Showing posts with label B. Show all posts
Showing posts with label B. Show all posts

Friday, May 22, 2020

Annexation of Judea--Samaria Land

Nadene Goldfoot                                           
Judea's Jewish KFAR ADUMIM, east of Jerusalemabout 15 kilometers (9 miles) to the northeast of Jerusalem
Population: 4,513

Kfar Adumim is a mixed religious-secular Israeli settlement in the Judah. It is located in the Judean Desert, on the southern bank of Wadi Qelt, about 2 miles northeast of the town Ma'ale Adumim. It is at 367 meters above sea level
The international community considers Israeli towns in the Judea-Samaria illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.  Kfar Adumim was established in September 1979. Its first settlers were 10 families that had seceded previously from the group which founded Ma'ale Adumim and had been living in Mishor Adumim.
Oslo agreement was in 1995. 



 Ma'ale Adumim 4.3 miles from Jerusalem was first a Nahal village established by the IDF.  Nahal is a corps combining military training with farm work.  Its members become farmers when their service ends.  They were first military points like any other unit of the IDF. 
                                                                       
Three days before the last Israeli elections on April 6, Netanyahu made a speech about Judea and Samaria.  "I will not uproot a single settlement, and I will ensure that we’ll control all the area West of the Jordan river. Will we move to the next stage?   The answer is yes, we will move to the next stage—to the gradual extension of Israeli sovereignty in the areas of Judea and Samaria. I also do not distinguish between the settlement blocs and the lone settlements, every settlement like that is for me Israeli."  Netanyahu is a member of Likud, and they have stood with him on this ever since December 31, 2017.  They have a good majority in parliament.  
                                                             
Samaria is the top half, the northern part
Judea is the bottom half, the southern part

Judea and Samaria are divided into areas A,B, and C.  This annexation that is on the table only is applying to the section where Jews live.  A bi-national state is not what Israel wants to be nor was designed to be.  This has been the fear of many.  Area A since the Oslo decisions is not designated for the Jewish Israelis.  " Some right-wing politicians have also called for annexing all Area C lands—which represent most open land areas in the Judea- Samaria  and are sparsely populated by Palestinians.  
                                                   
Israel's highway connecting Judea-Samaria to Israel
in Area C. 

update: Area C is home to 300,000 Palestinians in 532 residential areas. It is also home to 389,250 Israelis, in 135 cities, towns and villages as well as 100 outposts unrecognized by the Israeli government. Area C forms a contiguous territory, administered via the Judea and Samaria Area administration.

    "Area C is the largest of the 3 areas, about 72to 74% of land, but the Jewish communities constitute a tiny fraction of area C.  Arabs, just like Jews in area C, must obtain permits in order to build residences.  "Arabs have been found building without permits, however.  Here is an example of what is happening.

"The illegal “building intifada” being waged by the Palestinian Authority on state lands in Area C of Judea and Samaria, (the West Bank), has become the latest battleground for the radical Left in conjunction with foreign-funded Israeli so called human rights NGO’s such as B’tselem and Bimkom.
This unlawful land theft is being carried out with the full support of the EU, foreign aid organizations and the UN."

Area A , about 18% of land, is home designed for the Arabs only; no Jews.  "Israeli citizens have the right to enter and pass through Area A unmolested, provided that they are not involved in illicit activity, in which case the PA can only temporarily apprehend them until they are transferred to the Israeli authorities. Joint Israeli-PA patrols were intended to handle these cases.

Area B is home "of less built-up areas, many of which shared their space with settlements created in the massive settlement drive in the 1980s launched by the Likud government. Area B comprises approximately 22% of Judea and Samaria.
In Area B, Israel and the PA share jurisdiction."
The Areas A and B were chosen in such a way as to just contain Palestinians, by drawing lines around Palestinian population centers at the time the Oslo Agreement was signed;

This plan has many problems.  Some will not be offered naturalization as a citizen and some will and both might live close to each other.  Oslo wasn't considering annexations.   Since Palestinians now living in A or B have been under the PA's Abbas, they are of the same mind pretty much as those in Gaza.   Israel " would exclude areas populated by Palestinians. This differs from the Golan Heights Law, which covered the whole geographic area of the Golan, including villages populated by Golan Druze (who held Syrian nationality)."  Israel is considering the 450,000 Jews living in Area C who want to be called Israelis and be under their protection.  

