Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.
How an “Educational farm” in Wadi Rababa is really another conquest for eradicating Palestinian heritage and agriculture at the hands of Israeli colonialism.
A fence was erected around the “educational farm” in Wadi Rababa
The Ir David Foundation, a right-wing organization in “Israel”, opened an “Educational farm” in Wadi Rababa, where the land is registered under the name of the “Israel” Nature and Parks Authority (INPA).
The farm, which opened in August, boasts attractions that allow visitors to learn about so-called “traditional agriculture.”
The funny part?
Many of the olive groves located in the adjacent neighborhoods of Abu Tor and Silwan neighborhoods that have been cultivated by Palestinians for years, are strategically left out of the farm in an attempt to replace the current traditions with a right-wing Jewish version.
Ir David, the supposed nonprofit organization whose funding mainly comes from transferred US funds in the form of nondisclosed donations, runs the site, and settles Jewish families in the neighboring Silwan.
Even some Israelis were taken aback by the brazen attack on the Palestinian land. A member of the left-wing Emek Shahveh organization commented by saying, ” The infuriating thing about what’s happening in the ‘Hinnom Valley’ is that in the name of development that masquerades as an ancient agricultural landscape, they are displacing the traditional Palestinian agriculture that has preserved the historic character of the place.”
National Park or Constructed Disaster?
In 1974, “Israel” bestowed the area around the Old City with national park status.
According to the INPA, development-related activity may be carried out anywhere in the area in order to protect the land and render it accessible to visitors.
Ahmed Somrin, whose family owns property in Abu Tor and Silwan, says they “clean up this land and pick the olives that are here every year.”
Somrin details how land near Silwan and Wadi el Joz that has been cultivated by his family for generations has been handed a landscaping order. Of course, owners of land are not permitted to interfere with “temporary gardening”.
Since a recent court decision ruled that the INPA was permitted to enter the olive tree area in order to maintain and clean it as a “fire precaution,” the INPA recently entered Somrin’s property, and broke through a wall in the process.
ICRC data revealed that “over the period of one year (August 2020 – August 2021) more than 9,300 trees were destroyed in the occupied West Bank.”
According to a study published in 2012 by the “Applied Research Institute Jerusalem” (ARIJ), Israeli occupation forces have uprooted 800,000 Palestinian olive trees in the West Bank since 1967.
Wall broken by INPA to access Ahmad Somrin’s olive grove.
“The Nature and Parks Authority built walls there and turned over the earth and put down red dirt and planted centuries-old trees from who knows where,” Somrin said.
“They want to change the face of it to make it look not like Arab land but like Jewish nature.”
The Israeli occupation continues demolishing, bulldozing, and desecrating graves in al-Yusufiya Cemetery in Bab Al-Asbat, occupied al-Quds.
The mother of Alaa Nababita, a late Palestinian whose grave was desecrated by the Israeli occupation
The Israeli occupation forces assaulted the mother of a late Palestinian young man, Alaa Nababita, who’s buried in the al-Yusufiya Cemetery, which the IOF is desecrating.
The forces assaulted the mother in a bid to prevent her from entering the cemetery ahead of bulldozing it.
The mother was holding on to her son’s grave with agony and despair filling her eyes while attempting to prevent the oppressive Israeli occupation from demolishing and desecrating her son’s grave.
She told reporters a female Israeli soldier physically assaulted her and prevented her from entering the cemetery to protect her son’s grave, as the occupation was demolishing said cemetery. “Even the dead were not spared from the savage occupation’s brutality,” the mother mourned.
The scene was heart-shattering, and it goes to show the extent to which the Israeli occupation is willing to go to serve its colonialist purpose on Palestinian territory, for as the mother said in sorrow over her loved one’s resting place: Even the dead were not spared.
The mother was ultimately able to reach her son’s grave; the above video shows her citing verses from the Qur’an over her son’s grave while crying over the undetermined fate of his resting place in light of Israeli greed.
The al-Quds municipality and the “Israel Nature and Parks Authority” continued bulldozing the Islamic al-Yusufiya Cemetery today. The demolitions saw the IOF changing many aspects of the cemetery and even desecrating several graves there. The cemetery is flanked by the eastern wall of the Old City of al-Quds, near Bab al-Asbat, one of the minarets of the al-Aqsa mosque.
The demolitions resumed today after the Israeli Magistrate’s Court rejected last week a request filed by the Islamic Cemetery Care Committee to suspend them in the cemetery adjacent to al-Yusufiya, which contains the graves of martyrs. The committee had previously managed to obtain an order prohibiting the violations committed against the cemetery in December.
The Israeli occupation had exhumed several graves on October 11, leading to the exposure of remains, which Jerusalemites had returned to their graves following the desecration.
Israeli staff surrounded the parameter of the cemetery, which the municipality of occupied al-Quds wants to bulldoze in favor of building a “Bible Trail.” The area the ‘trail’ will be covering is around 29 dunums.
The al-Yusufiya Cemetry is the most renowned Islamic cemetery in the Holy City, and this attack on it as a resting place for the dead constitutes a violation of the rights of Muslims not only in occupied Al-Quds but all over occupied Palestine.
Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestine
29 July – 4 August 2021
IOF excessive use of force renders 1 Palestinian killed during funeral
7 Palestinians wounded, one in critical condition, in IOF excessive use of force in the West Bank
In 129 IOF incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem: 48 civilians arrested, including 3 children and a woman
Israeli naval forces arrest 2fishermen and confiscates their fishing boat while at sea
IOF raid Bisan Centre for Research and Development and Defense for Children International (DCI) in Ramallah, and al-Bustan Association in Jerusalem and confiscate items
IOF conducts wide-scale demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valleys in favor of settlement expansion
IOF established 67 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank and arrested 2 Palestinian civilians on said checkpoints
Summary
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued to commit crimes and multi-layered violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of force, assault, abuse and attacks on civilians, turning the West Bank into isolated blocks of land. Israeli settlement expansion on Palestinian properties and land continued.. Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip enters its 15th year under closure, exacerbating the humanitarian hardships across the territory.
IOF shooting and violation of right to bodily integrity:
IOF killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded 7 others in the West Bank. On 29 July 2021, Shawkat K. A. Za’aqeeq (21) died few hours after IOF shooting wounded him, along with 5 other civilians, during the funeral of a child killed by IOF in a previous day in Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, south of the West Bank. This crime is another stark example of IOF murders against Palestinians due to its excessive use of force. Two other Palestinians sustained wounds, one deemed in critical condition, during IOF raid into Jenin. Dozens suffocated due to tear gas inhalation, fired by IOF in its attacks in the West Bank.
IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians: IOF carried out 129 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids of civilian houses and shootings, enticing fear among civilians, and attacking many of them. During this week’s incursions, 48 Palestinians were arrested, including 3 children and a woman. This week witnessed an escalation in IOF attacks against Palestinian civil society organizations in the oPt, as IOF raided 3 CSOs and confiscated items: Bisan Centre for Research and Development and Defense for Children International (DCI) in Ramallah, where IOF broke doors, searched and damaged contents; and al-Bustan Association in Jerusalem where IOF confiscated items and arrested its Director, Qutaiba Owda (30). Owda remains in Israeli custody as of issuing this report.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF arrested 2 fishermen and confiscated their fishing boat while at sea off Gaza’s northern shore. This incident is yet another example of IOF recurrent attacks on Palestinian fishermen, denying them the right to work freely and access to populated fishing area. IOF also conducted a limited incursions into eastern Khan Younis.
Demolitions:
PCHR fieldworkers documented 6 violations:
Northern Jordan valleys: 4 Palestinians delivered demolition notices for their homes; tractor confiscated; 3 houses destroyed along with sheep barns and water tanks. IOF confiscated solar panels (belonging to 3 families), a power generator, and private vehicles (belonging to 2 families). IOF demolished 3 dwellings in central Jordan valleys.
Occupied East Jerusalem: 3 brothers forced to self-demolish their apartments (3) in al-Tor neighborhood; 16 shops destroyed and a fence near Hizma military checkpoint.
Nablus: agricultural room destroyed in Sebastia.
Settler-attacks: PCHR fieldworkers reported and documented one settler attack from “Har Brakha” settlement, southeastern Nablus, on Burin village, during the attack settlers cut with chainsaws 6 telecom pillars connected to civilian houses.
