectively in half,  foreclosing the possibility of drawing a border between Israel and Palestine in a manner which preserves territorial contiguity between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank. It would likewise consolidate the isolation of East Jerusalem from the West Bank. In combination with the recent advancements on Givat Hamatos and new tenders for Har Homa,  Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Greater Jerusalem settlement construction announcements – leading up to the third round of Israeli elections – have crossed red lines (in the eyes of the international community) that Netanyahu didn’t dare cross in the past.

Pompeo To Visit Settlement, A First for a U.S. Secretary of State 

Axios reports that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is planning to visit the Golan Heights and the West Bank settlement of Psagot during his trip to Israel next week, which would make him the first Secretary of State to visit either the Golan Heights or a West Bank settlement. The visit, already being hailed by settler leaders, yet again conveys U.S. support for the legitimacy of Israel’s settlement enterprise, and Israel’s sovereignty over its settlements.

Pompeo is said to be planning a visit to the winery in Psagot which named a wine after him in celebration of the Pompeo Doctrine – the Pompeo announcement that erased decades of U.S. policy opposing settlements. The Psagot settlement also played host to the first time (known to the public) that U.S. Ambassador David Friedman visited a settlement, when he attended a wedding at the very same winery in May 2017. The Psagot Winery has been at the center of a broad global effort to push nations to treat Israeli settlements as indistinguishable from sovereign Israeli territory, with the winery involved in international legal battles over how Israeli businesses located in the settlements are required to label their products. Psagot Winery insists that it has a right to mark its products as “Made in Israel” (in effect asserting Israeli sovereignty over the settlements); and international actors including the European Court of Justice have ruled that the labels must accurately indicate that such products are made in the West Bank (i.e. outside of Israel’s borders). 

Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh tweeted:

“We deplore US Sec. of State Mike Pompeo’s intent to visit the illegal settlement of Psagot, built on lands belonging to Palestinian owners in Al-Bireh city, during his visit to Israel next week. This dangerous precedent legalizes settlements & a blow to int’l legitimacy/ UN Res’s.”

The Psagot settlement is located just east of Ramallah, and was built with the support of the Israeli government, with the clear goal of restricting the potential growth the nearby Palestinian village of Al-Bireh. Haaretz, relying on the expertise of settlement expert Dror Etkes, explains the history of Psagot:

“Established in 1979 to compensate settlers for the withdrawal from Sinai required of Israel in the peace treaty with Egypt, one of the aims of Psagot was to stifle neighboring El Bireh. In 1967, the latter had a population of 8,000 spread over an area of 12,000 dunams (3,000 acres). Today its population is 82,000 – but its area has shrunk to about 10,500 dunams. At one spot, only 30 meters separate the crowded Palestinian city from the settler homes.  Etkes relates that Psagot was originally situated on a hilltop (psagot means peaks or summits in Hebrew) at a site that Israel had classified as state land. Treish explains that the land was purchased from its owners in 1965 by the city government of East Jerusalem, then under Jordanian control, for the construction of a summer resort for wealthy vacationers from Kuwait. The 1967 war, in which East Jerusalem came under Israeli control, torpedoed that plan, however, and thereafter the land became “the territories of [Jerusalem Mayor] Teddy Kollek,” in Treish’s words – or “state territory,” in Israeli settlement parlance. Over the years, Etkes notes, the original 140 dunams allocated to Psagot expanded to 655 dunams. Etkes has maps on his computer that show the takeover stage by stage – a brief history of dispossession – all of it, of course, under the auspices of the Israeli authorities, along with the addition of mobile homes, security barriers and so on. Land that had been part of the master plan of El Bireh became the Psagot settlement…Etkes tweeted, “The owners of the Psagot winery owe its success to several factors: to the IDF, which built the fence around Psagot; to the Civil Administration, which did not evict them; to the police, who did not place them on trial; to the billionaire Falic brothers [from Miami, Florida] who came in as partners in the winery; and to the Israel Water Authority, which allocated them tens of millions of cubic liters of water for irrigation.””

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Husam Zomlot tweeted in reaction: 

“Unthinkable yet unsurprising. Israeli colonial settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are illegal before and after Pompeo’s visit. All the visit does is make the Trump administration complicit with war crimes.”

Emek Shaveh on Status of Settler-Backed Tourism Projects in East Jerusalem

Emek Shaveh has published a concise update on settler-backed tourism projects that are currently advancing in East Jerusalem. Aside from the cable car project (on which work is beginning, despite a pending court case), most of the projects detailed are not closely followed by the media, have not recently been in the news, or are not widely known about. The report covers progress on:

1. A cafe and cultural center in Abu Tor belonging to the Elad settler organization. The cafe opened in 2019, after Elad evicted a Palestinian family and renovated the space. Named “House in the Valley,” the cafe is uncoincidentally located adjacent to the site of a planned new pedestrian footbridge designed to expand Elad’s tourist infrastructure across the area. Specifically, that footbridge will connect Abu Tor (a mixed but segregated neighborhood) with Elad-run tourist sites and settler homes in the Palestinian Silwan neighborhood, located just outside the Old City’s Dung Gate, in the shadow of the Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif. Emek Shaveh reports that an Israeli court rejected a petition against the footbridge earlier this year.
2. New agricultural tourism projects on Palestinian land in the Ben Hinnom Valley.  Emek Shaveh reports that two weeks ago Israeli authorities announced plans to develop agricultural terraces in the area that mimic ancient farming practices (practices that Palestinians use to this day). This work is related to land that Israel had previously seized from Palestinians for “gardening purposes.”
3. Ateret Cohanim’s plan to build a “Yemenite Cultural Center” in Silwan. Emek Shaveh reports that Ateret Cohanim recently brought several organizations interested in competing to become the curator of the settler organization’s “Yemenite Cultural Center” on a tour of the building (i.e., a settler enclave masquerading as a heritage center). Ateret Cohanim is behind a campaign that could evict as many as 700 Palestinians from their homes in Batan al-Hawa, where the Center is located. Like many other properties in Silwan, Ateret Cohanim maneuvered, with the help of the Israeli government, to gain control of the building by reviving an ancient Yemenite land trust that owned the land centuries ago, and has since been pursuing the eviction of Paelstinians who have lived on that land for generations. The Israeli government allocated $1.2 million to the “Yemenite Cultural Center” project, which was launched in August 2018, even as Palestinians continued to challenge the legitimacy of Ateret Cohanim’s claim to the land.
4. Two Elad-Promoted Projects in East Jerusalem’s Peace Forest. Emek Shaveh reports that Elad is in the process of renovating a new tourism center that will serve as the starting point for the zip line project – also promoted by Elad – in the Peace Forest in East Jerusalem. Secondly, the Israeli Finance Ministry has reportedly agreed to finance the development of camping grounds in the Peace Forest. As a reminder, Israel has previously issued demolition orders to Palestinians  building on their own land in the area designated by Israel as the “Peace Forest,” even as it has re-zoned the area to accommodate settler projects.

As FMEP has explained, Elad and Ateret Cohanim – along with the whole of the Israeli government, which enables and promotes their efforts – have undertaken a politically and ideologically-motivated project to hide, marginalize, and erase the presence and history of East Jerusalem’s Palestinian population in and around the Old City. They have done so in large part by developing and controlling tourist attractions and infrastructure in the area. Those projects are designed to further entrench settler activities and tourism sites inside Silwan, while simultaneously delegitimizing, dispossessing, and erasing the Palestinian presence there. As a spokesman for Elad once proudly declared, “Our aim is Judaize East Jerusalem”),

Normalization or Annexation? Settlers Go to UAE to Talk Business

To the shock and dismay of Palestinians, the UAE played host to a delegation of Israeli settlers for discussions of commercial opportunities between the two parties. In so doing, the UAE has given legitimacy, as an Arab state, to the role that settlement businesses and industrial zones play (and will play) in the economy of the West Bank – something that entrenches the permanency and profitability of Israel’s occupation.

In the wake of the signing of the Abraham Accords, settler businesspeople have returned to proudly hawking their economic peace “coexistence” model, which purports that settlement businesses actually benefit Palestinians because they provide employment opportunities. In fact, settlers who are promoting business cooperation with the Palestinians — and now the Emiratis — are in fact promoting the normalization, entrenchment, and the rewarding of Israeli settlements, while perpetuating Israel’s economic exploitation of occupied territory and its population (including the local workforce, land, and other natural resources). 

Peace Now Reflects on Four Years of Trump

In a new report – entitled “Greenlighting De Facto Annexation: A Summary of Trump’s Impact on the Settlements“ – Peace Now takes a look at the totality of Israel’s de facto annexation of West Bank land over the past four years of the Trump Administration. The report’s main findings are:

• The number of plans promoted in the settlements increased 2.5 times compared to the previous four years – 26,331 housing units were promoted in the settlements in the years 2017-2020, compared to 10,331 housing units in the years 2013-2016.
• The number of tenders in the settlements doubled – tenders were published for 2,425 housing units in the settlements, compared with 1,164 housing units in the previous four years.
• Infrastructure and road projects were designed to add another million settlers – In recent years, the Israeli government has begun infrastructure and road projects designed to form the development axis for settlements with an investment of billions of shekels. These include: doubling the “Tunnels Road” (bypassing Bethlehem), Al-Arroub bypass (completing a four-lane road from Jerusalem to Hebron), the Eastern Ring Road from A-Za’ayyim and Anata (AKA “the Apartheid Road), Hawara bypass (south of Nablus), the Qalandiya underpass, Nabi Eliyas bypass and other roads.
• Construction was promoted in places particularly destructive for the prospects of peace, and where Israel did not dare build in the past (due to international opposition). 
• Promoted plans will add 100,000 settlers in settlements that Israel will have to evacuate under any realistic 2-state scenario – 78% of the promoted plans (20,629 housing units) are in settlements that Israel will have to evacuate under a two-state agreement (according to the Geneva Initiative model). Major developments include:
  • E1 – Plans were deposited for 3,401 housing units.
  • Givat Hamatos – A tender was published for 1,077 housing units.
  • Hebron – The government has approved the construction of about 100 housing units that will double the number of settlers in the Palestinian city.
  • Large expansions in the heart of the West Bank: 1,103 units for settlements surrounding Nablus (Bracha, Elon Moreh, Itamar, Yizhar, Shavei Shomron); 2,687 units in settlements surrounding Ramallah (Beit El, Ofra, Psagot, Kochav Yaacov, Dolev, Talmon and its outposts); 2,279 units in settlements between Ramallah and Nablus (Eli, Shilo, Shvut Rachel and the new settlement of Amihai).
• An explosion of new outposts.  – At least 31 new outposts were established during the Trump administration (compared to 9 in the previous four years). In addition, 10 outposts were retroactively legalized (their “regularization” plan took effect), compared to 7 outposts in the previous four years.
• Undermining the Israeli, Palestinian, and international consensus on the parameters for solving the conflict’s core issues and presenting a plan for annexation  – The Trump Administration undermined the parameters for resolving the conflict by moving the embassy to Jerusalem while taking the issue “off the table,” canceling UNRWA support and implying that the Palestinian refugees are no longer an issue,  and legitimizing settlements. The Trump Plan, published in January 2020, presents a model for Israeli annexation without even minimal Palestinian independence.
• Evacuation of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem in favor of settlers – In the four years of the Trump administration, around 6 Palestinian families in the Muslim Quarter and Sheikh Jarrah were evicted (based on restitution of Jewish property before 1948, while such laws are not afforded to Palestinians), compared to only one family in Silwan in the previous four years. (Removal of Palestinian families, based on settler claims to have acquired their property, continued both in previous years and under the Trump administration).
• Changing the rules of the game to de facto annexation  –  Under Trump, the Israeli government produced a series of legal opinions approving the expropriation of Palestinian land, contrary to previous rulings (and of course contrary to international law, according to which expropriation of occupied land to serve the interests of the occupier’s population is prohibited), and applying  apply administrative laws and procedures over the Green Line in the West Bank, despite it not being officially part of Israel (“from occupation to apartheid”). 

Peace Now writes:

“The de facto annexation has manifested itself in high levels of settlement unit approvals, transgressions of informal international red lines in highly sensitive areas like the Jerusalem environs and Hebron, and the building of over 30 new outposts. Consequently, de jure annexation became a legitimate topic in the Israeli and American governments, while Israel has created for itself and the Palestinians a near permanent, undemocratic one-state reality.”

Bonus Reads

1. “As Town Near Jerusalem Expands, This Palestinian Village Could Lose Its Spring” (Haaretz)
2. “Court rejects Netanyahu bid to delay Khan al-Ahmar response” (Jerusalem Post)
3. “What Trump has in store for Israel, Middle East during final 70 days in office” (The Times of Israel)
4. “Should Israel’s Settlers Fear Joe Biden?” (Haaretz)
5. “Israel’s settlements could test ties with Biden” (AP)
6. “Israeli settlers disappointed over Trump’s defeat, worry over Biden” (Al-Monitor)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

October 23, 2020

1. Following Wave of New Settlement Approvals, Israel Advances Plans for New Settler Bypass Roads
2. Settler Violence (Predictably) Spikes During Olive Harvest, IDF (Predictably) Fails to Intervene
3. Settlers Establish New Outpost in  Jordan Valley to Expand Maskiyot Settlement
4. Israel Increasing Demolitions of Palestinian Construction in Second Half of 2020
5. The Return of Economic “Peace” Schemes: Judea and Samaria Business Council Holds Virtual Summit, Praises Abraham Accords as Model for “Peace”
6. CONFIRMED: Tekoa Settles Illegally Built on Palestinian Land
7. Friedman Reiterates Trump Admin Support for Settlements & Outposts
8. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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Following Wave of New Settlement Approvals, Israel Advances Plans for New Settler Bypass Roads 

This week Israeli authorities advanced plans for the construction of three new settler bypass roads. The advancement of the plans comes just a week after the High Planning Council advanced plans for the construction of 4,948 new settlement units (in addition to the retroactive legalization of hundreds of existing units and approval of 4 major non-residential settlement construction projects). 

Specifically,  a special committee within the Israeli Finance Ministry approved a tender for the construction of the Huwwara Bypass Road, a new road designed to enable settler traffic from the Nablus area to bypass the the Palestinian village of Huwwara (which is an area with heavy traffic congestion from daily commuters) in order to more easily/directly access Jerusalem. This bypass road has long been a top priority for the settlers, who have complained about the long commute to Jerusalem and the limit this puts on the potential for growth of Nablus-area settlements; the radical/violent Yitzhar settlement will benefit from the bypass road, along with the settlements of Har Bracha, Itamar, and Elon Moreh. Building the road also gained urgency for the settlers after the release of the Trump Plan’s conceptual map, which left the area where the road is slated to be built within the borders a future Palestinian “state.”

Peace Now told FMEP via email:

“This bypass road was primarily built for the far-flung Israeli settlements around Nablus. As we see throughout the West Bank, when road infrastructure is improved for settlements, they grow rapidly, sometimes even doubling in size in the space of a decade. This bypass road will entrench the occupation, not to mention violate Palestinian rights as protected rights holders under international law.” 

In addition to the Huwara bypass road, Ir Amim reports that the Israeli Civil Administration deposited for public review two plans for the construction of settler bypass roads in the Greater Jerusalem area (plans “YOSH-938” and “YOSH-926”). Now that plans have been deposited for public review, a 60-day public comment period has opened, after which the Civil Administration can grant final approval for the construction of these two new settler bypass roads.

The first of the Jerusalem-area plans deposited for public review this week relates to the area south of Jerusalem. This plan will enable the permanent legalization of an existing bypass road – Road 385 – which connects the Har Gilo settlement to the area south of Bethlehem area, by bypassing the Palestinian village of Al-Walaja, located just south of Jerusalem (part of Al-Walajah is in fact inside the expanded Jerusalem Municipality border). That road is built on privately-owned Palestinian land that Israel seized 25 years ago via a military confiscation order. In order for the road to become a legal (in the eyes of the Israeli planning law) access road to the site of the future Har Gilo West settlement, the plan for which was approved for deposit last week, the land on which the road was built needs to be permanently seized by Israel. This plan, along with the construction of Har Gilo West and Givat Hamatos, will leave Al-Walaja completely encircled by Israeli settlements and settlement infrastructure. Ir Amim reports how Israel plans to justify and carry out this land seizure, and its impacts:

“the Israeli Civil Administration wishes to justify its confiscation of Palestinian private lands needed for the construction of the road by claiming that it will also serve Palestinian traffic. This claim would clearly be false as the road only leads into Jerusalem along a route from which Palestinian traffic is blocked by Israeli checkpoints. Furthermore, as previously reported by Ir Amim, Israel is planning to relocate the checkpoint on this road farther away from Jerusalem and closer to Walaja. The planned expansion of Har Gilo by 560 housing units – an addition which will more than double the current size of Har Gilo – is located adjacent to Al-Walaja from the west and will result in the village’s complete isolation. Israel constructed the Separation Barrier in a route that surrounds Al-Walaja on three sides very close to the built-up area of the village; this has left the village only with the possibility to develop westwards where the barrier is not built. These lands on the west side of Al-Walaja are now targeted for the new settlement which, along with the Separation Barrier, will complete the encirclement of Al-Walaja in all directions. The village has already  lost more than a thousand dunams of land which were cut off by the Separation Barrier and declared by Israel as the Nahal Rephaim National Park. The Separation Barrier, National Park, and planned settlement combine to turn Al-Walaja into an isolated enclave cutoff from the Bethlehem area while they serve as a connection between Jerusalem and the settlements to its south.”

The second of the Jerusalem-area plans deposited for public review this week relates to the area north and east of Jerusalem. It is designed to enable settler traffic bypass the Palestinian villages of Al-Ram, Qalandiya, and Ramallah (including a new tunnel under the Qalandiya checkpoint which Palestinians must pass through on foot to access Jersusalem) in order to more easily access Jerusalem. This plan specifically serves a cluster of settlements, located deep inside the West Bank, that Netanyahu has dubbed a “fourth settlement bloc” in an effort to designate the area as one over which Israel will never relinquish control. This “bloc” includes the settlements of Adam, Kochav Yaakov, Ofra, and Beit El – almost all of which received construction approvals last week (as a reminder, Beit El is the settlement which Ambassador David Friedman has long supported, serving as the head of the US organization supporting Beit El until just before he was named ambassador).

In order to construct this new bypass road, Israel will need to expropriate privately owned Palestinian land, and justifies doing so on the patently false claim that the road will provide a benefit both to Palestinians and to settlers. Ir Amim explains: 

“…the Civil Administration claims that the road will also serve Palestinian traffic and for that purpose an interchange nearby Qalandia will connect it to the road to Ramallah. But when examining the schedule for construction of the road, it is clear that this interchange is scheduled to be operational only in the year 2040 – many years after the road serving settler traffic is scheduled to open. The fact that Israel is advancing large scale plans for 20 years into the future demonstrates Israeli intentions regarding its control of the area for decades to come.”

Regarding even further consequences of this new bypass road, Ir Amim writes:

“The planned road will also cut through the A-Ram and Qalandia area between A-Ram and Ramallah. Today there are no settlements in this area nor is settler traffic passing through it. It is telling that during the discussion the planners explained that the route of the road was designed to pass a distance away from the Kochav Yaakov settlement and close to the town of A-Ram. As in many other cases, this means that the road leaves a large area next to the settlements enabling its future expansion, while its construction will serve to limit the possibility of A-Ram’s future development.”

Settler Violence (Predictably) Spikes During Olive Harvest, IDF (Predictably) Fails to Intervene 

As has become the norm, Israeli settlers have stepped up their violent aggression against Palestinians and their property during the current olive harvest season (which comes in January and October each year). Yesh Din has documented 25 violent incidents since the beginning of the harvest season, with Haaretz reporting on data that shows 5 violent assaults against Palestinians and the destruction of 62 olive trees during the first week of harvest alone.

Ghassan Daglas, who monitors settlement activity for the Palestinian Authority, told Haaretz:

“This year we are seeing larger groups, sometimes dozens at a time, entering the groves, causing damage and attacking while the army looks on. From year to year they only reduce the territory where Palestinians are allowed to harvest, and at the same time the settlements grow larger and during harvest time this leads to violent confrontations. It’s intolerable, we don’t have the tools to handle this. If you’re looking for a key sign of what occupation is about, it’s what’s happening in the olive groves.”

