Israeli media reported on Thursday that Israeli authorities have allocated 5.5 million shekels (more than $1.5 million) to the construction of a wall around Israel’s illegal settlement of Beit El, in order to separate it from the neighboring al-Jalazun refugee camp in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah.
According to Israeli authorities and residents in Beit El, the project is being advanced due to ‘security concerns’ for residents of the illegal settlement, Ynet reported.
Ynet quoted Yael Ben-Yashar, spokeswoman for Beit El, as saying that the wall was requested by the settlement’s residents after “Palestinians attacked the community several times over the last year, including shootings at houses and using explosive devices and Molotov cocktails, which have started fires.”
A boy raises Palestinian flag on a tower of occupation, near Jalazoun camp north of Ramallah, during funeral of Martyr Jassim Nakhla today. pic.twitter.com/965WQg0QSW
— Ali Hussein (@Alihussein_2) April 11, 2017
Clashes often erupt in al-Jalazun refugee camp, the eastern side of which directly borders Beit El, as the camp’s rising population, high unemployment rates, and Israel’s movement restrictions on residents in the camp have caused frustrations to soar.
Ynet quoted a leader in the camp, Abu al-Abd Ibris, as saying that the wall was yet another Israeli land grab of Palestinian territory.
“They (the Israelis) came here in the 1970s, but we are here since forever and the nearby villages also,” he reportedly said. “They stole our lands, to which we have full rights.”
Al-Jalazun refugee camp was established by UNRWA in 1949, to provide refuge for Palestinians who fled their homes and lands during the creation of Israel in 1948. The camp is now plagued by severe overcrowding, leading to poor housing conditions and health issues.
(Ma’an, PC, Social Media)