Israeli closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement:
This week, Israeli occupation authorities announced a series of relief measures for Gaza, including expanding the fishing area from 6 to 12 nautical miles, allowing the entry of equipment and goods for projects sponsored by the international community in the Gaza Strip in the food, medicine, and fishing sectors.
However, IOF continue to ban the entry of dozens of goods, including construction materials, and to impose collective punishment measures against the Gaza Strip, by tightening its closure, which entered its 15th year without an end in sight, denying Palestinians from enjoying their full economic, social, and cultural rights.
Meanwhile, IOF continued to divide the West Bank into separate cantons with key roads blocked by the Israeli occupation since the 2000 Second Intifada -still closed to this date- and with temporary and permanent checkpoints, where civilian movement is restricted, and they are subject to arrest, especially at al-Karama border crossing, alongside the Palestinian-Jordanian border.
I. Shooting and other Violations of the Right to Life and Bodily Integrity
At approximately 19:00 on Thursday, 29 July 2021, in excessive use of force, a Palestinian civilian died few hours after his injury by IOF along with 5 other civilians during the funeral of a child killed by IOF in a previous day in Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, south of the West Bank.
According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 13:00 on Thursday, the funeral of Mohammed Moayad Bahjat Shehda Abu Sarah (12), who was killed by IOF on Wednesday when the latter opened fire at his father’s car at the village entrance, started from the central of Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron. When the mourners arrived at the intersection leading to the cemetery, a large number of IOF were deployed in the area and closed the street with military vehicles. Also, IOF fired teargas canisters at the mourners, so they were forced to flee towards the cemetery through a sub-road. A large number of villages remained on the street and threw stones at IOF. At approximately 14:00, IOF fired 2 live bullets from a distance of 70 meters at Shawkat Khaled ‘Abdullah Za’aqeeq (21); the first bullet penetrated his upper right abdomen, so he fell to the ground, while the second bullet penetrated his head during his attempt to get up off the ground. A number of Palestinian young men managed to reach Za’aqeeq and took him to a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance that transferred him to al-Mizan Specialized Hospital, where he underwent a surgery to stop the bleeding. At approximately 19:00, doctors announced Za’aqeeq dead succumbing to his wounds. During the clashes, which continued until 16:00, 5 civilians were shot with live and rubber bullets and taken to hospitals for treatment. It should be noted that during the clashes, IOF used a skunk carrying vehicle and flooded shops with wastewater. IOF continued to station at the village’s entrance, which was closed until night hours.
At approximately 18:00 on Saturday, IOF suppressed a peaceful sit-in called by families who are under the threat of evacuating their houses in favor of settlement associations in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, north of occupied East Jerusalem. PCHR’s fieldworker said that in the morning, a large number of IOF were deployed at the neighborhood’s entrances. At approximately 18:00, IOF surrounded the neighborhood, patrolled its intersections, and closed them with iron barriers. They also banned all Palestinians, including journalists and paramedics, from entering the neighborhood and checked their IDs.
Moreover, IOF assaulted Palestinians who organized a sit-in in a tent in the neighborhood, beat them with batons, forcibly vacated the tent, chased the protestors on the neighborhood’s streets, and pumped wastewater at them to disperse them. IOF also intentionally pumped wastewater at press crews and their equipment. Furthermore, IOF arrested Mohammed ‘Odah (16) after beating and pushing him.
It should be noted that a few days ago, Sheikh Jarrah families invited activists and media to gather and participate in the sit-in that was organized in front of the houses threatened with eviction, to support them emphasizing the importance of popular support for their cause, as the Supreme Court session on the displacement of 4 families from the neighborhood approaches. The families threatened of displacement from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood are: al-Kurd, Iskafi, al-Qasem and al-Ja’ouni. It should be mentioned that the Israeli Central Court had previously ratified the displacement decision.
At approximately 22:30 on Monday, 02 August 2021, IOF moved into Jenin-Hifa Street, west of Jenin, and fired teargas canisters at a wedding of Jamal Mohammed Tahayina, which was organized in al-Omara Hall, at the entrance to Silat al-Harithiya village. As a result, many persons suffocated due to teargas inhalation and received treatment on the spot. Also, the wedding was canceled due to IOF assault.
At approximately 02:00 on Tuesday, 03 August 2021, IOF moved into Jenin to conduct an arrest campaign. During which, a number of Palestinians gathered and threw stones at IOF vehicles. IOF fired live and rubber bullets, sound bombs and teargas canisters at the protestors. As a result, two protestors were injured with live bullets; one of them deemed serious and received treatment at Dr. Khalil Suliman Hospital. Also, many protestors suffocated due to teargas inhalation and received treatment on the spot.
II. Incursions and arrests
Thursday, 29 July 2021:
At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Dura, southwest of Hebron governorate. They raided and searched 2 houses and arrested 2 civilians: Nour Khaled Horoub (23), and Mo’taz Mohammed Horoub (21).
At approximately 02:35, IOF moved into Tell villages, southeast of Nablus. They raided and searched Ibrahim Mostafa ‘Abed’s (25) house and arrested him.
At approximately 03:30, IOF stormed the head office of Bisan Centre for Research and Development in al-Nahdah Building in al-MAsyoun neighborhood in Ramallah. They searched the Center’s offices, ransacked its contents, and seized 2 computers.
The Centre’s Director, Obay al-Aboudi, said to PCHR’s fieldworker that IOF banged down the Centre’s main door with a tool specifically for demolition and broke the glass of 3 interior doors. They thoroughly searched all the Centre’s lockers and seized 2 computers: a laptop and a computer set.
It should be noted that Bisan Center for Research and Development is a civil institution progressive democratic and non-profit working to enhance the steadfastness of the Palestinian people.
At approximately 05:00, IOF raided the headquarter of Defense for Children International (DCI), located on the first floor of al-Sirtawi building in Sateh Marhaba neighborhood, east of al-Bireh. IOF damaged the main door and searched the contents of the office and confiscated 6 computers and some folders.
According to information obtained by PCHR from ‘Amer Qteish, Director of the Accountability Program at DCI- Palestine, IOF banged down the office door and stayed there for an hour and a half and then withdrew, firing teargas canister all their way out of the building.
In the early morning hours, IOF arrested 2 fishermen and confiscated a fishing boat sailing off Gaza northern shore, as part of the Israeli harassment against Palestinian fishermen to prevent them from sailing and fishing freely in areas where fish breed.
According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 06:00, Israeli gunboats stationed offshore, adjacent to al-Waha area, northwest of Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza Strip, chased Palestinian fishing boats sailing at 3 nautical miles, and heavily opened fire around them. They surrounded a fishing boat belonging to Mohammed Abdul Razik Baker (50), from western Gaza Strip, arrested him along with his son, Mohammed (18), confiscated their fishing boat and took them to unknown destinations. At approximately 12:00, Baker and his son were released and their fishing boat was returned.
At approximately 19:30, IOF raided and searched Ma’rouf Ahmed al-Atrash’s (19) house in Beit Jala, west of Bethlehem governorate, and arrested him.
IOF carried out (5) incursions in Sa’ir, Aroub refugee camp and al-Tabqa villages in Hebron; Sebastia and al-Nassariya villages in Nablus governorate. No arrests were reported.
Friday, 30 July 2021
At approximately 02:30, IOF raided and searched Mahmoud Mohammed Salah’s (27) house in al-Khader village, west of Bethlehem governorate, and arrested him.
At approximately 14:00, IOF arrested Eissa Mohammed al-Herimi (22), from Hindaza area in Bethlehem governorate, while present in the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City.
At approximately 02:30, IOF raided and searched Hasan Tareq Ghannam’s (22) house in ‘Aqqaba village, west of Tubas, and arrested him.
IOF carried out (5) incursions in al-Shuyukh village and al-Fawwar refugee camp in Hebron; Ya’bad, Arraba and Jaba’ in Jenin governorate. No arrests were reported.
Saturday, 31 July 2021:
At approximately 00:10, IOF arrested Belal Khaled Kmeil (28), while passing through a military checkpoint established at the entrance of Misilyah village, southeast of Jenin.
At approximately 02:00, IOF raided and searched Ahmed Sharif Zeidat’s (35) house in Bani Naim village, east of Hebron, and arrested him.
