{"id":680,"date":"2014-09-23T06:07:58","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T06:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/?page_id=680"},"modified":"2016-09-25T04:33:29","modified_gmt":"2016-09-25T04:33:29","slug":"israeli-government-battir-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/israeli-government-battir-village\/","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Israeli government decides not to build separation wall through Battir village – Role of UNESCO and Jewish Home Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Battir lands were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in June 2014, the Israeli High Court asked the government to decide on the separation wall\u2019s route in the area due to the new declaration. The government’s decision on Sunday, September 21st, not to allow the wall to run through Battir, surprised all those concerned.<\/p>\n

The opposition to the wall\u2019s construction included different groups. Among them were various environmental organizations, Palestinian villagers, and settlers from the Etzion Block. The main governmental body that opposed the wall was the Nature and Parks Authority (INPA), managed by Saul Goldstein, former chairman of Etzion Block. Environmental groups have previously demonstrated their capability to prevent the wall\u2019s construction: In 2008-2009, the INPA and the Society for the Protection of Nature joined in a struggle against the building of the separation wall east of Ma’aleh Adumim, and so far they have succeeded.<\/p>\n

In addition, the Palestinian Authority’s request for UNESCO\u2019s declaration of Battir lands as a World Heritage Site was able to delay the construction of the route for several years. For a while, it seemed that the UNESCO declaration could prevent the construction of the Wall in Battir. It was clear to the political echelon that this declaration must be considered when deciding on the wall\u2019s route. UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage Convention has sets guidelines for the way in which member states should ensure the implementation of decisions. Section 6.3 says the following:<\/p>\n

“Each State Party to this Convention undertakes not to take any deliberate measures which might damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage referred to in Articles 1 and 2 situated on the territory of other States Parties to this Convention.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to avoid direct confrontation with UNESCO, the government announced yesterday that the route will be built outside the territory of the heritage site. In this way, Israel can still continue the construction of the wall.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the reason for the decision is associated with resistance on behalf of the Jewish Home party (HaBayit Hayehudi)- Naftali Bennett and Uri Ariel. The settlers recognize the Battir area as part of Israel’s heritage, and are determined to preserve it for future generations. The opposition of Jewish Home ministers, who support the annexation of Etzion Block to Israel, was significant in the government’s decision. In other words, the prevention of the wall\u2019s construction is related to the right wing\u2019s agenda. It should be remembered that Israel makes great efforts to expand control of this region\u2014in late August, the government declared 4000 dunam west of Etzion Block as state lands. Preventing the construction of the separation wall between Jerusalem and Etzion Block fits the desire to strengthen the relationship between Israel and Gush Etzion, and preparing the conditions for future annexation.<\/p>\n

The decision to build the separation barrier in Battir area was unnecessary in the first place, and should have been abolished. The aspirations to annex Etzion Block are long-term, and preventing the construction of a small section of the wall near the village of Battir, will not necessarily change the political struggle for annexation. When considering the success of the struggle against the wall, one must consider the interests of the political groups that led to this decision.<\/p>\n

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After Battir lands were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in June 2014, the Israeli High Court asked the government to decide on the separation wall\u2019s route in the area due to the new declaration. The government’s decision on Sunday, September 21st, not to allow the wall to run through Battir, surprised all those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"site.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"class_list":["post-680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","tag-settlers","tag-unesco","tag-west-bank"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPress release: Israeli government decides not to build separation wall through Battir village - Role of UNESCO and Jewish Home Party - Emek Shaveh<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/israeli-government-battir-village\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Press release: Israeli government decides not to build separation wall through Battir village - Role of UNESCO and Jewish Home Party - Emek Shaveh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After Battir lands were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in June 2014, the Israeli High Court asked the government to decide on the separation wall\u2019s route in the area due to the new declaration. 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