March 12, 2007
Foreigners - Americans Jews and Jews settled in other countries are not interested in restoring and returning the possessions to the right owners - the Palestinians. The second settler generation now invading Palestine lands have the same obsession - to make profit on other peoples possessions - as had their predecessors - the Zionists that invaded and settled in Palestine 60 years ago. The new generation of Israeli settlers - citizens of other countries - ( many with dual passports) - are in search to re - settle for a second home on Arab land. - And they demand it all - and the very exclusive : Preferably settle in old landmarked Palestinian Patrician villas - or else in the old Arab quarters of old East Jerusalem - or in an old Arab village by the sea, or rule over fertile Palestinian Arab farmland.
Of course the Palestinian population - the descendants of historical Palestine, are paying the highest price - as did their grandparents - in the daily suffering of ethnic cleansing and annexation of land and property - struggling to survive - carrying for decades the heaviest load of gross injustice - imprisoned on the Gaza Strip or inside the occupied West Bank - victims of increased Israeli violence - living as second class members - in humiliation - oppressed by the occupant - witness to a deliberate Judaization of Palestinian lands. Shot to death by Israeli snipers - if they as political activist protest peacefully against Israeli ongoing land theft - or as members of the Palestinian Homeland defense - assassinated by Israeli death squads - in mass - abductions the heroes of the Palestinian resistance apprehended - then held in captivity by infamous Israeli interrogators - with long documentation of brutal methods of torture. Raped by captors - handcuffed behind chairs for up to 120 days - having head covered with a sack, dipped in urine or feces - guards playing loud music next to the ears - frequently being taunted with threats of physical and sexual violence.
Mean while the Israelis continues its war crimes unpunished -under the eyes of the beholders around the world - attempting to halt the free fall of an economy close to ruin - the annexation and its theft of Palestinian land continues. - The Israelis uses all kind of trix to redefine the local real-estate market - to boost up an economy that is falling apart - caused by excessive manipulation in warfare on other people and other nations - and at the very days and nights of defeat - still no honor has been earned and no assets are left - but the stolen land and the property of the people they continue to torment - to be sold at the highest profit - in the cloudy and obscure world of real estate market- by the masters on the field - the Israeli profiteer.
______
While the Israelis real - estate market demands more land - that may boost the Israeli badly battered economy - the old generation of "pioneers"( Zionist settlers) of "Israel" - them self are not so well coming to the new ones - the secular middle class Jerusalemites can no longer afford to live in many areas - and they have been highly vocal in their anti pioneer sentiments.
The arriving new settler jews - the new Israeli " pioneers" - from abroad are mostly absent during most of the year - leaving the buildings empty - the settlements are looking like ghost towns.The Israeli urban development organization Furura Institute are suggesting supplemental property taxes for non - residential home owners or as an incentives for reale - estate developers to include affordable housing aimed at local residents in luxery projects.Many of the "pioneers" - in their 40s and 50s say they are preparing to settle in Israel and plan to use their home abroad - as a second home.
Three miles east of the Green Line, Modi'in Illit was founded in 1996. It is situated some 20 miles east of Tel Aviv and 8 miles west of the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah, on what were then the orchards, fields and pastures of five Palestinian villages - Ni'lin, Kharbata, Saffa, Bil'in and Dir Qadis. Today Modi'in Illit is among the fastest-growing Israeli settlements in the West Bank, soon to be granted the status of a city, estimated a population of over 30,000.
The Israeli Housing Ministry projects 150,000 residents by the year 2020. Along with the huge ring of Israeli-only housing around "Greater" Jerusalem, the eastward conurbation of Ma’ale Adumim, and other rapidly expanding settler towns such as Ariel, Karnei Shomron, Betar Illit and others in the cluster of settlements at Gush Etzion, it is part of the Israeli murky real- estate market boom - that has changed the pastoral Palestinian West Bank landscape over the past ten years.
