"Elimination of Palestinian Presence".. The Dangers of the "Atarot" and "Nahalat Shimon" Projects on Jerusalem and Sheikh Jarrah

The so-called "District Planning and Building Committee" affiliated with the occupation authorities is preparing, on Monday, to discuss and approve two extremely dangerous settlement plans in occupied East Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Governorate stated, in a comprehensive press release, that these moves represent a "qualitative escalation" aimed at determining the political fate of the city and geographically separating it from its depth in the West Bank.

The first plan targets the lands of the former "Jerusalem International Airport," where the occupation authorities intend to build about 9,000 settlement units on an area of nearly 1,243 dunams. This project is not merely urban expansion, but rather a human "settlement dam" that chokes communication between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

The Governorate affirmed that this plan seeks to erase the sovereign symbolism of the airport, which was seen as an aerial gateway for the future Palestinian state, and also falls within the vision of "Greater Jerusalem," which aims to annex 10% of the West Bank's area through a network of roads and tunnels connecting the settlements, while isolating Palestinian communities behind the annexation and expansion wall.

As for the second plan, it targets the heart of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood (Al-Nuqa'a land), where it stipulates the demolition of homes of about 40 Palestinian families to establish a settlement comprising 316 housing units. This escalation is based on discriminatory laws that allow settlement associations to claim properties dating back to before 1948, while depriving the original owners of the same right to reclaim their properties in West Jerusalem and the 1948 lands.

The Governorate's warnings were strongly worded regarding the linking of these outposts to settlements in "Karem Al-Mufti" and "Jabal Al-Musharif," which means dividing the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood into two halves and completely isolating it, to establish a "settlement cordon" connecting the eastern and western parts of the city.

The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood is a unique diplomatic and historical center, having hosted the historic "Shepherd Hotel," the PLO office, and a number of Arab consulates (Saudi, Iraqi, Kuwaiti, and Lebanese). Therefore, targeting it represents an attempt to erase the "Green Line" and change the city's urban identity.

The Jerusalem Governorate concluded its statement by emphasizing that these plans represent "crimes of forced displacement" that violate international law, stressing the continuation of action on all fronts to confront this settlement encroachment aimed at killing any chance for the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.