Land Research Center

Monday, March 23^rd 2020, The Israeli Occupation authorities ratified an expansionist plan for Eli illegal settlement on confiscated lands from the Palestinian city of Nablus.

The approval was published on the Ministry of Finance website entitled “Approving and licensing detailed plan 237 for Eli” .

The announcement was issued by “The Civil Administration – High Organization Council - Colonization Subcommittee”.

The Expansionist plan will change land allocations (settlement) from agricultural to residential and areas for public facilities (stores, public institutions, entertainment, streets and open areas) , this will change Land Allocation during the British mandate under which most Palestinian lands were classified as agricultural.

The plan will devour 1002 dunums , including the current area of the settlement , and areas for future expansion , the plan also annexed Hakaron outpost to Eli.

The plan will confiscate new lands in the following basins:

• Basin 1: Al-Rahkut mount, Al-Korum Al-Qibliya from As-Sawiya village lands.
• Basin 2:Wad Ali location from Al-Lubban Al-Sharqi.
• Al-Rahut location from Al-Lubban Al-Sharqi.
• The new expansionist area is 253 dunums , it will include 620 new colonial units , this was announced in Israeli media sources in February 2020, after the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Natinyahu directed The Secretary of the Army to build 1900 new colonial units in West Bank settlements , among them 600 in Eli.

Land settlement will be as follows:

• Public buildings (107) dunums.

• Open public areas (84) dunums.

• Ratified streets (120) dunums.

• Suggested streets (120( dunums.

       This plan was deposited in 2014.

Israeli Colonial expansion in West Bank is a violation of human rights and international conventions and agreements:

• The Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 147, stipulates that “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly” is a “grave breach” of the Convention.
• Security council resolution 465 year 1980: calls to dismantle the existing settlements and in particular to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem; Calls upon all States not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connexion with settlements in the occupied territories.
• Security council resolution 446 year 1979:   Determines that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East;
• Security council resolution   452 year 1979: the resolution once again denounced Israel's settlement activities in territories occupied in 1976 including (East) Jerusalem, this activity constituting a violation of the Fourth Geneva convention, and called on Israel to cease planning and construction of settlements

The contents of this document is the sole responsibility of LRC and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union