At approximately 03:00, IOF raided and searched 2 houses in Hebron’s Old City and arrested Hamad Jameel al-Ja’bari (21), and Abdul Baset Hazem al-Ja’bari (33).
IOF carried out (2) incursions in Idhna and al-Shuyukh villages in Hebron. No arrests were reported.
Sunday, 01 August 2021
At approximately 10:00, Ayham Adnan al-Sha’er (15), from al-Tur neighborhood, east of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, surrendered himself to the Israeli prisons to serve his sentence of 6 months. It should be noted that IOF arrested Ayham last year and then he was released on conditions of the house arrest.
At approximately 23:00, Israeli Intelligence Services summonsed Dawoud Mahmoud Abu al-Hawa (19) and Sufian Firas Abu al-Hawa (18), for investigation in Kishle center in West Jerusalem, after storming their houses in al-Tur neighborhood, east of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City.
Monday, 02 August 2021:
At approximately 02:00, IOF raided and searched 2 houses in Jaba’ village, south of Jenin, and arrested Malik Yaser Fashafisha (23), and Emad Ahmed Shaqiqat (22).
Around the same time, IOF raided and searched Mohammed Ali Mohsen’s (23) house in Abu Dis, east of the occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested him.
At approximately 02:50, IOF raided and searched Jad Essam Nafea’s (20) house in Ni’lin, west of Ramallah, and arrested him.
At approximately 03:30, IOF raided and searched 3 houses in Beita, southeast of Nablus, and arrested 3 civilians. The arrestees are: Jehad Ahmed Dweikat (30), Karam Mohammed Dawoud (21), and Sa’eed Zuhair Dawoud (20).
At approximately 08:00, IOF raided and searched Adnan Mohammed al-Yasini’s (21) house in Ras al-Amud neighborhood, east of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, and arrested him.
At approximately 08:30, IOF reinforced with several military vehicles moved 100-meters to the east of al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. They leveled and combed lands adjacent to the border fence with Israel for hours before they deployed again.
Around the same time, IOF moved into Shu’afat refugee camp, northeast of the occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched 2 houses belonging to Yousef al-Joulani (19) and Isma’el al-Joulani (22) and arrested them.
At approximately 18:45, IOF moved into Qaffin village, north of Tulkarm. They raided and searched 2 houses belonging to Fayez Waleed Sabbah (24) and Ahmed Fathi To’ma (26) and arrested them.
At approximately 19:00, IOF moved into Sheikh Jarrah village, north of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. They raided and searched several houses and arrested 3 civilians: Ghaith Ghosha (21), Islam Ghteit (21), and Suhaib Syam (23).
Around the same time, IOF stationed at Mevo Dotan military checkpoint, southwest of Jenin, arrested Mohammed Shaher Obaid (30), from Anze village. IOF took him to an unknown destination.
At approximately 21:30, IOF moved into Yamun village, west of Jenin. They raided and searched 2 houses belonging to Jamil Ali Khamaysa (55), and his son, Mo’taz (20), and arrested them.
IIOF carried out (3) incursions in Salem, Rujeib and Udala villages in Nablus governorate. No arrests were reported.
Tuesday, 03 August 2021
At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into in Ras al-Amud neighborhood, east of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. They raided and searched Tala Younis al-Ghoul’s (19) house and arrested her.
At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Hebron’s Old City. They raided and searched 2 houses belonging to Fadi Mohammed al-Karaki (22) and Mo’taz Ali Obaido (24) and arrested them.
Around the same time, IOF moved into Baten al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan, south of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. They raided and searched Monthir Mahmoud Jamjoum’s (21) house and arrested him.
At approximately 09:00, IOF moved into al-Tur neighborhood, east of the occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched Mahmoud Khaled Abu al-So’oud’s (24) house and handed him a summons to refer to the Israeli Intelligence Services.
At approximately 10:00, IOF moved into Silwan, south of the occupied East Jerusalem. They raided and searched al-Bustan Association headquarter, arrested its director, Qutaiba Owda (30), and took him to a police center on Salah al-Dein street in Jerusalem.
Amany Owda, vice-president of the association, said that IOF stormed al-Bustan Association office in al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, forced them to vacate the office, and started searching and damaging the office contents. She added that IOF confiscated files, documents and computers, and arrested Qutaiba Owda, whose arrest was extended to be presented before the Magistrate Court on the next day, where the court refused to release him and extended his arrest to several more days.
IOF carried out (2) incursions in Dura and Fawwar refugee camp in Hebron governorate. No arrests were reported.
Wednesday, 04 August 2021:
At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into the eastern side of Hebron’s Old City. They raided and searched 2 houses belonging to Mustafa Hamed al-‘Ajlouni and Hamed Awni Idris (23).
At approximately 01:40, IOF moved into Sa’ir village, north of Hebron. They raided and searched 3 houses belonging to Izz al-Dein Ahmed al-Shalalida (25), Hammam Yousef Shalalida (30), and Mohammed Diab al-Tarda (32), and arrested them.
At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Silwan, south of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. They raided and searched Maher Ahmed Zaytoun’s (16) house and arrested him.
At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. They raided and searched Wa’el Shaker Mashah’s house and arrested his sons; Jameel (22), and Eyad (24).
At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Wad Abu al-Samn area, south of Hebron. They raided and searched 2 houses belonging to Hussain Hasan Abu Hussain (33), and his brother, Mohammed (33), and arrested them.
At approximately 08:00, IOF moved into Silwan, south of the occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. They raided and searhed several houses and arrested Islam Mas’oud Zaytoun (13), and Sinan Ibrahim Awwad (19).
IOF carried out (3) incursions in al-Dhahiriya, al-Karmel village in Yatta, and Bayt Ula in Hebron governorate. No arrests were reported.
III. Settlement Expansion and settler violence in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem
III. Demolitions, Confiscations, and Notices
At approximately 06:50 on Thursday, 29 July 2021, IOF accompanied with an Israeli Civil Administration SUV moved into ‘Ein al-Helweh area in Northern Jordan Valleys. The Civil Administration officer handed notices to 4 farmers in order to demolish their dwellings under the pretext of its illegal construction in Area C. Those farmers were identified as ‘Adel Mohammed ‘Awad ‘Alian, Soliman Mohammed Ka’abnah; Hamad ‘Alian ‘Awwad and Fatmah Nassar Soiman Ka’abnah. IOF also confiscated a tractor belonging to Jamil Soliman Mefdi Bani ‘Odah in the nearby Kherbet Ras al-Ahmar.
In the morning, Suhaib and Firas Ahmed al-Dejani self-demolished their houses in Khelet al-‘Ein area in al-Tour neighborhood, east of occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, pursuant to the Israeli Finance and Interior Ministries’ decision under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
The 2 brothers said to PCHR’s fieldworker they started building a second floor of 200 square meters divided into 3 small apartments, which were finished and fully furnished 4 months ago. The brothers added that they and their families of 14 members, including 6 children, lived in the 3 apartments, which cost around ILS 700,000, i.e. around $200,000. They added that the Israeli Municipality has haunted them and issued a demolition decision for the apartments although Khelet al-‘Ein area has an organized lands project. Thus, they hired a lawyer to freeze the demolition decision and start the license procedures, but the Ministry of Finance and Interior insisted on the demolition decision. As a result, the Israeli police daily raided the houses lately, threatening them to evacuate and demolish their houses as well as giving them until Sunday to carry out the demolition or the municipality will send their crews to do so and impose on them heavy fines. The brothers said that they did not have money to pay the fines, especially that they borrowed thousands of shekels to finish their apartments.
At approximately 02:30 on Wednesday, 04 August 2021, the Israeli municipalities accompanied with 500 Israeli officers, 4 excavators and 2 bulldozers moved into the main road near Hizma military checkpoint, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem and demolished 16 shops in the area in addition to a house fence.
Member of Hizma Municipal administrative committee, ‘Abdulah Salah al-Deen, said that demolition continued for 8 hours; during which 13 shops belonging to ‘Abdel ‘Aziz Shehadah al-Khatib and that support 150 individuals. The shops were auto repair and car accessories, a carwash, grocery shop, a tile shop and a lathe workshop in addition to garages. Salah al-Deen said that IOF razed a 1-dunum land belonging to Ahmed Shehadah al-Khatib, which included a shop for construction tools that cost around 300,000 ILS, demolished the shop. IOF also demolished 2 shops belonging to Salem Abu Markhiyeh for tires. They also demolished a house fence belonging to Noha al-Khatib after raiding the house and terrified the children.