To closely follow the violent incidents, here are the key groups to follow:

• Yesh Din’s Facebook page, and staff on Twitter:
  • Lior Amihai (@lioramihai);
  • Sharona Weiss (@sharona_weiss).
• B’Tselem’s website and newsletter;
• OCHA oPt’s essential newsletter.

Settlers Establish New Outpost in  Jordan Valley to Expand Maskiyot Settlement

WAFA news reports that settlers from the Maskiyot settlement in the Jordan Valley have built a new structure just west of the settlement in order to keep and tend to their livestock. Aref Daraghmeh, a local activist, called this practice of unauthorized settlement construction a “silent policy of eating up more Palestinian land”.

Last week FMEP covered a separate report concerning yet another new settler outpost in the Jordan Valley. This  illegal – but as of yet un-demolished –  settler construction stands in sharp contrast to Israel’s escalating policy of demolitions against unauthorized Palestinian construction (undertaken by Palestinians on their own lands), discussed in the next section.

Israel Increasing Demolitions of Palestinian Construction in Second Half of 2020

In a new report, the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq notes how the monthly average number of Israeli demolitions of Palestinian property in the occupied Palestinian territory has nearly doubled – from a monthly average of 31 demolitions from January to June to a monthly average of 58 demolitions from July through September. Both figures are much higher than previous years – which saw an monthly average of 30 demolitions in 2019 and 22 in 2018.

Al Haq writes:

“this policy of unlawfully demolishing Palestinian buildings and structures, taken alongside many other similarly unlawful policies and actions, reveal Israel’s intention to forcibly transfer Palestinian communities from their homes. Settlement construction and expansion, exploitation of natural resources, restricting movement and access, the application of a discriminatory planning policy, and the virtual impossibility of obtaining building permits create a coercive environment for Palestinians, which amounts to direct and indirect forcible transfer, prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention and which may constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity. [2] Moreover, having their properties demolished and destroyed, the Palestinian people are deprived of their right to develop their resources, and are ultimately denied from exercising their right to self-determination.”

The Return of Economic “Peace” Schemes: Judea and Samaria Business Council Holds Virtual Summit, Praises Abraham Accords as Model for “Peace”

The Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce (JSCC) – a settler-creeated, settler-led body that promotes itself as a joint Israeli-Palestinian model for advanceing economic peace (despite lacking any meaningful buy-in from the Palestinian business community) – recently co-hosted a virtual conference entitled the “Israeli-Palestinian Economic Forum” (IPEF 2020). During the conference, the JSCC’s President Avi Zimmerman announced that two companies were selected to receive $150,000 in kick-start funds (one is an Israeli-run renewable energy company and the second is a Palestinian-run digital health company). Zimmerman further announced plans to launch a “Israeli-Palestinian business accelerator” in early 2021.

The last time FMEP covered the JSCC was in December 2019 when Ashraf Jabari — the Chamber’s only Palestinian member apparently willing to speak publicly — was in Washington lobbying Congress to fund economic peace projects. As a reminder, economic “coexistence” initiatives like the JSCC are in fact efforts to normalize, entrench, and reward Israeli settlements while perpetuating Israel’s economic exploitation of occupied territory (including the local workforce, land, and other natural resources). Congressional support for such initiatives could mean U.S. taxpayer dollars going directly (and publicly) to the settlements.

In addition to the new projects and funding, Zimmerman and many speakers at the summit hailed the Abraham Accords, which were recently signed between Israel, the UAE, and the US. According to reports, as part of the new accords, a joint fund will soon be launched and is expected to finance the renovation of Israeli operated checkpoints throughout the West Bank — in effect, bringing the UAE into the game of financing and normalizing permanent occupation..

Connecting the Abraham Accords to the JSCC’s work, Zimmerman told the JNS news outlet:

“there is a window of opportunity for Israeli-Palestinian economic partnerships to flourish following the monumental Abraham Accords.”

Appearing at the virtual conference, Israel’s Minister of Regional Cooperation Ofir Akunis said:

“peace through economic strength is the right formula for true peace in the Middle East.”

Ashraf Jabari – who even today is still one of the very few (and the most public-facing) Palestinian businessmen to join the projfect – said:

“this is the next stage of Palestinian-Israeli economic cooperation. There are countless opportunities for our neighboring communities to create business partnerships, but there are some who don’t want our shared success to be public. Fortunately, market forces are stronger than politics. Our growing relationships will continue to lead the way.”

CONFIRMED: Tekoa Settlers Illegally Built on Palestinian Land

Kerem Navot reports that the Civil Administration finally published an updated map of the Tekoa settlement definitively showing that settlers have been illegally (and knowingly) developing land located beyond the settlement’s legal (according to Israel) boundaries. The land in question was confirmed to be outside of Tekoa’s borders in 2000, when the Israeli Blue Line team issued its maps; nonetheless, Tekoa settlers went ahead and built on it anyway. 

Kerem Navot contends that the Civil Administration delayed publication of the new map since February 2019, in the hopes that the Knesset’s passage of the Regulation Law would offer the State an avenue for granting retroactive legalization to the illegal construction on private Palestinian land, which amounts to 80 houses, located on 27 plots of land which were widely known by the settlers to fall outside of the settlement’s borders. The Regulation Law was overturned by the High Court of Justice in June 2020, and Israel’s alternative to that law – utilizing the “market regulation” principle, which enables the legalization of illegal construction undertaken by settlers “in good faith” – cannot, in any reasonable interpretation of the concept, be applied to the Tekoa case, since the buildings were constructed by the settlers with full knowledge that the land was not allotted to the settlement.

Kerem Navot writes:

“And what about the settlers who will soon tell everyone that this was, once again, only a mistake, made in “good faith”? What did they know before the work began? Note the answer that the Civil Administration gave in response to an article that was published by a resident of the settlement Tekoa, Yehuda Yifrach, who also serves as Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon’s ‘legal commentator’ (without, of course, properly disclosing that he lives in Tekoa): ‘As for the case mentioned in Tekoa–we emphasize that the council has long known what the correct boundaries are for the declared state land where the settlement is located, and in spite of this, has been granting exceptional building permits for these areas over the last two years.’ “In other words, the Civil Administration basically said that the Gush Etzion Regional Council (which the Tekoa settlement is part of) knew all along that construction was being done on private property that is forbidden to build upon, and chose to build in that area anyway.”

Friedman Reiterates Trump Admin Support for Settlements & Outposts

In what should be news to no one, this week U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman once again made it clear that the Trump Administration supports the permanency of all of Israel’s settlements and outposts in the West Bank. Friedman said:

“The position of the United States is that Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria will never be evacuated. We will never ask any community in Judea and Samaria to ever disband.”

Addressing why the Trump Administration has delayed recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the settlements in favor of normalization deals with the UAE and others, Friedman said:

“there are Israeli flags flying in Hebron, Shiloh, Gush Etzion, Eli, and under our plan they will be flying there forever, so it is not an immediate concern.”

Friedman made the comments at a conference convened by the Kohelet Policy Forum, the Shiloh Forum, and Israel Hayom – a triumvirate of organizations leading the fight for “Greater Israel” —  to discuss (read: celebrate) the signing of the “Abraham Accords” between the UAE, Israel, and the United States.

Bonus Reads

1. “Exclusive: Documents reveal decades of close cooperation between JNF and Elad“ (+972 Magazine)
2. “Israeli construction plans for West Bank raise tensions with Europe.” (Media Line)
3. “Republicans in Israel chair: I hope Trump will formalize West Bank outposts” (Jerusalem Post)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

October 16, 2020

1. No Annexation, No Problem – Israel Advances Nearly 5,000 New Settlement Plans, Including New Settlement South of Jerusalem
   • Overview
   • Record-Setting Settlement Activity in 2020
   • Har Gilo West Approved for Deposit w/ Plan to Seal Off Al-Walajah
   • Two Outposts Advance Towards Retroactive Legalization
   • Not Just Residential Units – Council Advances Settler Tourism & Infrastructure Projects
   • Location of Approvals
   • Reactions
2. Plan for 570 Units in East Jerusalem Settlement Approved for Deposit
3. Israel Approves Construction of Elevator at Tomb of the Patriarchs
4. Israel Delivers Confiscation Notices to Palestinians Living in the Heart of Hebron
5. Palestinians Report Newly Established Outposts & Land Confiscations
6. Targeting Palestinians Construction in Area C: State Devotes $6 million to Mapping Program
7. In First, Palestinian Authority Courts to Hear Lawsuits Against Settlers
8. NF, Elad Face International Heat Over Sumarin Family Eviction Case – Will it Matter?
9. Report: U.S. Will Not Back De Jure Annexation Until 2024 [Friedman Says 2021 in Play]
10. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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No Annexation, No Problem – Israel Advances Nearly 5,000 New Settlement Plans, Including New Settlement South of Jerusalem 

Overview

During meetings held October 14th and 15th, the Israeli High Planning Council advanced plans for a total of 4,948 new settlement units. Of that total, plans for 2,688 units were granted final approval and plans for 2,260 units were approved to be deposited for public review (a late stage in the planning process). The latter approvals include a plan to build a new settlement, “Har Gilo West,”  just beyond Jerusalem’s southern border. In addition, the Council granted retroactive approval to 340 existing illegally-built settlement units in the unauthorized outposts of Peni Kedem and Tapuach West, paving  the establishment of two new official West Bank settlements (through post-facto legalization of the illegal outposts).

These were the first meetings of the High Planning Council since February 2020, at which time settlement planning was put on pause in favor of attempting to implement annexation plans as designed by Trump’s “Deal of the Century.” Under annexation, authority over the settlement planning/approval process could have been shifted from the Israeli Civil Administration (the branch of the Israeli Defense Ministry, in charge of the administration of affairs in the West Bank, – i.e., Israel’s occupation) into Israel domestic planning mechanism. Such a shift has long been a goal of settlers and their political allies.

In addition to advancing construction of new residential settlement units, the High Planning Council also advanced plans for the construction of new settlement projects that support tourism, further entrench the permanency of settlements, and that continue the exploitation of West Bank land and resources.

Record-Setting Settlement Activity in 2020

With the huge advancement of settlement plans this week, the Israeli government has advanced plans for 12,159 settlement units so far in 2020. With over two months to go, the settlement watchdog group Peace Now reports that this is already the highest total number settlement advancements in any year since Peace Now began tracking totals in 2012. Peace Now also reports that it is possible that the High Planning Council will convene one more time before the year ends.

Har Gilo West Approved for Deposit w/ Plan to Seal Off Al-Walajah

The High Planning Council approved for public deposit a plan to build 560 units at the Har Gilo West settlement site, located just south of Jerusalem. The Council is treating this plan as merely an expansion of the existing Har Gilo settlement, but in actuality it represents the construction of a new settlement on Jerusalem’s southern border, as the two areas of construction (Har Gilo and Har Gilo West) would not be contiguous. The plan for 560 units in Har Gilo West is part of a larger plan to construct around 952 units in the new settlement, extending the its borders right up to the Jerusalem municipal boundary, with dire consequences for the long-beleaguered Palestinian village of Al-Walajah. 

The discussion on October 14th further revealed  that, in order to build Har Gilo West, Israel plans to extend the separation barrier in that area to completely encircle al-Walajah, which is surrounded on three sides by the separation wall already. The new section of the barrier would be a 7-meters high concrete slab along the western edge of the built-up area of Al-Walajah. That would leave Al-Walajah completely encircled by the separation barrier and Israeli construction beyond it.

Ir Amim explains:

“In the past decade a series of Israeli moves have taken over more and more of Al-Walaja land and gradually isolating it. These are now culminating with the intention to construct the new settlement on the land reserves on the western side of Al-Walaja and to extend the separation barrier so as to complete the encircling of the village. As Al-Walaja will turn into an isolated enclave which lacks an outline plan its residents will be especially vulnerable to increasing home demolitions and other Israeli sanctions. Since the village will separate the new settlement from the existing Har Gilo we are likely to see increasing Israeli actions against Al-Walaja and its residents which will put their future existence at risk.”

Peace Now writes:

“The current plan of 952 housing units to be advanced will create a brand new neighborhood that will be larger than the existing settlement, and will exploit the land cut off by the West Bank barrier to further break up the western Bethlehem metropolitan area, including the land connecting al-Walaja and the town of Battir, as well as Battir and Bethlehem. This land also constitutes some of the only uninhabited fertile land reserves for Bethlehem, which currently is cut off by the West Bank barrier to its immediate north and west.“

FMEP has repeatedly documented various Israeli efforts to seal off al-Walajah from Jerusalem. Residents of al-Walajah have fought the growing encroachment by the nearby Etzion settlement bloc and the Israeli government’s attempt to de facto annex the bloc as part of “Greater Jerusalem.” Ir Amim explains several prongs of this effort, including a particularly unbelievable section of Israel’s separation barrier planned to almost completely encircle the village, to turn its valuable agricultural land into an urban park for Jerusalem, and construction of a highway that will connect the Etzion settlement bloc to Jerusalem with Israeli-only bypass roads.

Two Outposts Advance Towards Retroactive Legalization

The High Planning Council approved for deposit two plans that would, if implemented, have the effect of retroactively legalizing two outposts – bestowing upon those outposts legitimacy in the eyes of Israeli law and, in effect, establishing two new, official settlements. Those plans are:

1. Pnei Kedem: A plan to grant retroactive legalization to 120 units in the Pnei Kedem farm outpost by recognizing the outpost as a “neighborhood” of the Metzad/Asfar settlement. This is despite the fact that the two areas of construction are non-contiguous. Pnei Kedem is located halfway between Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern West Bank. Settlers were particularly gleeful about this plan being advanced
2. Tapuach West: A plan to grant retroactive legalization to 133 units in the Tapuach West outpost, located south of Bethlehem. 

Not Just Residential Units – Council Advances Settler Tourism & Infrastructure Projects

The High Planning Council also advanced plans for the construction of new settlement projects that support tourism, further entrench the permanency of settlements, and that continue the exploitation of West Bank land and resources.

The Council granted final approval to:

1. A plan for new shops and an educational site (to include an agricultural farm) in the Kochav Yaakov settlement – located between Jerusalem and Ramallah; and,
2. A plan to grant retroactive authorization to a motor park and 120 hotel rooms in the Petza’el settlement, located in the Jordan Valley. As FMEP has covered in the past, this state-of-the-at racetrack and hotel complex is being built partially on land that the Israeli army previously declared a closed firing zone, a designation which resulted in the forcible displacement of Palestinians who lived there. The land remains under this designation today. Rather than halting the construction of this complex, the Israeli authorities instead created a Master Plan for the area in order to enable even more construction in the area.

Plans the Council granted final approval for public deposit include:

1. A plan for an industrial zone near the Mishor Adumim settlement; and,
2. A plan to build a new commercial area and 50 hotel rooms in the Maale Adumim settlement;

Location of Approvals

Included in the total number of units receiving final approval and/or retroactive legalization (3,028 units) are  (in descending order of number of units): [map]

1. 382 units in the Beit El settlement, located in the heart of the northern West Bank. This includes retroactive legalization for 36 units which had been previously built without authorization and the construction of 346 units in highrise buildings with 9 or 10 floors (building up, not out in Beit El) [as a reminder, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has deep ties to the Beit El settlement];
2. 357 units in the Geva Benyamin (Adam) settlement, located just north east of Jerusalem, just beyond the separation barrier. Israel has been steadily building the Adam settlement in a manner meant to unite the settlement more seamlessly with East Jerusalem settlements and infrastructure, erasing the Green Line;
3. 354 units in the Nili settlement, located in the northern West Bank;
4. 213 units in the Shiloh settlement, including the retroactive legalization of 21 units built without required approvals. The Shiloh settlement is located in the central West Bank;
5. 211 units in the radical and violent Yitzhar settlement, including some retroactive authorizations (exact number not specified) as well as approval for public buildings. Yitzhar, located just south of Nablus, is associated with the Hilltop Youth movement – and a string of illegal outposts in the area associated with repeated attacks on Palestinians and their property;
6. 205 units in the Nokdim settlement (actually approved for the Kfar Eldad settlement, which is officially within the jurisdiction of Nokdim), located south of Bethlehem;
7. 200 units in the Metzad settlement (also known as Asfar), including the retroactive legalization of an unspecified number of existing units built without necessary approvals;
8. 160 units in the Kochav Yaacov settlement, located east of Ramallah;
9. 140 units in Kerem Reim settlement – located north west of Ramallah. Peace Now has repeatedly challenged the illegal construction of the Kerem Reim outpost, which the Israeli government retroactively legalized by declaring it a neighborhood of the Talmon settlement even though the areas are non-contiguous. Though a court rejected one Peace Now petition, there is an ongoing case against the Amana settler organization which Peace Now alleges engaged in illegal activities to build the outpost;
10. 132 units in Kfar Adumim settlement –  located east of Jerusalem and less than one mile from the Khan al-Ahmar bedouin community which the state of Israel is seeking to demolish;
11. 106 units in the Ma’ale Shomron settlement,  located east of the Palestinian village of Qalqilya;
12. 84 new units in the Shima settlement, including retroactive legalization of 14 existing units;
13. 74 units in the Yakir 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 deep into the West Bank;
14. 64 units in the Telem settlement – located west of Hebron;
15. Retroactive legalization of 18 units in the Psagot settlement – located east of Ramallah, and home to the Psagot Winery;
16. Retroactive legalization of 2 units in the “Givon Hadasha” settlement;

Plans which were approved for deposit for public review include (in descending order of number of units):

1. 629 units in the Eli settlement, including the retroactive legalization of 61 units – 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;
2. 560 units in the Har Gilo settlement located just south of Jerusalem (covered in detail above);
3. 286 units in the Har Bracha settlement – located just south of Nablus. If implemented, these new units will double the size of Har Bracha;
4. 179 units in the Einav settlement – located northwest of Nablus;
5. 148 units in the Rimonim settlement – located between Ramallah and Jericho in the Jordan Valley;
6. A plan to grant retroactive legalization to 133 units in the Tapuach West outpost, thereby granting approval to the outpost itself (discussed above);
7. A plan to grant retroactive legalization to 120 units in the Pnei Kedem outpost by recognizing the outpost as a “neighborhood” of the Metzad/Asfar settlement although the two areas of construction are non-contiguous. Pnei Kedem is located between Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern West Bank;
8. 82 units in the Karnei Shomron settlement –  located in the northern West Bank east of the Palestinian village of Qalqilya. Israel is planning to continue expanding Karnei Shomron with the stated goal of bringing 1 million settlers to live in the area surrounding the settlement.;
9. 75 units in the Shimaa settlement, including the legalization of 14 units previously built without authorization;
10. 52 units received retroactive legalization in the Kfar Adumim settlement; 
11. 35 units in the Efrat settlement – located south of Bethlehem. As a reminder, Efrat is located 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;
12. 14 units (in one building) in the Maale Mikmash settlement – located east of Ramallah;
13. 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).
14. 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; and,

Reactions

The High Planning Council met only after settlers, who represent a key ally of the embattled Prime Minister, pressured Netanyahu to allow it. Settlers have spent months decrying what they understood to be a freeze on settlement constructed inflicted upon them by Netanyahu. Gush Etzion Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman said:

“Sometimes we take our prime minister to task, which we feel is justified as a result of our disappointment in postponing the application of sovereignty over our country. But now something tangible is happening – we are building and developing our communities, and of course, the highlight of today is the full registration in the Land Authority of the young community of Pnei Kedem, 20 years since it was established.”

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said:

“This is a happy day for Samaria. [New construction] in Har Bracha, Yitzhar, Einav and Tapuach is another step on the way to a million residents in this beautiful region of the country…While we’re very content with today’s developments, I call on the Prime Minister not to stop here. We’re overfilled with joy, but it is a drop in the ocean with sovereignty falling off the agenda. The expectation now is that construction and strengthening of the settlement movement will increase tenfold.”

Peace Now responded to the approvals in a statement saying:

“While Israel reels from its second lockdown and economic distress, Netanyahu is promoting construction in isolated settlements that Israel will have to evacuate. Instead of taking advantage of the agreements with the Gulf states and promoting peace with the Palestinians, he is distorting Israel’s priorities and catering to a fringe minority for these settlement unit approvals that will continue to harm future prospects for peace. We call on the Defense Minister and the Alternative Prime Minister Benny Gantz to veto these plans. Far from a ‘settlement freeze,’ the right has been complaining about, the expected settlement approvals announcement next week prove that the settlement enterprise under Netanyahu is moving ahead at full steam toward solidifying the de facto annexation of the West Bank. The move also will be the first major demonstration of Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s bowing to the ‘Greater Israel’ settlement agenda that would in reality bring about a permanent undemocratic one-state reality. By doing so, Israel will be signaling to the world its bi-partisan support for the end to the concept of a two-state solution and a Palestinian state – the paradigm that until now has largely shielded Israel from formal pressure over its 53-year occupation. The settlement enterprise is not in Israel’s national or security interest, and is a strategic mistake at the international level.”

