www.thehindu.com Open in urlscan Pro
104.18.9.4 Public Scan

Back to summary

URL:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/israeli-settlement-threatens-palestinian-unesco-village/article68416996.ece
Submission: On December 19 via api (December 19th 2024, 1:12:31 am UTC) from US — Scanned from US

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

*
* India
* World
* Movies
* Sport
* Data
* Health
* Opinion
* Science
* Business
* Premium
* Menu

1. Science
2. Data
3. Opinion
4. SEARCH

FREE TRIALGIFT a Subscription Subscribe LOGIN ACCOUNT PREMIUM

Open in The Hindu App
FREE TRIALLOGINGIFT a Subscription ACCOUNT PREMIUM

1. Science
2. Data
3. Opinion
4. SEARCH

India World Movies Sport Data Health Opinion Science Business Premium
1. Science
2. Data
3. Opinion
4. SEARCH

* News
* Business
* Entertainment
* Life & Style
* Society
* Technology
* Videos
* Sport
* Cities
* States
* Science
* Show More

* Chennai
* Delhi
* Bengaluru
* Hyderabad
* Movies
* Food
* Children
* Data
* Kochi
* Books
* Education
* Podcast
* Brandhub

To enjoy additional benefits

FREE TRIALGIFT a Subscription Subscribe LOGIN ACCOUNT PREMIUM

ShowcaseSubscribe to NewslettersCrossword+

CONNECT WITH US

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

1. Home
2. News
3. World

ISRAELI SETTLEMENT THREATENS PALESTINIAN UNESCO VILLAGE

THE NEW OUTPOST ON A BATTIR HILLTOP, ALSO NOT APPROVED BY ISRAEL, WAS SERVED AN
EVICTION NOTICE THAT OLAYAN'S COUSIN GHASSAN OLAYAN SAID HAS NOT BEEN ENFORCED
BECAUSE OF THE GAZA WAR

Published - July 18, 2024 12:13 pm IST - Battir, Palestinian Territories

AFP
* Copy link
* Email
* Facebook
* Twitter
* Telegram
* LinkedIn
* WhatsApp
* Reddit

READ LATER
Remove SEE ALL
PRINT

A picture shows a new Israeli settlers outpost (centre), backdropped by Har
Gilo, as pictured from the Palestinian village of Battir, a UNESCO heritage site
in the occupied West Bank south of Jerusalem, on July 8, 2024. | Photo Credit:
AFP

On a hillside near Palestinian landowner Olayan Olayan's olive groves, young
Israeli settlers are hammering out a new, illegal outpost in a UNESCO-protected
zone.

Olayan and his neighbours have long battled attempts to settle the land in
Battir, a heritage site in the Israeli-occupied West Bank famed for its ancient
stone terraces.

Israeli construction in the West Bank has boomed since the war began in the Gaza
Strip, even though all settlements in the territory are considered illegal under
international law.

The new outpost on a Battir hilltop, also not approved by Israel, was served an
eviction notice that Olayan's cousin Ghassan Olayan said has not been enforced
because of the Gaza war.

The outpost already has a flagpole, living quarters and a barn for sheep that
roam a rocky hill covered by olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers.

"I ploughed the land and planted it until it bore fruit trees," said Olayan, who
at 83 is older than the state of Israel itself.

"Some trees were 50 years old, or even more, and suddenly the settlers came and
wanted to devour the land and take it from us," he added, his voice shaky.

HELETZ SETTLEMENT

Even more concerning to the Olayans than the encroaching outpost is the
adjacent, future settlement of Heletz.

Yonatan Mizrahi of settlement watchdog Peace Now said Heletz was among five
settlements "deep in Palestinian territory" approved by the Israeli government
on June 27.

"It is a settlement that is going to block Battir and in many ways create
tension between the neighbours," he said.

Heletz and the outpost sit inside the UNESCO protection zone for Battir, one of
four listed heritage sites in the West Bank.

The UNESCO classification means the village can get technical, legal, and
monetary assistance to preserve sites deemed in danger.

In Battir, children splash in the Roman-era fountain that waters the terraces
where tomatoes, corn, aubergines and olive trees grow.

The 2,000-year-old dry stone walls supporting the landscape earned the village
its cultural inscription in 2014. But the classification has done little to
prevent seizures of the surrounding farmland.

Battir's inhabitants have beaten in court at least three previous Israeli
settlement outpost attempts.

But Ghassan Olayan fears the war since the Hamas attacks of October 7 on Israel
will make the new, government-approved Heletz more likely to become reality.

PREVENTING STATEHOOD

According to Olayan, Heletz is intended to link Jerusalem to Gush Etzion, a
cluster of settlements deeper in the West Bank.

If that is achieved, Battir and the nearby Palestinian villages would be cut off
from Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank, a process they fear will fragment
a future Palestinian state.

"There will be no (territorial) continuity," said Olayan, leaving only what some
observers describe as an archipelago of Palestinian sovereignty.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler himself, openly
states that preventing Palestinian statehood is the objective.

"We will continue to develop the settlements in order to maintain Israel's
security and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state," he wrote on the
X social media platform after the five latest settlements were approved in June.

In recent months, Israeli forces have blocked a road to Battir, nearly doubling
the time it takes to reach Jerusalem just 10 kilometres (six miles) north.

When asked about the new outpost in Battir, an Israeli security official
acknowledged that "an Israeli farm had been established without proper
authorisation".

The official told AFP "the possibility of authorising the farm will be weighed"
as the development of Heletz gets under way.

Battir residents "raised several claims that the land belongs to them" but have
"not presented documentation to support their position", according to the
official.

Olayan said documents from Ottoman times prove Battir inhabitants' ownership of
the land.

A UNESCO spokesperson said the UN cultural agency's world heritage committee had
been told about "reports of illegal constructions" and that Battir would be
discussed at a session in late July.

Olayan fears that sleepy Battir, with its collective life centred around the
Roman fountain's irrigation system allotting each family a specific time slot to
irrigate their crops, faces a difficult future.

"Battir is a peaceful village and the settlement will only bring trouble," he
said.

Published - July 18, 2024 12:13 pm IST

Read Comments
* Copy link
* Email
* Facebook
* Twitter
* Telegram
* LinkedIn
* WhatsApp
* Reddit

READ LATER
Remove SEE ALL
PRINT

www.thehindu.com Open in urlscan Pro 104.18.9.4 Public Scan

Form analysis 0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

www.thehindu.com Open in urlscan Pro
104.18.9.4 Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM