Ramallah: Israel is just one step away from annexing several key Israeli colonies surrounding Occupied Jerusalem.
Two far-right Israeli lawmakers have submitted a ‘Greater Jerusalem’ draft bill to Israel’s parliament Knesset, calling for the immediate annexation of six major Israeli colonies and colony blocks that have surrounded occupied East Jerusalem since Israel captured the Old City 50 years ago in the Mideast Six-Day War.
According to the Israeli daily, Maariv, the bill has passed all parliamentary committees and will shortly be put to a final vote
The bill was presented by Jewish lawmakers Ehuda Glick and Bezalel Smotrich, backed by the far-right ruling coalition in Israel.
It calls for the immediate annexation of Jewish colonies to Israeli sovereignty and the establishment of a single council to run them.
Under the bill, ‘Greater Jerusalem’ would include six Jewish colonies and colony blocks — Beitar Illit, Gush Etzion, Ma’ale Adumim, Giv’at Ze’ev, Efrat, and Kfar Adumim.
They would be run by a council headed by Occupied Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barakat and co-chaired by heads of colony councils.
Israel has been carrying out systematic colonisation projects based on the ‘Greater Jerusalem’ plan, with the ultimate aim of total annexation of the holy city as its ‘undivided and eternal capital’. In addition to annexing Palestinian land, Israel has been systematically revoking Israeli identity cards from Palestinians, imposing hefty fines on Palestinian market vendors in the Old City, imposing high property taxes and rejecting the large majority of building permit requests from Palestinians.
Israel wants to annex all of Jerusalem and has been taking incremental steps over the years to Judaise the holy city and erase any traces of Palestinian and Muslim identity.
Under the 2050 Jewish initiative Palestinians will be completely pushed out of Occupied Jerusalem by 2050.
By 2030, Israel is aiming to reduce Palestinian population in Occupied Jerusalem to 12 per cent.
