Army Uproots Farmlands, Prepares To Annex Them

Saturday October 02, 2010 08:08 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli army bulldozers uprooted farmlands close to Tiqoua’ settlement, built on lands initially taken away from residents of the Tiqoua’ Palestinian village, south east of Bethlehem.


The bulldozers were uprooting the lands in order to build new homes for Jewish settlers in the area.

In related news. dozens of settlers also placed caravans in Palestinian-owned lands, in Al Mas’ha area, east of Bethlehem.

Hundreds of settlers in the West Bank “celebrated” the end of the temporary settlements freeze on September 30, while the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu declared that 2000 homes for Jewish settlers will be built soon in the West Bank.

The United States urged Israel to extend the freeze on settlement activities, but the government of Netanyahu refused, and announced plans for new constructions.

U.S Middle East Envoy, George Mitchell, left the region on Friday after failing to achieve a breakthrough in the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.

He said that the United States will resume its efforts, and added that after failing to resume direct negotiations, Washington will mediate indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank said that negotiations cannot be held under ongoing settlement construction and expansion.

Updated From;

Israeli Army Bulldozers Pave the Way For Settlement Construction Near Bethlehem

Sandy Khair, IMEMC & Agencies, Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:00:21

Israeli bulldozers began, Friday morning, bulldozing lands adjacent to the settlement of Tiqoua’', south east of the city of Bethlehem.

Hassan Bergia, a member of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, told the Palestine News and Information Center, WAFA, that the work began in an attempt to expand the settlement, and to onstruct additional housing units.

He added that settlers had erected six ''caravans'' in al-M'asha region, south of bethlehem.

This work follows the end of the so-called "freeze" on settlement construction in the West Bank. Under international law, the construction of housing with the intention of transferring population of an occupying nation, and the civilian occupation thereafter, is illegal.

The legitimacy of the settlement freeze has come under question, with Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem, documenting 492 separate incidents where the moratorium was broken.

Nations, such as the U.S. and Japan, are calling for a continuance of settlement freeze, as Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, stated upon entering peace talks this September, that if the freeze did not continue, the Palestinian delegation would cancel further talks.

Settlement Security Officer Torches Palestinian Olive Trees

Saturday October 02, 2010 05:51 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

A security guard working at the Itamar Jewish settlement, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, torched a number of olive trees that belong to resident of Awarta village, east of the city.

No’man Awwad, a 40-year-old local villager, told the Maan News Agency that he saw the security officer parking his jeep near an orchard before he went on to torch olive trees in Al-Bayyada area, near Itamar settlement.

Qais Awwad, deputy head of the Awarta village council, told the Maan News Agency that Palestinian firefighters rushed to the scene but were obstructed by the Israeli army at a nearby roadblock.

Ghassan Douglas, in charge of settlements file in the northern part of the West Bank, stated that settlement security guards became a real threat to the residents and their lands.

“Their threat is no less that the threats of fundamentalist settlers”, he said, “They are carrying out repeated attacks against the residents and their orchards”.

Settlers burn 10 dunums of farmland south of Nablus

[ 02/10/2010 - 10:09 AM ]

NABLUS, (PIC)-- 

Illegal Israeli settlers from the illegal Itamar settlement in south Nablus burned on Friday at least ten dunums of land cultivated with olive trees in the Bayada region northeast of the Awarta village.

Two settlers set out in a green jeep to the site and remained there for some time. A massive fire broke out in the region as they left the scene, eyewitnesses said.

Witnesses added that the vehicle was used by an official guard of the Itamar settlement.
Israeli occupation soldiers stopped Palestinians and emergency officials from controlling the fire.