The shops’ owners said that that their shops were built of cement and bricks 14 years ago and since then the Israeli municipality crews had raided and threatened of demolishing their shops as well as imposing fines under the pretext of unlicensed construction, claiming that the land on which the shops were built is within the Jerusalem Municipal boundaries. The owners added that over the past few years, they have paid exorbitant sums to lawyers in order to abolish the demolition decision, but IOF raided their shops at 15:00 the day before and gave them 5 hours to self-demolish their shops. However, they could not vacate their shops that require days to be emptied. They were surprised in the dawn with IOF’s moving into the area and starting the demolition while the contents were inside, inflicting huge financial losses.
The lawyer of the shops’ owners, Medhat Deebah, said that the Israeli District Court abolished 2 months ago a petition filed by the Ragabim Settlement Organization to demolish 16 facilities in Hizma. However, the Israeli Government issued on Thursday afternoon a demolition decision to be implemented within 8 hours despite the closure of the Israeli courts due to the judicial leave, making it not possible to take any procedure that would stop the governmental decision. Deebah said that the governmental decision at this time proves the Israeli Government’s compliance with the settlement organizations’ plans, seeking to deprive the Palestinians of their property and lands.
At approximately 06:00, IOF accompanied with 3 bulldozers and an Israeli Civil Administration SUV moved into Kherbet Bzeiq in the Northern Jordan Valleys. Immediately, the bulldozers demolished dwellings belonging to 3 families, sheep barns and water tanks and confiscated the solar cells belonging to 5 families and a generator in addition to private cars to other families.
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Name
Damage
Nael ‘Ali Khalil al-Hroub
2 residential tents demolished and confiscated3 sheep barn tents demolished and confiscated (each tent is 60 sqms)A 200-sqm sheep barnA Solar Cell’s 4 batteries and an invertorA water tank
Hayel Hussein Mahmoud Turkman
2 residential tents demolished and confiscated4 sheep barn tents demolished and confiscated (each tent is 60 sqms)A 350-sqm sheep barnGeneratorSolar panels confiscatedA water tankA Mitsubishi Magnum vehicle
Mohammed Methqal Daraghmah
2 residential tents demolished and confiscated2 sheep barn tents demolished and confiscated (each tent is 60 sqms)A tent used as a kitchen demolished and confiscatedFodders storage tent confiscated and demolished1 solar cell confiscatedA 200sqm open barnA water tank
‘Adel Nasarllah al-Hroub
1 solar cell confiscated
Mustafa ‘Ali Nasrallah al-Hroub
1 solar cell confiscated
Nemer Mousa Nasrallah al-Hroub
1 solar cell confiscated
‘Aziz Khalil Nawaj’ah
1 private car confiscated
At approximately 09:30, IOF accompanied with a bulldozer and an Israeli Civil Administration SUV moved into the archeological area in western Sebasitia village, northwest of Nablus. Immediately, the bulldozer demolished an agricultural room built of bricks and asbestos on an area of 30sqms in addition to a gate and am iron fence surrounding the land belonging to ‘Abdel ‘Aziz Ra’eq al-Nabulso from Nablus. This is the third time that this room has been demolished in two years under the pretext of illegal construction in Area C.
At approximately 11:30, IOF accompanied with an Israeli Civil Administration SUV moved into Kherbet Thera’a ‘Awwad near Furush Beit Dajan village, north of al-Hamra checkpoint in the central valleys in the northern West Bank. The bulldozers immediately demolished 3 rooms (between 30 and 40 sqms) belonging to ‘Adnan ‘Abdel Mahdi Ghayyad al-Salamin and his sons, ‘Abdel Karim and ‘Abdel Mahdi. The demolition was under the pretext of illegal construction in Area C.
Settler attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property
On Friday morning, 30 July 2021, a group of settlers from “Har Brakha” settlement, east of Burin village, southeast of Nablus, assaulted the southeastern outskirts of Burin village and cut with automatic saws 6 communication poles connected to the houses. They then fled away to their settlement.
IV. Closure policy and restrictions on freedom of movement of persons and goods:
The Gaza Strip:
The Israeli authorities continued to impose collective punishments against the people of the Gaza Strip, including tightened restrictions on imports and exports, causing a serious deterioration in Palestinians’ enjoyment of their economic and cultural rights.
On Thursday, 29 July 2021, the Israeli occupation authorities announced relief measures for the Gaza Strip, including expansion of the fishing area.
Ghassan Alian, the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, said in a statement “after a series of assessments for the situation with the approval of the political level, it was decided to expand the Gaza fishing area from 6 to 12 nautical miles as of Friday.” He added, “As of Sunday, the entry of equipment and goods will be permitted for the benefit of projects sponsored by the international community Gaza in the fields of food, medicine, and fishing.” IOF also allowed the entry of electrical and agricultural tools from Israel to the Gaza strip, and mentioned that export of industrial waste from Gaza to Israel.
The statement also included that, “it was decided to allow Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to travel via King Hussein bridge, as per the existing standards.” Additionally, as a one-time measure, 29 private vehicles left at Beit Hanoun crossing, since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza in May, will be permitted entry.
The West Bank:
In addition to 108 permanent checkpoints and closed roads, this week witnessed the establishment of 67 temporary checkpoints that restrict the movement of goods and individuals, where IOF searched Palestinians’ vehicles, checked their IDs and arrested 2 of them. IOF closed many roads with cement cubes, metal detector gates and sand berms and tightened their measures against individuals’ movement at military permanent checkpoints. IOF reinforced its restrictions on civilians’ freedom of movement at its permanent checkpoints in the West Bank and shut some checkpoints for several hours on multiple occasions.
Hereafter are PCHR documentation of restrictions on the freedom of movement and IOF-established temporary checkpoints across the West Bank this week:
Jerusalem:
On Thursday, 29 July 2021, IOF established 2 checkpoints at the entrances to Biddu and Al-Eizariya
On Friday, 30 July 2021, IOF established 2 checkpoints at the entrances to Biddu and Al-Eizariya
Bethlehem:
On Thursday, 29 July 2021, IOF established 4 checkpoints at the entrances to Tuqu, Beit Fajjar and Nahalin villages, and in ‘Aqabet Hasna area, which leads to Bethlehem’s western villages.
On Friday, 30 July 2021, IOF established 3 checkpoints at the entrances to Wadi Fukin, Tuqu and Husan villages.
On Saturday, 31 July 2021, IOF established 4 checkpoints at the northern and western entrances to Tuqu village, in ‘Aqabet Hasna area and near al-Nashash intersection, south of the city.
On Sunday, 01 August 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the western entrance to Tuqu village, east of the city.
On Monday, 02 August 2021, IOF established 2 checkpoints at the northern entrance to Tuqu village and at the western entrance to Beit Fajjar village, south of the city.
On Tuesday, 03 August 2021, IOF established 3 checkpoints at the entrance to Wadi Fukin village, in ‘Aqabet Hasna area and near al-Nashash intersection, south of the city.
Ramallah
On Thursday,29 July 2021, IOF established 3 checkpoints at the entrance to Beitillu village, at Halamish intersection, northwest of the city, and at Wadi al-Dalab intersection between Ras Karkar and Deir Ibzi villages.
On Friday, 30 July 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the main entrance to Jalazone refugee camp, north of the city.
On Sunday, 01 August 2021, IOF established 5 checkpoints at the entrances to Nabi Salih, Turmus Ayya, Silwad and Ein Siniya villages, and at Halamish intersection, northwest of the city.
On Monday, 02 August 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance to Ein Siniya village, north of the city.
Jericho:
On Thursday, 29 July 2021, IOF stationed at al-Hamra checkpoint, north of the city, tightened their arbitrary measures at the checkpoints, checked Palestinians’ IDs and searched their vehicles, which caused a traffic jam.
On Friday, 30 July 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance to Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, southwest of the city.
On Saturday, 31 July 2021, IOF stationed at al-Hamra checkpoint, north of the city, tightened their arbitrary measures at the checkpoints, checked Palestinians’ IDs and searched their vehicles, which caused a traffic jam.
On Sunday, 01 August 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the southern entrance to the city.
