Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission: 8724 Violations Were Carried Out by the Israeli Occupation and the Colonizers Last Year
RAMALLAH, January 4, 2023 (Wafa), The Head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC), Mu’ayyad Sha’aban, said on Wednesday, that the Israeli occupation army and its colonizers carried out 8724 violations against the Palestinian citizens and their properties in various Palestinian governorates during the last year.
During a press release that was held in Ramallah, Sha’aban added that these violations were carried out during an era of a government that presented itself as being contrary to the Netanyahu government that preceded it, when in fact, it did not differ regarding its fundamental policies and procedures, especially those concerning the Palestinians, their land, their possessions, and their lives.
He noted that these violations were concentrated in the Ramallah and Al Bireh Governorate with 1646 violations, followed by the Bethlehem Governorate with 1267 violations, and the Hebron Governorate with 1241 violations.
118 Colonizers’ Violations that Resulted in the Martyrdom of 6 Palestinian Citizens
Sha’aban continued, “The number of violations committed by the colonizers amounted to 1187 violations ranging from their participation in the Israeli occupation army’s incursions of Palestinian cities and communities, as well as directly attacking Palestinian citizens and their properties. The colonizers carried out 417 violations in Nablus Governorate, followed by 203 violations in Ramallah and Al Bireh Governorate, and 172 violations in Hebron Governorate. These violations resulted in loss of six Palestinian lives”.
On January 6th, 2022, a colonizer ran-over 25-year-old Mustafa Yassin Falaneh from the Saffa Village, west of Ramallah with his car. On July 28th, 2022 a colonizer fired shots at protestors in Al Mughayyir Village, resulting in the death of 16-year-old Amjad Nash’at Abu Alya. On May 9th, 17-year-old Motasim Mohammad Talib Atallah from Al-Harmaleh Village in Bethlehem was killed after a colonizer opened fire at him. On June 21st, 2022 a colonizer fatally stabbed the citizen Ali Harb in the village of Iskaka in Salfit Governorate. On the 17th of the previous month, a colonizer ran-over and killed Mohannad and Mohammad Mtair, two brothers from the Qalandia Refugee Camp near Za’tarah Check-point south of Nablus. The colonizer fled the scene.
Uprooting and Vandalizing 10291 Trees
Sha’aban added, “The number of attacks that targeted olive trees reached 354 attacks that resulted in the uprooting, the damaging, the vandalizing of, and the poisoning of 10291 trees. 2436 of these trees were in Nablus Governorate, 1105 trees in the Bethlehem Governorate, and 1678 in the Hebron Governorate.
The Demolition of 715 Institutions and Notifying the Demolition of 1220 Others
Sha’aban pointed out that the Israeli occupation authorities issued 1220 demolition notifications to Palestinian institutions in the past year under the pretext of lack of permit, in a noticeable increase compared to previous years.
The majority of the demolition notifications, were concentrated in the Hebron Governorate with 400 notifications, while 225 were in the Bethlehem Governorate. In total, 378 demolition operations were carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities during 2022, which resulted in the demolition of 715 institutions in the occupied West Bank, which included Jerusalem, affecting 1,235 people in the process.
Sha’aban also pointed out that the implementation of 223 property seizures resulted in the seizure of a total of 294 Palestinian properties, including 48 agricultural tractors, 53 vehicles belonging to citizens, 26 trucks, 35 surveillance cameras, and 18 caravans. These operations were concentrated in Tubas Governorate with 91 seizures, followed by Hebron Governorate with 44 seizures.
Establishing 12 Colonial Outpost and Seizure Orders of 26242 Dunums
Regarding settler-colonialism, Sha’aban stated that the Israeli occupation authorities issued seizure orders of 26424 dunums of land using various pretexts, such as the declaration of natural reserves, expropriation orders, seizure orders, and State Land declarations. For example, in the area of Nabi Musa in Wadi al-Muqallek in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, the Israeli occupation seized 21,959 dunums and declared them as a nature reserve. Additionally, 60 dunums were seized in Nablus and Jerusalem, 488 dunums in Bethlehem, Tubas, and Hebron, and 3,918 dunums in Deir Istiya, Jinsafut, and Aqraba.
He pointed out that the colonizers established 12 colonial outposts on citizen’s lands in the Ramallah and Al Bireh, Nablus, Salfit, Qalqilyah, Hebron, Bethlehem, and Tubas governorates. Moreover, two colonial outposts were granted legal status, namely Mitzpe Dani which was legalized through a master plan on the lands of Deir Dibwan, and Mitzpe Karamim, which is built on the lands of Deir Jarir through an occupation court ruling.
The Approval of 83 Master Plans in the Occupied West Bank and Jerusalem to Build 8288 Colonial Units
Sha’aban continued that the Israeli occupation authorities approved around 83 master plans and outlines (detailed blueprints) in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem to establish 8288 new residential units. These plans targeted what amounts to 8482 dunums of the citizen’s lands.
He pointed out that the number of colonizers in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, has reached a total of 726, 427 distributed on 176 colonies and 186 colonial outposts, 86 of which are agricultural outposts.
Sha’aban emphasized that the most dangerous action being conducted these days is the silent annexation of Palestinian lands, especially in the Jordan Valley. This is being accomplished through creating a coercive environment that aims to displace the original Palestinian population, in addition to the actual annexation measures taking place in area “C”.
He clarified that, during the past year, the Israeli occupation authorities sought to expand on the Palestinian land within a set of strategic directions, the first of which is the procedures that target the eastern slopes of the occupied West Bank. Foremost of these procedures is led by armed colonizer gangs and protected by the army to control the Palestinian land and establish agricultural outposts aimed at expelling Palestinians, controlling their land and water resources, and emptying Palestinian pastures of the Palestinian shepherds as a means of striking at the core of the Palestinian agricultural and pastoral economy.
Notwithstanding the constant endeavors to empty the hills southwest of Hebron through the coercive environment imposed by the Israeli occupation. Likewise, the measures targeting the occupied West Bank, especially the establishment of massive colonial blocs that divide the West Bank and besiege Palestinians in small enclaves surrounded by colonies, colonial roads, tunnels, and bridges serving the settler-colonial project to completely eliminate the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state. Finally, the Judaization of Jerusalem through implementing of a series of plans that besiege the holy city and diminish its historical, cultural, and humanitarian significance in favor of the occupation's narrative and its alleged existence.
Sha’aban stated that these measures, which are no longer hidden from anyone, constitute a flagrant breach of the international law and conventions that condemn colonialism; however, this crime is met with total silence from the international community that upholds double standards when it comes to Palestinians and encourages the Israeli occupation to continue committing these crimes.