_________
A real estate marketer in Jerusalem reveal - that most of the new generation of settler "pioneers" do not live in Jerusalem full time - but are visiting in Jewish holy days like Passover and Sukkot and during a few weeks in the summer- "in the meantime the apartments stands empty." The second generation settlers ( mostly American Jews) are demanding bomb- shelters,private parking,air-conditioning and central heating. Some of them also demand gated communities like in the 600 unit of Eden Hilllls in the Levant.The American Jew's also covert the sights and sounds of Jerusalem itself and the views of the Dome of The Rock and the Old City.However properties within the Old city are very rare to find - and estimates prices of millions of usd.
The" Anglo Saxon Real Estate" in Jerusalem - claim their buyers usually spend between 400.000 to 1 milllion usd for apartments. Another real estate owner "Davyd Tall" - the owner of "Jerusalem Homes" claim that 65 percent of all pioners are American Jews in their 40s and 50s. They want to be close to Jerusalem and to the Holy City - and within walking distanese to the Old City, the Western Wall - concentrated in Jerusalem's neightborhod's, including Rehavia, KIriat Shmuel, Mamilllla and Talibeh - a quarter of all property are sold to the new bread of settler pioneers.
Eden Hills a planned community - a 15 minutes ride from southeastern Jerusalem are expecting a new breed of pioners and second homebuyers.Last year the second home buyers were less then 5 percent of the total homebuyer bussiness in Israel. - The prices are roughly above 500 usd a square foot,real estates was sold in 2006 to buyers living abroad - for 1.2 billlion usd - according to the Israelis Central Bank - it is more then a double the 445 million usd 3 years earlier.
In TelAviv's newest developments including the Yoo Tel Aviv Twin Tower - a 40 story cylinder building - spaa's, swimming pools and of couse doorman and security has become standard - and views of the Mediteranian sea are very much sought after. Parts of Tel Aviv are in the middle of a face lift a 'la "Manhattan" style - designed by Philip Stark and Richard Meier. Even the builder mogul Donald Trump has entered the Tel Aviv marketplace - planning a 70- story residential and comercial tower - in the surburb of Ramat Gan.
________
Information was leaked out from the Israeli government a few years ago - and this report tells that 39 percent of the land confiscated by the Israeli government for settlements on the occupied West Bank - is privately owned by Palestinian families. For example - about 86 percent of Here> Maale Adumim, an Israeli settlement long considered as illegal, sits on privately held Palestinian property, according to governmental information.Within prominent settlements the Israelis has said it plans to keep in final border agreement, the information reveal, that some 86.4 percent of Maale Adumim, a large Jerusalem suburb built settlement on private Palestinian land.
The report in the here>confidential document indicates - that beyond the private owned Palestinian land, 5.8 percent is so-called survey land, meaning of unclear ownership, and 1.3 percent private Jewish land. The rest, about 54 percent, is considered "state land" or has "no clear designed defenition", though Palestinians say that a large area is representing old agricultural land expropriated by the Israelis.
The Israelis has asserted that it respect Palestinian private property in the West Bank and only takes land there legally - or for "security reasons", temporarily.Information sourses though - indicates that 40 percent of the land that the Israelis plans to keep in any future deal with the Palestinians - is private owned land.- Israeli real estate planning projects is by the international community considered to be a wide-scale violations of private Palestinian property rights - by the Israeli government and its settlers.
The report does not include Jerusalem, which the Israelis has illegally annexed and not considered being a part of the Palestinian West Bank, although much of the world regards East Jerusalem as occupied. The world community also considers Israeli settlements on occupied land to be illegal under the International law. International law requires an occupying power to protect private property, the Israelis has annexed and stolen the land they occupy in a violent manner - and without legal justification.
