August - October 2000
Jerusalem Settlement Update
Report*
Overview
* Unless otherwise indicated, the
following information is compiled from the reports of the Orient House - Maps
and Water Center and Arab Studies Society - Land Research Center.
Since
the beginning of the Palestinian uprising in September, incidents of settlement
activity both sanctioned by Israel and initiatives by Jewish settlers has increased. Included in making more 'facts on the ground,'
Israeli settler attacks has also caused numerous injuries and damage to
Palestinian property.
New Israeli Settlement Activity
in Jerusalem
Ras Al-Amud
New Settlement Outposts
In
September, new Israeli settlement outposts were established in the Palestinian
area of Ras Al-Amud. According to reports, Jewish youth from the Israeli
settler group Ataret Cohanim occupied three Palestinian houses near the Jewish
Cemetary on the Mount of Olives. The three houses, which cover an area of 210 m2,
were tenanted by Palestinian families until they were forcefully evacuated in
1988 due to ownership claims made by the Israeli "Jerusalem Burial
Society".[1]
Settlement Near Completion
The
three occupied houses will give additional support to the other Ateret Cohanim
settlement outpost in Ras Al-Amud, being built with the sponsorship of Jewish
American Millionaire Irving Moskowitz.
Originally approved by Prime Minister Ehud Barak on 13 January 1999, the
132 planned living units of the Ras Al-Amud settlement are now near completion
and the marketing process has alreadly begun. Jewish buyers are currently
signing contracts for the apartments at prices ranging from 103,000 to 212,000
USD.
Mount of Olives
On
October 13, Yerushalime Newspaper reported that plans to enlarge the Beit Orot
settlement, near Augusto Victoria Hospital, are near final approval. Taken from the Armenian Orthodox Church
by Ateret Cohanim in 1991, the plan entails building a complex of buildings on
an area of 3000 m2. The
plan also includes additional building on a 10,000 m2 parking lot.
On
October 29, a car full of Israeli settlers stopped by the entrance of Augusto
Victoria Hospital whereapon a settler descended from the car and shot employee,
Musa Harzallah, in the right sholder before driving off. This latest attack follows a series of
incidents wherein Israeli settlers and Israeli soldiers routinely intimidate
personnel from the hospital.
Officials at Augusto Victoria report that the Israeli Army periodically
establishes closures at the hospital barring both staff and patients from
entering.
Jabal Abu Ghneim Settlement
("Har Homa")
On
15 September, the Israeli Housing Ministry approved the second phase of
settlement construction for the settlement of "Har Homa". The new phase entails the construction
of another 3,000 new housing units.
The General Manager of the Israeli Housing Ministry, Shlomo Ben Iliahu,
confirmed that, to date, 2,200 units have already been built and that the
Housing Ministry is planning to market the second phase and prepare for the
third phase which will include an additional 1,000 housing units.
The
West Jerusalem Municipality Committee has also discussed plans to build an additional
4,000 housing units on Jabal Abu Ghneim called "Har Homa B".[2]
If these plans are approved, the proposed
settlement of "Har Homa" would total 10,500 planned living
units. Added to this total are proposed
plans to build another new settlement named "Giba'at Ha'arba'a" on
the Al-Arba'a Hilltop next to the Mar Elias Monestary. This new settlement along with the
plans to transform the existing caravan settlement of Givat Hamatos, will total
4,600 living units.
If
these plans are implemented, Jerusalem will be physically sealed from the south,
isolating the city from its Palestinian hinterland.
Gilo
While
the media commonly refers to Israeli settlement of Gilo under the euphamism
"Jerusalem neighborhood" or "suburb," Gilo is built
entirely on confiscated Palestinian property. For the record, Israel confiscated 2,700 dunums from Beit
Jala and Shorafat villages on 30 August 1970 under the pretext of "public
interest". According to the
original master plan of the Gilo settlement, 9,000 housing units were
constructed to accommodate 3,500 Jewish settlers. The Gilo settlement, whose construction began in 1971 and
was completed in 1979, is now inhabited by over 30,000 Israeli settlers.
By-Pass Roads
The Jerusalem "Ring
Road"
On
18 September, acting Interior Minister Haim Ramon approved the confiscation of
658 dunums of Palestinian property in East Jerusalem to complete the eastern
section of the Jerusalem "Ring Road" after receiving the go-ahead
from Ehud Barak.
The
land confiscations have occurred in six Palestinian neighborhoods including
Eisawiyah, A-Tor, Eizariyah, Abu Dis, Ras Al-Amud and Sur Baher. Plans for the road entail three tunnels
and one bridge, spanning 15.5 km.
The road is expected to be completed in three years with a budget of 900
million shekels.
The
construction of the "Ring Road" is intended to cordon off occupied
East Jerusalem from the West Bank and connect Israeli settlements. The road will consolidate Israeli
control over Israeli Municipal Jerusalem and divert Palestinian traffic awayt
from the core of the city.