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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org for Thursday 10th May 2012.
Evidence of illegal building of the Ulpana unrecognised neighbourhood in El Beit has come to light, Ban-Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, has commented on the situation of the Palestinian hunger strikers, and there are two stories about Bedouin villages. All this and more stay tuned.
Despite the Israeli High Court’s confirmation of its original decision that the unrecognised neighbourhood of Ulpana is illegal and must be razed, Netanyahu and his colleagues spoke on Monday of their determination to find a solution for the settlers which would avoid this happening.
However Yoel Tsur, the CEO of the company which was one of the original contractors which built the community, admitted to police during an interview three years ago that the neighbourhood was built on land whose purchase was never finalized. Settler leaders knew from the start that the land was privately owned by Palestinians which counters their claims that settlers bought their houses in good faith. It has also come to light that construction began on the site 2 years prior to the claimed legal purchase of the land, and that this purchase would only have covered one Lot of land which was not enough for the entire neighbourhood.
The Palestinian News Network reported today that Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, stated through his spokesman that the Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike and who are held under administrative detention without trial should ‘be brought to trial or released’. He noted ‘the importance of avoiding deterioration of their health’ and ‘urgently requests all concerned to find a solution without delay.’
Wednesday afternoon, 9th May, the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center obtained an injunction order for Khan al-Ahmar Kurshan community. This temporary injunction prevents the demolition of homes of the eight families that received 24-hour eviction notices on Sunday, 6 May. The injunction does not have an expiry date but the Israeli Civil Administration has seven days to provide its response to the court regarding this decision. This response will guide any further decisions of the court. The Palestinian-Bedouin communities living in the hills to the east of Jerusalem are at a large and growing risk of forced ethnic displacement. The communities have been informed by the Israeli authorities that they have no option but to leave the area, as part of a larger plan to forcibly transfer, in defiance of international law, Bedouin communities living in Area C (Jerusalem periphery, Jordan Valley, and south Hebron Hills), where Israel retains control over security as well as planning and zoning.
The Israeli government has proposed that 2,300 Bedouins be relocated from hill surrounding the Palestinian town of As Sawahra, where they live on the edge of a foul-smelling garbage dump at al Abidal. They were moved there by the Israeli Government 15 years ago. The dump has grown since then while the land they were forced to vacate is now occupied by the illegal Ma’ale Adumim settlement.
EU Foreign Ministers are gathering in Brussels for a meeting on 14 May where they will discuss issues including the demolition of Palestinian homes, forced displacement, and the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in Area C of the West Bank which threaten Palestinian economic development.
Israeli News ‘Yedioth Ahronoth’ reported on its website on Thursday, that the Israeli Military Police have started a widespread campaign to catch the increasing numbers of draft dodgers, young people who avoid military service. A similar programme was carried out last year.
And that’s all today from IMEMC News. This was the Thursday 10th May daily roundup of news from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www.imemc.org. Today’s report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and William Temple.
