Israel to Link Settlements, Al-Quds

The wall section around Maale Adumim settlement, which lies on the eastern outskirts of Al-Quds and is home to around28 , 000Jewish settlers, will also take in other smaller nearby settlements and land earmarked for the construction of new Jewish neighborhoods, according to Maariv.

In March, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz approved plans to build another3 , 500homes in Maale Adumim.

The Israeli daily said the controversial move will also incorporate Gush Etzion settlement onto the Israeli side of the barrier whose final route was approved by the cabinet in February.

Gush Etzion is a settlement bloc housing around12 , 000Jewish settlers near occupied Bethlehem.

Maariv said Israel wants to make use of its planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip to minimize expected opposition from the United States and the European Union.

The report comes only one day after Palestinians marked the blackest day in their history when their homeland was usurped to establish the state of Israel 57 years ago.

The UN Commission on Human Rights on Thursday, April14 , condemned Israel’s continued settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories, pressing for an immediate freeze.

The separation wall has been deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice and in July and the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling Israel to tear it down.

As usual, Israel, backed by Washington, defiantly refused to abide by the ruling or the resolution.

Washington has called for an end to settlement activity in keeping with the roadmap plan for peace, but has also said the final borders of a promised Palestinian state must take into account demographic realities on the ground.

Palestinian Killed
On the ground, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian man Monday at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank, claiming he was armed with a knife, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Palestinian and Israeli security sources as saying.

Omar Asrawi,22 , was killed at the Jbara checkpoint close to the town of Tulkarem, according to Palestinian sources.

An Israeli military source claimed Asrawi struck one of the soldiers with a knife but that he was not wounded because he was wearing a flak jacket.

“He refused to stop despite orders, followed by warning shots into the air,” the source said. “The soldiers then shot at him and he was hit.”

Asrawi’s death raised to4 , 757the number of people killed since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted in September 2000 , including3 , 695Palestinians, according to an AFP count.

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