26 February 1997 - The decision by the Israeli government to construct a new settlement - "Har Homa" or Mt. Wall - between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem on Jabal (Mt.) Abu Ghneim, in addition to the planned construction of two settler’s roads to encircle parts of East Jerusalem, not only constitutes a serious violation of the Oslo Accords, but also threatens to collapse the Oslo process and spark violence reminiscent of the tragic uprising of last September.

The unilateral decision to build Har Homa pre-empts the final status negotiations and will consolidate Israeli control over all of Jerusalem, effectively removing Jerusalem as an issue for negotiation. If constructed, Har Homa will complete the inner ring of Jewish settlements around East Jerusalem, isolate Palestinian East Jerusalem from the Palestinian population on which it depends, and severely limit Palestinian movement between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank. The construction of this new settlement, in its strategic location between Bethlehem, its routes to the north, and Jerusalem, will make territorial contiguity an impossibility.

Given the extreme sensitivity of the Jerusalem issue, and Palestinian fears that Jerusalem will be lost to them forever, drawn-out construction at the Har Homa site threatens to create long-term violent confrontation.

In addition, Jabal Abu Ghneim provides the only area for the natural growth of the Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, Um Touba and Sur Baher communities, communities that have long suffered from conditions of extreme overcrowding as a result of the confiscation of the lands of Abu Ghneim. The elimination of this land reserve for this new settlement, and the already planned and approved sprawling tourist and industrial areas planned for Har Homa, will essentially isolate these communities, eliminate chances for their natural growth, and strangle the critical tourism economy of this area.

The Israeli government has proposed constructing some Arab homes on certain segregated areas of Abu Ghneim and throughout East Jerusalem, as a “compromise” to allow it to build the new Jewish-only settlement. The Israeli government hopes to camouflage the unilateral nature of its decision, against the wishes of both the Palestinian and Jewish owners of the land. Decisions concerning the development of Abu Ghneim must come within the context of the final status negotiations and not from unilateral decisions by the Israeli government to consolidate its control over the city.

In the context of recent dramatic announcements for new settlement construction and increased demolition of Palestinian homes to “cleanse” areas of the West Bank of an Arab presence, LAW believes that the issue is more than just a highly contentious and illegal new settlement. The decision to construct on Abu Ghneim mountain reveals the shortcomings of the Oslo process, and a desire on the part of the Israeli government to end the negotiations. This new settlement is utterly contradictory to a just peace, and must be opposed as such. LAW joins others in calling on the international community to call for a freeze in all settlement activity, and to advocate for a just peace in this region.

LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.