The National Popular Conference for Jerusalem: The Occupation Invents a "New Jerusalem" in Kafr Aqab

SadaNews - The General Secretariat of the National Popular Conference for Jerusalem confirmed that the arbitrary measures of the occupation in Jerusalem and its surroundings, especially what is happening in the Bedouin settlements in Jabal al-Baba, Makhmas, and others, in addition to the ongoing incursions into Qalandia camp, the airport road area, Hizma town, and Shuafat camp, aim to achieve a significant political objective which is "annexation" that Netanyahu's government has repeatedly announced. It pointed out that this process, contrary to the political agreements signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization under international sponsorship, is being implemented on the ground today to become a reality over time.

The General Secretariat added that these dangerous procedures also aim to expel the Bedouin families residing in the mountains and desert of Jerusalem to clear the area of an authentic Palestinian frontline that constitutes the first line of defense against settlement and colonialism that has begun to dominate strategic sites in the occupied city and the Palestinian West Bank.

The General Secretariat considered that the invasion of occupation forces over the past days, which is still ongoing in Qalandia camp, Kafr Aqab, and Hizma town, and targeting the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency in Shuafat camp, under the pretext of applying the law and removing encroachments and violations in the streets and sidewalks, aims to mislead and obscure the political objective of this operation, which is annexation and isolating those areas from the capital Jerusalem, and imposing Israeli will in this vicinity, which includes about 300,000 residents, most of whom have been displaced from the holy city and currently reside in Kafr Aqab.

The General Secretariat indicated in an assessment issued by the media unit in the National Popular Conference for Jerusalem today, Wednesday, that Israel has effectively begun to confine Jerusalem to the Old City and the city itself to be predominantly Jewish with a minority of Palestinians, after it succeeded in the plan of forced displacement in which it used economic warfare and the weapon of geography against Jerusalemites, which forced them to seek alternatives for their livelihoods and secure suitable housing for their families after the occupation municipality, the executive arm of the Likud government, tightened the noose around them from all aspects, compelling them, under the weight of these immense pressures, to flee to the outskirts of Jerusalem.

Furthermore, the General Secretariat stated that what is happening in Qalandia camp and Kafr Aqab specifically aims to annexation par excellence, explaining that the occupation authorities announced that their operations in the area aim to remove random encroachments and illegal buildings, as well as confiscate illegal vehicles, while the undeclared aim is to create a buffer security zone extending from the airport area to the end of the back street of Kafr Aqab that connects it to al-Bireh city, which means that the occupation authorities want to provide this security depth to secure the families of settlers who will reside in a new settlement that is being constructed in the heart of Qalandia International Airport, which includes about 9,000 settlement units with an estimated 45,000 settlers, who will be a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment in this highly sensitive area.

In the assessment of what is happening, it is impossible to separate the military operation in Qalandia and Kafr Aqab and Hizma specifically from what recently occurred in the neighboring town of Qalandia, where demolition notifications were distributed and implemented speedily on the pretext that they are built in the area classified as "C," which constitutes 61% of the total area of the West Bank, while a new buffer wall is being built in Qalandia Airport area and the removal of all buildings adjacent to the current wall indicates that the occupation is working on establishing a security depth to protect the settlers who will come to the area within a year at the latest. This denies Israel's claims that it is executing a "municipal campaign" aimed at organizing the area.

The General Secretariat added: Even if we hypothetically assume that the goal is to organize the area, does this latter fall under the jurisdiction of the occupation municipality? And does it receive services from it? The answer is "no," as it is a neglected area located in the middle, meaning that the Palestinian Authority cannot provide services to it, while Israel has raised its hands off it since the Oslo agreement to this day, as the area suffers from chaos, intermittent water and electricity supply, and unequal health services for all residents, as the medical centers belonging to both "Clalit" and "Kupat Holim" provide treatment to patients from those carrying the Jerusalem ID specifically, as they carry Israeli insurance, while the majority of the population carries the green ID issued by the Palestinian National Authority, which forces them to seek treatment in private hospitals in Ramallah and al-Bireh at their own expense.

The assessment stated: The Israeli pretext is a major deception and the real intentions are annexation and expansion at the expense of the Palestinians in the area, while there is another undeclared goal which is the demolition of UNRWA facilities in Qalandia such as the Industrial Training Institute and perhaps extending this to include the UNRWA clinic and its schools in a serious attempt to eliminate all symbolic manifestations of the refugee issue and the right of return, which also applies to Shuafat camp and the UNRWA institutions present in it.

The General Secretariat stressed that Israel, with a green light from the United States, is working on liquidating the Palestinian cause through the annexation of the West Bank that is being quietly executed after the destruction of the Gaza Strip and the establishment of an international peace council therein, and ending the existence of UNRWA institutions that symbolize the existence of a historical political issue titled "the right of return," while reactivating the civil administration and its affiliated institutions, which means reducing the role of the Palestinian Authority in the administrative and service sectors, or rather undermining it to become merely an "ATM" dependent on foreign aid.

The General Secretariat warned that Israel is currently working on inventing a "new Jerusalem" for the displaced from the capital Jerusalem, centered in Kafr Aqab, while the Qalandia Training Institute will be the most prominent address for this invented city by fully seizing it and establishing a massive tourist and commercial area attractive on its ruins, knowing that its area is about 90 dunams and was built more than 70 years ago, after the great catastrophe of 1948.

In light of this, the General Secretariat called in its assessment for the following:
First: To be mindful of the security danger behind the military operation being carried out by the occupation authorities in the aforementioned areas under the title of "municipal campaign."

Second: The "UNRWA" must take tangible steps through the United Nations to stop the plundering of its premises aimed at eliminating the symbolic title of the refugee issue.

Third: The people of the area must thwart the opportunity for the Israeli occupation and not fall into the traps set for them, especially in Qalandia camp where there are hidden intentions to turn it into a disaster area like the northern camps.

Fourth: The Palestinian National Authority and the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization must act urgently with the Security Council and UN organizations to take actions aimed at stopping the Israeli aggression and its malicious procedures that aim to impose a new political reality on the ground.

Fifth: The international community must break its silence regarding this massacre that Jerusalemites are exposed to through comprehensive Israeli measures aimed at severing them from their city and replacing them with extremist settlers who violate Al-Aqsa daily with protection provided to them by the Israeli War Ministry.

Sixth: We appeal to the brotherly Jordan, as it holds the Hashemite guardianship over the religious sanctities in Jerusalem, to act in this regard, as its position and word resonate and may influence the official Arab level and the community. And we also demand our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to stand by the families of the Jerusalem camps to provide protection for them from the danger of liquidation and absorption by the Israeli occupation.