Shu’fat refugee camp is witnessing expansion works to expand the surrounding Jewish-only settlements as Israeli bulldozers recently embarked on leveling lands in Al-Ras and Al-Sahil areas in Shu’fat refugee camp in the outskirts of occupied Jerusalem in order to expand the settlement of Ramat Shlomo to build 100 new housing units on 150 dunums.
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) had earlier blocked the land owners from obtaining necessary permits to build there claiming these lands were agricultural lands. However the IOA allowed construction on the lands after their confiscation.
Besieging Shu’fat
A billboard was placed in the confiscated lands indicating that Israeli occupation bulldozers began few days ago leveling land lots located in Shu’fat which are opposite to the French Hill and Ramot areas in order to expand the settlement of Ramat Shlomo to the south and east.
By doing so Shu’fat will be surrounded and besieged by more housing units. The IOA is planning to build 100 housing units in the form of five 10-floor buildings with two housing units in each floor. These buildings are located near the new bus stop to the north of the Sahil area in Shu’fat.
The five Israeli bulldozers finished leveling the ground and workers from the Israeli company Gigon began the construction of the necessary infrastructure in the area including installing water and sewage pipelines.
Bulldozers continue to level the land in the eastern-southern part of Shu’fat which is located next to the lands of Beit Hanina.
According to the two-phased Israeli plan the first stage will include building 120 housing units and the second will include building 180 housing units in the southwestern part of the refugee camp.
Israeli bulldozers work round-the-clock under protection of police patrols are stationed near the newly-opened Street 20 which connects between the settlements of Ramat Shlomo and Pisgat Ze’ev.
Penetrating West Bank
Construction of settlement units and land leveling in Shu’fat Beit Hanina and Beit Igza aim to construct a network of roads to connect them with Tel Aviv and Jerusalem-Modi’in bypass roads to connect settlements located in the middle area of the West Bank with that located to the east.
Furthermore these plans aim to connect this network of roads with Streets 60 and 90 located on both sides of the West Bank to facilitate penetrating the West Bank and to connect settlements with each other in line with plans designed by the Israeli municipality and the Ministry of Transportation.
Such plans will entail more confiscation of the lands of Shu’fat and Beit Hanina for the interest of Ramat Shlomo settlement after dividing the two Jerusalemite neighborhoods Shu’fat and Beit Hanina to serve settlement projects and to isolate these two neighborhoods preventing their development and usurping their lands for the interest of a project that aims to connect Jewish-only settlements by bypass roads.
