عربي
H.E. Dr. Awad, highlights the Forty- Seventh Annual Commemoration of Land Day in Statistical Figures
On The Occasion of the Forty- Seventh annual commemoration of Land Day, on 30/03/2023, H.E. Dr. Ola Awad, President of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics "PCBS", highlighted the Land Day in statistical figures, as follows:
The Palestinian people remember the Annual Commemoration of Land Day. It is the day in which the Israeli occupation laid hand over and confiscated 21 thousand dunums of land in Al-Jalil, Al-Muthalath and Al-Naqab on the 30th of March 1976. On this day, the Israeli occupation confiscated the land and responded violently to the protestations, killing six young Palestinian demonstrators. Accordingly, this day has become a commemoration to embody the belonging of the Palestinian people to their homeland, and to commemorate those young martyrs.
The Israeli occupation controls more than 85% of the land of historical Palestine
The estimated number of the Palestinians by the end of 2022 was about 14.3 million; about 5.4 million live in the State of Palestine and about 1.7 million Palestinians live in the 1948 territories. In addition, about 6.4 million Palestinians live in the Arab countries, whereas almost 761 thousand Palestinians live in foreign countries. While the number of Jews in historical Palestine is 7.1 million, and thus the number of Palestinians and Jews in historical Palestine equals by the end of the year 2022, at 7.1 million for each. The Israeli occupation is exploiting more than 85% of the total area of the lands of the historical Palestine. It is also worth mentioning that Jews in the era of the British Mandate exploited only 1,682 Km2, a percentage of 6.2% of the lands of the historical Palestine.
In addition the Israeli occupation used the land classification according to the Oslo Accords (A, B and C) to tighten their control over the Palestinian land, especially in areas classified as (C) which are under the full control of the Israeli occupation in terms of security, planning and construction, where 76% of the total area classified as (C) is directly exploited by the Israeli occupation; settlements regional councils are controlling 63% of it. While the area of authority regions in the Israeli settlements in the West Bank (Including closed regions allocated for expanding those settlements) is about 537 km2 as it is by the end of 2022; representing about 10% of the total area of the West Bank. Whereas the confiscated areas for the purposes of military bases and military training locations represent about 18% of the West Bank area, in addition to the Annexation and Expansion Wall that has isolated more than 10% of the area of the West Bank. Consequently, more than 219 Palestinian localities were badly affected by the establishment of the Annexation and Expansion Wall. In addition, and since 1967, the Israeli occupation authorities have confiscated about 353 thousand dunums of Palestinian lands and classified them as natural reserves in preparation for their seizure.
Percentage Distribution of land in the West Bank according to Oslo Accords
Others include natural reserves, Jerusalem J1, Hebron H2, and other unclassified areas
Israeli Settlements: Continuous Expansion
By the end of 2021, there were 483 Israeli occupation sites and military bases in the West Bank, including 151 settlements and 25 inhabited outposts that considered as neighborhoods following established settlements, in addition to 163 settlement outposts, and 144 classified as other sites (industrial, tourists, service areas and Israeli army bases). As for the number of settlers in the West Bank, it reached 719,452 settlers by the end of 2021. Thus, data shows that around 45.4% of settlers live in Jerusalem governorate, where their number reached about 326,523 settlers; out of which 239,951 settlers live in East Jerusalem (J1) “includes those parts of Jerusalem which were annexed by Israeli occupation in 1967”. Followed by Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate with 143,311 settlers, 95,279 settlers in Bethlehem governorate, and 50,067 settlers in Salfit governorate. As for the lowest governorates in terms of the number of settlers Tubas & the northern Jordan Valley with 2,629 settlers. The ratio of settlers to Palestinians in the West Bank is about 23 settlers for every 100 Palestinians, while the highest is in Jerusalem governorate with about 69 settlers for every 100 Palestinians. The year 2022 witnessed an increase Significant in the pace of building and expanding Israeli settlements, as the occupation authorities approved about 83 project plans to build more than 22 thousand units throughout the West Bank, including Jerusalem.