The Jewish Voice writers tell us that the USA is backing Israel if they annex any of Judea-Samaria as promised.  However,...there are always ifs-
However, the spokesperson did say that recognition would only be granted if Israel keeps its part of the deal, by holding talks with the Palestinians in accordance with measures set out by the deal of the century.
“The annexation would be in the context of an offer to the Palestinians to achieve statehood based upon specific terms, conditions, territorial dimensions, and generous economic support,” the spokesperson said.
I believe that Israel has been trying to do this ever since 1948.
Israel's long-time international law expert and  advocate on the subject of Judea-Samaria has been Professor Eugene Kontorovich who does live in Israel now.  Another international lawyer in Israel is :Professor Yuval Shany is the Hersch Lauterpacht Chair in International Law and former Dean of the Law Faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also currently serves as Vice President for Research at the Israel Democracy Institute, and as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee. Prof. Shany received his LL.B. cum laude from the Hebrew University, LL.M. from New York University and Ph.D. in international law from the University of London.
In early February of 2020, Kushner on Thursday said it will likely take “a couple of months” to complete work on detailed West Bank maps before Israel will be able to annex settlements and the Jordan Valley.
Update 5/31/2020: Response from Fatah is threatening. Posted text: “A statement from the Fatah Movement Jenin branch...
O heroic Palestinian people, our battle with this greedy and hateful occupier is growing and heating up. The hated Israeli occupation has crossed all the red lines and gone too far in its evil way and its Zionist expansion ideology, out of hostility towards humanity and the international conventions...
Therefore, in light of the blatant and insolent arrogance of the Zionist occupation, which has publicly targeted the Palestinian struggle (our prisoners and Martyrs) [parentheses in source], and targeted the land of our Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem by announcing its determination to annex parts of our Palestinian state’s land... a strong and moving Palestinian response has arrived from the Palestinian people’s leadership and His Honor [PA] President of the State of Palestine leader Mahmoud Abbas, who in a resounding voice declared the release from all the agreements with the occupation state and the American administration...
We hold the Israeli occupation and the current American administration fully responsible for the explosion in the situation in the Palestinian territories, and say to them that the Palestinian people will defend its land and its right with self-sacrifice... We will not allow any occupying power to expropriate our historical Palestinian right, and we will all mobilize to fight with the sword of justice against the dark forces of occupation, until the occupation is defeated and independence is achieved...
Our people will continue on the path of struggle, not out of love for death, but rather in order to create a life for our children and the coming Palestinian generations, so that they will live with dignity in the lap of their independent Palestinian state...
As Palestinian poet Abd Al-Rahim Mahmoud said:
‘I shall carry my soul in my palm and toss it into the abyss of destruction
And then either a life that will gladden friends, or a death that will enrage the enemies’ 
(see note below –Ed.).”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 20, 2020] 

Resource: https://www.lawfareblog.com/israels-new-plan-annex-west-bank-what-happens-next
http://www.jewishwikipedia.info/west_bank_areas_a_b_c.html
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/op-ed-contributors/illegal-arab-building-defies-supreme-court-ruling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lXwBxtojzY
http://thejewishvoice.com/2020/04/us-gives-israel-blessing-to-annex-parts-of-judea-samaria/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_C_(West_Bank)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kfar_Adumim
Updatedhttps://www.timesofisrael.com/as-peace-plan-rolls-out-netanyahu-says-he-will-annex-jordan-valley-settlements/ from 1/28/2020 on Trump's plan
https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/05/22/poll-israelis-favor-sovereignty-in-jordan-valley-judea-and-samaria/

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Who Lives in Judea and Samaria Today?

Nadene Goldfoot                         
Jewish Cities, Towns and Villages
                in Judea-Samaria  

Israel won the Six Day War in 1967, a war started by the aggression of surrounding Arab nations.  Chances of winning were nil so it was a miracle that they did.  Since then 53 years have gone by.  
Today there are in Judea and Samaria almost 200 cities, towns and a few villages that are populated by Jews; Jew who do care about their history, as this is the most historic area in Jewish history.  There are cities with the population of over 73,000 to villages of 150 population in Judea and Samaria.  These are lumped together by foreigners who call them all "settlements".  People don't realize the closeness that is going on in teeny Israel.  For instance, a "settlement" may exist only a few miles away from Jerusalem.  
                                              
        Update: 5/21/20 Area A:  Area A is the space in which the PA has political and military jurisdiction over its residents – all of whom are Arab.
This includes all of the major towns and their immediate environs – with the partial exception of Jewish Hebron, which came under exclusive Israeli control in the 1997 Hebron protocol between Israel and the PLO. This area comprises approximately 18 percent of Judea and Samaria’s land mass.