________
On January 18, 2005, Israeli occupying forces handed over to the residents of the Palestinian villages of Beir Nabala, Al Jib and Al Juderia three military orders numbered (05/10/T Judea & Samaria 2005), (05/13/T Judea & Samaria 2005) & (05/11/T Judea & Samaria 2005) stipulating the confiscation of 585.8 dunums (0.59 km2) of agricultural lands cultivated with olive trees - the land with the old olive trees would be uprooted and destroyed - to be used for the construction of the Israeli Segregation Wall.
Today, like many other Palestinian villages in the West bank, these three villages are heavily dependent on agriculture and shepherding which comprise more than 70% of the village's economy. The Segregation Wall, however, is isolating theses agricultural lands and has placed them off limits to the villages' residents and have devastating effects on the humanitarian situation in the villages.
One case of a settlement - the Israelis are intending to keep - is in Givat Zeev, five miles north of Jerusalem. Rabah Abdellatif, a Palestinian who lives in the nearby village of Al Jib, says the land belongs to him. The documents he has filed with the Israeli military court - holding the suppremacy of the Palestinian West Bank, seem to favor Mr. Abdellatif.
In 1999, Israeli officials confirmed, that Rabah Abdellatif was even granted a judgment ordering the demolition of a synagogue built without permits. However the Israelis for the past 8 years, has done nothing to enforce its finale legal judge ments.The synagogue still stands on Muslim Arab land, and Mr. Abdellatif has no access to his own property.
Al Jib, Al Judera and Beit Hanina Al Tahta is expected to be closed - and at least 15000 Palestinians (according to PCBS 2005) will lose access to Ar Ram town and its services. Many difficulties are arising because Palestinian residents will have to do the travel through alternative routes in the direction of Rafat city, Qalandyia and then to Ar Ram town and the neighboring Palestinian towns. Such routes are longer than the usual tracks residents often take to reach their destinations and they are costly as well.
Besides, these Palestinians towns and villages sealed from Jerusalem city and their access to the city controlled by wall Gates and under ground Tunnels. This in turn requires the Palestinians to apply for special permits based on selective classifications in demand of the Israeli Army.
________
Beir Nabala and Al Judera villages are located about 9 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem city. Both villages constitute a total population of 8446 (Beir Nabala 6264, Al Judera 2182) inhabitants according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBC) 2005 and constitute a built-up area of 1904.35 dunums spreading on the neighboring villages of Al Jib, Beit Hanina Al Tahata and Betunia city. 551.43 dunums (0.5 km2) of the total are located with the Villages' built-up area. Both villages' Residents depend generally on agriculture as their source of living where most of the lands are cultivated with Old Roman Olive trees.
Al Jib village:
The Palestinian village of Al-Jib is located 12 km northwest of Jerusalem city. The village can be reached through the main Jerusalem-Ramallah Road, from al Ram junction, where a road leads westward to the Beir Nabala village and then to al-Jib. The built-up area include an area of 641.31 dunums.
The village of Al Jib houses a total population of 4775 inhabitants according to the (PCBS 2005) where five major clans constitute its population: Abo Hamoud, Abo Dia', Al Shahbna, Assaf, Hatab and Al Halayka. Its inhabitants turned to depend on agriculture (mostly Olive and Wheat) following the eruption of the second Intifada in September 2000 and after losing their Jobs inside Israel.
The Wall and International law
The Israeli Segregation Wall has harsh impacts on the Palestinian society, especially that it cuts off the agricultural lands from its original owners, and deprives them their living; thus affecting the economic situation.
The wall also restricts the movement of Palestinians and extends to affect the educational and medical systems as well. Palestinians living in the three villages will lose their contacts with the nearby villages and centers due to restrictions already imposed on them by checkpoints and will significantly increase by the completion of the Segregation Wall.
The construction of the Segregation Wall is a blatant violation of International law and UN resolutions.The Fourth Geneva Conventions, Article 53 states that : Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities,to social or cooperative organizations,
is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.
© Copyright 2006 - PalestineFreeVoice - All rights reserved
|
