Bethlehem/PNN / By : Madeeha Al-Aaraj
The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements ( nbprs ) stated in its latest weekly report , that as expected, the Naftali Bennett - Yatir Lapid’s Government didn’t last long, but it was the most extreme in pushing a number of settlement plans, followed the footstep of Netanyahu's governments in encouraging and deepening settlements, although some parties in the government, such as, Meretz and the Zionist left-wing had pledged in the election campaigns to prevent the construction of more housing units in the settlements. After it announced the dissolution of the Knesset, it built thousands of units in settlements blocs in the depths of the West Bank, and revived the construction plan in the so-called E1 area in the vicinity of the "Ma'ale Adumim" settlement, east of occupied Jerusalem
It also transferred funds to settlement councils and enabled them to act against Palestinian construction and promoted construction in isolated settlements. In a year it was the actual promotion of 7,292 settlement units allowed, while the construction rate during the years of Benjamin Netanyahu's rule reached 6,000 units per year. Disappointment prevailed among the international community with the Bennett-Lapid government, which not only followed the path of the Netanyahu governments in settlement expansion, but also escalated the demolition of Palestinian homes and facilities. of Palestinian buildings compared to the last year of the current government, as 614 homes were demolished.
A quick inventory shows that the far-right government in Israel has approved since the beginning of this year, a number of settlement projects with a political and settlement expansionist dimension to erase the Green Line separating the 1948 and the setback of 1967, and its latest achievements were the approval of 3 settlement projects south of occupied Jerusalem on both sides of the Green Line approved the construction of about 1,698 settlement units in 3 different areas in the depth of West Jerusalem in a clear effort to separate Jerusalem from Bethlehem once and for all and link it to the settlement bloc “Kfar Etzion” within the vision of the “Greater Jerusalem” project.
According to the plans of the occupation authorities, about 11% of the area of the occupied West Bank, perhaps what is interesting about these projects is what this government and the municipality of the occupation have revealed about documents which prove that Israel has practically canceled the cease-fire agreements of 1949. This clearly appears from the maps that crossed out the Green Line of 1949. It is not available to the public because its publication would harm Israel's foreign relations.
Although the demarcation and path of the Green Line is found in international documents, the decision to write off the Green Line was adopted by the State of Israel and worked to cross out the land, and the Bennett government deepened that – especially after the Planning and Building Committee in occupied Jerusalem approved dozens of settlement projects ignoring this line. The most recent of which was the approval of 3 settlement plans this month located on the borders of West Jerusalem and in its depth to the north of Al Walaja to expand the settlement (Kiryat Hayovel) towards the south of the West Bank, with 730 new settlement units.
The new settlement plans include hundreds of medium-sized settlement units, kindergartens, synagogues, and new schools, and hundreds of housing units in buildings from 10 to 30 floors in a number of schemes. The first plan is located within the western borders of Jerusalem and includes the construction of 116 settlement units in a 20-storey tower, while the second plan includes 612 settlement units that will be built in 5 buildings, of 10 floors, in addition to a third scheme based on lands between Sur Baher and the industrial area of Tel Piot towards the southern border of Jerusalem, which includes the construction of 240 housing units in 5 buildings of 10 floors and a tower of 30 floors, isolated and surrounded by a security fence and guarding the vicinity of Sur Baher and Umm Tuba.
On the other hand, the occupation municipality in Jerusalem is planning to organize a major provocative sporting event in which the flags of the occupation will be raised in the occupied city of Jerusalem in the middle of next July, with the participation of thousands of Israelis from around the world. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the occupation supervise this event called the Maccabi Games, which means a special Jewish Olympic Games in which athletes from Jewish communities from all over the world participate