Area B:  In Area B, Israel and the PA share jurisdiction.
                                               
Judea and Samaria's Area CArea C, controlled by Israel under Oslo Accords, in blue and redMOST OF geographic Judea and Samaria (60% of the area) is designated Area C, over which Israel has exclusive jurisdiction both administratively and in security matters.

Area C’s distinguishing characteristic is that it was sparsely populated – by Arab or Jewish inhabitants.

It's interesting the the some towns Arabs are living in have history as Jewish towns.  "One-quarter of the 584 Arab localities in Israel and beyond the Green Line have ancient Biblical names. For example, Sakhnin was a Jewish town during the Talmudic era, and Beit Lehem is the Hebrew name for the biblical city of Bethlehem."  Homes have been found to still bear very old Hebrew inscriptions on them.  

Most Arabs are as new in Israel as many of the Jews were for as researcher/journalist Joan Peters explained, came in following Jewish immigrants from surrounding areas to obtain jobs in building.  They were allowed to enter the country by the British who prevented Jewish immigration at the same time.  

The name Judea, when used in Judea and Samaria, refers to all of the region south of Jerusalem, including Gush Etzion and Har Hebron. The region of Samaria, on the other hand, refers to the area north of Jerusalem. East Jerusalem has been incorporated into the Jerusalem District and is under Israeli civilian rule, and is thus excluded from the administrative structure of the Judea and Samaria Area. 
Jerusalem is now a united city, no longer divided.
                                           
                     Yellow area is Israel includes all of Jerusalem
                      Red Stripes-Area C most likely
                      http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227750
          West Bank is not just land along the Jordan River but the whole mountain range of Judea and Samaria.  It is simply the appetizer if taken over for the dinner of the USA if attacked by enemies.  Comment by Mark Langfan.  

Almost 450,000 Jews live in Judea and Samaria today. That's close to Portland, Oregon's population in 1990.  

There are about 2.5--2.7 million Arabs living there as well,
about the same population as Toronto, Canada was in 2016.  
The state of Israel now has a little over 6 million Jews and over 2 million Arabs, all who can vote.  Total as of today is
8,655,535.   

Israel's land size is 8,550 sq. miles

Judea-Samaria's land size is 2,270 miles.  
                  Total size:  10,820 sq. miles
Total size of Portland, Oregon is 145 sq. miles
Total size of Toronto, Canada is 243.3 sq miles

Israel was once compared to New Jersey's 7,439 sq miles, but Massachusetts might be as close with a listed 7,838 sq. miles.  Are they including the Dead Sea in Israel's measurements?  

"As we have made consistently clear, we are prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the vision foresees as being part of the State of Israel," US State Department spokesperson says.
  
Resource:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Israeli_settlements
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/19/israel-west-bank-annexation-reshaping-middle-east/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52680096
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israels-netanyahu-armed-with-a-new-mandate-sets-his-sights-on-west-bank-annexation/2020/05/12/1b363612-938c-11ea-87a3-22d324235636_story.html
https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudi-arabia-condemns-israeli-plans-for-annexation-in-west-bank/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/opinion/contributors/annexing-west-bank-israel-palestinians.html
https://apnews.com/48a4df69f8735ef54fdf356cd004ce1f
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3085463/china-voices-concern-over-israels-west-bank-annexation-plan

https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/04/28/report-us-prepared-to-recognize-israeli-annexation-of-judea-and-samaria/
https://www.jpost.com/blogs/the-zionist-advocate/occupied-territories-hebrew-origins-of-palestinian-arab-towns-in-judea-samaria-478675
https://israel-nadene.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-true-legal-facts-on-green-line-near.html
https://www.jpost.com/magazine/knowing-your-abc-448963
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/arabs-outnumber-jews-israel-occupied-territories-official-180326181707023.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Palestinian_territories
https://israel-nadene.blogspot.com/2010/12/israel-judeasamaria-west-bank-and-gaza.html  in 2010