The ongoing and intense settlement activity in the occupied West Bank
city of Hebron confirms Israel’s deliberate policy to empty it of its
Arab inhabitants and Judaise it. The Palestinian city remains the second
most targeted area for illegal Jewish settlements after Jerusalem. The
first settlement activity in the West Bank was the establishment of the
Kfar Etzion kibbutz in the strategic area bordering Hebron.
We can say with certainty that Israel’s plans for the Ibrahimi Mosque in
Hebron are no less dangerous than its Judaisation plans for Al-Aqsa
Mosque in Jerusalem. Over the years, the Israeli settlers have turned a
major section of the mosque into a synagogue. We do not doubt that the
settlers intend to take over completely in the months and years ahead.
Perhaps it was precisely for that reason that the Israeli government
announced recently a new settlement plan targeting the heart of Hebron
in order to link the settlements built across the city by means of new
illegal blocs. The government is funding the construction of a
settlement on Al-Shuhada Street in the old city, taking advantage of
Donald Trump’s Presidency in the US to adopt and “legitimise” its
settlement policy in Palestine, even though all Jewish settlements
across the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, are
illegal under international law. This is especially the case in Hebron
and Jerusalem, which are both earmarked for even more Judaisation.
The purpose of the latest settlement outpost in Hebron is to create a
new military checkpoint to harass and increase the suffering of the
Palestinians prior to their eventual expulsion. The site on Al-Shuhada
Street belongs to the Hebron municipality. The occupation authorities
confiscated it for use as an army base and a location for settlers’
caravans. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman made the announcement of
the 31 settlement units to be built in the heart of Al-Shuhada Street,
approved by the so-called Civil Administration and Israeli government,
and funded by the latter.
A few months ago Lieberman ordered the establishment of an authority to
manage the municipal affairs of the settlement bloc located in the
centre of Hebron. This is a Judaisation measure taken against the city’s
Palestinian inhabitants with the purpose of strengthening the powers of
the settlers who had previously managed their daily affairs by means of
a council, which had no “legal” status.
Israel has portrayed this as being necessary to strengthen the Jewish
community in the city and as a very important move in order to continue
and develop settlement expansion in the West Bank, despite the existence
of Palestinian-Israeli arrangements agreed in 1997 that divided Hebron
into two parts. The first was the 80 per cent of the city under the
complete jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority while the remaining
20 per cent was supposed to be under Israeli security control and
Palestinian civil control. Since then, the entire city was supposed to
have been under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Hebron municipality
(with a population of 260,000 Palestinians and 800 Jewish settlers).
For the purpose of Judaising Hebron and displacing its indigenous
Palestinian people, there have been non-stop attacks since the city’s
occupation in 1967. There is a consensus among all Israeli parties to
establish an administration to manage settler affairs in the city and to
promote settlement activity. This explains Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s practical support for intensifying settlement activity in
the West Bank, which is basically an execution of the project to annex
Palestinian areas to Israel by means of “legitimate” demarcation and
recognition of illegal settlements, along with granting them
sovereignty.
It is a well-known fact that the establishment of settlements violates
all international principles and customs, as well as the UN Charter,
which outlines a long series of restrictions imposed on any occupying
forces, including Israel’s. The essence of this bans occupiers from
settling their own citizens in areas under occupation. This has been
reiterated by UN Resolutions which deny any legal status to the Jewish
settlements and ban their annexation by Israel. Indeed, the resolutions
call for the dismantling of the settlements, not simply “freezing”
settlement activity. The settlements in Jerusalem and Hebron are covered
by this requirement.
Israel’s construction of additional settlements, and expansion of
existing sites, violate Palestinian rights and international laws and
conventions. The decision to build settlement blocs in Hebron and
establish a council to manage Jewish settler affairs in the city
breaches UN Security Council Resolution 2334. Israel should be condemned
for treating international law with such contempt.
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