Israeli occupation build 717 settlement units and uproot 3,775 olive trees in February

In its February bulletin, The Information Centre – who specialise in monitoring Israeli settlements and the division wall – said that it had recorded 60 Israeli forces and settler attacks against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

The bulletin began with Israeli judaisation activities in Jerusalem, including the announcement to build thousands of new settlement units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The report said that the last announcement called for building 558 new settlement units in East Jerusalem.

According to the bulletin, the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem approved a plan to build a Talmudic school and judaisation centre in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. The municipality specified a four-dunam area of Palestinian land for both buildings.

The most provocative action, according to the bulletin, was the Israeli Knesset discussion of a proposal to replace Jordanian guardianship over Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem with Israeli guardianship.

In addition, the Israeli occupation demolished 20 Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. They also handed out 65 evacuation orders to Palestinians ahead of demolishing their homes.

Regarding anti-wall and settlement protests, the Israeli forces unleashed a severe crack down on popular and unarmed demonstrations. They wounded and arrested more than 50 Palestinian and foreign activists.

The Israeli forces also dismissed the villagers from Ein Hajleh in the Jordan Valley and announced it a closed military zone. This came after an attack on the village that wounded 41 Palestinian and foreign activists.

Meanwhile, the Israeli settlers, protected by the Israeli forces, attacked the Palestinian properties and farmers in several villages in the occupied West Bank.

They uprooted 3775 olive trees in February from the villages of Sanjal, Tarmes’eya, Yatta and Yanoun. They also damaged 46 Palestinian cars in Silwan and Sharafat in Jerusalem. They stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque almost everyday.