The Israeli government approved a colonialist plan aiming at constructing 1406 units on stolen Palestinian lands east of Qalqilia, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.
Rafe’ Rawajba, the governor of Qalqilia, said the Israeli occupation authorities have approved the new constructions on privately-owned Palestinian lands in Azzoun, Kafr Thulth, and Nabi Elias towns.
Rawajba added that the colonialist units are planned to be constructed on 1008 Dunams (0.249 Acres) of Palestinian lands, and said that the new plan is related to the decision, which was made on January 22, 2020.
The planned colonialist units would be built on Palestinian lands in the areas of Wadi Asala, Thaher al-Manaf, Qatayin as-Sahel, and al-Manafes.
Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
Israel’s colonies are also deemed to be war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and many national laws.
