Study group reveals plans to cut off Jerusalem's Palestinian villages from their West Bank hinterland

The Jerusalem Society for Arabic Studies has revealed Israeli plans to build a new illegal settlement which will cut-off Palestinian villages in the Holy City from the south of the West Bank. The head of the Society, Khalil Al Tafakji, said that the Israeli Occupation Authorities plan to establish a large settlement on the Palestinian village of Walaja north-west of Bethlehem. Called Givat Yael, the new settlement will stretch from Walaja and Battir across to the western edge of the Gilo settlement to the south of Occupied Jerusalem. The huge settlement bloc will be a physical barrier between Jerusalem’s Palestinian villages and the southern part of the occupied West Bank.

“Israel is using the current international and domestic situation as a diversion to approve the construction of more illegal settlement units as part of a huge settlement scheme to provide 58,000 housing units,” said Mr Al Tafaki.