For More Information, Call:
Land and Water Establishment For Immediate Release: Tel: (972) (02) 812364/824559 January 25, 1995 Fax: (972) (02) 811072
Israel Continues to Establish Facts on the Ground
Land and Water Establishment is continuing to monitor Israeli settlement expansion. This settlement activity is continuing despite a recent pledge to freeze all settlement spending on the part of the government (but not barring private spending) and despite the formation of a special ministerial committee to follow settlement expansion.
Land and Water Establishment's field workers this week investigated continuing aggressive settler and military activities against Palestinian land and property, and against the Palestinian people themselves. Land and Water recorded many different violations. Several selected examples follow:
Settlers from the settlement of Yetzhar attacked Palestinians from Madma village near Nablus. During the attack, they beat a child from the village.
Last Monday, two bulldozers began working to expand the settlement of Adam on land from the village of Jaba'a. The area of the land where they are bulldozing is about 3000 dunums.
Israeli bulldozers began work on land belonging to people from Nahalin village near Bethlehem. The land is located between the settlement of Betar Illit and Gush Etzion and consists of 1000 dunums.
Israeli bulldozers are working near Ariel settlement on land belonging to Palestinians from Skaka and Marda villages. There are other cases of bulldozing in Kufur Addik.
New Project - Fence building along a modified green line:
Israeli officials have recently announced a new project to build a fence roughly along the green line to separate completely the West Bank from Israel. The execution of the project will consolidate Israeli claims on parts of the West Bank by redrawing the green line to incorporate the settlements located near the line into Israel proper. By this, Israel will solidify its desired borders between the Israeli state and the Occupied West Bank before the final negotiations even begin.
Land and Water considers these settlement activities as violations of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention forbidding population transfers into Occupied Territory, and of international law which forbids permanent alteration of occupied territory.
We ask that the Security Council call an emergency meeting and issue a resolution demanding an end to all settlement activity and asking Israel to fulfill its obligations as a member of the international community by respecting Security Council resolutions.
We demand that the PNA to strengthen its opposition to settlement activities.
We call on the United States government to strengthen its opposition to settlement activity, and to require Israel to fulfill its obligations as a signatory to the Oslo and Cairo Accords, and to the Fourth Geneva Convention and international covenants governing the actions of belligerent occupiers.
Land and Water Establishment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. Their activity concentrates on land confiscation, property destruction and environmental issues.