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Israel
to Link Settlements, Al-Quds
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The separation wall virtually means any future Palestinian state would hardly be viable.
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OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, May 16, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) –
Defying international resolutions and bilateral agreements with the
Palestinians, Israel is to begin work next month on a section of its
controversial separation wall which will link the largest Jewish
settlement in the occupied West Bank to Al-Quds (occupied East
Jerusalem), an Israeli newspaper reported Monday, May 16.
The
wall section around Maale Adumim settlement, which lies on the eastern
outskirts of Al-Quds and is home to around 28,000 Jewish settlers,
will also take in other smaller nearby settlements and land earmarked
for the construction of new Jewish neighborhoods, according to Maariv.
In
March, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz approved plans to build
another 3,500 homes in Maale Adumim.
The
Israeli daily said the controversial move will also incorporate Gush
Etzion settlement onto the Israeli side of the barrier whose final
route was approved by the cabinet in February.
Gush
Etzion is a settlement bloc housing around 12,000 Jewish settlers near
occupied Bethlehem.
Maariv
said Israel wants to make use of its planned withdrawal from the Gaza
Strip to minimize expected opposition from the United States and the
European Union.
The
report comes only one day after Palestinians marked the blackest
day in their history when their homeland was usurped to
establish the state of Israel 57 years ago.
The
UN Commission on Human Rights on Thursday, April 14,
condemned Israel’s continued settlement building in the occupied
Palestinian territories, pressing for an immediate freeze.
The
separation wall has been deemed illegal by the International Court of
Justice and in July and the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution
calling Israel to tear it down.
As
usual, Israel, backed by Washington, defiantly refused to abide by the
ruling or the resolution.
Washington
has called for an end to settlement activity in keeping with the
roadmap plan for peace, but has also said the final borders of a
promised Palestinian state must take into account demographic
realities on the ground.
Palestinian
Killed
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Asrawi’s father kisses the body of his slain son. (Reuters)
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On
the ground, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian man Monday at a
checkpoint in the northern West Bank, claiming he was armed with a
knife, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Palestinian and Israeli
security sources as saying.
Omar
Asrawi, 22, was killed at the Jbara checkpoint close to the town of
Tulkarem, according to Palestinian sources.
An
Israeli military source claimed Asrawi struck one of the soldiers with
a knife but that he was not wounded because he was wearing a flak
jacket.
“He
refused to stop despite orders, followed by warning shots into the
air,” the source said. “The soldiers then shot at him and he was
hit.”
Asrawi’s
death raised to 4,757 the number of people killed since the
Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted in September
2000, including 3,695 Palestinians, according to an AFP count.
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