Human rights organizations call on the Palestinians and Israelis to object to the construction of the E1 settlement project

Human rights organizations call on the Palestinians and Israelis to object to the construction of the E1 settlement project

• 2020-08-20 23:38:11
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Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations together today, Thursday, called on the Palestinian and Israeli public to expedite the presentation of objections to the Supreme Planning Council in the military government in the settlement of Beit El (the Israeli Civil Administration) on the E1 project during the week Next, before the expiry of the objection period, next Friday (current 20).

Peace Now, Ir Amim and the Association for Justice have jointly submitted an objection to the Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration against building plans for approximately 3,500 housing units in E1, and in parallel, the organizations launched a campaign (together with the non-governmental organization Mechazkim) calling on the public to Signing the objection, and within a few days it was already signed by more than 1500 objectors, before the end of the period of objection to this dangerous settlement project that divides the West Bank into two parts, northern and southern, and eliminating geographical contiguity in the West Bank and isolating Jerusalem.

(Peace Now) said in an invitation to it Thursday: "On the eve of the last elections, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the submission of construction plans in E1, after which plans No. 420/4/7 and 420/4/10 were published to build 3412 housing units for deposit. In East Jerusalem, in the heart of the West Bank, any public objectors will be open until August 28, 2020, to present their objections.

And she continued, "The construction in E1 is mainly fatal to the possibility of a two-state solution, because it divides the West Bank into two parts - a northern and southern region - and prevents the development of central Ramallah - East Jerusalem - the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank, even from the perspective of Israeli development and planning. In E1, it will do more harm than good and may lead to the economic and social weakening of Jerusalem. "

Under the heading (Main Arguments for the Objection), (Peace Now) said in the text of the invitation: “The objection was prepared by Uri Reischer, an architect who specializes in regional planning and Palestinian planning in the West Bank in particular, and is based on:

a. The E1 area is necessary for the development of the Palestinians (as far as the city of Tel Aviv is considered necessary for the development of Israel), and therefore, the Israeli construction in E1 may destroy the chances of peace. Building in E1 will seriously harm the development capacity of the Palestinian state or any independent Palestinian space.

She continued, "E1 is the only land reserve in the Bethlehem - Jerusalem - Ramallah metropolitan area, which enables the development of an urban city necessary for economic growth and development. Without the E1 area, a sustainable Palestinian state cannot be created, with the potential for economic and social development and a capital in East Jerusalem. These are necessary conditions for achieving peace and a two-state solution, and therefore settlement in the E1 area is considered fatal in terms of peace prospects. "

In the second clause, b. The presence of a settlement in E1 will harm the development potential of East Jerusalem, which is the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, and about 450,000 Palestinians live in Jerusalem and the surrounding neighborhoods (such as Abu Dis, Anata, etc.). E1 is the only land reserve in the East Jerusalem area of ​​the size, quality, and great continuity of development. The city, and the E1 area enjoys a high level of connectivity with East Jerusalem, which allows for good urban communication and is necessary for economic and social development.

And she continued, the Israeli construction in E1 will isolate East Jerusalem from the Palestinian space, and will lead to the death of the city and its transformation into an ocean in the heart of the Palestinian territories.

In Item No. C, any settlement in E1 would harm the development potential of a central Palestinian city between Ramallah - East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and E1 is important not only for East Jerusalem, but for the entire urban area, and the area from Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Beit Lahm is the economic, public and cultural center of the West Bank, in addition to the historical, governmental and tourist center of the West Bank.

"E1 is one of the only land reserves left in the urban core, and as such it has special development potential and a function that is more important in relation to other land reserves, for example, travel distance to employment centers, and the ability to serve a number of neighborhoods and the larger cities around." And more".

As for item number "D", it clarifies that settlement in E1 would harm the development potential at the regional level of the entire West Bank. Ramallah - East Jerusalem - Bethlehem is not only within the commuting distance from E1 (the reasonable daily commuting distance to the workplace) , But also other cities and cities such as Jericho in the east and Bedouin in the west. Area E1 is located in the heart of the longitudinal strip between Jenin and Hebron along Highway 60 in the West Bank. This sector is the main strip of development at the regional level (development in other areas as in Wadi Jordan is not the same in quality as development in the central sector).

She added, “The E1 area is also located on the Jerusalem-Jericho road at an intersection of critical regional importance, and it is a potential regional hub linking Jericho (and ultimately Jordan), with the north and south of the West Bank, near the main roads, and this area can be used for unique regional uses that are not possible. In other areas - such as the central business district, the major transportation hub, the national stadium, government institutions, and open spaces mixed with housing and employment. "

Meanwhile, Article E speaks that the Israeli construction in E1 will constitute blatant discrimination and a violation of the right to equality during the 53 years of Israeli rule in the West Bank. Paying attention to settlement construction only, for example, while Israel established more than 130 official settlements and dozens of industrial zones, quarries, tourist sites and more, Israel did not create a (single settlement) (city) for the Palestinian population, out of hundreds of thousands of dunams of state land. Allocated to various uses in the West Bank, 99.8% was allocated to Israeli use, and only 0.2% to the Palestinians.

And she continued, “In its ruling on the Expropriation Law (the Regulation Law) in June 2020, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that this discrimination is unlawful, and that the Palestinians have the right to equality, and that construction in E1 for Israelis will constitute discrimination and in this sense also a violation of international law.

Regarding the item "and", in terms of Israeli development, E1 is geographically separated from any Israeli area E1 connected to West Jerusalem and the settlement (Ma'ale Adumim) by a road between cities, with no possibility of integrated development. In fact, this is another suburb in Jerusalem isolated from The city can be built anywhere else around Jerusalem. "

Article G: Any settlement in E1 would weaken Jerusalem and deplete its businessmen - as is the case in other suburbs, and a "donut" is formed where the city center is the weakest part, and the development principles stipulated in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office speak As a "national policy" it is about focusing the development of Jerusalem in the city itself, on urban renewal and in strengthening the center rather than the suburbs.