Israeli occupation seizes land in Ariha, Palestine
The Head of the Committee for the Defense of Land Younis Jaafar says the Israeli move is part of the expansionist scheme known as the E-1 plan.
The Israeli occupation seizes 22,000 dunums of Palestinian land in As-Sawahira Ash-Sharqiya and Nabi Musa areas, south of Ariha.
The Head of the Committee for the Defense of Land, Younis Jaafar said, “This plan is both old and new, requiring the seizure of Palestinian land extending from the Nabi Musa area to Khan Al-Ahmar and As-Sawahira Ash-Sharqiya area east of Al-Quds, in order to close the eastern cordon of Al-Q within the recurrent encroachments of the occupation on lands in Umm Rayan area and Jorat Al Sharq, Khan Al Ahmar, and Wadi Abu Hindi south of Ariha and east of occupied Al-Quds.
He emphasized that this announcement is made in the context of the expansionist scheme known as E-1 plan.
Muayyad Shaaban, the Head of the Palestinian Authority's Settlement and Wall Resistance Commission, condemned the Israeli occupation's announcement of the seizure of thousands of dunums under the guise of a "natural reserve".
He stressed that the expropriation order was intended to impose a fait accompli on the land by changing its features and further dividing the occupied West Bank into unconnected cantons, preventing the establishment of a geographically contiguous and sovereign Palestinian state.
It is worth mentioning that Palestinians from As-Sawahira Ash-Sharqiya, Silwan, Anata, Al-Khan Al-Ahmar, and Al-Isawiya own the lands seized by the Israeli occupation’s plan, and they have official proofs of ownership.
The announcement calls for the closure of Abu George Road, which connects Al-Quds, the Dead Sea, and Ariha. It also contributes to isolating the Ariha and the Jordan Valley from occupied Al-Quds, as well as forcefully displacing residents of Khan Al-Ahmar and the local Bedouin communities.