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OIC Condemns Israeli Efforts to Build New Settlements in Jordan Valley

Residents of Khirbet Humsa in the Jordan Valley watch the demolition of their home by Israeli forces in February 2021. (AP)
Residents of Khirbet Humsa in the Jordan Valley watch the demolition of their home by Israeli forces in February 2021. (AP)
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OIC Condemns Israeli Efforts to Build New Settlements in Jordan Valley

Residents of Khirbet Humsa in the Jordan Valley watch the demolition of their home by Israeli forces in February 2021. (AP)
Residents of Khirbet Humsa in the Jordan Valley watch the demolition of their home by Israeli forces in February 2021. (AP)

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday condemned the Israeli occupation authorities’ approval of new plans to build 730 new housing units in the town of Beit Hanina, north of occupied Jerusalem.

“This decision is a continuation of Israel’s blatant violations of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly Resolution 2334, adopted by the Security Council on 23 December 2016,” OIC said in a statement.

The Organization called on the international community, mainly the UN Security Council, to assume its responsibilities and compel Israel, the occupying power, to stop its colonial settlement policy and the attacks carried out by extremist settlers throughout the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.

The Israeli District Planning and Building Committee has approved a plan to build 730 new housing units in the Pisgat Zeev settlement, which is built illegally on land belonging to Palestinian residents in Beit Hanina
Israeli news outlets said the plan in the settlement of Basgat Ze’ev is located on a total area of about 70 dunums, and includes about 730 settlement units to be built in 14 residential buildings up to 12 floors high.

They added that in addition to the construction of settlement units, the plan also includes 21,000 square meters for trade and employment, and about 16 dunums will be allocated to open spaces.

Recently, Israeli authorities have increased their plans to build settlement units in the occupied territories.

The Palestinians reject these moves, which they say aim at undermining any chances for a resolution of the conflict based on the principles of the two-state solution.

Israeli settlers on Sunday began building new housing units in the northern Jordan Valley, WAFA news agency said.

It quoted human rights activist Aref Daraghmeh as saying that settlers have started building settlement units in the illegal Israeli settlement of Shadmot Mehola, which means devouring more Palestinian-owned lands.

Shadmot Mehola is one of the settlements located in the northern Jordan Valley. It was established in 1979 as an agricultural settlement. The number of settlers in 2016 reached about 608, and in 2018, its total area reached 363 dunums of Palestinian citizens' lands in the Jordan Valley.

Also, Israeli settlers built a shelter in the lands of Khirbet Al-Farisiyah in the northern Jordan Valley, WAFA said.

Daraghmeh said the settlers set up a shelter in the lands between the settlements of Rotem and Shadmot Mehola, which are built on lands belonging to citizens in Al-Farsieh in the northern Jordan Valley.

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Arab World

UN Warns: Polio Continues to Threaten Lives of Yemeni Children

Since 2023, a series of polio immunization campaigns have been conducted (UN)
Since 2023, a series of polio immunization campaigns have been conducted (UN)
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UN Warns: Polio Continues to Threaten Lives of Yemeni Children

Since 2023, a series of polio immunization campaigns have been conducted (UN)
Since 2023, a series of polio immunization campaigns have been conducted (UN)

Yemen continues to battle an outbreak of variant poliovirus, with 273 cases reported over the last three years amid a humanitarian crisis and declining vaccination rates, two UN agencies warned on Saturday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said data paints an alarming picture that polio, a disease that can cause irreversible paralysis and death, and which can be prevented by vaccination, continues to threaten the lives of children in Yemen.
This comes at a time when Yemen’s children are also faced with life threatening problems such as cholera, diphtheria, and malnutrition, they said.
In Yemen, which until 2020 had been polio-free for decades, national polio immunization coverage dropped from 58% in 2022 to 46% in 2023 due to the fragility of the health system and the social, political and security crisis, WHO and UNICEF reported.
“The outbreak of variant poliovirus type 2 in Yemen persists amidst increasing health emergencies, further straining an already overburdened health system,” said Dr Arturo Pesigan, WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Yemen.
He added that “through renewed collective action and customized strategies that integrate health services with polio vaccination for Yemen’s children, we can enhance outbreak response and surveillance, making significant progress towards eradicating the spread of variant poliovirus in Yemen.”
To bridge the immunization gap and combat the surge in polio cases, WHO and UNICEF are teaming up with the Health Ministry and other partners to reach missed children and underserved communities.
Ongoing Campaigns
Since 2023, a series of polio immunization campaigns have been conducted. The two campaigns conducted in 2024 reached 1.2 million children in the first round in February, and over 1.3 million children in the second round in July, representing 100% and 102% coverage respectively.
In addition, the Health Ministry, WHO, UNICEF, Gavi and other partners are joining forces to implement the Big Catch-up initiative which aims to restore and accelerate routine immunization services for children who missed vital vaccines.
The authorities and health partners have jointly launched the Health Emergency Expansion Response (HEER) initiative, which aims to extend integrated primary health care (PHC) services, including vaccination.
The focus is on reaching underserved areas, enhancing health equity, and addressing the ongoing polio and measles outbreaks.
“The battle against polio is challenging in a fragile, conflict-affected context like Yemen. But eradication is within reach,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative to Yemen.
“We need to gather efforts with the local authorities, health professionals and community leaders among other partners to ensure that every child is vaccinated against polio and other preventable diseases,” he added.
Need for Assistance
While efforts are underway, additional support and resources are needed to step up initiatives to end polio and save the lives of vulnerable children.
WHO and UNICEF are calling on governments, partners and donors to prioritize the vaccination of all children against polio through vaccination campaigns, strengthen immunization systems to ensure all children receive essential, life-saving vaccines, deliver an integrated package of health services, including polio vaccine and protect humanitarian and health care workers delivering vaccines.
WHO and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) have launched a $3 million project to significantly boost immunization coverage and measles surveillance over a 15-month period.
More than 1.2 million people are set to benefit from this vital initiative to combat measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases across Aden, Hajjah, Saada and Taiz – four of the governorates most affected by Yemen’s current measles outbreak.
The project aims to ameliorate the coverage of children vulnerable to diseases such as measles, polio, diphtheria and pertussis.
Solar refrigerators will be provided to 81 health facilities as part of the project, ensuring greater access to vaccination services.
The project will be rolled out in 77 districts across the four target governorates. The project will involve 770 health facilities and deploy 1540 health workers to ensure regular vaccination throughout its duration.