On Monday, 02 August 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the northern entrance to the city.
Nablus:
On Saturday, 31 July 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the intersection of Deir Sharaf village, west of the city.
On Sunday, 01 August 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance to Sarra village, southwest of the city.
Jenin:
On Saturday, 31 July 2021, IOF established 2 checkpoint at the entrances to Raba and Al-Mansura villages, southeast of the city.
On Sunday, 01 August 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance to Ya’bad village, southwest of the city.
Hebron:
On Thursday, 29 July 2021, IOF established 3 checkpoints at the entrances to Idhna and Khasa villages, and at the northern entrance to Halhul city.
On Friday, 30 July 2021, IOF established 4 checkpoints at the entrances to Karma and Surif villages, at the southern entrance to Hebron, and at the northern entrance to Yatta city.
On Saturday, 31 July 2021, IOF established 4 checkpoints at the entrance to Fawwar refugee camp, at the western entrance to the city, and at the entrances to Bani Na’im and Susya villages.
On Sunday, 01 August 2021, IOF established 3 checkpoints at the entrance to Khasa village, at the southern entrance to Halhul city, and at the northern entrance to Yatta city.
On Tuesday, 03 August 2021, IOF established 2 checkpoints at the entrances to Beit Ummar and Ash-Shuyukh villages.
Salfit:
On Thursday, 29 July 2021, IOF established 4 checkpoints at the entrances to Kafr ad-Dik, Deir Istiya and Deir Ballut village, and at the entrance to the city.
On Friday, 30 July 2021, IOF established 3 checkpoints at the entrances to Deir Ballut and Rafat villages, and at the entrance to the city.
On Saturday, 31 July 2021, IOF established 4 checkpoints at the entrances to Kafr ad-Dik, Deir Istiya and Deir Ballut villages, and at the entrance to Salfit.
Tulkarm:
On Friday, 30 July 2021, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance to Beit Lid village, east of the city.
Palestinian and Israeli activists protest against house evictions in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. (Photo: via Activestills.org)
Israel’s Supreme Court today offered Palestinian residents of the occupied Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood ‘protected residence’ status, saying that if they pay rent to the settler organization which claims the land on which their homes are built, their properties will not be demolished.
The families have rejected the proposition, objecting to Nahalat Shimon’s claims of ownership and subsequent plans for their forcible eviction, Ir Amim reported.
The Israeli Supreme Court suggests to recognise the 4 Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah as “protected tenants” of their own homes in lieu of acknowledging the settlers’ ownership of their homes. This unfair suggestion was totally rejected by the families.#savesheikhjarrahpic.twitter.com/PQ4fZ15Nej
The hearing took place before a panel of three judges – Yitzhak Amit, Noam Sohlberg and Daphne Barak-Erez, who were ruling on a leave to appeal request submitted by the El-Kurd, Jaouni, Abu Hasna, and Askafi families who are facing eviction from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah by the Nahalat Shimon settler company.
Both sides subsequently presented arguments, and the hearing concluded without the handing down of a court ruling. The justices are expected to issue a decision within the coming days concerning the continuation of proceedings.
According to one of the attorneys representing the families, an additional hearing on the matter will likely be scheduled. Originally slated for early May, the hearing was deferred until now to allow for the Attorney General to weigh his intervention in the case, which he ultimately declined.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) August 2, 2021
The court’s decision, in this case, will likely impact the additional families from the Kerem Al-Jaouni section of Sheikh Jarrah facing eviction lawsuits filed by Nahalat Shimon, including the case of the Dajani, Daoudi, and Hammad families, likewise pending at the Supreme Court.
On July 28, the attorney representing the three aforementioned families submitted a request to postpone their eviction date set for yesterday.
In response, the Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction, provisionally freezing their eviction and asking the settler group to respond by 8 August. While the three families have likewise filed a leave to appeal request to the Supreme Court, neither a hearing has been scheduled, nor a decision rendered.
Currently, there are open eviction lawsuits against a total of approximately 50-60 families in Sheikh Jarrah (30 families – Kerem Al-Jaouni section and 20-30 families – Um Haroun section), which are at various stages of legal proceedings.
Many more families are at risk of receiving eviction demands due to land registration procedures the Israeli authorities underhandedly began in occupied East Jerusalem in 2020 for the first time since 1967.
The United Nations emphasized Syria’s sovereignty over the ‘Israeli’-occupied Golan Heights, stressing that annexation measures imposed by the Tel Aviv regime in the territory are invalid and illegitimate.
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia [ESCWA] made the announcement in a periodic report distributed in Beirut, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported on Thursday.
“The compliance with the international law and the absence of impunity are two prerequisites for achieving peace and justice for all the peoples of the region,” the UN body added.
In 1967, the Zionist occupation waged a full-scale war against Arab territories, during which it occupied a large swathe of Golan and annexed it four years later, a move never recognized by the international community.
In 1973, another war broke out and a year later, a UN-brokered ceasefire came into force, according to which Tel Aviv and Damascus agreed to separate their troops and create a buffer zone in the Heights.
The Zionist entity has over the past decades built dozens of settlements in the Golan Heights in defiance of international calls for the regime to stop its illegal construction activities.
Syria has repeatedly reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Golan Heights, saying the territory must be completely restored to its control.
The United Nations has time and again emphasized Syria’s sovereignty over the territory.
In March 2019, former American president Donald Trump controversially signed a decree recognizing ‘Israeli’ “sovereignty” over the Golan Heights during a meeting with then Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.
The ESCWA report, which covers the period from April 2020 to March 2021, further stressed that it is impossible to achieve sustainable development in the occupied Palestinian territories in light of the continuing ‘Israeli’ occupation and the policies and practices pursued by the entity.
The UN commission also emphasized the necessity of halting such Zionist measures that hinder efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide additional humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
The report also stressed that the measures and policies adopted by the Zionist regime in Arab territories, occupied since 1967, including the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, are all in sheer violation of international law.
Elsewhere in the report, ESCWA said that last year was one of the worst years in the Palestinian economy since 2002, as it shrank by 11.5 percent.
The UN commission prepares a report for the UN chief every year on the economic and social repercussions of the ‘Israeli’ occupation on the conditions of the Palestinians in the occupied territories and also the conditions of the Syrians in the Golan Heights.
In order to understand the issue of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Zionist entity and its tools in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in colonized Jerusalem, we must not address it in the Zionist colonial settler context because it lacks scientific credibility. In order to solve this problem, we have to ask and answer the following questions: Who is the real side that legally owns the properties of the “Jewish Quarter” in colonized Jerusalem? Who legally owns the real estate of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and the Silwan village? What follows is a serious attempt to answer these two questions.
Who is the Legal Owner of the Real Estate of the “Jewish Quarter”?
As a result of capitalist contradictions and class conflicts that led to the birth and development of nationalist movements in Europe, European Jewish communities suffered arbitrary persecutions, which included a number of massacres against them. These campaigns of arbitrary persecution have prompted large numbers of European Jews to emigrate from Eastern Europe, particularly Tsarist Russia, to Western Europe. Some of these Jews emigrated also to the Ottoman Empire, particularly to the rising city of Jerusalem.
When the persecution of Jews intensified in a number of European countries in 1880,
Youssef ibn Rahamim Miyohas arrived in Jerusalem seeking help. Abed Rabbo son of Khalil son of Ibrahim, a resident of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, rented him a plot of land in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood for 90 years. Due to the fact that the land was an Islamic trust land, this lease allows Jews to rent land and prohibits the sale of land to them under Ottoman regulations and laws. 1
In his research article entitled “Guests, then Renters, then Settlers”, Abed Al-Raoof Arnaoot, a Palestinian researcher, reported that after Miyohas signed the rent agreement, he brought 62 Jews to the location and divided the rented land into 62 pieces, which enabled each of them to build a small house of tens to hundreds of meters in area. They then lived in these houses. 2
The land was then registered in the name of Abed Rabbo, the person in charge of this Islamic trust. This is proven in the Turkish property ownership documents which are still owned by both the Abed Rabbo family and the Hijazi family. 3
In addition, the credible historical references indicate that “the year 1880 and its aftermath witnessed a remarkable influx of thousands of Jews from Europe to Jerusalem after facing persecutions. The then Ottomanic laws allowed the rental of these lands by Jews, but not their sale. According to Ottoman laws, Islamic trust lands are legally permitted for lease but are not legally allowed to be sold. 4
According to a reputable and highly credible scientific reference, 85 percent of the real estate in the ‘Jewish Quarter’ was owned by Muslim Arabs5 in the Ottoman period. This real estate belonged to the Islamic trusts. As is well known, Islamic trusts are prohibited from selling their real estate and are only allowed to rent it.
