Israel approves plan to build 'National Park' on lands of Palestinian villages in East Jerusalem
On 27 November 2013, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee approved a new plan to confiscate 732 dunams of land from the occupied East Jerusalem Palestinian villages of At-Tur and Al-'Issawiya to build a 'national park'. After a nine hour hearing, the Committee rejected an objection submitted by Adalah and the Arab Center for Alternative Planning (ACAP), in coordination with the Civic Coalition for Palestinians Rights in Jerusalem, as well as objections filed by several other human rights organizations.
The Israeli press revealed that the Committee received instructions from higher political actors to approve the plan as soon as possible, contrary to regular procedures. According to media reports, the Committee also received instructions to continue the meetings swiftly in order to ratify the national park plan, and its approval was part of an agreement with right-wing parties in Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's government coalition as compensation for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Adalah's Land and Planning Unit Director, Attorney Suhad Bishara who prepared the objection, emphasized that, "What has been confirmed by the Israeli press proves that the plan is a political scheme that aims to expropriate Palestinian land and to prevent the development of their villages. The plan further aims to sever the contiguity between Palestinian villages and neighborhoods in favor of strengthening the links between the Jewish settlements in the Occupied West Bank and Jerusalem."
The objection filed in April 2013 by Adalah and its partner human rights organizations argued that, "This plan concerns the 1967 Occupied Palestinian Territory and is therefore completely incompatible with international humanitarian law, which forbids altering the geography of occupied land or using the land to benefit the occupiers. These changes would constitute a serious violation of the Palestinians' right to land ownership and to human dignity. Furthermore, the plan affects the Palestinians' ability to develop their environment, as it prevents them from accessing their own natural resources for economic development and planning. The objection also referenced plans for 2030, which projects that At-Tur will need to expand over an additional 1,700 dunams and Al-'Issawiyya an additional 1,100 dunams in order to meet their communities' development needs.
Read more:
Adalah News Update, "Human Rights Groups Filed Objection to Plan for 'National Park' in East Jerusalem", 9 April 2013
Adalah News Update, "Jerusalem Municipality Plans Garbage Dump on Palestinian Villages of Anata and Al-Issawiya", 7 January 2013
