![]() Therefore, the settler umbrella group Yesha Council is working in coordination with the Civil Administration affiliated with the Israeli army to impose control over larger areas and declare them a national reserve to ensure open-ended control over them for years, without the need to renew the decisions, he added. Suhail Khaliliah, director of the Settlement Monitoring Unit at the Applied Research Institute, told Al-Monitor that part of the area referred to in the plan is classified by Israel as “state land,” and another part is made of closed military zones or nature reserves, according to Israeli decisions that are almost expired. He noted that this project aims to isolate the central region (Jerusalem) completely from the West Bank, thus cutting off communication between the north of the West Bank and its south, which means the impossibility of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state. He noted that the core of Israeli politics is to control the land through several means and tools, including the declaration of nature reserves and the establishment of national parks. Regarding the political repercussions of this plan, Tafkaji said, “The target area is a longitudinal area that extends from the northeast of the Jordan Valley to the southeast, and there are settlements that Israel is working to expand.” Agricultural investments in that area would also be promoted since Israel was able to dig water wells and establish an infrastructure of networks for use in previous settlement expansion, he added. Tafkaji pointed out that this area is full of tourist, historical and religious sites, such as the shrine of Nabi Musa, the Baptismal site, Qarn Sartaba (Alexandreion) and the Herodion mountainous area, which will come under absolute Israeli control. Israel would make a huge leap toward implementing the Jerusalem 2050 project (also known as Jerusalem 5800), especially in the Nabi Musa area, where it plans to establish the largest airport in the Middle East to receive 35 million passengers.” Tafkaji explained that “this project achieves several goals for Israel, mainly the ethnic cleansing of the Bedouins and their expulsion from these areas under the pretext of establishing a national park. Khalil al-Tafkaji, director of maps at the Jerusalem-based Arab Studies Society, told Al-Monitor, “This project helps Israel fully put its hands on the area extending from the Ramallah wilderness to the Jordan Valley, passing through Arab al-Rashayida and the wilderness of Ta’amra and Al-Sawahirah, which is a vast mountainous area overlooking the Jordan Valley, up to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.” The unveiling of the new plan came a day before the White House announced the program of US President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East, which extends from July 13-16 and includes stops in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Saudi Arabia. The plan also largely supports settlement construction in the E1 area near the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, as Israel Hayom quoted director of the Judea and Samaria Cluster Keren Geffen as saying that they seek to create a new, unprecedented national park in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and establish a single network. ![]() The area in question is located on the open land between the north and south of the West Bank, which means that implementation of the plan would be the final nail in the coffin of establishing a Palestinian state that is geographically contiguous. Mobile restaurants would be established in the park, in addition to a hotel at the northern end of the Dead Sea and a joint information and reservation center. Israel Hayom newspaper revealed June 13 a settlement plan to build a national park covering around 1 million dunams (a dunam equals 1,000 square meters) between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea in the West Bank.Īlthough the Israeli government did not comment on the project, nor did it set a date to present the plan to competent authorities for approval, parts of the plan are already being implemented.Īs per the plan, which would separate the northern West Bank from its south, nearly half of the land overlooking the Dead Sea would be seized. Reports of a new massive settlement project in the West Bank are proving controversial among Palestinians. US President Joe Biden and outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Nafali Bennett had hoped for ‘ calm’ ahead of Biden’s visit, but Israeli settlement plans may make that unrealistic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |