Israel Launches New Settlement Plans

Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian man in Hebron on Friday. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian man in Hebron on Friday. (EPA)
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Israel Launches New Settlement Plans

Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian man in Hebron on Friday. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian man in Hebron on Friday. (EPA)

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) accused Israel of pushing new settlement plans in Jerusalem at the beginning of the new year, aiming to Judaize the city.

The PLO's National Office for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said the occupied city of Jerusalem is witnessing continuous Judaization schemes.

It indicated that the Israeli government, the municipality and settlement associations are complicit with the Israeli judiciary in the settling plans aiming to limit the Palestinian presence in the city.

The office issued a report noting that the silent ethnic cleansing in and around the city continues for this year, stating that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Mayor Moshe Leon aim to bring about sweeping changes in the demographic balance of Jerusalem.

Since the beginning of the new year, Israeli authorities have approved five new plans to build 3,557 settlement units in the occupied city.

The report said one of the construction plans relates to building new settlement units between Har Homa and Givat HaMatos and another plan in the French Hill.

It warned that these plans are dangerous because they are concentrated in the southern area of ​​Jerusalem and include the establishment of a new settlement neighborhood that provides for 1,465 settlement units near Givat HaMatos and the Har Homa - Jabal Abu Ghneim.

The plans also include establishing 2,092 settlement units in the French Hill area in the center to separate the Jerusalem neighborhoods.

The report also referred to the plans to isolate the north, where there is a general and comprehensive Israeli plan to establish a settlement belt, starting from Qalandia, up to the eastern region (E1), and from Beit Safafa to Sur Baher town.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Ministry of Interior approved a large-scale support plan for the occupied West Bank settlements of 140 million shekels, a 70 percent increase compared to the additional settlements' budget last year.

The National Office reiterated Palestinian officials' accusations of the Israeli government pushing settlements and covering settler terrorism, saying it was the worst government and plots to destroy the two-state solution.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the escalation in Israeli violations and crimes against Palestinians, their land, properties, homes, and holy sites throughout the West Bank.

The Foreign Ministry said that these violations are accompanied by the continued occupation of Israel and the Judaization of Jerusalem.

It warned that these attempts prove the Israeli government and its army want to end the Palestinian presence in occupied Jerusalem and the areas classified (C).

According to its statement, the Israeli government is in a race against time to implement Israel's colonial interests.

The Ministry said the Israeli government is fully and directly responsible for these violations and escalating crimes, warning of their disastrous consequences and repercussions on the conflict and regional and international efforts to establish confidence between the two sides.

The current Israeli government continues to marginalize the Palestinian cause and divert international attention away from it.



Harris Calls for Gaza Ceasefire after Hamas Leader’s Killing

 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to the press before a campaign rally at Western International High School in Detroit, Michigan, October 19, 2024. (AFP)
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to the press before a campaign rally at Western International High School in Detroit, Michigan, October 19, 2024. (AFP)
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Harris Calls for Gaza Ceasefire after Hamas Leader’s Killing

 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to the press before a campaign rally at Western International High School in Detroit, Michigan, October 19, 2024. (AFP)
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to the press before a campaign rally at Western International High School in Detroit, Michigan, October 19, 2024. (AFP)

US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip, presented an opportunity for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

"This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home," Harris told reporters.

"As it relates to the issues in the Middle East and in particular in that region, it has never been easy. But that doesn't mean we give up. It's always going to be difficult."

The Oct. 7 attack Sinwar planned on Israeli communities a year ago killed around 1,200 people, with another 253 dragged back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent war has devastated Gaza, killing more than 42,500 Palestinians, with another 10,000 uncounted dead thought to lie under the rubble, Gaza health authorities say.