In 1968, the Zionist state expropriated for public usage 12 percent of the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem, which included the “Jewish Quarter”. The equivalent of 80 percent of the expropriated area was not Jewish property.6 These expropriated properties were put up for sale only to the Israeli and Jewish publics.
Thus, the credible historical references undoubtedly prove that the territory of the so-called “Jewish Quarter” is mostly the land of the “waqf” Islamic trusts. As is also well known, Islamic trusts are prohibited from selling their property because they are endowed for the benefit of a social purpose or for the benefit of a mosque or a religious place. The land of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood is leased land owned by Islamic trusts. Mr. Abed Rabbo al-Saadi, who is the custodian of the bulk of the land, confirms that: “In 1880, some Jews emigrated to Jerusalem, they were in a deplorable state, they came to our ancestors and asked them to lease them this land, and because of their situation and persecution in Europe, our ancestors agreed. Our ancestors agreed to lease the land to a Jewish person named Yusuf ibn Rahamim Miyohas.” 7
Here we can come to the firm conclusion that the Jews who inhabited the so-called “Jewish Quarter” during the Ottoman rule rented their homes from Arabs and Islamic trusts, and did not buy them, because Islamic trusts do not sell their property. Legally, the majority of Jews are not owners of the properties they lived in, but remain tenants. Therefore, they are not entitled to claim ownership of this real estate. These properties are owned exclusively, and mostly by Islamic trusts.
How the Guardian of the Property of the Absentees Turned into a Despicable Thief
According to a credible research that was carried out by two Israeli criminologists, Uzi Livia and Ariel Aboksis, the state of Israel reached in total area of 20,770 square kilometers (more than four and a half million dunams) at the end of the Zionist war of aggression, which began on November 30, 1947 and ended on July 30, 1949. Most of this area, was considered to be the property of the absentees, i.e. Palestinian refugees, and constituted 77 percent of the total area of the Zionist entity. The absentees, a Zionist term, were “Arabs who “left”, and there are those who say they were “expelled” and/or “fled”, during the war of independence. Absentees’ property includes real estate, land, workshops, factories, bank accounts and movable property.” 8
After the end of the war, the newly established Zionist State designated a custodian on the property of Palestinian refugees and gave him a temporary role, with established legal arrangement to determine that role. Uzi Livia and Ariel Aboksis explain this role as follows:
… Basically, these laws are based on the principle that in a period of war, the government temporarily uses these properties for the benefit of the war effort. Its role is to preserve the property for the benefit of their owners or for war damage compensation, in order to return it to them when the state of emergency is abolished. Under this concept, the custodian was given only a temporary role. His primary duty was to preserve the property of those absentees in the transitional period. 9
The justification set by the Zionist state for the “temporary” seizure of the property of Palestinian refugees was that,
Because of their status as hostile citizens, that are located outside the country, under arrest or under surveillance, the law does not allow them to use their property as long as hostilities are under way. The moment the owners stop being absent, the custodian must return their property to them. Therefore, he cannot make a permanent and final decision on the property that he holds temporarily. For the same reason, he can rent property for only a short period of time, which does not exceed five years, and is not authorized to sell or transfer this property to others in an irreversible manner. 10
As a result of the limitations imposed by the law, the custodian of the property of the absentees requested, in 1949, that the government expand his powers so that, for example, he can transfer or lease property for a longer period than five years and also provide him with freedom of disposal, in order to allow the property to be placed in the service of the colonial settlement and colonial objectives of the Zionist entity. This required the enactment of a new law. 11
All requests of the custodian regarding the expansion of his powers were accepted, and the Zionist parliament enacted the “Absentee Property Act of 1950”. Under this law, all property owned by refugees, including the property of the Islamic Waqf,12 was transferred to the absolute control of the Zionist state, represented by the Zionist custodian on the property of refugees. Thus, the power of the custodian has been transformed into a government institution that is the richest in the Zionist state. 13
It is worth mentioning that the establishment of peace between the Arabs and the Zionist entity required talks and concessions, especially on the issue of the return of the Palestinian refugees. The Zionists opposed the return or compensation of the refugees and threw the blame for the creation of the refugee problem on the Arab side, and falsely accused the Arab side of rejecting peace. Historical facts prove that those who ethnically cleansed the Palestinians and that those who occupied half of the Palestinian proposed state under the Partition Resolution, were the Zionist side. 14 These facts have been confirmed by the two researchers Uzi Livia and Ariel Aboksis, who wrote that:
Thus, we believe that the first seeds of Israel’s anti-peace stance have been cultivated in Israel’s position on the return of refugees, which Israel has sharply opposed. All sources of living for Arab refugees who previously lived in the State of Israel has been completely obliterated. Their economy has been destroyed, so their re-absorption into Israel will produce a social and financial problem that is much worse than the arrangement of their absorption in every other country. 15
Thus, the Zionist State plundered and acted freely and without restrictions regarding the property of the Palestinian refugees, selling and renting it as it wished. In order to establish a false legal cover for this theft, the Parliament of the Zionist entity enacted the so-called “Absentee Property Act of 1950.” According to this law, the role of the custodian of the property of the absentees has changed from a “custodian” with temporary and limited powers, to a despicable thief armed with a settler colonial law. Here, the Zionist State has pursued, in its policies towards the property of the indigenous population, a settler colonial approach that is very similar to that pursued by all settler colonial states such as: the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa during the Apartheid regime, and Algeria under French settler colonialism. When comparing them with each other, one notices the great similarities among them regarding the course of action they adopted towards the lands of the indigenous population. Of course, there are special characteristics for each settler colonial project, and there is a different historical context.
Today, the Zionist colonial entity is using the Absentee Property Act of 1950 to give justification and legal cover to all ethnic cleansing carried out in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan, Al-Khan al-Ahmar, the Al-Walaji village, Jaffa, Hebron and the Negev region.
The Zionist entity uses all its colonial tools to carry out operations associated with ethnic cleansing such as unjust law, false documents, complicit colonial courts, colonial police and army, herds of armed and violent settlers, and settlement organizations financed with American money from Jews and others. All of them, under the leadership of the extremist colonial government of the Zionist right-wing parties, are carrying out a fierce offensive campaign of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous Palestinian population. The focus of this study will be on the ethnic cleansing campaigns that are taking place in Sheikh Jarrah and Salwan.
Preparing for Ethnic Cleansing in Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood
Ethnic cleansing in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood began with the settlement organizations of “Benvenisti Endowment”, “Ateret Cohanim”, “the Nahlat Shamoun Limited”, and “El-Aad Society”, filing legal proceedings in Israeli courts against the Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The first cases began in 1972, in which they claimed that Palestinian-inhabited houses were owned by Yemeni Jews. Lawyers for these organizations provided fake documents to prove their ownership.
In return, the Palestinians submitted their documents from Turkish agreements, and official receipts that clearly show that the land is Arab and owned by Islamic trusts, and that the Jews rented it from their owners and did not own it. The Palestinians have proved that they are the real owners of the land and that the land of the Islamic Trust is not sold, but is rented.
“We have provided all the documents,” said Yahya Abed Rabbo al-Saadi, who was the custodian for the bulk of the land in Sheikh Jarrah: “We presented to the court all the documents which prove Palestinian ownership of the land. These documents were issued to us by the Islamic Shari’a Court in Jerusalem, the Ottoman Archives in Ankara, and the Land Department of Amman…” 16 The Zionist Central Court refused to accept these documents, arguing that the court does not recognize them as valid documents.
For its part, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry sent 14 official documents concerning Sheikh Jarrah’s houses to the Palestinian Authority. These documents show that in 1956, the Jordanian Ministry of Development and the UNRWA refugee agency, concluded an agreement with 28 Palestinian refugee families under which 28 housing units were built in the Al-Jani vineyard to house them. UNRWA’s condition was for Palestinian refugees to relinquish their legal status as refugees. After three years, their ownership will be legally established. 17 For reasons that remain unknown, these families have not been able to register the land in their names. Consequently, these Jordanian documents have been submitted to the Zionist Central Court, which also rejected them.
