Israel steps up land grab
By Jennifer Thompson
Israel's announcement of the confiscation of 53 hectares of Palestinian-owned land in East Jerusalem, to build a new Israeli settlement and a police headquarters, is the biggest single land grab since the 1967 "annexation" of Jerusalem.
The announcement, publicly backed by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on May 3, is part of an Israeli plan to surround Jerusalem, isolating it from the remainder of the occupied West Bank, before Jerusalem's status is discussed in the Oslo peace process.
Under the 1993 Declaration of Principles signed in Oslo, Israel and the PLO agreed to discuss the final status of Jerusalem in 1996, with the understanding that the facts on the ground would not be changed by Israel. This understanding was also contained in Rabin's 1992 promise to freeze the building of new settlements, a condition of the granting of $10 billion in loan guarantees by the US.
Since that time and especially since the 1993 agreement, land confiscations and settlement building has been vastly accelerated, with Israel claiming that the activity is merely the expansion of existing settlements rather than new establishments. The settlement building has been criticised by the US without the application of any real pressure to halt it. In fact, 93 US senators in March signed a non-binding referendum asking US Congress to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The new confiscation follows closely the rejection of an appeal by Jahalin Bedouins against the confiscation of their land for an expansion of the Ma'ale Adumin settlement, near Jerusalem, on April 4. The Jahalin have been waging a long struggle against the seizure of their land, with significant support from Palestinian and Israeli peace groups. The Ramallah Military Court, in rejecting their appeal, decided to expel them at once, without specifying anywhere for them to go. Bulldozing of their houses began immediately.