Al-Quds governorate warns of expansion of settlements, judaicization
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The governorate warned of the Israeli government's plan to authorize more illegal settlement units, sparking fears of the Judaicization of Al Quds.
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Muslim worshippers gather at the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ahead of the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025 (AP)
Al-Quds governorate confirmed new Israeli plans to build thousands of settlement units, constituting a war crime under international law, in a statement published on Tuesday.
The governorate expressed its fear of Israeli plans to approve the construction of more than 1,000 settlement units in Al-Quds as part of a systematic campaign that aims to annex what's left of Palestinian authority and enforce demographic and cultural change in the area under the "Larger Quds" plan to Judaicize the area.
The Israeli occupation plans to expand the illegal settlements of "Nof Zion" and "Har Homa", which are built over Palestinians' lands in Sur Baher and al-Mokabber mountain by building new settler housing units, educational facilities, and synagogues in a bid to Judaicize the area.
The Al-Quds governorate warned of another Israeli plot to formally combine three massive settlement blocs: "Gush Etzion," which includes 14 settlements in the southwest of al-Quds; "Ma'ale Adumim," which comprises 8 settlements extending from the Eastern part of al-Quds to Jordan Valley; and "Giv'at Ze'ev," which consists of 5 colonies located in the northwest part of al-Quds, into what is referred to as the "Quds Municipality boundaries."
The governorate emphasized this would impose the "Greater Jerusalem" project over an area estimated at 600 km², equivalent to 10% of the West Bank, fragmenting Palestinian geography, isolating the northern West Bank from the south, and consequently eliminating any hope of implementing the two-state solution.
This comes amid intensified efforts by the Israeli occupation government to annex the West Bank, occupying and displacing Palestinians while expanding illegal settlements
Watchdog warns of plans to expand settlements
The Israeli Higher Planning Council is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the approval of 1,170 additional housing units in four illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli watchdog Peace Now.
Most of these settlements are planned for Gvaot, which houses 50 settlers near the Palestinian commune of Nahalin, southwest of Beit Lahem. Other settlements benefitting from the authorization include Itamar, Shaarei Tikva, and Givat Zeev.
According to Peace Now, the expected approval would expand the settlement of Gvaot twentyfold, emphasizing that the expansion of settlements will not "bring security to Israelis or Palestinians—on the contrary, they will deepen the conflict, fuel violence, and push a political solution further away."
On the other hand, Israeli settlers have intensified their effort to land grab vast areas of the West Bank, which saw the displacement of Bedouin areas that are under Palestinian Authority control following a spike in settler violence after October 7.
A study from the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission published on March 3 revealed that Israeli occupation forces and settlers launched 1,705 attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank last month, with the commission’s director, Muayyed Shaaban, reporting on Monday that 1,475 were carried out by IOF and 230 by settlers, while Nablus saw the highest number with 300, followed by al-Khalil with 267 and Ramallah with 263.
