Ramallah, January 8, 2024: The head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Minister Muayyad Sha’ban, stated that the Israeli occupation forces and its colonisers carried out 12,161 assaults against Palestinian citizens and their properties during 2023 in various governorates. 5,308 of these assaults were carried out after October 7, a record-breaking number of assaults documented in one year.
In a press conference held in Ramallah regarding the most prominent violations of the occupation and its colonisers during 2023, on Monday, Sha’ban pointed out that the occupation army carried out 9,751 attacks, the colonisers carried out 2,410 attacks, while both of them carried out 206 attacks together.
The colonisers’ attacks were concentrated in the Nablus Governorate, with 842 attacks, followed by the Ramallah Governorate, with 419 attacks, the Hebron Governorate with 376 attacks, the Bethlehem Governorate with 204 attacks, the Salfit Governorate with 165 attacks, and the Tubas Governorate with 137 attacks.
22 Martyrs Due to Terrorist Colonisers’ Attacks
Mr. Sha’ban added that colonisers’ assaults resulted in the martyrdom of 22 citizens since the beginning of the year, 10 of them were martyred after the 7th of October, 2023.
He pointed out that the occupation state is taking advantage of the world’s preoccupation in the genocide it is conducting against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip to carry out plans that are no less dangerous or bloody in the West Bank. These plans involve the forced diplacement of Palestinian citizens, the executions civillians in broad daylight, the systematic destruction of infrastructure, as well as the imposission of an apartheid system and intensfied closures of checkpoints in what can be described as a form of collective punishment tantamount to a war crime.
The Forced Displacement of 25 Bedouin Communities Comprising 1517 Individuals
The head of the CWRC said that colonizer terroristm resulted in the forced displacement of 25 Palestinian Bedouin communities in 2023, including 22 that were displacement after the 7th of October. This is a clear sing to the form the colonizers’ terrorism took to carry out a dirty mission given to them by the officials in the occupation state.
He pointed out that these communities consist of 266 families, totalling 1,517 individuals, who were displaced from their places of residence to other places, most of which were concentrated east of Ramallah, in the eastern slopes specifically and the Jordan Valley.
He also inicated that the occupation authorities deliberately increased their control over the Palestinian geography following a set of strategic plans in the past year. The first of these strategies includes targeting the eastern slopes of the West Bank, primarily employing armed colonizer militias to displace Bedouin communities according to a policy of imposing an hostile environment, ultimately leading to the complete evacuation of areas classified as "Area C" in favor of settler-colonialism. The second direction involves severing Palestinian geographic connectivity by implanting colonial outposts with the intention of instilling fear. The third direction focuses on the Judaization of Jerusalem through the implementation of various schemes that besiege the holy city and strip it of its historical, cultural, and humanitarian dimensions in favor of the occupation's narrative.
Demolishing 659 Facilities, Displacing 1,416 Citizens and Uprooting and Destroying 21,731 Trees
Mr. Sha’ban clarified that the Israeli occupation forces issued 1330 demolition notifications for Palestinian institutions last year under the pretext of lacking a license, marking another record increase compared to previous years.
The distribution of notiications was concentrated in the Hebron Governorate (with 356 notifications), the Bethlehem Governorate (with 246 notifications), and the Salfit Governorate (with 217 notifications). In addition to carrying out a total of 514 demolition operations that resulted in the demolition of 659 facilities in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, causing 1,416 people to lose their homes and facilities.
Regaring property confiscation, Mr. Sha’ban said that the occupation authorities carried out 385 confiscation operations, resulting in the seizure of 711 Palestinian properties. These included 43 agricultural tractors, 293 vehicles owned by citizens, 32 trucks, 49 surveillance cameras, 21 caravans, and others. These operations were concentrated in the Hebron Governorate (with 176 confiscations) and the Nablus Governorate (with 130 confiscations).
He stated that the number of attacks on trees amounted to a total of 379 attacks, which led to the damage, uprooting, and destruction of a total of 21,731 trees, including 18,964 olive trees.
Seizing More Than 50 Thousan Dunums and Approving the Construction of 8,137 Colonial Units
Regaring the expansion of settler-colonialism, Mr. Sha’ban state that the Israeli occupation authorities seized 50,524 dunums last year through a set of military orders. These orders included 32 seizure orers that targeted around 619 dunums, four expropriation orders that seized around 433 dunums, and two land declaration orders that targeted 515 dunums. Moreover, four orders were issued to amend the boundaries of a natural reserve, resulting in the confiscation of around 49,000 dunums.
Regaring the expansion of colonies, Mr. Sha’ban noted that the "Planning Committees" of the occupation authorities reviewed a total of 173 planning plans (regional, structural, and detailed).
He pointed out that these committees, through the plans, reviewed 18,625 colonial units, resulting in the approval for the construction of 8,137 new colonial units. Additionally, a total of 10,486 colonial units were deposited for later approval. These plans targeted a total of 17,881 dunums of Palestinian lands across various governorates of the West Bank, including Jerusalem.
Establishing 18 New Colonial Outposts, 8 of Which were Established After the 7th of October, and Legalizing 6 Others
The head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission clarified that the colonizers establishe 18 new colonial outposts in the past year, 8 of these were establishe after the 7th of October. 14 of these outposts took the form of pastoral outposts in the areas of Nabi Musa, Jiftlik, Tammun (An-Naqura Ramin), Deir Istiya, Ramun (2), Taqu’, Tubas, Al-Mughayyir, Mikhmas, Bittir, and Qusra. 4 of these took the form of residential outposts and were established on the lands of Qaryut, Beit Lid, (Jiftlik, Aqraba), and Qusra.
He pointed out that the occupation authorities legalized 6 colonial outposts during the same period. 2 of these outposts were legalize through moiifying their boundaries an are situated south of Hebron, specifically in Masafir Yatta. The other four are located in the area between the governorates of Nablus and Ramallah, specifically the one that was established as an extension of the “Eli” colony through the approval of its master plans.
More Than 740 Thousand Colonizers in 180 Colonies and 194 Outposts in the West Bank
Mr. Sha’ban pointed out that the number of colonizers in the colonies of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, reached a total of 740,000 colonizers at the end of 2023. These colonizers are distributed among 180 colonies and 194 colonial outposts, including 93 outposts classified as pastoral and agricultural.
He stated, "The colonial occupation measures by the occupation state in the year 2023 constituted, on all levels, a dangerous turning point in legislative and operational implementation on the ground, disregarding the most basic ethics of conduct in wars, crises, and conflicts".
He added, "The occupation state has been driven to this deep escalation in bloodshed and on Palestinian land only by the shameful silence of the world's countries, which encouraged it to continue its crimes".