Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.
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December 13, 2024
- More Demolitions in Silwan Imminent, Threatening Displacement and Replacement
- Israel Seizes Land Northwest of Jerusalem, Possibly to Expand Settlement
- Israel Demolishes Structures in “Agreed Upon Reserve” Near Bethlehem
- Weiss Details Work Towards Gaza Settlements
- Settlers Move on Plans to Settle South Lebanon & Syria
- U.S. Senator Intro’s Bill to Compel U.S. Adoption of Settler Terminology “Judea and Samaria”
- U.S. Democrats Introduce Bill to Codify Biden’s Sanctions on Violent Settlers
- Bonus Reads
More Demolitions in Silwan Imminent, Threatening Displacement and Replacement
Ir Amim and Peace Now continue to raise the alarm on the escalation in demolitions targeting Palestinians in Silwan, particularly in the Batan al-Hawa and al-Bustan sections of the neighborhood. In al-Bustan, it is particularly concerning that the Israeli government is rapidly pursuing its plans to displace the entire neighborhood in order to construct the “King’s Garden” tourist site.
Ir Amim explains:
“The entire neighborhood of Al Bustan, which contains approximately 115 houses and home to over 1500 Palestinians, is under threat of largescale demolition as a result of Israeli plans to establish a tourist and archaeological park in the area. Most of the homes are considered unauthorized by the Israeli authorities due to the inability to obtain building permits and therefore subject to demolition, which is a direct result of discrimination implicit within the Israeli planning system. For years, Al Bustan residents have engaged in negotiations with the Jerusalem Municipality in an attempt to secure an equitable housing solution for the community, which would legalize building and enable proper residential development. Yet, negotiations have recently broke down, and all legal channels have been exhausted, effectively removing all safeguards.”
Peace Now said in a statement:
“The Jerusalem Municipality has begun a systematic campaign to demolish an entire residential neighborhood in East Jerusalem to build a tourist park. This is an injustice that cannot go unnoticed. Instead of caring for the thousands of Jerusalem residents, the municipality is acting against them. The residents of al-Bustan invested years preparing a building plan to legalize their homes, but the municipality has refused to advance any plan. Jerusalem is not a unified city; it is a city of occupation, dispossession and discrimination.”
The demolition plans in Batan al-Hawa are no less cynical, and – like all over East Jerusalem – only one means by which settlers are displacing and replacing Palestinians. Ateret Cohanim has waged a complementary legal battle to gain ownership rights to homes in Silwan that were owned by Jews prior to 1948 – – though the homes are currently (and in some cases for generations) inhabited by Palestinians. In Batan al-Hawa, Ateret Cohanim recently won rights to the Gheith family home – and with the transfer of ownership imminent the house was burnt down allegedly by Palestinians.
Israel Seizes Land Northwest of Jerusalem, Possibly to Expand Settlement
Middle East Eye reports that Israel has seized control of Palestinian land historically belonging to the villages of Qatanna and Biddu. The land is located on the Israeli side of the separation barrier, which has been cut off from the villages for over two decades (meaning the Israeli state de-facto annexed this land already on the pretext of security). The land (5.5 hectares) was seized as “state land” and it is speculated that it will be allocated to the Har Adar settlement to enable its expansion.
Israel Demolishes Structures in “Agreed Upon Reserve” Near Bethlehem
On December 12th, Israeli forces demolished seven Palestinian structures on land near Bethlehem that was designated as Area B by the Oslo Accords, meaning the Palestinian Authority is supposed to have full control over the civil administration of the land – including building enforcement laws/regulations. These demolitions follow Israel’s decision in August 2024 to memorialize its formal control over construction enforcement in an area of land designated as an “Agreed Upon Reserve” as delineated by the Wye Agreement in 1998, at which time the Palestinian Authority was granted civilian control, much to the dismay of settlers and their government allies who have been agitating for control over an ever-increasing amount of land in the West Bank in order, at least in part, to demolish Palestinian construction in the area.
Weiss Details Work Towards Gaza Settlements
In a detailed and sourced thread on X, Yehuda Shaul (Founder of Ofek) details recent television program featuring Daniella Weiss, the leader of the Nachala Movement and the effort to establish settlements in Gaza. The program delved into Weiss’s 5-stage plan to establish GAza settlements, claiming to have already raised NIS 15 million for the effort (reportedly from Brazilian sources), some of which has been used to purchase 40 caravans, generators and furniture.