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh denounced the approvals, saying:

“Every settler unit constitutes a plan to annex our land.”

Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement: 

“We warn against this Israeli policy that will lead the region to the brink of the abyss, and we call on the international community to intervene immediately and urgently to pressure the Netanyahu government to stop this settlement madness that totally eliminates any real opportunity to achieve a just and comprehensive peace to end the occupation and establish the independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders.”

UN High Representative Josep Borrell said in a statement:

“In recent days, Israel has announced a significant expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, in areas in and around Jerusalem. These plans, which foresee the construction of close to 5.000 housing units, jeopardise the viability and territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian State as the outcome of a negotiated two-state solution, in line with the internationally agreed parameters. Settlements are illegal under international law. As stated consistently, the EU will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties. Settlement activity threatens current efforts to rebuild trust, to resume civil and security cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis and to prepare the ground for an eventual resumption of meaningful and direct negotiations. The Government of Israel should reverse these decisions and halt all continued settlement expansion, including in East Jerusalem and sensitive areas such as Har Homa, Givat Hamatos and E1. The period from March to August 2020 also saw a spike in demolitions or confiscations of Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU reiterates its call on Israel to halt all such demolitions, including of EU-funded structures, in particular in light of the humanitarian impact of the current pandemic. Against the background of normalization of relations between Israel, UAE and Bahrain, Israelis and Palestinians should seize this opportunity and take urgent steps to build confidence and restore cooperation along the line of previous agreements and in full respect of international law.”

A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement flagging concern over the advancements, saying:

“We are concerned about the reports of Israel’s settlement advancements in the occupied West Bank and will continue to follow developments closely, as the Israeli High Planning Committee finalizes its meetings tomorrow. The Secretary-General has consistently reiterated that all settlements are illegal under international law and remain a substantial obstacle to peace. We urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from such unilateral actions that fuel instability and further erode the prospects for resuming Palestinian-Israeli negotiations on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements.”

Plan for 570 Units in East Jerusalem Settlement Approved for Deposit

Ir Amim reports that on September 22nd, the Jerusalem District Committee approved for deposit for public review a detailed plan providing for the construction of 570 units in the Har Homa E settlement, located in East Jerusalem. Taken together with the pending construction of the nearby Har Gilo West settlement (discussed in the section above), the Palestinian village of al-Walajah stands to be completely encircled by Israeli settlements. 

If implemented, this plan will extend the Har Homa settlement westward, in the direction of the site of the as-of-yet-unbuilt Givat Hamatos settlement. Ir Amim explains:

“If realized, Har Homa E together with construction in Givat Hamatos will connect Har Homa to Gilo creating a contiguous Israeli settlement area that will disconnect East Jerusalem from Bethlehem and the south of the West Bank.”

Ir Amim also reminds us that the Jerusalem District Committee previously approved a Master Plan for a total of 2,200 units in Har Homa E. The plan for 570 units approved for deposit in late September represents the first detailed plan under this Master Plan allows for. Plans to build the remaining units permitted under the Master Plan are not yet being advanced.

Israel Approves Construction of Elevator at Tomb of the Patriarchs

Emek Shaveh reports that on September 29th the Civil Administration granted final approval to a plan to build accessible infrastructure, including an elevator, at the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarch in Hebron — a plan which requires Israel to seize land from the Islamic Waqf.  As of this writing, Emek Shaveh is considering whether to challenge that approval.

Regarding the significance of the plan, Emek Shaveh said:

“One need not be an archaeologist or architect to review the council’s plan and understand that it is destructive in a manner which is unprecedented. We are convinced that the plan, as approved, would never have been promoted had it not been driven by political motives.”

Emek Shaveh has previously provided critical context as to why this plan is not really, or not fully, being advanced out of humanitarian concerns, explaining:

“Israel’s decision to seize responsibility for the site from the Hebron municipality and the Palestinians sends a clear political message that Israel is reneging on agreements that were signed with the Palestinians in Hebron.  Beyond the precedent that will enable the settlers in the future to demand additional changes at the Tomb of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque, this is also a precedent that could play out at other sites under the responsibility of the Islamic Waqf. Experience has shown us that what begins in Hebron percolates into other places including Jerusalem.  It begins with a seemingly rational demand to benefit the disabled or the general public and evolves into a new status quo.  The expected change in Hebron has not escaped the attention of members of the Temple movement and they will know how to present their demands to the government.  If Israel can repudiate agreements with the Palestinians in Hebron and expropriate land from the Waqf, it would seem that accepting what appears to be the far more modest demands by the Temple movement to pray or to walk about the Temple Mount complex freely is not so far-fetched. In the reality of Hebron and East Jerusalem, a change involving only several meters at a historic or holy place is not free of political considerations and often it is part of long-term strategy.  While it is necessary to tend to the needs and interests of persons with disabilities, the extremists who presume to speak on their behalf must be prevented from forging Israeli policy, even if it is only a matter of a lift and an access path.”

Read Emek Shaveh’s full analysis here: “Humanitarianism Hebron Style.”

Israel Delivers Confiscation Notices to Palestinians Living in the Heart of Hebron

The Palestinian media outlet WAFA news reports that several Palestinians living in the Tel Rumeida section of downtown Hebron were handed confiscation notices from the Israeli authorities, informing them that the State of Israel had confiscated 17 plots of land, including land privately owned by Palestinians. 

Tel Rumeida is a part of Hebron located directly in the city center, considered H2 by the Hebron Accords giving Israel full control of security in that area. B’Tselem estimates that there are around 700 settlers living in enclaves amongst approximately 34,000 Palestinians in H2. The Israeli army heavily protects those settlers, and has implemented an apartheid system of segregated movement and checkpoints, most notably in the area of Shuhada Street.

Palestinians Report Newly Established Outposts & Land Confiscations

The Palestinian news outlet WAFA reports that settlers have installed three new outposts over the past month – one near Nablus and a second near Hebron, and a third in the Jordan Valley.

Near Nablus, Palestinians report that the settlers installed mobile homes and a small farm in an attempt to establish a permanent presence on a new plot of land. The settlers are reportedly in the process of connecting the new outpost to the Elon Moreh settlement via roads and water supply.  Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors Israeli settlements on behalf of the PLO, told WAFA that the specific area has seen even wider road construction recently, which he sees as an effort to create more seamless contiguity between settlements in the Nablus area and the Jordan Valley. The construction comes at the direct expense of the Palestinian village of Beit Dajani, which has historically owned the land where the outpost and roads are being built.

Near Hebron, WAFA reports that an Israeli settler erected a tent with and Israeli flag on privately owned Palestinian land near the Birin village.

In the Jordan Valley, WAFA reports that settlers set up a caravan on land on which they began planting trees about three months ago. The settlers also reportedly dug a well at the site. 

On October 15th, Israel reportedly announced its intention to confiscate large tracts of land (11,000 dunums) adjacent to the Jordan Valley settlements of Rotem, Maskiyot, and Mesovah. This confiscation, according to Palestinian settlement watcher Qasem Awwad, was presented by the Israeli authorities as a move to add land to natural reserve areas, but seems clearly to be linked to efforts to expand settlements and their control over land in the area.

Targeting Palestinians Construction in Area C: State Devotes $6 million to Mapping Program

Despite COVID and the suspension of Israeli’s unilateral annexation of vast tracts of land in the West Bank, the Israeli government — at the urging of settlers and their allies — is continuing its push to consolidate its control over all aspects of life in Area C (the over 60% of the West Bank that is under full Israeli control). 

OCHA has documented an acceleration in the Civil Administration’s demolition of Palestinian structures in the West Bank over the summer, documenting the demolition of 389 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C of the West Bank.  As a result of those demolitions, 442 Palestinians were made homeless. OCHA further reported that In just the month of August, 205 Palestinians lost their homes, the highest single month total since January 2017. In addition, Israel continues to issue more demolition notices, including against Palestinians living in a cave near Jenin, and against a newly constructed school for bedouin children located east of Ramallah.

To further this effort, on September 10th the Israeli government allocated $6 million USD (20 million NIS) for the newly created Settlement Affairs Ministry to survey and map unauthorized Palestinian construction in Area C of the West Bank, which Israel and its settlers have been aggressively demolishing in an effort to rid the area of Palestinians. Haaretz reports that this is the first time that the state budget has included funds specifically for a land survey in the West Bank. The state also allocated an additional $2.8 million (9.5 million NIS) to an existing grant program specifically for settlement municipalities to cash in on. As a reminder, virtually all Palestinian construction in Area C of the West Bank is unauthorized, because Israel almost universally refuses to give Palestinians permission to build in Area C even on land that Israel recognizes as owned by Palestinians. 

The Settlement Affairs Ministry is a new creation of the current coalition government, and is headed by Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud). The funding for the Settlement Affairs Ministry to conduct a survey of unauthorized Palestinian construction in Area C further empowers a domestic Israeli body to exert extraterritorial sovereignty over Area C – in effect, treating the area as land already de facto annexed by Israel. While technically the occupied territories are administered by the Israeli Civil Administration (a body within the Defense Ministry), Israel has spent decades bringing the administration of the territories (specifically the settlements and Area C) ever more directly under direct Israeli sovereignty (de facto annexation). 

In the lead up to the allocation of funds for this new survey of Palestinians life in Area C, the Knesset hosted two committee discussions the political outlook of which was clearly indicated in the stated subject of the meetings: “the Palestinian takeover of Area C.” Consistent with this framing (which is predicated on the idea that Area C belongs to Israel), and pushed by outside groups, many members of the Knesset have criticized the Israeli government’s allegedly lackadaisical approach to preserving State interests in Area C (i.e., clearing out Palestinians, expanding settlements, consolidating state infrastructure). Reportedly, Foreign Affairs Minister Gabi Ashkenazi (Blue & White) sent a letter to the committee specifically addressing the Knesset’s outrage over European humanitarian assistance projects for Palestinians in Area C. In the letter, Ashkenazi not only celebrated the reduction of European projects over the past year, but validated settlers’ insinuations regarding the nefarious nature of European assistance for Palestinians, saying that any European activity in the West Bank lacking Israeli permission is “an attempt to define a border.” Ashkenazi also said that Israel will not compensate European donors for confiscated equipment or the demolition of European-funded projects that lack Israeli permission (like in the case of schools built with European funding, and solar panels donated to bedouin communities lacking power). 

At one Knesset hearing, MK Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina) suggested that a solution could be to empower the settlements with the ability to demolish Palestinian construction they believe to be unauthorized. Smotrich’s partymate Ayelet Shaked (former Justice Minister) suggested that the government should appoint a project manager tasked with preventing a Palestinian takeover of Area C.

As noted above, Israel has long denied Palestinians the ability to build in Area C. To fully understand what is happening, it is worth reviewing B’Tselem’s excellent explainer:

“Israel’s planning and building policy in the West Bank is aimed at preventing Palestinian development and dispossessing Palestinians of their land. This is masked by use of the same professional and legal terms applied to development in settlements and in Israel proper, such as “planning and building laws”, “urban building plans (UBPs)”, “planning proceedings” and “illegal construction”. However, while the planning and building laws benefit Jewish communities by regulating development and balancing different needs, they serve the exact opposite purpose when applied to Palestinian communities in the West Bank. There, Israel exploits the law to prevent development, thwart planning and carry out demolitions. This is part of a broader political agenda to maximize the use of West Bank resources for Israeli needs, while minimizing the land reserves available to Palestinians….

In the West Bank, the potential for urban, agricultural and economic development remains in Area C. Israel uses its control over the area to quash Palestinian planning and building. In about 60% of Area C – 36% of the West Bank – Israel has blocked Palestinian development by designating large swathes of land as state land, survey land, firing zones, nature reserves and national parks; by allocating land to settlements and their regional councils; or by introducing prohibitions to the area now trapped between the Separation Barrier and the Green Line (the boundary between Israel’s sovereign territory and the West Bank).

Even in the remaining 40% of Area C, Israel restricts Palestinian construction by seldom approving requests for building permits, whether for housing, for agricultural or public uses, or for laying infrastructure. The Civil Administration (CA) – the branch of the Israeli military designated to handle civil matters in Area C – refuses to prepare outline plans for the vast majority of Palestinian communities there. As of November 2017, the Civil Administration had drafted and approved plans for only 16 of the 180 communities which lie in their entirety in Area C. The plans cover a total of 17,673 dunams (1 dunam = 1,000 square meters), less than 1% of Area C, most of which are already built-up. The plans were drawn up without consulting the communities and do not meet international planning standards. Their boundaries run close to the built-up areas of the villages, leaving out land for farming, grazing flocks and future development. Since 2011, seeing that the Civil Administration did not draft plans as it is obliged to do, dozens of Palestinian communities – with the help of Palestinian and international organizations and in coordination with the PA – drafted their own plans. Some of the plans covered communities or villages located in full in Area C and others covered places only partly in Area C. As of September 2018, 102 plans had been submitted to the Civil Administration’s planning bodies, but by the end of 2018, a mere five plans – covering an area of about 1,00 dunams (or about 0.03% of Area C) – had received approval.

The odds of a Palestinian receiving a building permit in Area C – even on privately owned land – are slim to none. Given the futility of the effort, many Palestinians forgo requesting a permit altogether. Without any possibility of receiving a permit and building legally, the needs of a growing population leave Palestinians no choice but to develop their communities and build homes without permits. This, in turn, forces them to live under the constant threat of seeing their homes and businesses demolished.

The impact of this Israeli policy extends beyond Area C, to the hundreds of Palestinians communities located entirely or partially in Areas A and B, as the land reserves for many of these communities lie in Area C and are subject to Israeli restrictions there.

The demand for land for development has grown considerably since the 1995 division of the West Bank: The Palestinian population has nearly doubled, and the land reserves in Areas A and B have been nearly exhausted. Due to the housing shortage, much land still available in these areas is used for residential construction, even if it is more suited for other uses, such as agriculture.

Without land for construction, local Palestinian authorities cannot supply public services that require new structures, such as medical clinics and schools, nor can they plan open spaces for recreation within communities. Realizing the economic potential of Area C – in branches such as agriculture, quarrying for minerals and stone for construction, industry, tourism and community development – is essential to the development of the entire West Bank, including creating jobs and reducing poverty. Area C is also vital for regional planning, including laying infrastructure and connecting Palestinian communities throughout the West Bank.

In contrast to the restrictive planning for Palestinian communities, Israeli settlements – all of which are located in Area C – are allocated vast tracts of land, drawn up detailed plans, connected to advanced infrastructure, and the authorities turn a blind eye to illegal construction in them. Detailed, modern plans have been drawn up for the settlements, including public areas, green zones and, often, spacious residential areas. They enjoy a massive amount of land, including farmland that can serve for future development.

Israel’s policy in Area C is based on the assumption that the area is primarily meant to serve Israeli needs, and on the ambition to annex large parts of it to the sovereign territory of Israel. To that end, Israel works to strengthen its hold on Area C, to further exploit the area’s resources and achieve a permanent situation in which Israeli settlements thrive and Palestinian presence is negligible. In doing so, Israel has de facto annexed Area C and created circumstances that will leverage its influence over the final status of the area.”

In First, Palestinian Authority Courts to Hear Lawsuits Against Settlers

For the first time since the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994, it will allow Palestinians to bring lawsuits against Isareli settlers in Palestinian courts. The Palestinian Authority’s Justice Minister Mohammed al-Shalaldeh announced that the PA had formed a national team to handle these cases, and the team was already working to collect evidence and file suits against settlers who have committed crimes against Palestinians in Hebron and in the village of Burin, located just south of Nablus.

Until this point, no Israeli citizen has been tried in a Palestinian court. Under the Oslo Accords (which established the Palestinian Authority), the Palestinian Authority holds no jurisdication over Israeli citizens – including Israeli citizens living in the West Bank. In May 2020, PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced that the PA considers all accords and agreements with Israel to be void following Israel’s announcement that it intends to annex large parts of the West Bank in accordance with the Trump Plan. Shalaldeh said that the announcement this week flows directly from Abbas’s decision to free the PA from the Oslo Accords’ provisions.

Explaining how these cases might work, Shalaldeh said: 

“The Israeli side will be notified as an occupying power to appear before the Palestinian court…If the [Israeli] side refuses the jurisdiction of the Palestinian courts, formal procedures will be followed and in absentia rulings will be issued, in accordance with Palestinian laws.”

JNF, Elad Face International Heat Over Sumreen Family Eviction Case – Will it Matter?

Over the past month, international audiences have directed heightened scrutiny towards the radical settler group Elad and the Jewish National Fund (JNF) for the role both organizations have played in spearheading the effort to evict the Palestinian Sumreen family from their home in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Due to the new attention, the JNF is reportedly reconsidering whether or not to carry out the eviction of the Sumreens – an eviction which the organization has pursued since 1991.

JNF donors – along with activists, religious leaders, members of Congress, and Israel prize winners – reportedly began to express concern and outrage over the JNF’s role in the Sumreen case following the September 2020 ruling by Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court against the Sumreen’s claim to the home. In response to the criticism, the JNF (via actions by the Board of its subsidiary organization, Himnuta, which was created to take the lead for JNF in litigating aggressive settlement takeover cases like this) has acted to freeze the eviction process internally, and was scheduled to consider a proposal for freezing the formal legal proceedings against the Sumreens this past week. Himnuta’s decision and deliberations  caused conflict with Elad, which had the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court intervene to postpone Himnuta’s Board meeting to discuss the proposal. Elad argues that Himnuta transferred all legal authority over the Sumreen case to their organization, and cannot now interfere in the proceedings. The meeting was subsequently postponed at the request of the Court.

Elad is also coming under new international scrutiny following the revelation that Roman Abramovitch – a Russian oligarch and naturalized Israeli citizen who also is one of the owners of the renowned Chelsea football club – is Elad’s single largest donor, having anonymously donated over $100 million to the settler group over the past 13 years. The BBC produced an investigative feature report on Abramovitch’s connection to Elad, pointing out that over the past 15 years more than half of Elad’s funding has come from offshore companies in the Caribbean, which are now known to be owned or controlled by Abramovitch. The BBC feature connects Elad to the settlers’ struggle to evict the Sumreen family, and the larger effort to replace Palestinians in Silwan with Jewish Israelis. 

Peace Now writes:

“The news about Abramovich’s involvement highlights the injustice Palestinians face at the hands of these settlement groups. Impoverished families are up against the financial weight of a Russian oligarch. NGOs trying to protect these families are delegitimized and their work dismissed for receiving funding from democratic European aid agencies while settler groups rake in vast sums of non-transparent money from offshore Caribbean shell companies. And the JNF is profiting off of all of this. We can’t force Abramovich to stop his funding or the JNF to stop abetting Elad in its settling campaign, but we can make them worry about their reputation. Peace Now has been conducting a campaign inside Israel to call Abramovich out for his devious funding.”

Regarding the revelations of Elad’s funding source, Emek Shaveh writes:

“…the Elad Foundation, through a combined strategy of sponsoring excavations, developing tourism and settling in Palestinian homes, succeeded in recreating Silwan as the Jewish neighbourhood of Ir David (City of David) and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The exploitation of archaeological tourism by the Elad Foundation has become a number one strategy for entrenching Israeli sovereignty over historic Jerusalem. “

The Sumreen family home is located in the middle of what today has been designed by Israel “the City of David National Park.” The area is managed by the radical Elad settler organization, which for years has also been pursuing the eviction of Palestinians from the homes in Silwan. For nearly three decades, the Sumreen family has been forced to battle for legal ownership of their home, after the state of Israel, prompted repeatedly by the JNF, declared the Sumreen’s home to be “absentee” property. After that designation – which was not communicated to the Sumreen family – Israeli law permitted the state to take over the rights to the building. The state then sold the rights to the home to the JNF in 1991. The JNF has pursued the eviction of the Sumreen family ever since. Israeli courts ruled in favor of the Sumreen family’s ownership claims to the home for years, until a September 2019 ruling by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court granted ownership of the family’s home to the JNF, a decision the family immediately appealed to the Jerusalem District Court. 

