Israeli Occupiers to Build New Settlement Between Jerusalem and West Bank
Map showing the area slated for the new Nahal Heletz settlement. Photo: X/ @EmekShaveh
August 15, 2024 Hour: 10:31 am
Nahal Heletz disrupts Palestinian territorial continuity and contributes to Israel’s annexation of the West Bank.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Civil Administration announced that Israel will build the first West Bank settlement since 2017. The Nahal Heletz outpost will cover approximately 148 acres (about 600,000 square meters) southwest of Jerusalem, near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.
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The Times of Israel, however, said that construction of the new West Bank settlement is likely years away since obtaining the zoning plans and construction permits would take time.
Peace Now, an organization opposing the settlements, warned that Nahal Heletz “will be an enclave in a Palestinian zone and will bring about friction and security challenges.” It is designed to disrupt Palestinian territorial continuity, which contributes to Israel’s de facto annexation of the West Bank.
The Israeli settlement will be built on land that belongs to Battir, a Palestinian village known for its ancient agricultural terraces recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich confirmed the demarcation of some 60 hectares for the new settlement, admitting that the Zionist state’s decision is a retaliation for “the Palestinian Authority’s measures against Israel and the unilateral recognition by several states of a Palestinian state.”
The appropriation of Palestinian land in Bethlehem governorate will turn the Nahal Heletz outpost into a settlement that will connect 18 Gush Etzion colonies with Jerusalem.
“Connecting Gush Etzion with Jerusalem is a national mission! No anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist decision will stop the development of the agreement. We will continue to fight against the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state and create facts on the ground,” Smotrich threatened.
On June 28, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved legalizing five outposts in the occupied West Bank and imposed new sanctions on the Palestinian National Authority. These measures were proposed by Finance Minister Smotrich, who is a Zionist settler.
On Thursday, the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry denounced the land grab, stressing that the new arbitrary Israeli actions occur “in light of the international failure to implement the relevant UN resolutions, especially resolution 2334.”
“It is part of an expansionist colonial policy that includes the construction and legalization of dozens of colonial outposts, the expansion of existing settlements and the construction of a large road network to transform all settlements into one huge geographically connected cluster,” Palestinian authorities said.
teleSUR/ JF Sources: Xinhua – EFE
