Israel to Build New Fence near Al-Khalil
Israel's minister for military affairs Moshe Ya'alon told members of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) that the Tel Aviv regime would soon build a fortified fence near al-Khalil.
The minister defended the decision to construct the barrier, alleging that it would halt Palestinian attacks against the Israeli forces.
Al-Khalil has turned into a flashpoint of Palestinian resistance against Israel's aggression.
The Israeli regime began building several fences across the occupied lands in the early 2000s under the pretext of confronting Palestinian attacks.
West Bank villages are the scene of regular protests against the construction of Israel’s apartheid separation wall.
Israel started building the separation barrier, which is a mix of metal fencing, barbed wire and concrete walls, in 2002 to expand its settlement
According to a 2004 ruling by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations General Assembly, the construction of the apartheid separation barrier is in violation of the international law.
New Israeli settlements displace Bedouins
Media reports indicate that a new Israeli construction plan is to displace thousands of Palestinian Bedouins in the Negev region, south of Israel.
The regime’s housing minister, Yoav Galant, recently praised the Israeli cabinet’s approval of his plan to establish several towns in the southern Negev desert.
Some 7,500 people will be forced to leave their homes to pave the way for the construction of new Israeli settlements there.
Every year, hundreds of Bedouin homes are demolished as part of Israel's settlement expansion projects.
Human rights groups say the plan is part of Tel Aviv’s ongoing policy to push Bedouins out of the occupied territories and build Jewish-only communities.
Palestinians say Tel Aviv is in fact seeking ethnic cleansing in an attempt to Judaize the occupied territories.
Israel forces kill three more Palestinians
Also on Thursday, at least three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces as Tel Aviv’s crackdown intensifies in the occupied territories.
A Palestinian from the Al-Arub refugee camp, north of the flashpoint city of al-Khalil (Hebron), died after being shot by Israeli forces with a live round in clashes with Israeli forces.
According to the Israeli media, another Palestinian was killed at a checkpoint south of Nablus. He was shot while allegedly trying to stab an Israeli.
Earlier, a Palestinian youth was killed and several others wounded during clashes in Qatanna, northwest of al-Quds (Jerusalem). Clashes erupted after Israeli forces stormed the town and raided a number of Palestinian homes in a door-to-door search operation.
Tensions in the occupied Palestinian territories have dramatically escalated in recent weeks due to the Israeli regime’s imposition of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds.
More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the recent escalation of violence since the start of October.
West Bank shuts down
Meanwhile, Palestinians in the occupied territories have gone on a general strike to protest Israel’s two-month long aggression against Palestinians.
On Thursday, almost all institutions and businesses remained closed, and traffic stayed off the streets in several towns and cities across the occupied West Bank.
The one-day strike was called by several Palestinian groups in response to the recent killing of 16-year-old Ibrahim Abdul-Halim Dawood, who succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday evening.
He had been shot in the chest during clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters in Ramallah, located north of al-Quds (Jerusalem), two weeks ago.
The ongoing aggression by the Tel Aviv regime and Israeli settlers has raised fears of a third Intifada, a full-scale Palestinian uprising.
Source: Press TV