A full history of the saga involving the Sumreen family – which is similar to dozens of other Palestinian homes in Silwan that were declared Absentee Property in the 1990s – can be found on the Peace Now website here.

Report: U.S. Will Not Back De Jure Annexation Until 2024 [But Friedman Says 2021 Is in Play]

A series of reports in mid-September suggested that, as part of its commitment to the U.A.E. in exchange for normalization with Israel, the U.S. promised to withhold its recognition of Israeli annexation until January 2024, at the earliest.

The 2024 timeline harkens back to a concept in Trump’s “Deal of the Century” which gave (oh so generously) the Palestinians a four year window to enter into negotiations with Israel on the basis of the Trump Plan’s conceptual map.

Following these reports regarding a 2024 timeline for the U.S. greenlighting Israeli annexation, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman (who has been a champion of annexation) told Israel’s Army Radio that annexation can happen next year. Friedman, pushing back on U.A.E. press leaks seeking to promote the notion that the Abraham Accords stopped annexation, said:

“We said in our statement that sovereignty will be postponed, and this does not mean that it has been abolished, but rather that it has stopped. It has been suspended for a year, maybe more, but it has not been cancelled.”

Bonus

1. “Tourism in the Service of Occupation” (Al-Shabaka)
2. “The Status Quo on the Temple Mount/Haram Al Sharif: Dodging a Bullet (For Now)” (Terrestrial Jerusalem)
3. “How Evangelicals Working in Settlements Bypassed Israel’s COVID-19 Entry Ban” (Haaretz)
4. “ The March of Folly in the Settlements Continues” (Haaretz)
5. “Israeli Students in State-funded Scholarship Program Guard Illegal West Bank Outposts” (Haaretz)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

August 14, 2020

1. Bibi (Temporarily) “Suspends” Annexation as Part of UAE-Israel Normalization Agreement
2. Forging Ahead with De Facto Annexation: Israel Starts Construction on Two New Settlement Projects
3. Israel Advances Plans for More Bypass Roads for Jerusalem-Area Settlements
4. Settlers Continue to Escalate Terror Campaign Against Palestinians, Israeli Police
5. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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Bibi (Temporarily) “Suspends” Annexation as Part of UAE-Israel Normalization Agreement

On August 13th, the United Arab Emirates and Israel announced the signing of a U.S.-brokered “peace deal” that will fully normalize relations between the two countries – in effect bringing barely hidden secretive relations between the two nations out into the open. In a statement on the deal tweeted by President Trump, the countries have agreed to pause the implementation of Trump’s “Deal of the Century,” with Israel committing – at the request of President Trump – to suspend its plans to annex the West Bank. However (and predictably), Netanyahu quickly clarified that annexation is still very much on his agenda, saying during a televised address:

“There is no change to our plans to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, in coordination with the US. I remain committed to that” and that he will “never give up on our rights in our land.””

U.S. Ambassador David Friedman – who travelled to Washington this week to participate in talks – quickly backed Netanyahu’s refusal to shelve annexation. The Jerusalem Post reports the following:

“US Ambassador to the US David Friedman clarified that the word which had been chosen to describe the [annexation] situation was “suspended” and that word had been chosen “very carefully” because it means a temporary halt. Sovereignty, Friedman said was “off the table” not but not “off the table permanently.” But at an earlier stage in the conference Friedman noted that the application of sovereignty to West Bank settlements was incompatible with the overall goal of normalized ties between Israel and the Arab world. Friedman has been one of the strongest supporters of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. On Thursday night, as he spoke with Trump in Washington, he said, however, “we are putting our eggs into the basket  of peace. The US Ambassador explained that, “we have an agreement with the Emirates. We are going to nail all the details, embassies, overflights, commercial. Then we are going to extrapolate that to the rest of the region. “How long that takes, I cannot tell you. But we have prioritized peace over the sovereignty movement. It’s not off the table, it’s just something that has been deferred until we have given peace every single chance.” When asked if a deal with the UAE could have been reached without Netanyahu’s decision to suspend annexation. “I think you can’t do both at the same time,” Friedman said. “Prioritize peace. Sovereignty after peace is given every opportunity.”

The Palestinian Authority denounced the UAE-Israel agreement, stating that “The UAE is not entitled to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people,” and calling for an urgent meeting of the Arab League. PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi tweeted:

“Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it’s been doing to Palestine illegally & persistently since the beginning of the occupation. The UAE has come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel. Please don’t do us a favor. We are nobody’s fig leaf!”

For more reaction from Palestinian factions, see this helpful Twitter thread from Ben White.

The UAE-Israel normalization deal serves many, many purposes for the three parties involved – the Trump Administration, the UAE government, and Netanyahu. For the U.S., it gives Donald Trump a foreign policy “victory” heading into the November elections. For the UAE, it is presented as a political “victory” that stops Israeli de jure annexation (even if only temporarily), while simultaneously allowing for the expansion of security and diplomatic cooperation (not to mention dividends from the U.S. that may become known later). And for Israel, it allows Netanyahu to claim a significant foreign policy victory, at a moment when he is facing the possibility of another election, while also providing a new rationale for why he has not yet advanced annexation of the settlements. 

Notably, none of these purposes has anything to do with the rights and future of the Palestinian people. To the contrary, the deal facilitates the continuation of the current situation, in which Israel continues with settlement expansion, de facto annexation of the West Bank, and denial/violation of Palestinian rights, and at best temporarily delays the move by Israel toward formal, de jure annexation. 

Al-Shabaka analyst and expert Tareq Baconi explained:

“This is not a “historic peace agreement” but a repackaging of an ongoing reality of normalisation between the UAE and Israel against the backdrop of de facto annexation and occupation of Palestinian territories. Repackaging reality and selling it as a diplomatic breakthrough is a show we’ve seen from the Trump administration before. Deal of the century to sell apartheid anyone? It’s not diplomacy, its marketing spin. But, this is also not inconsequential business as usual. The UAE’s decision to proceed in this way is a dangerous precedent in the post-Arab Peace Initiative era, where official normalization has become possible despite continued Palestinian subjugation. Bahrain next? This is the latest in a long history of Arab leaders selling the Palestinian issue or manipulating the Palestinian struggle to further their own interests, from the very inception of the PLO on. Sadat? Two ways to read Bibi. 1. Annexation may have always been a house of mirrors. Now he can be rewarded for not annexing: peace for occupation. 2. This is an admission of defeat; he was unable to annex, and needs a shiny new object to detract attention…Two things are certain. First, this agreement is one more step in the effort to formalise a new vision for the Middle East that is even further away from the calls of the Arab street that resonated in 2011. Second, this is another indication that the Palestinian leadership remains a spectator to events that determine their fate, unable to influence the unfolding trends. And finally, after a whole lot of fanfare around annexation, where are we now? Everyone breathing a sigh of relief that Israel continues to control the same territory.”

Adding to that analysis, FMEP’s Lara Friedman noted:

“…3rd option: annexation temporarily “suspended” for sake of normalization w/ UAE (& others?), but still on table. Given Trump Admin Greater Israel predilections & Evangelical voters, expect some concrete move before Nov elex.”

Palestinian expert Omar Baddar of the Institute for Middle East Understanding tweeted:

“ 1) There is nothing “historic” or “groundbreaking” about this agreement: Israel & the UAE have been strong allies under the table for many years! This is merely making that friendship public (which is still interesting). Israel didn’t “halt” the annexation for the West Bank (annexation is ALREADY a de facto reality on the ground). Israel merely “suspended” its announcement of a reality it has already illegally imposed on Palestinians. It is FALSE to say Israel suspended it at the UAE’s request. Israel suspended (put off) its annexation announcement after realizing it was going to be costly to Israel, with many US Democrats threatening for the first time to cut off military aid to Israel. The suspension came long before this UAE deal was reached. The claim that the UAE deal is responsible for halting Israel’s annexation announcement is merely a PR stunt for the UAE government, which knows full well that normalization with Israel WHILE Israel continues to brutalize Palestinians is extremely unpopular in the region. The Arab Peace Initiative already promised full normalization of relations between Israel and all Arab countries in exchange for ending Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories to allow a tiny Palestinian state to exist. Israel rejected this generous offer. Some Arab governments see “the Palestinian cause” as a burden, feigning concern for their human rights while secretly working with Israel on “more important” partnerships: economic, intelligence, undermining Iran’s influences in the region…etc. Israel may be able to normalize w/these dictatorial governments w/out treating Palestinian like human beings who deserve basic rights, but Israel will never be truly accepted by the PEOPLE of the region so long as Palestinians live without freedom under the boot of occupation.”

Former Vice President and current Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden released a statement praising the deal, and reiterating his opposition to annexation (conspicuously not acknowledging occupation and ongoing de facto annexation):

“Annexation would be a body blow to the cause of peace, which is why I oppose it now and would oppose it as president. It would virtually end any chance of a two-state solution that would secure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state and uphold the right of Palestinians to a state of their own. By forestalling that possibility and replacing it with the hope of greater connection and integration in the regions, the UAE and Israel have pointed a path toward a more peaceful, stable Middle East.”

U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib tweeted:

“We won’t be fooled by another Trump/Netanyahu deal. We won’t celebrate Netanyahu for not stealing land he already controls in exchange for a sweetheart business deal. The heart of the issue has never been planned, formal annexation, but ongoing, devastating apartheid. The focus needs to be on promoting solidarity between Palestinians & Israelis who are joining together in struggle to end an apartheid system. We must stand with the people. This Trump/Netanyahu deal will not alleviate Palestinian suffering—it will further normalize it.”

Former Obama Administration official Ben Rhodes commented:

“This agreement enshrines what has been the emerging status quo in the region for a long time (including the total exclusion of Palestinians). Dressed up as an election eve achievement from two leaders who want Trump to win.”

B’Tselem Director Hagai El-Ad tweeted:

“Now that Israel has magnanimously agreed to “suspend declaring sovereignty”, all can calmly get back to underwriting Israel’s tried-and-tested perpetual oppression of Palestinians: arbitrary killings, land theft, controlling every aspect of an entire people’s life. Biz-as-usual.”

Netanyahu is already receiving criticism from staunch pro-annexation forces to his right, which largely feel betrayed by Netanyahu.

Yamin MK Naftali Bennet (whose popularity is soaring), said:

“it’s sad [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu missed a once-in-a-century opportunity to extend Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley… and the rest of Israeli settlements [in the West Bank]. It’s tragic Netanyahu hasn’t seized the moment and hasn’t had the courage to extend sovereignty even over an inch of the Land of Israel.”

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev said:

“This is a historic agreement on every level, security, economic, business — but it can’t come at the expense of sovereignty that the prime minister and all of us have committed to.”

David Elhayani, head of the Yesha Council of settlers said:

“He [Netnayahu] deceived us. He has deceived half a million residents of the area and hundreds of thousands of voters.”

Notably, Egypt, Oman, and Bahrain came out with statements welcoming  the agreement.

Forging Ahead with De Facto Annexation: Israel Starts Construction on Two New Settlement Projects

Over the past week, Palestinian media has documented the start of the construction on two significant new settlement projects.

On August 12th, Wafa News reports that Israeli construction crews began leveling land near the Palestinian villages of Iskaka and Yasuf in preparation for expanding the nearby unauthorized outpost of Nofei Nehemia. The area is located east of the Ariel settlement in the heart of the northern West Bank. ActiveStills documented this construction project as it continued on August 13th.

On August 13th, Wafa News reports that Israel began construction on a new settler bypass road near the Kafr al-Labad village, located east of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank.

Israel Advances Plans for More Bypass Roads for Jerusalem-Area Settlements

Ir Amim reports that the High Planning Council recently advanced a massive outline plan for expanding the road infrastructure for settlers in the West Bank, with the goal of more seamlessly integrating the settlements into the Jerusalem metropolitan area. Ir Amim detailed the plans for three new bypass roads in the Greater Jerusalem area, which were deposited for public review on July 3rd: 

1 – A new road that will allow settler traffic to bypass the Qalandiya checkpoint via a new tunnel. This plan specifically serves a cluster of settlements – located deep inside the West Bank, in an area that under any reasonable sense of a two-state solution cannot become part of Israel — that Netanyahu has recently dubbed a “fourth settlement bloc.” In so doing, Netanyahu is in effect defining these settlements as forming an area over which Israel will never relinquish control. This “bloc” includes the settlements of Adam, Kochav Yaakov, Ofra, and Beit El.  Ir Amim writes: 

“The planned road will create a quick and smooth connection for settler traffic entering Jerusalem from the northeast… it will enhance the contiguity between Jerusalem and the so called ‘fourth settlement bloc’ and enable the expansion of settlement construction. The planned road will also cut through the A-Ram and Qalandia area between A-Ram and Ramallah. Today there are no settlements in this area nor is settler traffic passing through it. It is telling that during the discussion the planners explained that the route of the road was designed to pass a distance away from the Kochav Yaakov settlement and close to the town of A-Ram. As in many other cases, this means that the road leaves a large area next to the settlements enabling its future expansion, while its construction will serve to limit the possibility of A-Ram’s future development. For the construction of the road, private Palestinian land will have to be expropriated. According to rulings of the Israeli courts based on International Law, private Palestinian land cannot be seized for the purpose of settlements and settler traffic, therefore the Civil Administration claims that the road will also serve Palestinian traffic and for that purpose an interchange nearby Qalandia will connect it to the road to Ramallah. But when examining the schedule for construction of the road, it is clear that this interchange is scheduled to be operational only in the year 2040- many years after the road serving settler traffic is scheduled to open. The fact that Israel is advancing large scale plans for 20 years into the future demonstrates Israeli intentions regarding its control of the area for decades to come.

2 – Expansion of an existing bypass road leading from the Adam settlement into Jerusalem. This plan will likewise serve settler traffic connecting the “fourth settlement bloc” to Jerusalem. This project will also require the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land. Ir Amim writes: “The committee claims to justify the expropriation by stating that the road serves Palestinian traffic as well, yet it is doubtful if there is any significant Palestinian public transportation on the road.”

3 – A new bypass road near the Palestinian village of al-Walajeh, connecting the Etzion settlement block to Jerusalem. Ir Amim notes that this road is a prerequisite for Israel’s expansion of the Har Gilo settlement. This plan will require the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land. Ir Amim writes: “the Israeli Civil Administration wishes to justify its confiscation of Palestinian private lands needed for the construction of the road by claiming that it will also serve Palestinian traffic. This claim would clearly be false as the road only leads into Jerusalem along a route from which Palestinian traffic is blocked by Israeli checkpoints…The planned expansion of Har Gilo by 560 housing units – an addition which will more than double the current size of Har Gilo – is located adjacent to Al-Walaja from the west and will result in the village’s complete isolation.”

Commenting on the plans as a whole, Ir Amim notes:

“These plans for road infrastructure are part of the huge investments of the Israeli government into the de-facto annexation of Greater Jerusalem through furthering large-scale, unilateral, facts on the ground. If realized, these projects will dramatically change the landscape around Jerusalem and deep into the West Bank, allowing for rapid settlement expansion and further fragmentation of  the Palestinian space. These moves will deal a death blow to the prospect of a two state solution and lay the ground for the formal annexation of Greater Jerusalem whether through a ‘minor’ or ‘major’ scope of annexation.”

Settlers Continue to Escalate Terror Campaign Against Palestinians, Israeli Police

Rights groups and media outlets have documented several instances of settler-perpetrated violence in the vicinity of the Yitzhar settlement over the last week:

• On August 11th, B’Tselem reports that settlers threw stones at Palestinians in two separate incidents.
• On August 12th, dozens of masked settlers violently clashed with Israeli police while the police attempted to dismantle the unauthorized Shevach Haaretz outpost near Yitzhar, located just south of Nablus. The settlers deployed pepper spray, threw paint cans, and punctured car tires during the incident. One police officer needed medical attention, and additional forces were deployed to the area before the riot was dispersed. No arrests were reported.
• On August 13th, Yesh Din reports that a group of settlers set a bulldozer on fire at a Palestinian quarry in the Nablus region, near the radical Yitzhar settlement (home of the Hilltop Youth settler movement). 
• The Palestinian villages of Asira al Kabalia and Urif were vandalized with hateful graffiti spray painted in the villages and damage to vehicles.

Bonus Reads

1. “Normalization Deal Between Israel and the UAE Signals a Shift in the Region” (Foreign Policy)
2. “These Settler Farmers Are All About Peace and Love – Just Don’t Mention Land Theft” (Haaretz)
3. “’The Left Made Israel More Moral, but Their Mistakes Made Them Irrelevant’” (Haaretz)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 24, 2020

1. Annexation Watch: Gantz Pushes for Status Quo, Bibi Hints at New Elections
2. 2020 is on Track to Be Record Year for East Jerusalem Settlement Growth
3. A Bump in the Road for Plans to for Settler Yeshiva in Sheikh Jarrah
4. IDF Demolishes Outpost (After it was Relocated Near to Israeli Army Base)
5. Israel Starts Construction to Expand the Ibei Hanachal Outpost
6. Israeli Plans for Wadi Al-Joz in East Jerusalem, Including the “Silicon Wadi” Project, Expected to Advance
7. Israel “Recovers” Religious Relic from Palestinian Village
8. Greenblatt: Trump Plan has 60-80 Pages of Conditions on/for a Future Palestinian “State”
9. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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Annexation Watch: Gantz Pushes for Status Quo, Bibi Hints at New Elections

Three weeks after July 1 – the date when it officially became open season for Israel to annex West Bank land – there has still been no movement toward a formal act of annexation by the Israeli government (though de facto annexation continues unabated). This week, two reports further churned up the “will it happen/won’t it happen” speculation machine.

First, a July 19th report suggests that Benny Gantz, Israel’s Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister, is pushing Netanyahu to delay annexation plans in order to focus all of the government’s efforts on combating the resurgence of the coronavirus across the country. The report further suggests Gantz is appealing for the government to focus on expanding existing settlements and building infrastructure that serves settlers (and theoretically Palestinians as well, though such projects serve to entrench the presence of settlers) — in effect, setting aside de jure annexation to pursue de facto annexation more energetically.

Second, reports on July 22nd circulated the rumor that Netanyahu intends to go to elections in November – a move which would collapse any cooperation with Gantz and potentially could hinder Netanyahu’s ability to advance annexation. On the other hand, such a move could also free Netanyahu from the constraints of the unity deal, as well as from the U.S. (alleged) condition that Gantz must consent to Netanyahu’s annexation plan before receiving a U.S. greenlight. Netanyahu denied this report later in the week.

2020 is on Track to Be Record Year for East Jerusalem Settlement Growth

Ir Amim published a review and analysis of official settlement data from the first six months of 2020, showing that a total of 3,514 settlement units were advanced for settlements in East Jerusalem. If this pace continues, Ir Amim reports that 2020 will set a new record for East Jerusalem settlement activity (the current record is held by 2012, the year Palestine was recognized as a non-member state by the United Nations General Assembly and Israel retaliated by accelerating its de facto annexation of Palestinian land via settlement growth, including in East Jerusalem).

Notably, the plans advanced so far this year include many of the most controversial settlements on the drawing board – like Givat Hamatos, E-1, and new enclaves within Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhoods like Beit Hanina. 

In Amim writes:

“The scope and significance of the plans that were advanced in the last six months shows Israel’s determination to consolidate its control – both in terms of demography and territory – over the whole of East Jerusalem and further into Greater Jerusalem. This is seen especially as settlement construction increases in the areas connecting East Jerusalem and Greater Jerusalem (ex: Har Homa E and Givat Hamatos) and the creation of massive facts on the ground such as in the case of the E-1 plans. Thus, Israel is laying the groundwork for the official annexation of Greater Jerusalem. In parallel, these facts on the ground serve to entrench the detachment of East Jerusalem from the West Bank and further fracture the Palestinian space in and around Jerusalem. Combined, these steps threaten to deal a death blow to Palestinian aspirations in Jerusalem, the possibility for two capitals in the city, and a two-state solution…[the number of settlement advancements] signal a leap in settlement advancement in East Jerusalem, both in terms of quantity of housing units as well as in the advancement of new settlements in the most sensitive areas where, for years, Israel had to refrain from doing so due to international pressure.”

