Conflicts & War

Israel accelerates settlement expansion in East Jerusalem amid Gaza war

By Joan Mas Autonell

Jerusalem, Feb 15 (EFE).- Since Gaza’s war outbreak, Israel has accelerated its plans to build and expand settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, causing concern in many Palestinian neighborhoods, such as Umm Tuba, which are threatened by constructions that would further restrict their already narrow borders.

For decades, the more than 14,000 Palestinians living in this neighborhood with old stone houses have increasingly felt the impact of Israel’s urban development plans.

In the late 1990s, Israel confiscated much of their land to build Har Homa, a settlement on a hill overlooking the Palestinian neighborhood, where many residents once grew almonds and grapes.

“This was my father’s land, with almond and grapevine trees,” said Ali, a 60-year-old resident of Umm Tuba, whose rural way of life was disrupted by the growing colonization, which is once again threatening this ancient village annexed to Jerusalem’s municipal limits after the Israeli occupation in 1967.

Jerusalem currently houses around 350,000 Palestinians, about 40% of the entire population. However, most of them only have residency permits and face significant obstacles to living in the city without citizenship.

Residents of Umm Tuba, like those in other Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem, complain about Israel’s refusal to grant them building permits.

They view this policy as discriminatory and aimed at tipping the city’s demographic balance in favor of a Jewish majority.

Ali understands that Israel plans on building two more settlements near their territory on two vacant plots of land confiscated from Umm Tuba families where a new road is under construction.

“We are surrounded, and the situation seems to be getting worse,” Ali said.

Cousins Yamal and Osama Abu Tair look out over the area with resignation and decry Israel’s confiscation of part of their land.

Most Umm Tuba residents used to inherit land through generations without formal registration, in a traditional system that Israel abolished, claiming they couldn’t prove ownership, which contributed to the dispossession of Palestinian families in the village.

“Since the year 2000, three of our family houses were demolished, and our lands taken away,” said the cousins, gazing at the hill where Har Homa stands, historically known as Abu Ghanim by the local Palestinian population.

According to the Israeli NGO Ir Amim, which studies settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, Israel has accelerated its expansionist plans since the Oct. 7 conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Ir Amim denounces the authorities, through the Ministry of Justice, for accelerating the confiscation of land to favor settlers or right-wing Israeli entities promoting colonization in occupied Palestinian territory.

“Meanwhile, Palestinians in East Jerusalem are constantly deprived of basic rights to housing and property, while the State continues its strong investment in promoting settlements to strengthen Israeli control over more territory,” alleged Ir Amim.

Among the 17 plans affecting various Palestinian neighborhoods in the city, the two projects for Umm Tuba include one in its initial phase, which aims to build about 650 homes, and another already approved that will result in the construction of nearly 1,800 homes for Israelis.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, Israeli pro-settlement groups are behind some of these projects, working through real estate companies and cooperating closely with the State.

Plans in neighborhoods like Umm Tuba “would definitively fragment much of the surrounding Palestinian space,” Ir Amim spokeswoman emphasized

“Instead, they would create Israeli territorial contiguity with other existing or planned settlements, such as Har Homa or Givat HaMatos,” she added.

Related Articles

Back to top button