Illegal settlers on Wednesday set up mobile homes on Palestinian land in the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, in preparation for the establishment of a new settlement outpost.
Settlers located 22 caravans in Khallet Umm Al-Fahm, south of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, under the protection of Israeli forces.
A map of about 1750 with the road between #Jerusalem and #Hebron through #Bethlehem. This path was cut in 2002 by the Israeli occupation, that also added several illegal colonial-settlements on the way. #Palestine pic.twitter.com/LFtG7JPC0H
— Xavier Abu Eid (@xabueid) February 16, 2018
Ahmad Salah, the coordinator of the Anti-Settlement Committee in Al-Khader, told Quds Press that the occupation claims that the 22 dunums (0.022 square kilometers) of land in the area is “state land”.
As a result, “settlers have begun to establish a new outpost near the settlement of Eli Azar,” he added.
Olive & Grape Trees to be Uprooted to Pave Settler-only Road near Bethlehem#ApartheidIsrael has been using the land as its own: robbing land, exploiting the area’s natural resources for its own benefit & establishing ILLEGAL #colonial settlements https://t.co/7otm2af86k pic.twitter.com/iJXa9bIiL5
— Damanda C_Palestine
(@amanda_damanda) March 16, 2018
Occupation forces have targeted the area for months, he explained, bulldozing parts in preparation for the start of the construction work. The caravans are the “first stage”, Salah said.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