See the paper for  details on the plans advanced so far in 2020. The paper concludes with this brief recap of 2020 settlement activity:

• A tender for construction of 1,077 housing units in the new settlement Givat Hamatos was published.
• Master plans for adding 6,100 housing units in new settlements of Har Homa E and Givat Hamatos. For 500 of these housing units, a detailed outline plan was also advanced at the District Committee.
• Two detailed outline plans with a total of 144 housing units in two settlement compounds in the Palestinian neighborhood Beit Hanina were approved for deposit as well as a dormitory for dozens of Yeshiva students in Sheikh Jarrah.
• Nine detailed outline plans were advanced with a total of 2,870 housing units inside the built-up area of East Jerusalem settlements.

A Bump in the Road for Plans to for Settler Yeshiva in Sheikh Jarrah

Ir Amim reports that on July 21st, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee unexpectedly delayed making a final decision on settler plans for a new Jewish religious school (yeshiva) and dormitory – named the Glassman Campus project – at the entrance of the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, located in East Jerusalem. The Committee was expected to make a final decision on the plan at this meeting, but instead ordered a new report assessing the needs of the neighborhood, to be prepared within 60 days. The Court’s order comes after groups, including Ir Amim, submitted objections to the plan that detaied the classroom shortage in Palestinian neighborhoods, due in part to the lack of available land to build on.

The plan to build the yeshiva and dormitory (which would house dozens of young religious settlers), as well as another project for a 6-story building in the same area, aim to strengthen Israeli settlers’ hold on the neighborhood. Once built, settlements will literally flank both sides of the road leading into Sheikh Jarrah, advancing the settlers’ goal of cementing the presence of the settlement enclaves inside of Sheikh Jarrah by connecting them more seamlessly to the neighborhood’s periphery and to West Jerusalem.

Ir Amim writes:

“This unexpected decision is of great importance. It creates a significant obstacle to the approval of the Yeshiva plan and requires the Municipality to describe in detail the needs of the Palestinian neighborhood. Also, the decision is a clear expression of the fact that settlements in East Jerusalem come directly at the expense of the basic needs of Palestinians in the city.”

Located just north of Jerusalem’s Old City, Sheikh Jarrah has endured years of aggressive settlement activity by radical settlers via various means, including using Israel’s court system to strip Palestinians of their ownership rights. Sheikh Jarrah’s plight was featured in a 2013 film by Just Vision, “My Neighborhood.” Just Vision also produced “Home Front,” a series of video interviews with the Palestinian residents and Israeli activists fighting together against settlement expansion in Sheikh Jarrah. For more on Sheikh Jarrah and the protest it sparked, 972+ Magazine has a compilation of resources online here.

IDF Demolishes Outpost (After it was Relocated Near to Israeli Army Base)

Following media reports about the IDF’s complicity in establishing an illegal outpost on privately owned Palestinian land near Nablus (FMEP reported on this last week),  on July 19th the settlers relocated their outpost to an area declared by Israel to be “state land” next to an Israeli army base. While Israeli security forces had spent weeks tolerating and even assisting in the establishment of the new outpost when it was located on Palestinian land, after it was moved to the new site near the IDF base , the IDF moved to promptly demolish it on July 21st.

The settler who is behind this new outpost, Yedidya Meshulami, is well known for his eccentric, illegal, and dangerous (and, if committed by a Palestinian, undoubtedly arrest-worthy) acts. In 2019, Meshulami nearly flew his helicopter into an IDF transport plane conducting a training exercise in the Jordan Valley (he was charged with several crimes involved with illegally flying his helicopter and endangering lives in West Bank airspace, which is controlled by the Israeli military). A former IDF reserve pilot, in March 2018 Meshulami attempted to take control of the Qalandiya checkpoint in Ramallah by landing his helicopter nearby, declaring “I don’t care what they do to me, I’ll take it [the checkpoint] over.” Following his arrest and release to house arrest, the IDF confiscated two helicopters and an ultralight plane from Meshulami’s personal airstrip, which he built illegally in an outpost near the Itamar settlement, south of Nablus.

Meshulami lives in an unauthorized outpost called “Alumot” near the settlement of Itamar, south of Nablus. Meshulami helped establish the outpost in 1996 after serving in the Israeli Air Force and, despite lacking permits, he personally built an airstrip in the outpost in 2013. According to reports this week, Israeli security forces had previously revoked Meshulami’s pilot license for flying over the West Bank without a permit.

Israel Starts Construction to Expand the Ibei Hanachal Outpost 

Middle East Eye reports that Israel – in the midst of fighting a surge of coronavirus cases, deciding on annexation, and possibly heading to elections again this fall – has begun clearing land for the expansion of the Ibei Hanachal outpost, located between Hebron and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. Palestinian leaders from the village of Kasin, to which the land the outpost is built on historically belonged, told reporters that settlers have already moved caravans into the newly razed land and that new electricity poles have been recently installed. 

Ibei Hanachal was established illegally by settlers in 1999, but was granted retroactive approval as a neighborhood of the Ma’ale Amos settlement by the Israeli government in August 2019. Declaring illegal outposts to be neighborhoods of settlements – even outposts that are not contiguous with the built up area of the settlement, as is the case with Ibei Hanachal – is one of the legal mechanisms that Israel has found to retroactively “legalize” illegal outposts – that in effect creates new settlements.

Israeli Plans for Wadi Al-Joz in East Jerusalem, Including the “Silicon Wadi” Project, Expected to Advance

In a new paper, Bimkom provides details on the status of two major projects Israel is advancing for the Wadi Al-Joz neighborhood of East Jerusalem.. 

The “Silicon Wadi” project – which made it into Israeli headlines a few weeks ago – is at a “conceptual phase” at this point, with little official data available. But it is known that the plan is being advanced as a Master Plan, a planning avenue that does not permit the public to offer objections. Master Plans also do not require the government to specify an exact number of units to be built, leaving open the possibility of further construction. This project is located in the northern section of Wadi al-Joz.

The second project being advanced in Wadi al-Joz is referred to as the “Eastern Business District,” to be located near the Old City walls. This project is in a much more advanced stage of the planning process, and Bimkom expects it to be deposited for public review in the near future. This project is in the heart of the Palestinian city center, and calls for awarding 80% of all planning rights in the area for commercial, tourism, and business development. The plan also grants legalization to unauthorized structures in the area, but does not allow for further residential development. On this, Bimkom explains:

“This ratio of mixed use is problematic because it does not address the housing crisis in Palestinian East Jerusalem, and moreover, it does not address the basic interest of citycenter planning: the creation of a balanced mixed-use environment, in which housing development is generally considered as an important stimulus for development. In other parts of the Jerusalem today, along the route of the light rail, a 50-50 ratio is the accepted policy.”

Explaining the significance of the two plans in context of Israel’s settlement activities across the city, Bimkom writes:

“The abovementioned plans, alongside other large scale plans currently under consideration for East Jerusalem (such as the plan for development alongside the American Road, see here), demonstrate the current Israeli Planning Policy in East Jerusalem: public uses are being addressed — and huge areas are being allotted for commerce and business — while residential needs are being left unanswered (if they are addressed they are generally unimplementable).”

Israel “Recovers” Religious Relic from Palestinian Village

In a covert pre-dawn operation on July 20th, the Israeli Civil Administration entered the Palestinian village of Tuqu’ and took a Byzantine-era baptismal font. The font was allegedly stolen by antiquity thieves in the year 2000 from an archeological site next to the Tekoa settlement (which was built on lands historically a part of Tuqu’), and retrieved in 2002 by Palestinian residents of Tuqu’. The font has been on open display next to the village Mayor’s home for the past 18 years, with Israel taking no interest in the matter until now.

Emek Shaveh explains important context of the Civil Administration’s sudden interest in the font:

“This operation follows on the heels of increased complaints by the settlers that the Civil Administration is not doing enough to prevent what they claim is systematic and ideologically driven antiquities theft. The settlers have been claiming that traces of a Jewish past in the area are being destroyed and that all antiquities sites should be placed under Israeli control. Emek Shaveh and the Mayor of Tuqu’ have written to the Civil Administration with a demand to return the antiquity to the village and its residents. The Civil Administration is responsible for the protecting the interests and welfare of the Palestinian residents of the West Bank and is not meant to act as an agent on behalf of the settlers who believe they should be the sole custodians of the areas’ antiquities.”

Adding to settler efforts described by Emek Shaveh, a  new settler group calling itself “Shomrim Al Hanetzach” (“Guarding Eternity”) recently began surveying areas in the West Bank that Israel has designated as archeaological sites in order to call in Israeli authorities to demolish Palestinian construction in these areas. The new group communicates its findings to the Archaeology Unit in the Israeli Civil Administration (the military body by which the government of Israel regulates all planning and building in the West Bank). The Archaeology Unit, playing its part, then delivers eviction and demolition orders against Palestinians, claiming that the structures damage antiquities in the area. As a reminder, in 2017, Israel declared 1,000 new archaeological sites in Area C of the West Bank. The new group is, not coincidentally, an offshoot of the radical Regavim organization, which among other things works to push Israeli authorities to demolish Palestinian construction that lacks Israeli permits (permits that Israel virtually never grants). 

The new group has also raised public alarm about the Trump Plan, alleging that hundreds of biblical sites in the West Bank are slated to become Palestinian territory. The group’s leaders accuse the Palestinian Authority of mismanaging the sites and they accuse Palestinians of looting them. The group is demanding that Israel annex all the sites.

In response to the theft of the font from Tuqu’, PLO Spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi released a statement saying:

“A hallmark of Israel’s system of colonial occupation and oppression has been its disdainful attempts to erase Palestinian presence, culture and heritage, including the illegal appropriation and theft of heritage sites and artifacts. This systemic policy of plunder is a war crime that must not go unpunished. In the past weeks, Israel has taken other illegal steps targeting Palestinian heritage sites, including sealing off the entrance of Jabal Al-Fureidis (or so-called Herodium) in the Bethlehem District to restrict the access of Palestinians to the site, which Israel has illegally appropriated as an “Israeli National Park”. Israel has also repeatedly targeted other historical and archaeological sites, including UNESCO Heritage sites in Palestine such as the Old City of Jerusalem, the Battir terraces in Bethlehem, and the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron. Israel must be held accountable for its egregious war on Palestinian heritage and its attempt to appropriate our history and pillage historical artifacts that are an integral part of Palestinian and world history. UNESCO and its Director General, Ms. Audrey Azoulay, have a moral and official duty to speak out and protect Palestinian heritage. Their continued silence in this regard is an unacceptable abdication of responsibility.”

Greenblatt: Trump Plan has 60-80 Pages of Conditions on/for a Future Palestinian “State”

In a new interview with Army Radio, former U.S. negotiator Jason Greenblatt proudly touted the fact that the Trump Plan has 60-80 pages of stipulations Palestinians must agree to and satisfy before it could meet the U.S. conditions for recognizing Palestine as a “state.” It’s always worth reiterating: the Trump Plan in no way provides for a real state in any sense of the term; it at best offers the Palestinians a conditional non-state entity over which Israel would enjoy almost total control. Greenblatt said:

“[the] phrase we used in the peace efforts is a realistic Palestinian state that complies with 60-80 pages of important criteria. [This criteria is what] differentiates the peace plan we released from the past efforts. There’s a lot of criteria for them to establish a state, as there should be.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Two Palestinian Cyclists Injured in Alleged Assault by West Bank Settlers” (Haaretz)
2. “B’Tselem investigation: Settlers assault Palestinians and file false reports against them; military arrests the victims” (B’Tselem) 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 10, 2020

1. Yesh Din Declares: Israel is Committing the Crime of Apartheid in the West Bank
2. (FWIW) Mort Klein Says 50+% Chance Trump Approves Annexation Within Next 45-Days
3. An “Off-the-Rack” Annexation Scenario
4. Another Yitzhar Outpost Demolished, Another Violent Encounter Between IDF & Settlers
5. Settlers & Settlement Minister Escalate Drive to Take Palestinians Land in Area C
6. Greek Patriarchate Mobilizes Allies to Continue Fighting Settlers’ Acquisition of Jerusalem Properties
7. Settlement Real Estate Market Heating Up?
8. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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Yesh Din Declares: Israel is Committing the Crime of Apartheid in the West Bank

In a first for Israeli human rights groups, Yesh Din published a legal analysis, written by renowned Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard, that concludes that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid in the West Bank, as defined by the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid  AND the Rome Statute. The legal judgement closely analyzes the ways in which Israel’s current policies and actions in the West Bank constitute both the systematic oppression of one group and privileging of the other with the intent to maintain a regime of domination, and inhumane acts, including persecution and denial of rights. 

Sfard finds Israel’s settlement project and “creeping legal annexation” of the West Bank to be indisputable evidence that Israel intends to maintain permanent control over the area. Safrd marks the February 2017 passage by Israel’s Knesset of Israel’s “Regulation Law” — a law governing land usage rights in the West Bank designed explicitly to take Palestinian land for the benefit of settlers — a “seminal moment” in the evolution of Israel’s West Bank regime into an apartheid system, noting that this was the first time that the Israeli Knesset passed a law to directly govern matters in the West Bank (read more here about the Regulation Law). FMEP has tracked the Knesset’s creeping legal annexation of the West Bank in its regularly updated Annexation Policy Tables,  available here (Table #2).

Speaking to +972 Magazine, Sfard said that the goal of the legal opinion is to:

“change the internal Israeli discourse, and no longer talk about our presence in the West Bank as an occupation that is temporary, but as an illegitimate crime.”

Lior Amihai, executive director of Yesh Din, said in a statement:

“Apartheid is a crime against humanity, and it is a reality today, but we have the power and the responsibility to end it. We call on all people who wish to leave a better future for the coming generations of Palestinians and Israelis to demand that our decision makers act now to end apartheid and occupation. All Israeli and Palestinian children deserve a future of freedom and equality, free from apartheid.”

Further information: full Yesh Din legal report here; Executive Summary here; very thorough FAQ about apartheid in the West Bank here; Sfard’s interview with +972 Magazine here; Subscribe to receive Yesh Din updates here. Stay tuned for an FMEP webinar with Michael in the near future by signing up to receive FMEP event alerts here.

(FWIW) Mort Klein Says 50+% Chance Trump Approves Annexation Within Next 45-Days

This week, Mort Klein, the head of the far right-wing Zionist Organization of American (ZOA),  told the Jerusalem Post that a U.S. official told him that there is “more than a 50% chance” chance that Trump team deciding on annexation will make their decision within 45 days. Klein — famous these days for Tweets and comments that get him accused regularly (sometimes daily) of being a racist, an Islamophobe, and of cozying up to antisemites — is also one of the rare members of the public known to have access in the Trump Administration, no doubt because the ZOA’s policies align neatly with those Trump officials responsible for Israel policy.

Trump’s Israel team – Jared Kushner, Avi Berkowitz, and Scott Leith – reportedly met (again) on July 8th, reconvening after meetings last week ended in no decision about annexation. A source told the Post that a decision this month (July) is “still possible,” despite repeated delays and a shift in focus in Israel and the U.S. to fighting a resurgence of the coronavirus.

An “Off-the-Rack” Annexation Scenario

In a new paper – entitled, “Is there a ‘Likeliest’ Annexation Scenario?” – Israel NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem, led by Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann,  predicts that if Netanyahu follows through on his annexation pledge, there are two very compelling reasons to believe that he will do so by annexing the so-called “settlement blocs” closest to Jerusalem: Ma’ale Adumim, Givat Ze’ev, Beitar Illit, Efrat, and the entire Etzion Bloc.

Laying out its logic, Terrestrial Jerusalem points to Netanyahu’s longstanding goal of uniting “Greater Jerusalem” by expanding the Jerusalem Municipality in order to annex as many nearby settlements as possible. The report details Netanayhu’s efforts to do so in detail, starting in 1997.

In addition, the “settlement blocs” doctrine – which has been prominently normalized by the likes of David Makovsky, Dennis Ross, and Michael Koplow – has provided Nentanyahu with an “off-the-rack” annexation option. This doctrine, on the basis of claimed “pragmatism,” has sought to allow Israel to continue unrestricted settlement expansion within large areas located near the Green Line (aka, the 1948 Armistice Line). After three decades of touting this doctrine, Netanyahu can now use it as the basis of his annexation. 

Warning of the consequences of this “most likely” annexation scenario, Terrestrial Jerusalem writes:

“The annexation of one or more of the settlement blocs will have a devastating impact on the very possibility of any future agreement between Israel and Palestine. It will fragment the built-up Palestinian areas in greater Jerusalem, condemning the Palestinians to permanent occupation in an archipelago of disjointed, disconnected villages. The annexation of East Jerusalem, Ma’aleh Adumim, the Etzion Bloc and Givat Ze’ev alone would cumulatively seize 225 sq. km. of the landmass of the West Bank.”

Another Yitzhar Outpost Demolished, Another Violent Encounter Between IDF & Settlers

On July 10th, the IDF demolished an outpost that was illegally constructed by 30 settlers earlier that day. Settlers attempted to violently prevent the IDF soldiers from reaching the site of their outpost by setting up roadblocks using burning tires, and the attacking the troops with pepper spray and even threw punches during their assault on the troops.

The outpost squatters were from the radical and violent Yitzhar settlement, located in the heart of the West Bank just southeast of Nablus. The outpost – named “Kippah Sruga” by the settlers – was built in an area that the military commander marked as a “closed military zone” where civilians are not permitted to enter much less take up (illegal) residence.

Unsurprising, the leader of the Yitzhar settlement rushed to the defense of the settlers involved in the attack on the IDF. A spokesperson released a statement expressing regret that:

“some of the officers arrived at the scene without wearing masks [and] some did not have tags [identifying them as police]. The Border police officers used harsh violence against residents who did not do a thing. Of course we oppose stone-throwing and these incidents should have no place in Yitzhar.”

Settlers & Settlement Minister Escalate Drive to Take Palestinians Land in Area C

The radical settler group Regavim – which has dedicated itself to “helping” Israel police Palestinian construction in the West Bank – has filed a petition with the Jerusalem District Court asking the court to compel the demolition of Palestinian buildings located near the village of Nahalin, claiming that the newly built structures lack Israeli permits and that the Israeli Civil Administration has failed to act. 

The group says Palestinians built 20 structures outside of the village, on land that is technically in Area C (the village of Nahalin is designated as Area B under the Olso Accords, but some village lands fall into Area C). Regavim asked the Civil Administration to take advantage of new powers it granted itself in June 2017 (via a military order) that allows it to demolish “new construction” a mere 96 hours after warning Palestinians of its intent (in effect depriving Palestinians of any meaningful opportunity to challenge the planned demolition).

Regavim Movement Director Meir Deutsch said: 

“While our heads of state are debating whether and how sovereignty will be applied, the Palestinian Authority is hard at work, establishing facts on the ground. If we don’t wake up, in a few years we will find ourselves faced with an unchangeable reality – and the security and policy ramifications that come with it.”

Boosting Regavim’s mission, on July 7th newly crowned Settlement Affairs Minister Tzipi Hotovely toured the Mount Hebron Regional settlement council jurisdiction. Hotovely emphasized that part of her mission is to “prevent the Palestinian takeover of Area C” – an Orwellian framing suggesting that Israel is the victim of Palestinian aggressors seeking to steal Israeli land, when exactly the opposite is the case.

Hotovely said:

“At this time, it is very important to strengthen the settlement enterprise and prevent a Palestinian takeover of Area C. The Mount Hebron Regional Council has great potential for strengthening the Negev and the settlement. Applying sovereignty in this area will allow us to continue to develop the settlement in the Northern Negev and Mount Hebron.”

Greek Patriarchate Mobilizes Allies to Continue Fighting Settlers’ Acquisition of Jerusalem Properties

Since having its appeal rejected by the Jerusalem District Court on June 24th, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is continuing its fight to reclaim three prized properties in Jerusalem that were sold to the radical Ateret Cohanim settler organization under circumstances the Patriarchate claims are fraudulent.

In addition to planning to take its case to the Israeli Supreme Court, a spokesman for the Patriarchate, Father Issa Musleh, said that that Patriarchate will launch an international campaign in hopes of engaging the UN Security Council, Russia, Greece, Cyprus, and others to pressure Israel to return the properties to the church.

