Another Kiriat Arbaa’ In My Back-yard
By

Mr.Ghassan Andoni

Few days ago, the financial committee in the Israeli Parliament approved the principle of paying governmental money as compensations to the Palestinian owners of the confiscated land in Abu-Ghneim mountain area. Abu-Ghneim mountain is located at the northern borders of my town "Beit Sahour" . Most of the land is owned by few families from the town since hundreds of years.

The Parliament financial committee decision paved the road for the already prepared plans to bulid 8 thousand housing units of Jewish settles in this area. Soon after the 1967 war Israel expanded the borders of Jerusalem to include Abu-Ghneim area into the municipal borders of Jerusalem. Land owners were prohibited from cultivating their lands or building housing units on it.

Since the signature of Oslo agreement, Israel speeded its plans to decide on the future of Jerusalem unilaterally. Plans for building additional seven settlement in East Jerusalem were approved, the borders of Jerusalem were expanded to the east to include Maalie Adomim and to the south to include Gosh Etsion, movements of Palestinians into and out of Jerusalem was controlled through introducing especial permits, and a ring road around Jerusalem is approved for implementation. The final objectives of those plans are: firstly, to surround Jerusalem from all directions with Jewish settlements and neighborhoods; secondly, to insure an overwhelming Jewish majority in the city; and thirdly, to sabotage the status of East Jerusalem as the center for Palestinian economical, cultural, health, and educational activities.

An Israeli company claims owning a major part of the land in Abu-Ghneim area since 1936. The Israeli government argument is based on its right to build on an Israeli" sovereign " area most of it is owned by Jews. One can argue that: if land ownership is to decide the future of residency rights and national claims the Palestinians are entitled to most of the land in Israeli proper areas.

As we all understand and hope, that the future status of areas occupied by Israeli in the 1967 war are subject to bilateral negotiations to follow the interim arrangements, we consider the recent settlement activities in those areas as sever violations to the text and the sole of the peace agreement. Therefore, we urgently demand that the freeze of all settlement activities in the areas occupied by Israeli in 1967 war to be a precondition to the resumption of the peace talks between PLO and Israel.

The Massacre in Hebron presents an awful example to what does it mean to have Israeli settlers in your back-yard. How are we going to move, sleep, and pray safely from now on. It will not be safe to send your kid to school, to go to the Sunday mass in the church, or to go to the market for shopping. Our additional nightmare will be the well known trend of Jewish settlements to expand to neighboring lands.

If this is peace that is offered to us then forced transfer is much more merciful.