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Emek Refaim Park Plan Approved by District Committee
Today the District Planning and Building Committee approved the plan for the Emek Refaim metropolitan park, to include 1,200 dunams of national park land located beyond the Green Line, in between the Line and the separation barrier being built around the Palestinian village of al-Wallajeh. The Committee deliberated on June 20th and announced its decision today. The double isolation of al-Wallajeh by the separation barrier and 1,200 dunams of national park land, considered alongside plans to expedite settler traffic from the Gush Etzion settler bloc via the Begin Road extension through Beit Safafa, may be seen as part of a strategy to realize the vision of a Greater Jerusalem. That vision foretells an exponentially expanded Jerusalem that would absorb large swaths of land in the West Bank, including the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the south, the Ma’ale Adumim/E-1 settlement bloc in the east and the Givat Ze’ev settlement bloc in the north, severely jeopardizing a two state solution. Please see prior alerts below for additional background information. Please direct all inquiries to: Betty Herschman Director of International Relations & Advocacy Ir Amim 27 King George St. POB 2239 Jerusalem, Israel 94581 Work: 972-2-6222-858 x106 Cell: 054-308-5096 betty@ir-amim.org.il www.ir-amim __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 20 June, 2013 Today the District Planning and Building Committee considered objections against the proposed Emek Rafaim metropolitan park, 1,200 dunams of which would be located beyond the Green Line and designated as a national park, with the result that all private al-Wallajeh land between the Green Line and the separation barrier encircling the village of al-Wallajeh in East Jerusalem would be under the authority of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. See southwestern perimeter of attached map. Most of today's objections, submitted primarily by Attorney Ghiat Nasser on behalf of al-Wallajeh residents, focused on the impact of designating private land as national park land, which severely curtails owners’ ability to control and access their own resources. Discussion of objections was originally scheduled before the Committee for the Completion of plans, a change in planning process protocol that can only be made if it can be demonstrated that the District Committee caused a delay in the approval process —for instance, via failure to act within a specified time period. In this case, since court proceedings caused the delay, there was no apparent rationale for making the change in venue. In response to a letter submitted by Ir Amim on May 26 claiming no viable justification for the change, responsibility for the hearing was returned to the District Committee. Though it did not submit a formal objection, Ir Amim made the case at today’s hearing that there is an internal contradiction between the authorities’ emphasis on the preservation of historical agricultural land and the fact that the separation barrier will block villagers’ access to their lands. Further, increased tourism poses a grave threat to traditional agricultural land, which is much more vulnerable to human foot traffic than developed land. The Committee’s decision is expected in the next several weeks. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 26 May, 2013: In February, 2012, the Jerusalem Development Authority deposited a plan for a 5,000+ metropolitan park "for the benefit of Jerusalem residents" in the south of Jerusalem, most of it inside the Green Line. However, some 1,200 dunams of the park would be located beyond the Green Line and designated as a national park, with the result that all land between the Green Line and the separation barrier encircling the village of al-Wallajeh under the authority of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The separation barrier, now nearing completion, will prevent al-Wallajeh residents from reaching agricultural land used for herd grazing and the cultivation of olive groves and other agricultural products. Further, as reported on May 8, the Israeli army has erected a gate on the road connecting al-Wallajeh to the Cremisan Monastery and Beit Jala in the West Bank, preventing vehicular access. The road block leaves al-Wallajeh with only one operating access road and severely impedes access to the elementary school in the Cremisan. The Local Planning and Building Committee heard objections to TPS 12222 in May, 2012 after its initial February, 2012 deposit. The process was halted due to an appeal on behalf of al-Wallajeh residents by Attorney Ghiat Nasser, who petitioned to have the plan documents translated into Arabic. Now, following a negative decision on a similar appeal regarding the planned Mount Scopus Slopes National Park, the appeal has been withdrawn, paving the way for potential approval after the Committee for Approval of Plans’ hearing of objections. In cases of an administrative backlog in the District Committee or bureaucratic obstacles to a plan’s passage, the Chair of the District Committee, under the authority of the Interior Minister, may appoint a special three person committee known as the “Committee for the Completion of Plans”. The committee consists of one person each from the Local Committee, the District Committee and the Interior Ministry. Referral to the Committee for the Completion of Plans may be sanctioned only if a delay in approval is attributable to a failure of the District Committee—for instance, failure to act within a specified time period. In this case, since the delay occurred under the purview of court proceedings, the appointment of the committee does not appear to be justified. The double isolation of al-Wallajeh by the separation barrier and 1,200 dunams of national park land, considered alongside plans to expedite settler traffic from the Gush Etzion settler bloc via the Begin Road extension through Beit Safafa, may be seen as part of a strategy to realize the vision of a Greater Jerusalem. That vision foretells an exponentially expanded Jerusalem that would absorb large swaths of land in the West Bank, including the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the south, the Ma’ale Adumim/E-1 settlement bloc in the east and the Givat Ze’ev settlement bloc in the north, severely jeopardizing a two state solution.
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