In addition, on July 7th, 13 Church leaders in Jerusalem issued a joint statement, saying:

“We, the Heads of the Churches and Christian Communities in Jerusalem, stand united in our commitment to safeguard the historical Status Quo of the Holy Sites and rights of the Churches which are universally recognized. The case of Jaffa Gate threatens this Status Quo. We are concerned by the recent judgment of the District Court of Jerusalem, which dismissed evidence demonstrating the Greek Orthodox Church’s case. We strongly support the efforts of the Greek Orthodox Church in their plea for justice…We don’t see this case as a mere property dispute. We see the undertaking of radical groups to take control of properties at Jaffa Gate as a systematic attempt to undermine the integrity of the Holy City, to obstruct the Christian pilgrim route and to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem.”

Settlement Real Estate Market Heating Up?

Israeli realtors hawking homes in the settlements are now talking up the possibility of a real estate boom in settlements because of the possibility of annexation.

Daniel Wach, who runs a real estate business out of the settlement of Eli — located deep inside the northern part of the West Bank — told AFP that he has done “as much business in the past two months as the last few years.” Wach said that Israeli families are buying now in anticipation of home prices rising after annexation. Post-annexation, Wach predicts will quickly rise 10-15%.

Another real estate agent who exclusively deals with settlements said: “Annexation will make a big difference…It’s gonna be a big market, we’ll need to get ready, work hard for this opportunity.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Israel arrests Palestinian expert on settlements in Jerusalem” (MEMO)
2. “Israel Will continue Its Campaign of Dividing and Conquering Palestinians, Annexation of Not” (Tania Hary // Haaretz)
3. “Israel’s Possible Annexation of West Bank Areas: Frequently Asked Questions” (Congressional Research Service)
4. “Ayelet Shaked submits candidacy to serve in Judicial Selection Committee” (Ynet)
5. “Settlers and Palestinians unite in opposition to annexation” (The Times of Israel)
6. “If Israel’s planned annexation goes ahead, can any response make a difference?” (Al-Shabaka)

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.

July 3, 2020

1. The [Purported] Israeli Counter-Proposal to the Trump Annexation Map
2. De Jure Annexation Remains Imminent: Reports Say Trump to Make Final Decision Next Week
3. U.S. Said to Ask for Israeli “Gesture” to Palestinians in Order to Approve Annexation Plan
4. Settlers Continue Opposition to Trump Plan, While Pushing Bibi to Stop Delaying
5. Settler Group Announces New Outpost Near Hebron
6. Israeli Court Issues Ruling to Throw Sumreen Family Out of Their House
7. Settlers Claim to Have Purchased an Illegally Built Palestinian Home in Wadi Hilweh, Silwan
8. Israel Orders Demolition of Illegal Settler Structures Following Reversal of Regulation Law
9. State Admits to High Court that Jerusalem Cable Car Project Will Require Confiscating Private Palestinian Land
10. New Ir Amim Paper Looks at Jerusalem to Underscore the “Truth About Annexation”
11. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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The [Purported] Israeli Counter-Proposal to the Trump Annexation Map 

Israel’s Kan News published what it claims to be the Israeli government’s counter-proposal to the Trump annexation map. The reported counter-proposal adds a significant amount of West Bank land to the area Israel will annex, rendering even more severe the fragmentation of any future Palestinian state the plan is supposedly interested in seeing established. Specifically, the counter-proposal (which is exceptionally well explained by Israeli analyst and mapping expert Dan Rothem) achieves four main goals:

• It expands the channels of land which connect 15 far-flung outposts and settlements to what is today sovereign Israel. The Trump map connects these “enclaves” via narrow land corridors and roads (referred to by settlers as “balloons on a string”). The alleged counter-proposal annexes 2.7% more of the West Bank to enlarge those corridors.
• It provides for Israel’s annexation of about 20 additional settlements/outposts left out of the (initial) annexation provided for under the Trump Plan. These include the radical and violent settlement of Yitzhar and its outposts) located near Nablus, as well as the (relatively) nearby settlements Elon Moreh  (and its outposts), Har Bracha  (and its outposts), and Itamar  (and its outposts). All of these settlements/outposts are, notably, located deep in the West Bank heartland.
• It proposes “compensating” Palestinians by designating an additional 4.6% of the West Bank — areas designated under the Trump Plan for Israeli annexation, comprised of West Bank territory where there are no settlers and some empty areas in the Jordan Valley/Judean desert — to (possibly) be under some degree of Palestinian control (without providing details on what would be the status of the land).  (Reminder: Netanyahu said he will not annex a single Palestinian). 
• The map also appears to propose population transfer, putting parts of the so-called Triangle Area — an area of densely populated towns located within Israel’s sovereign borders, inhabited by Palestinian citizens of Israel — into the area that could theoretically become a Palestinian state (assuming the Palestinians accepted the Trump Plan and satisfied a laundry list of conditions that no Palestinian leadership would ever accept — all to end up with an archipelago of territory that they might be allowed to call a “state” but that would have few if any actual attributes of  sovereignty). Reminder: Forcible population transfer is a flagrant violation of international law (as is annexation of any scope); a government re-drawing its borders to deprive its own citizens of their rights, based on their ethnicity, is antithetical to democracy.

Additionally, while Israeli officials originally indicated that annexation would begin with the Jordan Valley, rampant reports indicate that the focus has now shifted to annexing elsewhere (settlement blocs) as the first stage of annexation. Perhaps responding to criticism over delaying the annexation of the Jordan Valley,  Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) told The Jerusalem Post that “of course” the Jordan Valley is included in Israel’s annexation plans [which should surprise nobody, given that politicians across most of the political spectrum in Israel came out in support of annexation of the Jordan Valley (including Benny Gantz), even before the Trump Plan].

So what is Netanyahu really thinking? According to Haaretz, he has not held discussions with his own Security Cabinet on the annexation plan, and the key Israeli bodies which will be involved in implementing annexation – the Justice Ministry, the Attorney General (whom Bibi is in open war with), the IDF chiefs, and Foreign Ministry – have not begun preparing for implementation.

De Jure Annexation Remains Imminent: Reports Say Trump to Make Final Decision Next Week

July 1st – the first day Netanyahu was permitted to bring annexation up for a vote in the Cabinet or in the Knesset, but by no means a deadline for such an action – came and went without an announcement. Reports almost immediately suggested that the annexation decision – reportedly delayed by U.S. demands and Israeli disunity.

After a week of meetings with Israeli leaders, National Security Council advisor Scott Leith and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz (who in the meetings were of course joined by US ambassador to Israel David Friedman) headed back to Washington. On Thursday, Berkowitz met with Jared Kushner in preparation for presenting their plan to the President. Despite the palace intrigue surrounding Kushner this week, Kushner plays a critical role in leading Trump a final decision on annexation, expected to come next week..

Though Trump has not been involved in any details of the annexation deliberations, Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Ofer Akunis asserted that Israel will not act without a statement from Trump himself, telling the Jerusalem Post:

 “[annexation] will only happen after a declaration by Trump.”

Following the departure of Leith and Berkowitz (Friedman remained in Israel), an anonymous U.S. official told the Jerusalem Post that the fact that July 1st came and went without an announcement does not mean that annexation is any less likely to happen. That official said:

“The administration is appreciative of the ongoing conversations and serious considerations that have gone into our recent discussions with the Israeli government.July 1 is not and has never been a US deadline, nor do we believe it is an Israeli deadline. We look forward to continuing the dialogue with our Israeli partners and working productively and in earnest towards implementing the president’s Vision for Peace in the Middle East.”

U.S. Said to Ask for Israeli “Gesture” to Palestinians in Order to Approve Annexation Plan

U.S. Amb. David Friedman, National Security Council advisor Scott Leith, and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz spent the past week in Israel, negotiating with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Gantz over the extent and timing of Israeli annexation of West Bank territory. Israeli press – particularly right-wing outlets – asserted that the Americans were pushing Israel to make a more significant “gesture” to the Palestinians in order to win American support (reminder: the Palestinian leadership has not been involved in negotiations at all). 

Reportedly, the US suggested that such a gesture could consist of granting the Palestinian Authority greater control over the remnants of Area C left to the Palestinians after Israeli annexation — with Israel retaining the ability to “secure” those areas as-needed (essentially transforming a small part of Area C land into Area B). 

The Jerusalem Post goes so far as to suggest that “many” of the conversations this past week focused on what the Palestinians will be given/offered/forced to accept, rather than the details of what/how/when Israel will annex. More than anything else, this suggests that the U.S. is not imposing limits on what Israel can annex.

Settlers Continue Opposition to Trump Plan, While Pushing Bibi to Stop Delaying

Worried both about the details of the Trump Plan and that Bibi will not pull the trigger on annexation at all, settler leaders and their allies continue their criticism of Netanyahu for every move (and non-move) he makes.

Two prominent settler leaders who oppose the Trump Plan – Yesha Council chairman David Elhayani and Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan – continued lashing out at Netanyahu for his posture on issues of key concern to settlers (the creation of settlement enclaves, a settlement construction freeze, and the possibility of future Palestinian statehood) and for failing to act on July 1st. Dagan called the July 1st date “one big farce.”

Elhayani – who estimated that there is an 80% chance that there will be no annexation – told Walla News:

“Tying the lack of sovereignty [announcement] to Benny Gantz is a pathetic excuse..In reality, it is in the hands of the prime minister, who must accept responsibility for the decision, demonstrate leadership and say: ‘I have made this commitment to the electorate in two election campaigns, and I will stand by it’.”

Another group of settlers who are adamantly against the Trump Plan launched a new campaign targeting Netanyahu. The campaign, which was covered in the front page of the Israel Hayom paper, features photos of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Joint List Parliamentary head MK Ahmed Tibi, and Netanyahu, and alongside the photos uses the slogan:

“They [Abbas and Tibi] will not decide. You’ve [Netanayhu] decided – Keep your promise.”

Another settler group – the Sovereignty Movement – put up billboards all over the country calling on Netanyahu to annex and to say “no” to a Palestinian state.

Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) put on a public display of his pointed displeasure with Netanyahu’s failure to advance annexation on July 1st. Visiting a vista overlooking the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank – which Netanyahu has long promised to demolish – Lieberman told the press:

“We’re meeting here at Khan al-Akhmar because this is part of the same pattern of behavior. For fourteen months, Netanyahu has been yelling about ‘sovereignty’, and the whole time he’s cheated his voters…Netanyahu has tricked everyone. He has no intention of applying sovereignty: not over Maale Adumim and not even in the Jordan Valley. He always manages to trick everyone, but it was clear to me that he is lying, just as he lied about Khan al-Akhmar.”

Former Justice Minister and Yamina party leader MK Ayelet Shaked told the Jerusalem Post that she believes Bibi has “given up on the Jordan Valley.”

Haaretz reports that settlers – both those who support the Trump Plan and those who want more than what the plan is offering – have been successfully working with U.S. evangelicals to pressure Trump to OK annexation. Netanyahu himself spoke at a high profile online event for Christians United for Israel, and Yossi Dagan was interviewed by the Christian Broadcasting Network. Efrat settlement Mayor Oded Revivi has been in private conversation with U.S. evangelical leaders.

A recent poll by the radical settler group Regavim found that only 30% of settlers supported the Trump Plan after they were told that it will require Israel to agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Additionally, 53% of settlers said they believe that Netanyahu will give in to pressure from Trump rather than stand his ground on issues under negotiation.

Settler Group Announces New Outpost Near Hebron

On July 1st, a group of about 500 settlers held a protest against the Trump Plan and announced their plans to establish a new outpost. The protest was held on a hilltop belonging to the Palestinian village of Halhul, near Hebron in the southern West Bank. One of the protests leaders, veteran settler activist Daniella Weiss, told Ynet:

“The Trump plan needs to be thrown in the trash. We came here to establish a settlement. Today everyone understands that the purpose of the plan is to establish a Palestinian state in the heart of Israel.”

Israeli Court Issues Ruling to Throw Sumreen Family Out of Their House

On June 30th, the Jerusalem District Court rejected an appeal by the Palestinian Sumreen family to stop the Jewish National Fund (JNF) from evicting them from the home of 60 years in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The Court gave the 18-member family until August 16th to vacate the property and ordered them to pay 20,000 shekels (about $5,800) to the JNF for legal costs. The Sumreen family is considering taking their case to the Israeli Supreme Court.

The Coalition for the Sumarin Family said in a statement: 

“In the ruling, the court did not address the most important, fundamental point, which is that the house was taken in plunder. The JNF’s legal woes did not change the fundamental fact that the use of the Absentees’ Property Law to take over the house was done without good faith, as two government legal advisers and a government inquiry commission, determined”.

The Sumreen family home is located in the middle of what today has been designed by Israel “the City of David National Park.” The area is managed by the radical Elad settler organization, which for years has also been pursuing the eviction of Palestinians from the homes in Silwan. For nearly three decades, the Sumreen family has been forced to battle for legal ownership of their home, after the state of Israel, prompted repeatedly by the JNF, declared the Sumreen’s home to be “absentee” property. After that designation – which was not communicated to the Sumreen family – Israeli law permitted the state to take over the rights to the building. The state then sold the rights to the home to the JNF in 1991. The JNF has pursued the eviction of the Sumreen family ever since. Israeli courts ruled in favor of the Sumreen family’s ownership claims to the home for years, until a September 2019 ruling by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court granted ownership of the family’s home to the JNF, a decision the family immediately appealed to the Jerusalem District Court. 

A full history of the saga involving the Sumreen family – which is similar to dozens of other Palestinian homes in Silwan that were declared Absentee Property in the 1990s – can be found on the Peace Now website here.

In a recent letter organized by Israeli academics, thirty-four Israel Prize laureates pleaded to the head of the JNF to stop eviction proceedings against the Sumreen family. The letter reads: 

“The expulsion of the family, as part of a campaign to Judaize Silwan which has been going on for many years, will stain the reputation of the KKL … we beg of you to desist from taking actions that would be clearly immoral.”

This week, +972 Magazine published an illuminating article by a former staff member of the JNF, looking at the role the organization has played in advancing annexation policies on the ground for decades with evictions like the Sumreen case. IMEU also just published an excellent fact sheet about the Jewish National Fund.

Settlers Claim to Have Purchased an Illegally Built Palestinian Home in Wadi Hilweh, Silwan 

On June 30th, a group of settlers invaded a vacant building in the Wadi Hilweh section of the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem, saying that they had purchased the house from its Palestinian owners. Peace Now reports that the home was built by Palestinians years ago without an Israeli-issued permit (Palestinians in East Jerusalem are systematically denied permits to build on their own land). The family that had been living in the house left about four months ago after a demolition order was issued by the Jerusalem Municipality.

The house is located in the Ben Himmon Valley and very close to a Jewish cemetery that is currently being rehabilitated by the radical Elad settler organization. Elad has been involved in the systematic displacement of Palestinians from the Silwan neighborhood and has been weaponizing tourism and archaeology as a means by which to do so.

Peace Now explains: 

“In recent years, the Elad Association, together with the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Nature and Parks Authority, has been intensively developing the Ben Hinnom Valley area leading to the Sambusky Cemetery in an attempt to produce Israeli territorial contiguity from the Sultan’s Pool area and Ben Hinnom Valley area through the cemetery toward Wadi Hilweh and the ‘City of David’ visitors’ center…The takeover of this house extends the settlers’ control in the southwest corner of Wadi Hilweh: In September 2014, the settlers entered a nearby house, and in January 2016 another house adjacent to it…All of these projects, along with the settlers entering the house yesterday, are intended to strengthen Israeli presence in this contested and occupied area, and thus make it more difficult for the territorial compromise in Jerusalem needed for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem and therefore the two-state solution itself. Tourism development projects in Jerusalem are one of the most significant ways of settlement, leading to both a change on the ground and in the public domain, as well as a change in Israeli attitudes by hardening them to the idea of this necessary territorial compromise.”

Israel Orders Demolition of Illegal Settler Structures Following Reversal of Regulation Law

In response to a petition filed by Yesh Din and Emek Shaveh, Israel has said it will demolish illegally built settlement structures on privately owned Palestinian land belonging to the villages of Dir Amar and Ras Karakar. Years ago settlers illegally installed tourist accommodations – benches, terraces, paths, picnic benches and a pergola – at the site of an ancient spring in this area, in an attempt to take control of the site known as Nabi Aner. Nabi Aner is part of an historic Muslim pilgrimage route between Hebron and Bethlehem. The entire area is located in Area C of the West Bank.

Israel’s announcement that it will demolish the structures (and, ostensibly, agree to return the site to Palestinian control), comes two weeks after the Israeli High Court of Justice overturned the Regulation Law, which sought to provide a basis for legalizing settlement structures built on land that even Israeli acknowledges is owned by Palestinians (as is the case with the site in question). The petition to demolish the settlers’ construction was filed in 2017, but was not considered by the Court until now, based on the argument that the Regulation Law – if it withstood Court scrutiny — might have provided the State a basis for retroactively legalizing the structures.

Emek Shaveh said in a statement:

“Over the years, the authorities in the area have refrained from enforcing the law with respect to illegal construction that was carried out on private land and around the archaeological site.  In recent years, the State used the pretext of the Regularization Law as an excuse for continuing the policy of non-enforcement. This is an example of the importance of the nullification of the Regularization Law, which enabled settlers to take over private lands. But regardless of the Regularization Law and its nullification, we find it regrettable that we were forced to petition the court to instruct the State’s enforcement authorities to simply carry out their duties and prevent the settlers from illegally building on private Palestinian land. We regret that the State does not of its own accord enforce the law and stop the damage to archaeological sites and the process of severing Palestinians from access to their cultural and religious roots.”

State Admits to High Court that Jerusalem Cable Car Project Will Require Confiscating Private Palestinian Land

On June 29th, the Israeli High Court of Justice heard arguments concerning the Jerusalem cable car project, an initiative backed by the Elad settler group and advanced by the Israeli Tourism Ministry. During the hearing, the State admitted the implementation of the cable car project will require the confiscation of privately owned Palestinian land in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. 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).

The cable car plan, touted by Elad and other supporters as a vital transportation project, is in reality intended to further entrench settler control in Silwan, via archeology and tourism sites, while simultaneously delegitimizing, dispossessing, and erasing the Palestinian presence there. Emek Shaveh and other non-governmental organizations, including  Who Profits and Terrestrial Jerusalem, have repeatedly challenged (and provided evidence to discredit) 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.

New Ir Amim Paper Looks at Jerusalem to Underscore the “Truth About Annexation”

In a new policy paper, Ir Amim looks at how Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem has played out since 1967. Ir Amim’s main points – and warnings regarding Israel’s imminent annexation of more West Bank land – are:

1. Israel annexing Palestinian land, but not Palestinian people, who since 1967 have been classified as “permanent residents,” rather than being made citizens, like the Palestinians who remained inside the Green Line after 1948.;
2. Since the moment of annexation of East Jerusalem, Israel has pursued policies meant limit the number of Palestinains in the area, including by driving Palestinians from East Jerusalem;
3. Since the moment of annexation, Israel has attempted to take control of more and more land in East Jerusalem;
4. The Absentees’ Property Law (1950) and The Law and Administration Ordinance (1970) have been Israel’s tools of choice to evict Palestinians from their homes and take their property in East Jerusalem, under the guise of legality;
5. Israel has repeatedly attempted to expand the borders of the area it annexed to include nearby settlements.

Ir Amim writes:

“In order to understand the consequences of annexation it is pertinent to learn from the case of East Jerusalem which Israel unilaterally – and in contravention of international law – annexed. Since 1967 East Jerusalem has been subject to the Jerusalem municipality and to Israeli law. In the decades since 1967, Israeli policy in the city has been driven by massive settlement construction and consistent steps to reduce the city’s Palestinian population. The combination of these two methods is considered by Israel the key to solidifying its control over the annexed territory and to asserting its sovereignty. Examining Israeli policies in East Jerusalem can therefore teach us the dangers of what can take place if the current annexation plan of the Israeli government actually takes place.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Annexation is Already Here” (Jessica Montell // The Times of Israel)
2. “Fight Annexation on Moral Grounds” (Yehuda Shaul // Haaretz)
3. “Quick Facts: Israel’s West Bank Settlement Enterprise” (IMEU)
4. “Despite Talk of Annexation, Fewer Immigrants to Israel Moving to West Bank Settlements” (Haaretz)
5. “Quick Facts: What is the Jewish National Fund”  (IMEU) 

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.