In 2010, cartographer Khalil Tofakji traveled to Istanbul. At the Ottoman State Archives he found documents which prove that the territory of Sheikh Jarrah is Palestinian and owned by Palestinians, which is contrary to the Zionist claim. These documents have been submitted to the Israeli court. 18
The Zionist Central Court rejected both the Jordanian and Tofakji’s documents and claimed that it did not recognize their credibility. The court then issued an order to adopt the Zionist position which was based on fake documents and false allegations. This has always been the controversial approach of the Israeli courts.
The Role of Zionist Judicial Institutions in Land Cases
The writer Abdelkader Badawi believes that these Zionist judicial institutions have an important role in the settler colonial system and that they provide the Zionist government with a legal cover for the plunder of Palestinian property. No matter how fragile and discredited this cover may be, the oppression and arrogance of the Zionist entity and its instruments, make the settlers’ cases successful through falsification and when unjust judicial decisions are made, the Palestinians have no real power to change them. It is a racist and colonial justice that is devoid of justice, fairness and credibility. The writer further believes that,
It is customary in the Israeli judiciary system to accept the account of Jews and settlers, particularly in matters of land and property, without paying attention to the nature or eligibility of legal justifications, as these institutions have already existed to be, among other objectives and endeavors, an instrument of the settler colonial system to control the land, and to overcome all legal obstacles to this goal. 19
The writer Abdelkader Badawi stated that Zionist settler colonial associations played a big role “… Through its expansionist post-occupation settlement activities, which have never been separated from the activity, in support of successive Israeli governments, as well as, the Israeli judicial system. They constituted a tool of the Israeli settler colonial system of control, expropriation, displacement and expulsion…” 20
These associations have emerged as “… a representative of the settlers, through the legal cases it filed in the Israeli courts requesting the evacuation of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood from its Palestinian residents…” 21
The Process of Ethnic Cleansing in Sheikh Jarrah
After the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, and its illegal annexation of it to Israel by the Zionist entity, “… The residents of The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood were surprised when two Jewish committees registered, in 1972, the ownership of the Palestinian-owned 18-dunum land, in settler’s name at the Israeli Department of Lands.” 22
Commenting on the Zionist courts and their arbitrary decisions against the Palestinian population in Sheikh Jarrah, Palestinian-American writer Stephen Salaita wrote that,
Palestinians don’t need to respect the institutions of the Zionist state precisely because those institutions negate the Palestinians’ simplest political imperative: existence. Those institutions represent the machinery of colonization. All settler colonies come equipped with a legal apparatus to validate their cruelty. We cannot expect Western pundits and politicians to question the institutional logic so harmful to Palestinians, for their own legitimacy is contingent on the reproduction of state power. 23
Salaita elaborates on his explanation of the logic on which the idea is based that “property is Jewish” and that the Zionist state seeks to restore it and return it to Jewish ownership.
More nonsensically, we’re asked to assign ethnic characteristics to abstractions and inanimate objects. The basis for Israel’s aggression in Sheikh Jarrah (as throughout all of historic Palestine) is repossession of so-called Jewish property. The property, in other words, doesn’t belong to people who happen to be Jewish. The property itself is Jewish—nobody can specify which denomination—and is therefore fit only for a certain kind of inhabitant. The property has some kind of innate disposition. It is apparently capable of worship. It becomes a crass approximation of humanity. Endowing housing units with confessional qualities exemplifies the problem of prioritizing property over sentient life: a dwelling has no utility beyond the project of demographic engineering. Under the Zionist regime, even brick and mortar are sectarian. 24
Both Noura Erikat and Mariam Barghouthi described the atmosphere at today’s Sheikh Jarrah as being “… practically a war zone as armed Israeli settlers, under the protection of Israeli police, terrorize the Palestinian residents. These are the very settlers who are looking to kick out families, including El-Kurd’s.” 25
The Settlers are Cowardly Thieves
I have observed Zionist colonial settlers for a number of years. I have also studied their conduct and explored their ideology. Based on my close observation of their conduct inside Israel proper, as well as inside the colonized territories of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Syrian Heights, I can certainly state the following.
All Zionist settlers are armed militia of fascists, psychologically deranged, cowards as individuals, and work with great passion as mercenaries of the Zionist settler colonial regime. They’re armed with guns and their Jewish religiosity is nothing but a fragile cover to hide their obnoxious behavior. They are inhuman, school dropouts and have a psycho-social willingness to earn their living by theft, bullying and extreme violence. They work in small groups that look like flocks of wild hyenas that go after their victims and keep tirelessly attempting to eat their flesh. They lack any human moral system but they seem to possess a capitalist system of robbers’ morality. In contrast to this distorted human situation, the Zionist and settler colonial class system is ready to defend their violent banditry behavior because it is itself an inhuman system that uses extreme colonial violence against the indigenous Palestinian population. In addition, the Zionist settler regime deploys the settlers in its colonial schemes. Consequently, the Zionist colonial system is extremely violent. It cannot live in tranquility and thus is unable to conduct a calm and civilized dialogue with the indigenous Palestinians.
Some settlers admit that they are thieves who steal Palestinian houses, some of whom openly admit it, such as the settler who lives in half of Mona al-Kurd’s house, where he told her, “If I don’t steal, your house it will be stolen by someone else,” said Mona al-Kurd, a young Palestinian woman who accused him of stealing her home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem. 26
Other settlers hide their motives by offering bribes with a threat to the owner of the house. Zuhair Rajabi, who lives in Sheikh Jarrah’s neighborhood in a house with his wife and four children, said the settlers “tried to bribe me by paying 1 million shekels [$300,000], provided I will leave my house quietly. When I refused, they threatened to put me in prison. They then sent the Israeli police to my house to try to arrest me, claiming that I physically attacked the man who was suing me.” 27
These two examples could serve as a proof that the settlers do not own these houses and that the Israeli courts are complicit in the plunder of the indigenous Palestinians.
Inhuman Colonial Brutality
The methods of removing Palestinians from their homes are varied, but some are carried out with extreme cruelty and inhumanity, as happened to the Al-Ghawi family.
Nuha Atiyeh, a resident of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood recalls the following incident. “I watched the doors of our neighbors, the Al-Ghawi family, crash during a black night. The women were evicted by force and were thrown, in their night clothes, outside their house. This scene doesn’t escape my imagination. I remember taking some clothes from my house and giving them to the women.” 28
As a result of dozens of lawsuits filed by the settlers’ committees at the Zionist Central Court in Jerusalem, the Court issued a decision to vacate against 28 Palestinian nuclear families. The total number of people facing expulsion for settlers reached 500, including 111 children. 29/sup>
The Central Zionist Court itself ruled that seven other families would leave their homes from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood by August 1, 2021. In total, an additional 58 people, including 17 children, are to be forcibly displaced to allow Jewish settlers to occupy their homes. 30 The Zionist Central Court also ruled that four families — Kurd, Skaif, Qasim and Al-Jawaani — must leave their homes for settlers, or reach an agreement with these settler organizations by paying rent and recognizing settlers as landowners. 31
Here we clearly see that there are no limits to settler’s arrogance and no limits to colonial insolence, as aggressors and thieves ask real house owners to pay their rent for their houses to the thieves. Of course, if the real Palestinian house owners had acquiesced to this request, they would have lost their right to property.
