A report by the National Office for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said Israeli authorities are promoting an extensive settlement bloc aimed at separating the northern West Bank from its central and southern areas by linking settlements and outposts through a network of roads, corridors and infrastructure projects.
اضافة اعلان
In its weekly settlement report issued Saturday, the office said the Samaria Regional Council, headed by settler Yossi Dagan, in coordination with the so-called settlement “Farm Union,” had published maps of a settlement bloc currently being developed. The bloc stretches from east to west across the area between the northern and central West Bank.
The office said the maps cover the area surrounding what is known as the Qana settlement bloc, or “Gush Qana,” which is being connected to a belt of surrounding settlements and outposts. The belt includes Ariel and Immanuel in Salfit Governorate and Yitzhar in Nablus Governorate, along with other settlement sites linked through roads, corridors and infrastructure projects.
According to the report, the belt begins at Yitzhar in the east and extends westward through settlement sites and outposts around Wadi Qana, reaching Immanuel, Karnei Shomron, Yakir and Nofim. It is also connected to the wider settlement bloc around Ariel, with the settlements spanning a strategic area between the northern and central West Bank.
The report said that, if completed, the east-west belt would sever geographic continuity between the northern and central West Bank and turn Palestinian towns and villages in the targeted area into isolated and encircled pockets. It said the plan would create a settlement ring around the governorates of Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya and Salfit, undermining future Palestinian urban, economic and agricultural development.
The office said implementation of the proposed settlement plan involves an integrated system bringing together the Israeli political establishment and settlement movements and organizations operating on the ground.
It said the parties involved include the Israeli government and the security cabinet, where plans for land allocation and settlement expansion are approved through decisions led by government ministers, particularly from the Finance and Defense ministries.
The office also identified the so-called Civil Administration, an executive body operating under the Israeli military, as a key component. It issues land seizure notices and changes land-use classifications, including converting agricultural land and nature reserves into areas designated for settlement construction.
Source: Wafa