June 26, 2020

1. Netanyahu Talks to Jordan, Gantz (Finally) Lays Out a Position
2. Trump Advisors Meeting in Washington on Annexation Ends Without Decision
3. Bibi Provides Likud With Talking Points on Annexation, Says Settlements Cannot Ever Be Evacuated
4. Court Approves Sale of Church Properties in Old City of Jerusalem to Radical Settler Org
5. Israel Delivers Eviction Orders to Palestinian Businessowners Despite Claims Palestinians Have Consented to the “Silicon Wadi” Project
6. Israel is Expanding Settler-Only Bypass Road Near Bethlehem, Cutting Palestinians Off from Land
7. Plans for Controversial New Settlement Industrial Zone Near Beitar Illit Are Poised for Final Approval
8. High Court Set to Hear Petition Against Cable Car
9. Emek Shaveh Submits Petition Against Settler-Backed “Accessibility” Project for the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs
10. Weaponizing Archaeology as a Means of Dispossessing Palestinians
11. Democrats Oppose Annexation But Don’t Threaten Consequences; Republicans Lawmakers Offer Support for Annexation
12. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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Netanyahu Talks to Jordan, Gantz (Finally) Lays Out a Position

According to an anonymous Palestinian official, Israel delivered a message to Jordan’s King Abdullah (who then passed it on to Abbas) that Netanyahu is planning to announce annexation of two or three “settlement blocs” as Israel’s initial annexation move, and this announcement will not include annexation of the Jordan Valley. The report provided no details about which “blocs” will be annexed, or how they will be defined. As a reminder, “blocs” is an informal and elastic term that Israel has used to define ever- expanding areas of the West Bank as territory that it will keep.

The reports come after days of suggestions that the U.S. and Netanyahu are favoring a phased annexation plan, meaning that whatever “limited” annexation Israel announces on July 1st (or, more likely, after July 1st), it will be just the first in a wave of annexation announcements, and the fact that it may be “limited” (compared to other options) in no way will signal that Netanyahu has changed his grander ambition to annex every inch of land allowed under Trump Plan. The Trump Plan green lights annexation of around 30% of the West Bank as a starting point, with an implicit green light for further annexation if the Palestinians refuse to negotiate with Israel over the fate of the remaining West Bank territory.

Gantz posted a message on his Facebook page on Friday, June 26th in what some are viewing as an effort to clarify his own position on annexation, which so far has been inconsistent, ambiguous, and confusing. Gantz’s five key positions on annexation according to the new Facebook post are:

1. No annexation of areas where there is a “significant” Palestinian population; 
2. No annexation of land that will impair Palestinians’ freedom of movement;
3. Palestinian living in areas annexed by Israel will be given equal rights;
4. Israel’s security as well as its existing peace agreements will be safeguarded;
5. Israel will initiate “bilateral moves with the Palestinians.”

It was reported earlier this week that Prime Minister Netanyahu presented an ultimatum to Gantz in private deliberations, seeking to force Gantz to choose between supporting annexation or a new round of elections (recent polls suggest new elections would deliver a landslide victory for Netanyahu — no surprise given the fact that in joining the Netanyahu government, Gantz eviscerated Netanyahu’s main opposition party). 

Up to this point, Blue & White party leaders Gantz and Ashkenazi have opposed wide-scale, unilateral annexation on July 1st – instead offering a vision for a phased annexation plan, starting with large settlement blocs, that is coordinated with key international players. Perhaps fulfilling Gantz’s demands, the reports regarding Israel’s message to Jordan propose a more limited initial annexation plan, suggesting perhaps that Netanyahu has adopted two of Gantz’s main positions. It’s also worth recalling that last week Gantz and his party mate Ashkenazi were pushing a phased annexation plan and specified that the Ma’ale Adumim and the Etzion settlement blocs (east and south of Jerusalem) are the place to start.

Even before word of the Jordan communique and Gantz’s Facebook message hit the press on June 26th, it was a near consensus position amongst Israeli news outlets and analysts that Gantz was not going to stand in the way of annexation. On June 22nd, Gantz reportedly told a group of defense officials that Israel “won’t keep waiting for the Palestinians” to engage in negotiations on the basis of the Trump Plan. Those remarks were interpreted as a signal of Gantz’s acquiescence to Netanyahu’s annexation plan (or at least of his growing disinterest in even appearing to oppose it). In the same set of remarks, Gantz went on to blame the Palestinians in even more harsh language, saying they are attempting to drag Israel into “deep shit.” Haaretz suggests, “…Gantz’s tone and his actual comments confirm the assumption that there will be no life-and-death battle here. Gantz knows that the final decision is not up to him, but rather up to Netanyahu.” In a separate article, Haaretz columnist Noa Landau put it this way: “[Gantz’s] remarks [on June 22nd] sounded more like a threat against the Palestinians for refusing to extricate him from this mess.”

Trump Advisors Meeting in Washington on Annexation Ends Without Decision 

Internal Israeli negotiations set a dramatic stage for 3 days of discussions this week in Washington between the Trump Administration officials who are the architects and managers of the Trump Plan, as the reportedly sought to come to agreement over what form of annexation the Trump Administration will green light for July 1. Multiple reports in the days leading up to the U.S. deliberations suggested that the group was considering options ranging from  a “gradual” annexation plan starting with large settlements around Jerusalem, to a more large-scale and immediate plan. At the end of the week, the Americans reportedly failed to reach a decision on how they would want to see Israel’s annexation of West Bank land to proceed. Three members of the team, Avi Berkowitz and NSA Advisor Scott Leith, and Amb. Friedman – are reportedly en route back to Israel and will continue discussions with Netanyahu. Notably, in parallel to the Washington meetings, reports emerged suggesting that Netanyahu’s annexation announcement may be delayed and that July 1st might mark the start of Israeli security cabinet deliberations over annexation (to this point deliberations have been between Netanyahu and Gantz without wider input from cabinet members). 

Amb. David Friedman (who flew to back to DC for the meeting) was joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, senior advisor Jared Kushner, Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz, and national security advisor Robert O’Brien for deliberations starting on June 23rd. 

Bibi Provides Likud With Talking Points on Annexation, Says Settlements Cannot Ever Be Evacuated

Netanyahu sent a memo to Likud lawmakers this week laying out key talking points in the ongoing effort to defend annexation, in which he argues that evacuating settlement poses an “immediate existential threat” to Israel. The memo says:

“Relinquishing these territories would not only constitute a historic injustice; such a move would create an immediate existential threat to the Jewish state since Judea and Samaria border central Israeli cities.”

The memo also adopts a U.S. talking point that annexation in fact advances the cause of peace, but instead of giving any nod to a future Palestinian state or two state solution, Bibi’s memo claims that annexing West Bank settlements can provide for “to a realistic regional peace based upon facts on the ground.” This double speak (annexation is peace) was prominently articulated by Ron Dermer in a recent Washington Post op-ed.

Court Approves Sale of Church Properties in Old City of Jerusalem to Radical Settler Org

On June 24th, the Jerusalem District Court rejected a final request filed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate to block the sale of its historic church properties to the radical settler group Ateret Cohanim. The Court’s ruling brings an end to 16 years of litigation and paves the way for Ateret Cohanim to evict Palestinian tenants and businessowners from three coveted church properties in the Old City including the Petra Hotel and the Imperial Hotel (together, the buildings flank the Jaffa Gate entrance into the Old City – meaning that Ateret Cohanim now controls a substantial amount of land at a key entrance to the Old City). The third building – known to Palestinians as Beit Amziya – is located in the Muslim Quarter.

The ruling comes just four months after the Jerusalem District Court appointed a lawyer associated with Ateret Cohanim as the legal custodian of the Petra Hotel for the duration of a bankruptcy case against the Palestinians currently operating the hotel.

The legal battle over the properties dates back to 2004, when the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate agreed to sell the three properties to a foreign real estate company under three separate contracts. It did so not knowing that the radical settler group Ateret Cohanim was behind the transaction. News of the sales made headlines in early 2005.

Upon the revelation that Ateret Cohanim was the real buyer, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate was deeply embarrassed and immediately sought to retain control of the properties. The Patriarchate alleged that the transactions involved corruption and bribery, arguing that the legal documents had been signed without permission by a finance employee. Dismissing the church’s arguments, this week the Supreme Court upheld prior rulings that the signatures on the legal documents were valid, with the finance employee acting as a legal proxy of the Patriarchate.

The Greek Orthodox Church has received significant blowback from the sale of these properties. In January 2018, Palestinians protested in Bethlehem in an attempt to block the arrival of Patriarch Theophilos III for Christmas celebrations.

Israel Delivers Eviction Orders to Palestinian Businessowners Despite Claims Palestinians Have Consented to the “Silicon Wadi” Project

Middle East Eye reports that the “Silicon Wadi” project (as reported on by FMEP on June 5th) is being discussed by the Jerusalem District Committee but has not yet reached the stage of being deposited for public review. According to one Palestinian business owner who faces eviction under the plan, the District Committee required the Jerusalem Municipality to notify the owners and renters of the buildings that will be demolished to make way for the new construction. Last week, the Municipality delivered that notification to renters in the form of eviction orders, saying that the businesses were operating in violation of Israeli regulations (i.e., illegally, even though the businesses have been there – and paying taxes to Israel – for decades). The orders give businesses 6 months to vacate.

One Palestinian businessowner, Mahmoud al-Kurd, told Middle East Eye:

“I will stay here to the last moment. This profession is my passion. In this old space I managed to achieve my successes. It is enough that the soul of my deceased father roams around me here – he is the one who rented this store decades ago and passed on his means of sustenance to us. I refuse to be an employee of a Jewish broker if we were transferred to work in the Israeli industrial areas.”

The Jerusalem Municipality – which claims that this project has the support and consent of Palestinians  – also claims that it is looking into options for compensating business owners (mostly auto mechanics) who will lose their garages.

Israel is Expanding Settler-Only Bypass Road Near Bethlehem, Cutting Palestinians Off from Land

The Palestinian news outlet Wafa reports that Israel has begun work on expanding a settler-only bypass road just west of Bethlehem.The road is reportedly being expanded and widened on Palestinian land belonging to the Nahalin village; construction of the new road segment and widening the existing road will cut off Palestinians from 741 acres (3,000 dunams) of their land.

The road serves to directly connect the Beitar Illit settlement to the Modiin Illit settlement,  both of which are a part of the so-called “Etzion Bloc.” The construction goes to show that the settlement “Blocs” – around which some suggest there is a “consensus” that Israel will retain them in any future deal with the Palestinians, and others suggest Israel can annex without controvery – are a pretext for a continuing campaign of dispossession, discrimination, and human rights abuses against neighboring Palestinians. For a deep dive into the highly consequential acceptance/normalization of the “settlement bloc” framing, see here.

Plans for Controversial New Settlement Industrial Zone Near Beitar Illit Are Poised for Final Approval

Al Monitor reports that plans for the construction of a new settlement industrial zone near the Beitar Illit settlement in the southern West Bank are ready to be submitted for final approval from the Civil Administration. Environmental activists say the new zone will pollute and possibly destroy the underground water sources feeding the terraced hills of Battir, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

The plan for the new zone – which will include offices, shops, sports facilities, public buildings, and a cemetery – was initiated in 2018 at the insistence of Israel’s former Interior Minister Aryeh Deri. Palestinians claim that plans for the zone include construction on privately owned Palestinian land.

Gidon Bromberg, Executive Director of EcoPeace, told Al-Monitor:

“Planning maps clearly show that the industrial estate would indeed cover much of the buffer zone of the World Heritage site as well as touch the core area itself.”

High Court Set to Hear Petition Against Cable Car

The Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh reports that the Israeli High Court of Justice will take up the case of the Jerusalem cable car project on June 29th. The court will consider three arguments made in a petition filed against the plan submitted by Emek Shaveh and leading experts. Those arguments are:

1. “A transitional government is not authorized to make an irreversible decision such as approval of the cable car project:  The cable car project will cost the public hundreds of millions of shekels.  During a period when the government is carrying out a broad cut in the budget of billions of shekels and is reducing the budgets for health and welfare, it is inappropriate that a transitional government leaves a bequest of this magnitude for the next government to inherit.  In the response of the Deputy Attorney General, Att. Othman Roslan, to the petition, while arguing that the process was not in conflict with the law, he did not conceal the fact that the it was problematic. [See FMEP’s coverage of the Israeli government’s approval of the plan in November 2019]
2. “There was a serious flaw in the planning process in that the Ministry of Transportation was not included in the project that purports to be a transportation project:  While the project is represented  as a transport project, the Ministry of Transportation was not included in the process and the project was not required to meet the standards set forth for transportation projects in the State of Israel. Instead it was approved on the basis of reports and data less comprehensive than those required for every other transportation project.
3. “The decision was made on the basis of misleading simulations:  The backers of the plan did not present complete simulations that accurately illustrate the cable cars in motion and the resulting damage to the historic landscape.  The National Infrastructure Committee should have demanded that the backers present simulations that illustrate the actual cars in motion.”

The Jerusalem cable car project is an initiative of the Elad settler organization (which is building a massive tourism center – the Kedem Center – in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, slated to be a stop along the cable car’s route). The scheme is intended to further entrench settler control in Silwan, via archeology and tourism sites, while simultaneously delegitimizing, dispossessing, and erasing the Palestinian presence there. Non-governmental organizations including Emek Shaveh,  Who Profits, and Terrestrial Jerusalem have repeatedly challenged (and provided evidence to discredit) 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 impacts the cable car project will have on Palestinian residents of Silwan.

Emek Shaveh Submits Petition Against Settler-Backed “Accessibility” Project for the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs

On June 18th, Emek Shaveh and Palestinian residents of Hebron jointly submitted a petition challenging Israel’s issuance of a permit to build an elevator to the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs, arguing that:

1. “The plan was illegally approved  by a transitional government; 
2. “The plan is in contravention of international agreements to which Israel is a signatory; 
3. “[The plan] is an unprecedented injury to the character of the ancient structure;  No documentation and preservation file has been submitted.”

One signatory on the petition is a disabled Palestinian, Kamal Abadin, who makes the salient point that Israel’s policies in Hebron do not indicate it has concern for accessibility, saying:

“I almost do not come to pray at the mosque because as a Palestinian, I am not permitted to drive in my car from my house to the site, because the road is closed to Palestinian vehicles.  If Israel asserts that it wants to make the site accessible to the disabled, let it start with allowing disabled Palestinians to access it by car.”

Emek Shaveh explained  in a statement:

“Unfortunately, even at the price of damage to a structure more than 2,000 years old that is holy to Judaism and Islam, Israel is prepared to be led by the settlers and their plans, and on the way, to violate international agreements to which it is a signatory.  The settlers have succeeded in turning the needs of persons with disabilities into a political issue and a means for deepening the dispute with the Palestinians.  We all know that what begins in Hebron does not stay only in Hebron and the unilateral steps at the Tomb of the Patriarchs could serve as a precedent for unilateral actions at another site which is holy to both Judaism and Islam.”

Weaponizing Archaeology as a Means of Dispossessing Palestinians

A settler group which sprung from the radical Regavim organization has sharpened a new bureaucratic weapon by which to advance the dispossession of Palestinians. The settler group – called Shomrim Al Hanetzach (“Guarding Eternity”) – has been surveying areas in the West Bank that Israel has designated as archeaological sites in order to call in Israeli authorities to demolish Palestinian construction in these areas. In 2017, it should be noted, Israel declared 1,000 new archaeological sites in Area C of the West Bank. The group communicates its findings to the Archaeology Unit in the Israeli Civil Administration (the military body by which the government of Israel regulates all planning and building in the West Bank). The Archaeology Unit, playing its part, then delivers eviction and demolition orders against Palestinians, claiming that the structures damage antiquities in the area. 

In addition, in 2019  the Israeli government increased the size of the Archaeology Unit’s staff and granted the unit new authority to carry out investigations into cases of construction on archaeological sites. Moreover, using new powers the Civil Administration gave itself (via a military order) in June 2017, the Israeli goverment has accelerated the demolition of Palestinian buildings by drastically  limiting the time period during which Palestinians are permitted to challenge demolition orders. Palestinians have a mere 96 hours after receiving the notice to file a legal challenge.

As a result, there has been a sharp rise in the number of archaeology-related demolition orders over the past year: Israel issued 118 demolition order and warnings against Palestinian structures built on West Bank archaeological sites in 2019, compared to 61 orders in 2018 and 45 orders in 2017. 

The Director of Shomrim Al Hanetzach told Haaretz: 

“We took it upon ourselves to make the supervision process more efficient – hiking guides and archaeologists turn to us and tell us about the destruction of antiquities, and we report them further to the necessary people.”

In the case of one Palestinian, Mahmoud Bisharat, he says that Israel conducted an archaeological survey of the area in 1972 but never complained about Palestinian construction in the area until now. The Civil Administration ordered Bisharat to demolish his home, olive trees, well, and concrete structures around a well.

In addition to hiking and surveying Palestinian land, Palestinians have reported that Regavim activists also use drones to photograph their land and buildings, and have made the connection between those activities to demolition orders from the Civil Administration.

Democrats Oppose Annexation But Don’t Threaten Consequences; Republicans Lawmakers Offer Support for Annexation

In warring moves this week, Republicans and Democrats staked out positions on Israel’s forthcoming annexation of land in the West Bank.

189 of 233 Democrats in the House signed a letter sent to Netanyahu and Gantz expressing deep concern about annexation, saying it does not serve Israeli security interests nor the peace process. The letter, notably, does not contain any threat of consequences should Israel implement annexation.  J Street is reportedly behind drafting and circulating the letters for signatures.

116 out of 198 Republicans in the House signed a letter sent  to Prime Minister Nentanyahu expressing support for Israel’s “right to sovereignty and defensible borders.” The letter also praises the Trump Plan. The Republic Jewish Committee is reportedly behind drafting and circulating the letter for signatures.

7 out of 53 Republicans in the Senate signed a letter to President Trump led by Senators Cotton (R-AR) and Cruz (R-TX) that is not only supportive of annexation, but actually encourage Israel to implement annexation.

Back in May, 18 out of 47 Democrats/Independents in the Senate sent a letter to Netanyahu and Gantz cautioning them against annexation.

Bonus Reads

1. “How settler groups could use annexation to deepen Palestinian dispossession” (+972 Magazine)
2. “Israel’s High Court Is Willfully Blind to Theft of Palestinian Land” (Haaretz)
3. “Israel’s ‘strangling’ of Bethlehem tightens as world debates annexation” (+972 Magazine)
4. “Settlers Assault Palestinians on Their Own Land, as Israeli Soldiers Watch” (Haaretz)
5. “For Netanyahu, Annexation May Spell Little Gain, and Lots of Pain“ (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.

June 5, 2020

1. U.S. Pumps Brakes on July 1st Date for Annexation; Israel Keeps Foot on the Gas
2. Netanyahu Tries & Fails to Woo Settler Support for His (Not Trump’s) Annexation Plan
3. Trump Admin Supports Netanyahu’s Plan to Annexing Jordan Valley Without Annexing Palestinians
4. Silwan Residents Petition High Court Against Ateret Cohanim
5. HaMoked Files First-Ever Petition Seeking Removal of Section of the Separation Barrier
6. E-1 Settlement Plans Are Moving Again, Following West Bank “Planning Freeze” During COVID Emergency
7. Jerusalem Municipality to Destroy  200 Palestinians Businesses in East Jerusalem to Build “Silicon Wadi” Industrial Zone
8. American Duty Free Millionaire Involved in Fraudulent Acquisition of Palestinian Land Case
9. Tightening Control Over Area C, 91% of IDF Eviction Orders for Construction on “State Land” Are Against Palestinians
10. >Al-Haq Report on the Atarot Industrial Settlement Zone
11. Emek Shaveh Releases New Interactive Map of Settler Projects in Jerusalem’s Historic Basin
12. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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U.S. Pumps Brakes on July 1st Date for Annexation; Israel Keeps Foot on the Gas

Reports this week suggest that top U.S. officials – including the influential voices of Trump-whisperers Jared Kushner, Avi Berkowitz, and Amb. David Friedman – have told Netanyhu and Gantz (in separate meetings and phone calls) that the Trump Administration wants to delay annexation and is “highly unlikely” to approve annexation on July 1st. One report suggests that the work of the joint U.S.-Israeli mapping committee will likely take several more weeks if not months because key American members of the committee have not been able to travel to Israel during the coronavirus pandemic. Another report suggests that the Trump administration has lost enthusiasm for annexation in the short term because it is “preoccupied” with nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.