Ethnic Cleansing in Silwan
In 2002, the custodian of Absentee Property transferred land from the village of Silwan to the “Benvenesti Development Fund”, whose administration belongs to the settler organization “Ateret Cohanim”. This decision was upheld by the Jerusalem District Court, and the transfer was made without informing the Palestinian residents living on the land since the 1950s, and who have contracts to prove it. 32
The colonial settlement project in the village of Silwan began “in 2004, when two outposts were established in the village. By 2014, there were six outposts ranging from apartments for individuals and entire buildings. “Since then, the “Ateret Cohanim” committee has submitted eviction orders against other Palestinian families. In 2017, Palestinian residents petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to challenge the evictions, arguing that in accordance with applicable Ottoman law at that time, the property applied only on buildings, which no longer exist, but not on the same land… 33
Similar to what happened in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, on 26 May 2021, the Jerusalem District Court held a hearing on the forced eviction of some 108 Palestinians from 18 families from their homes in the Batan al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan. The Jewish “Benvenisti Development Fund” claims to own 5.2 dunums of the land of Batan al-Hawa neighborhood. 34
Israeli television channel 12 reported that settlers had placed Israeli flags on 15 houses in Silwan after they were captured by the “Ateret Cohanim”, association and handed over to the settlers’ families. The channel noted that these new houses that were seized joined 22 other houses recently captured by “Ateret Cohanim”. 35
It is worth mentioning that the Zionist state has “… A settlement strategy called the “Holy Basin”, consisting of the construction of housing units for settlers and a series of parks themed after Biblical places and figures around the Old City of Jerusalem. The plan would require the expulsion of Palestinian residents from Silwan neighborhoods and then the evacuation of 87 Palestinians from the Batan al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This will be done for the “Ateret Cohanim” settlers association.
Since 1995, the Israeli Antiquities Authority has been excavating sites in Silwan with the official support of the Settlers’ Foundation “Ire David” (the city of David), in order to create a new tourist attraction and find evidence of the 3,000-year-old “City of David”. 36
The group, which aims to expand the presence of settlers within the predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem around and inside the Old City, sued the residents of Batan al-Hawa, a district of Silwan, claiming that the land belonged to Yemeni Jews during the Ottoman period until 1938, when the residents were transferred to another location by the British Mandate authorities because of political tensions. 37
It is worth mentioning that the Zionist policy of uprooting and ethnic cleansing has been followed in a number of places in Palestinian geography such as the Red Khan, Jaffa, Hebron, the village of Al-Walajeh, and the Palestinian Negev region. These remain tense hotbeds ignited by right-wing leaders who have lost their minds. But this fire will burn their fingers and will increase the determination of the indigenous Palestinian population to unite efforts, escalate the struggle and continue the process of liberation.
The essence of Zionist claims about the property is that it is “Jewish property”, some of which belonged to Jews 3,000 years ago, and some of which belonged to Jews a little more than one hundred years ago. These allegations give no regard to modern laws in determining the legal acquisition of real estate, which have changed radically from the time of the Greeks, the Romans, the Mongols and the Vikings, where the property belonged to the usurper and the occupier, not to the indigenous peoples who lived above these properties.
This Zionist nonsense is sponsored and adopted by the Zionist colonial bodies, and those who defend them from Arab protectorates and vassals, European and American imperialists, and by the Zionist and reactionary Arab media, who are hostile to the rights of the Palestinian Arab people in their homeland especially their right to self-determination.
It is scientifically known that the Jewish Torah does not constitute an official and credible document that is recognized by international law and therefore, can be presented in modern courts as a document of legal ownership. Moreover, God has not been recognized as a feudal landlord who owns the lands of the peoples and can distribute them to whoever he wants and denies them from whoever he wants. Consequently, the British imperialist Lord Balfour does not own Palestine, nor does the extremist right wing President Donald Trump own the colonized land of Palestine or the colonized Syrian Golan Heights, so he has no right to give these lands to the Zionist settler colonialists.
It should be added that many of the historical events and “facts” mentioned in the Torah were partly a form of broad religious fiction and partly came out of the misappropriation of the heritage of Mesopotamian civilizations. The Torah has no solid scientific credibility, and whoever adopts it reflects the fact that he lacks credible legal documents. Therefore, the claims by the Zionist settler colonialists to their right to own Palestinian land and real estate based on the Torah are fragile and null and void because the real owners were and still are the Arab Palestinians, who are the indigenous people of Palestine, which constitutes a part of the greater Syrian motherland.
International Law is not a Tool in the Service of Zionist Settler Colonialism.
International law prohibits the occupying power from imposing its laws on the inhabitants of the area it has occupied because it is a war zone outside the sovereignty of the belligerent state. International law also prohibits the belligerent occupying power from transferring its citizens to live within the area it has occupied. Moreover, the occupying power may not change the laws in force within the occupied zone.
The Al-Haq human rights foundation stated that,
… the legal framework applicable in occupied East Jerusalem is international humanitarian and international human rights law. Israel is specifically prohibited from annexing the occupied territory under Article 47 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. As such, Israel’s application of its domestic law, including the Legal and Administrative Matters Law in 1970, and provisions of Israel Tenancy law are not only wrongful acts in violation of international law, of which there can be no recognition, but acts which third States must collectively work to bring to an end. 38
There are clear obligations under Article 43 of the Hague Regulations, to continue the status quo ante bellum including the preservation of private tenancy rights, which are further protected as private property of the civilian population under Article 46 of the Hague Regulations. In particular, such acts amount to forcible transfer, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. 39
American imperialism helps Zionist colonialism, embraces its wars of aggression and provides it with money and weapons. The imperialist West abandoned the Palestinian people, and the son-in-law of the American President, the Zionist Jared Kushner, who financed the right-wing settlement movement in Israel, was given absolute authority to fabricate “A peace process”, aided by the regimes of colonial mercenaries in the Gulf, the most important of which is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who just imprisoned his relatives, after he ordered the assassination of the Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Al-Khashoukji.
Expected Results of a Deteriorating Zionist Path
Many indications are that the Zionist settlement entity will continue its Judaization quest in colonized East Jerusalem, but during this insane colonial quest, it has transformed East Jerusalem into the world’s most tense outpost that will become the poorest, most racist and most heinous “capital.” No matter how much the colonial mentality brings about more racist laws and more inhumane practices, the situation that is formed before the eyes of the peoples of the world will make the Zionist entity a rogue, aggressive, hideous and repulsive state.
The deteriorating path chosen by the extreme right-wing leadership of the Zionist entity has generated a severe political crisis that has shown a deep structural imbalance in the level of political leadership, which in turn has produced a turbulent political right, fragmented, and does not benefit, either from elections or from democracy to get out of its acute crisis. This deteriorating path has also produced a Zionist voter with callous consciousness, racial intolerance and ideological blindness. This deteriorated situation has produced more failed leadership than its predecessor. After four parliamentary elections that produced repeated results, the Zionist entity got itself into a fiasco that has no equivalent in the world. It is a lost entity that cannot save itself from the path of deterioration because it is the same path that South Africa followed until the world came to save it from its fiasco by imposing on it a solution that it does not desire.
Here it appears that the Palestinian steadfastness and determination to fight for its patriotic rights, with the assistance of Arab and international solidarity, will lead the Zionist regime to choose a solution similar to that chosen by South Africa. The Palestinian national struggle will not be extinguished, as it is developing and promoted by the united efforts of workers, and progressive elements in the Middle Class. During its development, all the reactionary elements, Palestinian, Arab and international, who together are attempting to preserve the dissonant parts of a rogue state that insists on falling, will disappear forever.
References
Arnaout, Abdul Rauf, “Sheikh Jarrah: Guests, Tenants and Settlers”, Palestinian Studies Foundation, https://www.palestine-studies.org, access to the site on 1-6-2021
Scholch, Alexander, “Jerusalem in 19th Century (1831 – 1917 AD)” in Jerusalem in History, Edited by K.J. Asali. 1989. ISBN0-905906-70-5. Page 234. Quoting Muhammad Adib al-Amiri, “Al Quds al-‘Arabiyya“, Amman, 1971, page 12 and ‘Arif al-‘Arif, “Al-Nakba“, vol 2, Sidon and Beirut, page 490 (90%). As quoted by: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, “Old City” (Jerusalem), https://en.wikipedia.org,1-6-2021.
Livia, Uzi and Aboksis, Ariel, “For the development of the country and for the benefit of its citizens” (in Hebrew), https://web.archive.org, 30-10-2017
2. See Ilan Papi’s Book, Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine https://www.ebay.com, 9-6-2021
Badawi, Abdel Kader, “Nahalat Chamoun”: A private settler’s company and the arm of the Israeli government in the case of the displacement of the people of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood”, https://www.madarcenter.org,17-5-2021
AL-JAZERA AND NEWS AGENCIES, “Hundreds hurt as Palestinians protest evictions in Jerusalem”, https://www.aljazeera.com, 8-5-2021
Zuhair Sabbagh is a writer on Israeli and Palestinian issues. He has published a number of books and research articles in both English and Arabic. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. He lives in Nazareth, Palestine
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