Nachala is already at work on all points of this plan, particularly what is labelled as phase 3, “establishing a temporary settlement on the Gaza border to serve as a jumping-off point for entering Gaza when the opportunity presents itself.” Shaul further highlights the role that the IDF’s current presence and entrenchment in Gaza play – Weiss plans to coop military infrastructure to sustain long term settlements.
Settlers Move on Plans to Settle South Lebanon & Syria
+972 Magazine reports on the efforts of various (and growing) settler groups to establish outposts in southern Lebanon and, now, south Syria as the Israeli military occupies these lands.
Last week, settlers succeeded in crossing into Southern Lebanon and erecting a few tents in an attempt to stay there. The IDF removed settlers rather quickly,, but that did not dash the hopes and plans of settlers to establish a long term presence there.
Amos Azaria, who founded the Uri Tsafon organization aimed at settling southern Lebanon, told +972 Magazine:
““The first time we’re evicted, we go…The second time, we stay longer. The [third] time, we stay the night. That’s how we’ll continue until there is a settlement. At first, [the army] demolishes it, and then they reach an agreement that there will be one settlement, and that’s it. In the meantime, we start working on the next settlement. It may not be realistic that the state will build a settlement [of its own accord], but that doesn’t mean the state has to demolish a community that we built. “
Earlier this year Uri Tsfon hosted a conference dedicated to planning the settlement of Lebanon, and in October it published flyers advertising homes for sale across the Israeli border, in sovereign Lebanese territory
On the Uri Tsafon Facebook page many people posted messages expressing urgency in settling territory in Syria. The Nachala Movement, headed by Daniella Weiss, even posted:
“Whoever still thinks it’s possible to leave our fate in the hands of a foreign actor — forsakes Israel’s security! Jewish settlement is the only thing that will bring about regional stability and security for the State of Israel, along with a stable economy, national resilience, and deterrence. In Gaza, in Lebanon, in the entire Golan Heights including the ‘Syrian Plateau,’ and in the entire Mount Hermon.”
U.S. Senator Intro’s Bill to Compel U.S. Adoption of Settler Terminology “Judea and Samaria”
FMEP’s Lara Friedman reports that Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a bill to “prohibit the use of materials that use the term ‘West Bank’, and for other purposes.” If passed into law, the bill would remove all references to “West Bank” from U.S. government documents, replacing them with the biblical name used by Israeli settlers. This bill mirrors a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2024. The House bill has made no progress and gained no new co-sponsors.
Friedman further explains:
“Notably, while both the Cotton bill and HR 7552 explicitly seek to compel the use of the terms “Judea and Samaria” to refer to the entire West Bank, the bills’ text specifies that it is referring to land “annexed by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War.” Which suggests either (a) very sloppy drafting on the part of whomever wrote the bill, (b) that Cotton and Tenney intend the word “annex” in a sense other than the legal one (since as of this writing Israel has not moved to formally annex any of the West Bank other than East Jerusalem and its West Bank environs; or (c) that the drafters of this bill are intentionally seeking to have the US formally recognize West Bank annexation by Israel in advance of – and in fact, irrespective of – a formal declaration of annexation by Israel.”
U.S. Democrats Introduce Bill to Codify Biden’s Sanctions on Violent Settlers
FMEP’s Lara Friedman reports that on December 10th a group of Democratic lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representative introduced companion legislation that would “codify Executive Order 14115 imposing certain sanctions on persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.” Over the past year the Biden Administration has issued a total of 33 sanctions targeting individuals and entities alleged to have participated in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Since the election of Donald Trump (who takes office on January 20, 2025), settlers have prioritized lobbying for the repeal of Biden’s sanctions.
Bonus Reads
- “Intensification of Surveillance in East Jerusalem Since October 2023.” (7amleh)
- “West Bank Monthly Snapshot – Casualties, Property Damage and Displacement | November 2024” (OCHA OPT)
- “Katz orders IDF to prepare for Judea and Samaria escalation” (JNS)