Likud MK Ze’ev Elkin, who is also a member of the joint mapping committee, seemed to publicly confirm the slow-down, saying that the July 1st date for annexation possibly won’t happen, suggesting instead that “sometime [later] in July” is more likely.

Nonetheless, Israeli officials are proceeding with its plans to implement annexation – which makes sense, even assuming annexation may be delayed, reports are talking about days/weeks, not years or indefinitely. Over the past week, Israel has taken the following preparatory steps:

• On June 1st, Defense Minister (and Prime Minister designate) Benny Gantz ordered the IDF to “step up” its preparations for annexation, and gave a select few IDF generals their first glimpse of the annexation map Israel has been working with the U.S. administration to finalize. 
• Gantz also announced that he plans to form a “joint team” to “bring together  recommendations — on an operational level — for the efforts that are on the agenda for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” He also said he would appoint “a point-person” to coordinate between the different government bodies involved in the annexation process.
• Following Gantz’s order to accelerate the IDF’s preparations, Israel’s top security chiefs met on June 3rd to discuss a variety of scenarios that might play out in Jordan, the West Bank, and Gaza after annexation is announced. The IDF was reportedly scheduled to hold a massive war game on June 3rd 
• Israeli Mossad chief Yossi Cohen reportedly met with Egyptian officials to discuss the annexation plan.
• According to Israel Hayom (the paper owned by Sheldon Adelson), Israeli officials reportedly participated in secret talks with Saudi Arabia and the U.S., with Jordan’s approval, about increasing Saudi Arabia’s role vis-a-vis the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif as a means of curbing the growing Turkish presence there. The paper reported that these talks included the possibility of allowing Saudi Arabia to appoint representatives to the Islamic Waqf, the religious body which plays an important role in managing the Islamic Holy sites. While Israeli media pitched this effort as having the support of Jordan (which controls the Waqf), ICG analyst Ofer Zalzberg reported that this is not the case, and suggested “Team Netanyahu seems to be using Israel Hayom to give Israelis the sense that the Trump administration isn’t alone in supporting Israeli annexation, by giving the impression KSA has something to gain from such a move — namely influence over al-Aqsa.”
• Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior PLO and Fatah official, told the Jerusalem Post that Israel has already begun removing signs that warn Israeli citizens from entering certain areas in the Jordan Valley (i.e., areas that are outside of Area C) which are slated to be annexed under the Trump Plan.

Netanyahu Tries & Fails to Woo Settler Support for His (Not Trump’s) Annexation Plan

Settlers and Netanyahu sparred over the Trump Plan in private and public over the past week. On June 2nd Netanyahu met with leading settler opponents of the Trump Plan in a bid to win their silence, if not their outright support. Details of the meeting were quickly leaked and sparked a war of words in the press.

From the leaked details, it appears Netanyahu had three goals in this meeting. First, Netanyahu had to tell the settlers that annexation is likely to be delayed until sometime after July 1st. 

Second, Netanyahu tried to persuade the settlers to stop public criticism of the Trump Administration and its plan, saying: “Your campaigns and statements against the Trump plan are only hindering the goal of annexation in as wide a scope as possible. You’re tickling the tail of the bear, and the bear isn’t even here yet.”

Third, Netanayahu sought to assure the settlers that he is, in fact, in total control of the annexation process, and has not – and will not – accept the elements of the Trump Plan to which the settlers most strongly object (namely, the acceptance, in principle, of a future Palestinian state and the creation of non-contiguous settlement enclaves). The Hebrew-language Maariv outlet reports that Netanyahu said to the leaders something along the lines of “You can relax. We haven’t agreed to what you’re afraid we’ll agree to.”  Haaretz reports that Netanyahu told the settlers that he will not acquiesce to all of the Trump Plan’s conditions, and that he does not plan to bring the entire Trump Plan up for a vote, but will instead bring up only the pieces of the plan he likes. He further promised that acceptance of (the legitimacy of theoretical, future) Palestinian statehood would not be included in the annexation proposal for which he will seek approval, a key concern of the settlers [in the recent words of Bezalel Smotrich, “Either the settlements have a future, or the Palestinian state does — but not both.”]. Netanyahu said that his commitment to the future possibility of a Palestinian state would be declarative and not a firm commitment.

Netanyahu was apparently not able to placate the settlers – who left the meeting focused on and furious over the fact that Netanyahu refuses to show them the proposed annexation map – which one settler said was an even bigger concern for the leadership than the future possibility of a Palestinian state (bearing in mind that, at least in theory, that map is still being delineated/negotiated by the US-Israel mapping team). 

One day after the meeting in which Netanyahu beseeched settlers to withhold their criticism of the Trump Plan, David Elhayani, chairman of the umbrella Yesha Council representing the settlers, said that Trump is “not a friend of Israel.” The harsh comments prompted a swift response from Netanyahu, who released a statement saying: “President Trump is a great friend of Israel’s. He has led historic moves for Israel’s benefit…It is regrettable that instead of showing gratitude, there are those who are denying his friendship.”

The spat continued to escalate, with an anonymous settlement mayor telling The Times of Israel that a group of settlers were prepared to “blow up” the Trump deal if Netanyahu continues his refusal to share the annexation map with the settlers, and that the Trump Plan is like being forced to eat cake at gunpoint. These comments might have been a bridge too far, even for Elhayani who has been a bombastic and outspoken leader since his election to Yesha Council chairman in November 2019. According to The Times of Israel, Elhayani’s fellow settler leaders have called for his resignation, saying that he is “humiliating” the settlers. 

One settler who has been critical of Elhayani’s defiant approach is Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi, who supports the Trump Plan. Revivi penned an op-ed in Haaretz (not a media outlet known to be a settler favorite), pleading with his fellow settler leaders to join him in welcoming the Trump Plan’s offering of sovereignty. Revivi pleads:

“For the first time ever, we are not talking about our border being the ceasefire lines of 1948 or 1967. We are talking about ensuring and securing what is already ours. What can the settlements guarantee our children? Have we forgotten the recent national campaigns by settlement leaders to apply sovereignty over just Ma’ale Adumim? And later, the calls to apply sovereignty calls over Gush Etzion, and only much later to other regions? Those were attempts to secure only ‘settlement blocs,’ one at a time, with no likelihood of international recognition. But Trump’s plan allows us to achieve sovereignty for every town in Judea and Samaria – and right away. We can debate the merits of the Trump plan’s parameters for negotiating towards a Palestinian state, but like it or not, the Palestinians are not going anywhere. We must now take a look inside, at ourselves. We, as settlers, have achieved great things. We, settlers, are part of Israeli society. We, settlers, understand the importance of international recognition. This self-introspection reveals how far we have come, and why it is now our responsibility to embrace the Trump program – and apply Israeli law according to its framework throughout Judea and Samaria.”

Trump Admin Supports Netanayhu’s Plan to Annexing Jordan Valley Without Annexing Palestinians

A Trump administration official supported comments by Prime Minister Netanayahu last week suggesting that Israel will annex the Jordan Valley without annexing Palestinians living in it (and therefore not granting the rights as citizens or residents of Israel). The U.S. official said, “I don’t anticipate Palestinians becoming Israeli, based on the principles laid out in the plan.”

If annexation plays out along those lines, Palestinians living in areas of the Jordan Valley that will be annexed to Israel (with the approval of the Trump Administration) will apparently live in enclaves of territory under the “control” of the Palestinian Authority, though completely surrounded by the state of Israel and whatever military/security presence it inflicts upon the encircled and dispossed Palestinian population.  That is, of course, if they are not forcibly displaced by Israel to other areas.

Silwan Residents Petition High Court Against Ateret Cohanim

Ir Amim and 22 Palestinian families filed a petition with the High Court of Justice to stop a settler-run land trust from forcefully seizing land and homes in the Batan al-Hawa section Silwan, a Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood where 700 people are facing eviction from their longtime homes as a result of the settlers’ effort. The petition argues that the radical settler group Ateret Cohanim is using the Benvenisti Trust as a front for displacing Palestinians, pointing out that the trust does not have a separate organizational structure, bank account,  lawyer, or accountant – and that Ateret Cohanim has folded the operations of the trust into its own operations and there is no distinction between the management or assets of the two entities. [map]

Ir Amim’s attorney Ishay Shneydor told Haaretz: 

“[The materials show] that this is a planned process of Ateret Cohanim in order to use the trust as a platform to forcefully seize the property.”

The trust itself was founded in 1899 and built houses in what is now the Batan al-Hawa section in order to resettle Jewish Yemenite immigrants. The houses were later abandoned under British pressure in 1938, during the Arab Revolt against British rule. The buildings the trust had built were later demolished.

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/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. Palestinians have fought back against Ateret Cohanim-initiated evictions, unsuccessfully arguing against the validity of the Trust/Ateret Cohanim’s ownership of the land. Most recently in January 2020, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court rejected the Palestinians’ arguments and upheld the Trust/Ateret Cohanim’s ownership of the land. That ruling set a key precedent paving the way for the mass eviction of as many as 700 Palestinians from their homes in Silwan.

The new petition filed this week does not take up the same arguments, and instead challenges the legality of the functional operations of the Trust/Ateret Cohanim.

In reaction to the January 2020 rulings, Peace Now added important context in a statement: 

“This is an attempt to displace a Palestinian community and to replace it with an Israeli one, in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The settlers could not have succeeded without the Israeli authorities’ close support and assistance. In addition to the hard blow to the prospects for a two-state solution by preventing a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, this is an injustice and an act of cruelty to throw out families who have lived lawfully in their homes for decades.”

Also in reaction to the January 2020 rulings, Ir Amim said:  

“The Ateret Cohanim settler organization is waging one of the most comprehensive settler takeover campaigns in East Jerusalem through initiating mass eviction proceedings against Palestinian families in Batan al-Hawa.  Seventeen families have already been evicted with over 80 other households facing eviction demands, placing some 600-700 individuals of one community at risk of displacement. See Ir Amim’s and Peace Now’s joint report, “Broken Trust” for further details and analysis.”

HaMoked Files First-Ever Petition Seeking Removal of Section of the Separation Barrier

HaMoked filed a petition with the High Court of Justice seeking the removal of a section of the separation barrier which is preventing Palestinian farmers (7 of whom joined HaMoked in filing the petition) from accessing their lands in the northwest of the West Bank. The petition argues that the barrier in this area does not serve a security need and has caused severe harm to Palestinian landowners. This is the first-ever petition seeking the removal of part of the barrier.

The petition focuses on a roughly 6-kilometer (3.7 mile) section of the barrier just east of the 1967 Green Line. Since the construction of the separation barrier in this area in 2005, the Israeli military has granted permits for Palestinian landowners to walk through a gate in the fence to access their land beyond to fence (this area is known as the seam zone). The 7 Palestinian farmers who submitted the petition argue that the Israeli military has gradually reduced the number of permits issued to landowners and implemented a series of policies that have further limited their ability to cultivate the land and make a living.

Jessica Montell, HaMoked Executive Director said in a statement

“This petition is the inevitable result of 15 years of experience with the military’s seam zone permit regime. Rather than facilitating access, as the military promised, this cumbersome bureaucracy serves to dispossess entire Palestinian communities of their land, stripping people of their livelihoods and their sources of income, without even the pretense of a security justification. In fact, there’s no security reason for the fence to be built inside the West Bank in this area. So we expect the High Court to make sure that where the fence is designed to dispossess Palestinians rather than protect security – it will be dismantled.”

Shaul Arieli, an Israeli expert on the separation barrier, submitted an opinion in support of the petition, noting that dismantling this section of the fence and relocating it to the west, along the Green Line, would not only end the disruption of life for the Palestinian famers, but would also better serve Israel’s security needs. A barrier along the Green Line in this area would be preferable according to the security parameters the military itself defined: topographical superiority, observation, advance warning, pursuit and other operational considerations.

E-1 Settlement Plans Are Moving Again, Following West Bank “Planning Freeze” During COVID Emergency 

On June 3rd, the Israeli military order that froze planning processes in the West Bank during the COVID19 emergency period expired. 

Now, the clock is once again ticking on two separate plans for the construction of the E1 settlement just east of Jerusalem. A few days prior to the planning freeze, the E-1 plans had been deposited for public review and submission of objections. Now, Ir Amim reports the public commenting period is set to close on July 23rd.

Jerusalem Municipality to Destroy  200 Palestinians Businesses in East Jerusalem to Build “Silicon Wadi” Industrial Zone

According to the Jerusalem Post, the Jerusalem Municipality is poised to demolish buildings rented by some 200 Palestinian-owned businesses in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of East Jerusalem – located just north of the Old City – as part of plans to develop “Silicon Wadi,” a project the Municipality claims will build a large industrial zone for hi-tech, commercial, and hospitality businesses.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the government’s investment in the “Silicon Wadi” project is part of the Israeli government’s five-year plan for economic development in East Jerusalem. A Municipality official claimed that the Palestinian businessowners have agreed to this plan, and have been compensated for their eviction.

The chairman of East Jerusalem’s Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kamal Obeidat, called the planned demolitions a “racist order” to to change the character of the Palestinian city and use the land to build Israeli structures.

Grassroots Jerusalem explains the history and current reality facing the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood:

“Overlooking the Mount of Olives and the Kidron Valley, Wadi al-Joz was once the city’s industrial zone until the First and then the Second Intifada. The area is under the jurisdiction of Israeli civil law under the Jerusalem Municipality. As with many neighbourhoods in the area surrounding the Old City, Wadi al-Joz is experiencing severe challenges with the 2009 approved ‘Master Zone Plan’ and the subsequent aggressive expansion of Jewish presence in the area.”

American Duty Free Millionaire Involved in Fraudulent Acquisition of Palestinian Land Case

A Palestinian family is fighting to reclaim rights to their land near the Beit El settlement from Simon Falic – a prominent Netanyahu and Trump donor whose family owns the “Duty Free Americas” retail chain. Falic was transferred rights to the land via a highly unusual, and allegedly fraudulent, process.

According to Haaretz, the complicated transfer of ownership started when the original landowner – Palestinian Sadki Hamdan – allegedly signed over his power of attorney to  Doron Nir-Tvi, a lawyer who lives in the West Bank outpost of Havat Yair. The power of attorney document authorized Nir-Zvi to transfer ownership of the land to another Palestinian, the late Ramadan Abu Halal. Abu Halal then allegedly transferred the land ownership to Simon Falic, whose signature is on a deed of sale even though the land was later registered to a settler-run organization, named Hakeren Liyad Midreshet Yisrael.

The family of Sadki Hamdan has pointed out numerous issues with the documents associated with the deal, including: Hamdan’s signature on the power of attorney document is not one they recognize from other papers he signed; the notary who certified the power of attorney document testified that no such document was ever signed in his presence; and the chronological order of documents is incongruent (Abu Halal appears to have transferred the land rights to Falic one month before he legally owned the land). Further, the heirs of Abu Halal (to whom the power of attorney transferred the land) believe the deal was fraudulent, saying they did not know about the land at all.

In July 2019, a report by the Associated Press revealed that the Falic family is a major source of financial support for some of the most radical settler groups in Israel. According to documents uncovered by The Democratic Bloc, the Florida-based Falic family is the single largest donor to Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu and has given over $5.6 million to settler groups over the past decade. For more on that story, see FMEP’s coverage here.

Tightening Control Over Area C, 91% of IDF Eviction Orders for Construction on “State Land” Are Against Palestinians

A new report by Kerem Navot and Haqel revealed that the Civil Administration systematically targets Palestinians with evacuation orders for entering/using land Israel has declared “state land.” Data from 2005-2018 shows that 91% of all evacuation orders (and 96% of the total acreage of land involved) related to incursions into “state land” were against Palestinians, while just 8.5% were against Israeli settlers. The data demonstrates, in part, that since 2005 Israel has acted in a manner contrary to its commitments in the Oslo Accords, seeking to remove Palestinians from land in Area C of the West Bank, while simultaneously and systematically allocating “state land” to the settlers.

The authors argue that the nature of eviction orders – which require more management, enforcement, and draw more appeals compared to seizure orders – makes the data revealed by their issues particularly indicative of Israel’s political vision for the West Bank, which, as noted above, does not accord with the notion of a temporary occupation. 

The authors further observe:

“A closer examination reveals that solely one quarter (24.7%) of the territory included in the eviction orders is located within settlements’ areas of jurisdiction, while the rest is located on land that does not belong to any specific settlement. This fact indicates that the Civil Administration is attempting to curb Palestinian development in much more expansive areas than those alloted to settlements to date.”

The report also notes how settler organizations – most prominently Regavim – have aided the state (with the encouragement of the state) in monitoring Palestinian “trespassing” (the vast majority of eviction orders were against agricultural activity) onto “state land,” and have assisted in enforcing eviction orders against them.
Dror Etkes of Kerem Navot said:

“When you examine the locations of the eviction notices, you see a strong correlation between territory Israel has for many years devoted great efforts to annex and the numbers of orders, as well as their sizes.”

The full report and analysis of the eviction orders can be read online here.

Al-Haq Report on the Atarot Industrial Settlement Zone

In a new report entitled “Atarot Settlement:The Industrial Key in Israel’s Plan to Permanently Erase Palestine,” Al-Haq takes a deep dive into the details of Israel’s plan to build the Atarot settlement industrial zone (in the northern part of East Jerusalem) and its consequences for Palestinians, individually and collectively.

The report  provides essential data and background information on the role of industrial settlements in Israel’s occupation and seizure of Palestinian land and resources and then closely documents Israel’s development of plans for the Atarot industrial zone.

Al-Haq concludes:

“The Atarot industrial settlement is constructed on layers of human rights abuses. This is evidenced in Israel’s deliberated disregard of the presence of Palestinian residents and appropriation of their land where the Atarot industrial settlement has been established. Moreover, it is continued through the imposition of unacceptable living conditions for Palestinian residents therein. In addition, the case of the Atarot industrial settlement reflects Israel’s wider discriminatory planning and zoning regime. The regime entails the confiscation and appropriation of Palestinian land, the systematic denial of building permits, and creates an uninhabitable environment for Palestinians. Currently, the Atarot industrial settlement highlights the immediate and longterm environmental impacts of the existence of similar industrial settlements in the OPT, directly affecting the health of the Palestinian communities. While the deepest impacts of the Atarot industrial settlement are contained in Israel’s long term plan to accelerate economic development there, as a key to economically supporting a radical and all-consuming colonisation of Palestine and erasure of Palestinian presence.”

Emek Shaveh Releases New Interactive Map of Settler Projects in Jerusalem’s Historic Basin

Emek Shaveh released a new multifaceted interactive map showing settler initiatives that impact Jerusalem’s archeological sites. Along with their analysis of the settler projects, the map provides a clear picture of the totality of initiatives that settlers and the Israeli government are advancing to increase their claim to, control over, and presentation of sacred sites around Jerusalem – and the manipulation of archeology to serve their agenda.

Emek Shaveh said in an email:

“In the 53 years [since 1967] that have ensued, the historic center of Jerusalem has undergone enormous change. Although in the 1970s and 1980s large areas of the Jewish Quarter and Silwan were under excavation, most of the significant changes to the character of the city have occured over the past 25 years with the rise of the settlers as key players in defining the agenda for archaeological excavations and tourism development in the Historic Basin. The goal of advancing historic sites as a means to promote exclusive Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem’s historic core has now been coopted as government policy. Today, the settlers and government agencies work together practically seamlessly to create a narrow historic and symbolic landscape. 

The reality around Jerusalem’s historic sites is complicated by the multiplicity of private and government players with varying responsibilities. It makes any objection to projects an extremely complex bureaucratic process. We, in Emek Shaveh, often find ourselves trying to explain the intricate map of interests and players at key historic sites. To make this information more accessible we are pleased to offer you this interactive political and historical map of Jerusalem. The map features two separate, but related, layers. The historical layers present the wealth of historical periods and the history of Jerusalem’s monuments and sites over the centuries. The other layer maps the central private and governmental bodies currently managing and operating major archaeological sites in the Historic Basin.”

Bonus Reads

1. “A Would-Be Netanyahu Nemesis Snipes From the Sidelines“ (New York Times)
2. “Letter to HeidelbergCement Regarding Nahal Raba Quarry Expansion” (Human Rights Watch)
3. “For the Settlers in the West Bank, It Will Never Be Enough” (Haaretz) 
4. “Peace Now activists warn: Annexation will lead to war” (Jerusalem Post)