Jerusalem: Intensive Judaization and demolish of Palestinian real-estate
As part of the policy of deportation and replacement, the Israeli occupation authorities are taking accelerated judaizing measures to Jerusalem in order to obliterate the Islamic and Christiane landmarks and displace Palestinians from the city of Jerusalem, to replace them with Israelis from all over the world" During 2022, the Israeli occupation authorities approved about 70 planning project to construct of more than 10 thousand settlement units in Jerusalem, at a time that the Israeli occupation authorities demolished more than 258 buildings and issued demolition orders for more than 220 Palestinian buildings, including 100 residential buildings in Al-Bustan neighborhood as part of the policy of mass demolition, which leads to the displacement of 1,550 people, most of them children and women. In addition, the frequency of targeting Palestinians increased, as 19 Jerusalemites were killed and about 2,486 Palestinians were wounded by the Israeli occupation bullets during the year 2022. The number of arrest cases increased by 22%, which the occupation launched in Jerusalem governorate during the year 2022, as the number of arrest cases reached about 3,504 compared to about 2,879 case in the year 2021.
More than 8,700 attacks by Israeli occupation force and settlers
In 2022, settlers, under the protection of the Israeli occupation force, carried out about 8,724 attacks against Palestinian citizens and their property, These attacks were distributed as 1,515 attacks on property and religious places, 362 attacks on lands and natural resources, and 6,847 attacks on Palestinian individuals. On the other hand, the year 2022 witnessed an attempt by settler groups on 63 occasions to establish outposts, most notably the attempt of the right-wing Nahla movement to establish more than 10 outposts on 7/20/2022. The occupation forces and settlers also launched of 223 confiscation operations of about 294 Palestinian property, including 48 agricultural tractors, and 53 cars for Palestinian citizens. These attacks also caused the uprooting, damage and destruction of 10,291 olive trees.
The Israeli occupation authorities carried out 378 demolitions that affected 953 facilities in the West Bank during the year 2022
During the year 2022, the occupation authorities carried out 378 demolitions affected 953 facilities in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Most of the demolitions were concentrated in the Jerusalem governorate, with 118 demolitions; represent 31%, leaving 178 demolished buildings in Jerusalem city, of which 98 were self-demolition operations. The Israeli occupation authorities also issued 1,220 demolition notices, of which about 33% were in the Hebron governorate, 18% in Bethlehem governorate, and 9% in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, in addition to the destruction of many infrastructure sites that serve the Palestinians, including roads, water and sanitation networks, and recreational places …etc.
Self-Demolitions in Jerusalem Governorate 2006 - 2022
Israeli Violations against the Palestinians
The number of Palestinian and Arab martyrs killed since the Nakba in 1948 and until this day (inside and outside Palestine) reached about 100 thousand martyrs. Moreover, the number of martyrs killed in Al-Aqsa Intifada, between September 29th, 2000 and December 31st, 2022, was 11,540. It is said that the bloodiest year was 2014 with 2,240 Palestinian martyrs, 2,181 of them were from Gaza Strip during the war on Gaza. During 2022, the number of Palestinian martyrs reached 231, 56 of whom were children and 17 women. While the number of wounded Palestinians reached about 10,000 in 2022. By the end of February 2022, there were 4,700 Palestinian detainees in the Israeli occupation prisons, 150 of them are children and 29 women. The number of detention cases amounted to be about 7,000 cases during 2022, including 882 children and 172 women, of them 129 in Jerusalem. While the number of administrative detention orders against Palestinian citizens who were not charged with any indictment amounted to 850.
The policy of the occupation forces did not stop demolishing Palestinian-owned buildings and the resulting displacement of residents from their homes throughout the West Bank, as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Territories (OCHA) documented since 2009 that the occupation forces destroyed 9,353 homes or facilities since 2009. 2009, including 1,639 facilities funded by donors, which led to the displacement of 13,641 citizens. The demolitions were 19% in East Jerusalem, 79% in areas classified (C), and about 2% of the demolitions were in areas classified (A) and (B). OCHA documented About 953 facilities were demolished during the year 2022, including 140 facilities funded by donors, which led to the displacement of 1,031 citizens and affected 28,446 citizens, of which inhabited and uninhabited agricultural and residential facilities represented about 70%.
Sources:
1. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2022. Israeli Settlements in the West Bank, 2021. Ramallah - Palestine.
2. Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission 2023. Summary of Israeli Violations in Palestine, 2022. Ramallah - Palestine.
3. The Commission of Detainees Affairs, 2023. Annual Report of Detainees 2022. Ramallah - Palestine.
4. Jerusalem Governorate, Summary of Israeli Violations in Jerusalem Governorate, 2022. Jerusalem - Palestine.
5. UN Office for the Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Territories (OCHA), 2023.
6. Palestinian Ministry of Health, Emergency Operation Center. Annual Report, Israeli aggression against Palestinians, 2022. Ramallah - Palestine.