Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Ramallah, May 27 – The Israeli government has accelerated its expansionist plans this year in the occupied area of ??East Jerusalem and the outskirts to judaize it and isolate it from the rest of the West Bank, Palestinian expert Khalil Tafakji warned today.
In an interview with the Safa news agency, the analyst warned that the ultimate goal is to prevent that region from becoming the capital of the future Palestinian state, as the world demands.
To this end, Israel has accelerated the implementation of settlement construction projects, either by expanding existing colonies or establishing new outposts, he stressed.
Al-Tafakji emphasized that while appropriating more land, Benjamin Netanyahu's government is also trying to change the city's demographic landscape.
The authorities in that country are trying to encircle Palestinian neighborhoods with road networks and establish colonies in them, he stressed.
At the same time, he indicated, they are trying to move toward a new phase known as the "Greater Jerusalem project," an old plan dating back to former Israeli minister David Ben-Eliezer.
The idea is to annex to the city the Israeli colonial blocs in the suburbs such as Gush Etzion, which includes 14 settlements; Ma'ale Adumim (eight), Givat Ze'ev (five), as well as Kokhav Ya'akov and Beit El (five more), he emphasized.
Fakhri Abu Diab, a researcher on Jerusalem affairs, warned a few weeks ago about the danger posed by this plan.
Netanyahu took advantage of the international context and President Donald Trump's arrival at the White House to advance his agenda on the ground and implement his plans, he denounced.
Abu Diab explained that Netanyahu cannot reject any expansionist initiative because he needs the votes of the far right to remain in office due to his narrow margin in Parliament.
According to the expert, Israel is trying to reduce the percentage of Palestinians in the city by expelling 150,000 citizens, who will be replaced by an equal number of Jews.
The far-right view in that country sees the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem as a threat to the Jewish state, he denounced.
This "Greater Jerusalem" will extend over an estimated area of ??600 square kilometers, equivalent to 10 percent of the occupied West Bank, he emphasized. (PL) (Photo: Taken from the Internet)
