Palestine warns Israel not to establish illegal settlement outpost on archaeological site in Bethlehem

By Aysar Alais

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Saturday warned about the dangers of establishing an illegal settlement outpost at an archaeological site in Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank.

The PLO's National Bureau for the Defense of Land said in a statement that the establishment of the illegal Nahal Helitz outpost on the lands of the village of Battir in Bethlehem endangers the village’s heritage, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The bureau highlighted that "Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the establishment of the illegal outpost at the beginning of September."

The bureau pointed out that Nahal Helitz is one of five illegal settlements deep in the occupied West Bank that were approved by the Israeli occupation government on June 27 to connect Jerusalem and other illegal settlements to the illegal Gush Etzion settlement block.

The bureau explained that the outpost's establishment would "isolate Battir, with its cultural heritage, along with neighboring Palestinian villages, from Bethlehem and the rest of the occupied West Bank, in clear violation of the global charter for preserving world heritage sites."

In 2014, UNESCO declared Battir a World Heritage Site in an emergency measure due to plans at the time to build the Israeli separation wall through its lands.

The village is distinguished by its traditional agricultural practices and stunning agricultural terraces.

In May, the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem revealed that the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has planned to evict Palestinian shepherds and farmers from their lands in the occupied West Bank in collaboration with illegal Israeli settlers.

B’Tselem stressed that this is part of "Israel's apartheid system."

According to Tel Aviv estimates, more than 720,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Palestinians view the occupied West Bank as an integral part of their future independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank amid Israel’s devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,200 victims, mostly women and children, since last Oct. 7.

At least 703 people, including 159, have since been killed and more than 5,700 injured by Israeli fire in the West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation followed a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19 that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi