Report: Serious Repercussions Threaten Areas Surrounding Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley Due to "Colonial Fattening"

SadaNews - A report prepared by the National Office for Defending Land and Resisting Settlement stated that the Jerusalem Governorate, like the northern Jordan Valley, is once again facing colonial attacks, which have wide and serious repercussions for the future of the areas surrounding the city of Jerusalem, and for the vast agricultural lands in the Tubas Governorate and the northern Jordan Valley.

The report added in its weekly update covering the period from November 22 to November 28 that the occupation authorities have begun to use multiple means under various names to control Palestinian lands, all resulting in one outcome: "fattening the colonial project" at the expense of land and local Palestinian communities, sometimes utilizing what they call military orders and at other times what they call judicial orders.

It pointed out that the occupation authorities recently issued military orders under which large areas of land in the Tubas Governorate and the northern Jordan Valley are being confiscated for the purpose of constructing a military road, by laying claim to lands, some of which are privately owned (taboo) and others are state lands, extending from the Ein Shibli area through the Al-Buqai’a plain southeast of Tubas, and the Einun area near the Tubas plain, reaching the east of the Tayasir village east of the city of Tubas.

Estimates regarding the length of this "military" road vary, as the Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority reports that according to the maps attached to the project, its length exceeds 22 kilometers, and it seizes approximately 1,042 dunams of citizens' lands, converting it from a temporary military path to a strategic corridor that redraws the geographic structure of the northern Jordan Valley, establishing a new phase of gradual annexation that is being solidified step by step without official announcement, completely reshaping the field scene east of Tubas, and depriving farmers and shepherds of access to the eastern plains, which are considered the backbone of economic and environmental life in the area.

Other sources state that the aim of the confiscation is to construct a military road from Ein Shibli to the Tayasir checkpoint, which exceeds 40 kilometers in length, and that the occupation's machinery continues to carry out land leveling at the eastern entrance to Ein Shibli village, aiming to relocate the Hamra military checkpoint along the road connecting Nablus, Tubas, and Jericho, and bring it closer to the village, which will lead to isolating the governorate from its surroundings, in addition to seizing 180,000 dunams of the governorate's lands, reinforcing the policy of isolation and separation pursued by successive Israeli governments in the context of their approach to fragment Palestinian areas.

In parallel with these military orders specific to the Tubas Governorate and the northern Jordan Valley, and within the framework of the theft of West Bank lands, the occupation has signed new judicial authorities to intensify settlement activities in the West Bank, transforming a number of sites, pastoral farms, and neighborhoods near settlements into independent settlements, complete with the necessary plans and privileges.

Among the neighborhoods and sites whose judicial scope has been updated are: Joodar (Tivits) in Tulkarem Governorate, "Lasham" in Salfit Governorate, "Karm Ra'im" was a settlement neighborhood separated from the "Talmon" settlement in Ramallah Governorate and transformed into an independent settlement, "Niriya" east of Deir Ammar in Ramallah Governorate, "Abot", Gilad Farm in Qalqilya Governorate, "Ivy Hanahal" in Bethlehem Governorate, Frashim (El Nefah), as well as border modifications for the settlements of "Mishua'a" and "Har Adar" in the Jerusalem Governorate.

This action comes as part of what is called the organization wave led by the "Settlement Administration" within the occupation authorities. Since the beginning of 2025, 39 new judicial zones have been signed, and 30 new settlements have been granted official status as part of the government’s resolution to establish 50 new settlements in the West Bank. Determining a judicial scope is considered a central and crucial phase in establishing the settlement, as it allows for the establishment of infrastructure and the development of plans.

Smotrich commented, saying: "We continue to strengthen settlement and spread its roots all over the land of Israel. Determining jurisdiction is a Zionist, security, and national step, providing stability and future for tens of thousands of citizens."

Furthermore, last Monday, the occupation army issued a military order to seize more than 77 dunams of land from the residents of the villages of Al-Za'im and Al-Issawiya east of Jerusalem, coming as part of Israeli policies aimed at seizing lands in the vicinity of East Jerusalem.

At the same time, a group of settlers established a new outpost on the 17th of this month in East Jerusalem, in the Sur Baher neighborhood, after they began to enclose an area of land estimated at ten dunams, located in an open area near the eastern ring road and Sur Baher neighborhood.

Sources in the occupying municipality of occupied Jerusalem indicate that the project is likely linked to the "El'ad Settlement Association," and it appears that establishing this outpost is the first step towards creating a settlement, as settlers in this phase seek to mark the land and control it in an area considered to be in advanced stages of land ownership adjustment, claiming that they have purchased it.

A study conducted by the NGO "Bimkom," which monitors settlement activities in East Jerusalem, revealed that the government is exploiting the settlement process primarily to enable the state and settlement groups to seize Palestinian lands in East Jerusalem and register them under the Settlement Law enacted by the occupation government in 2018.

The government seems to promote colonial activities especially in areas where Israeli groups claim ownership, and it is possible that the settlers' claims of purchase have accelerated settlement activities on the ground.

In Jerusalem, the occupation authorities also issued eviction and demolition orders for commercial shops, justifying the demolition notices by claiming that the buildings to be evacuated are illegal and lack building permits, while Palestinians link them to a colonial project passing through the town of Al-Azariya.

All shops that have been notified for eviction are located in area C, which is under Israeli civil and security control according to the Oslo "agreements" between Palestinians and Israelis.

This action constitutes comprehensive destruction of the economy and the interests of citizens, as it is not only about shops or the citizens' lands but extends towards cutting off social communication, especially in the context of executing the project approved by the civil administration last August, the "E1" project for a new settlement that extends over an area of 12 square kilometers east of Jerusalem.

Officially, there is no Israeli connection between the demolition and evacuation notices and the large colonial project, according to Aviv Tetruski, a researcher at the Israeli anti-settlement organization "Ir Amim". However, he believes that Israel wants "to take the lands in area C without people... which leads to increasing the number of settlers and evicting Palestinian communities."

In a move that has been stagnant for some time, the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, last Tuesday, approved in the first reading a draft law that allows settlers to purchase real estate in any area of the West Bank directly without going through the civil administration of the occupation army, marking an advanced step in the annexation plan and imposing Israeli sovereignty over it.

This draft law aims to abolish the Jordanian law concerning leasing and selling properties to foreigners that is in force in the West Bank, which settlers view as restrictions that limit their ability to seize lands and properties in the West Bank disregarding the categorization of areas within it, and is named "Abolition of Discrimination in Property Purchases in Judea and Samaria" for the year 2023, which was submitted by Knesset members Moshe Solomon from the Religious Zionism Party (Smotrich), Limor Son Har Melech from the Jewish Power Party (Ben Gvir), Yuli Edelstein (Likud Party), and a group of Knesset members.

The proposal involves the abolition of the Jordanian law regarding leasing and selling properties to foreigners, which is applicable in the West Bank, and allowing any settler to purchase property rights in areas "A," "B," and "C," without needing permission from the civil administration.

In light of the occupation army's and terrorist settlers' invasion of the West Bank, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights "B'Tselem" stated that the situation in the occupied West Bank is witnessing an absolute violation of Palestinian lives by terrorist settler organizations and Israeli army forces.

The center's latest reports indicate that since October 2023, Israel has killed about 1,004 Palestinians, including 217 minors, with at least 21 of them killed by settlers' bullets.

The Executive Director of "B'Tselem," Yuli Novak, stated that the situation is deteriorating daily in the absence of any internal or external mechanism to prevent Israel from practicing what she describes as ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, calling on the international community to lift Israel's immunity and hold those responsible for crimes against Palestinians accountable.

Novak added that the Israeli army pursues a policy of permissive and unrestrained shooting, including aerial bombardments, recruiting and arming thousands of settlers in regional defense battalions and alert teams within settlements.

She noted that armed settlers attack Palestinians daily, burn homes and agricultural crops, loot, and kill, while Israeli law enforcement authorities rarely conduct investigations against them, and no legal convictions have been recorded, despite most attacks being documented.