Only 13% of the Bethlehem area is under the control of the Palestinian Authority – a new report released by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Thursday said.
The report was issued less than a week ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Middle East. The pontiff is scheduled to travel to Bethlehem during his time in the West Bank.
The UN agency accuses Israel of limiting the movement of Palestinians in the region, particularly in the direction of east Jerusalem. Bethlehem residents must obtain special time-limited permits to enter east Jerusalem, and the authorization process is extremely complicated.
The report also slams the expansion of Jewish settlements and the construction of the security barrier.
According to the report 66% of the Bethlehem area is classified as 'C territories' – meaning they are under full Israeli control. The UN report says that Israel is taking advantage of that control to designate some areas for military use, and others as nature reserves that are off limits to Palestinians.
The Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs asserts that 10 square kilometers of the Bethlehem area have been illegally annexed to Israel, and are now part of Jerusalem. These include Har Homa and considerable parts of the Gilo neighborhood. Other parts were annexed to Gush Etzion and the settlements of Tkoa, Nokdim, Ma'ale Amos and Mitzpe Shalem.
According to the report 86,000 Israelis are currently living in 19 settlements and 16 illegal outposts which are on Bethlehem's land. The number of Palestinians living in and around the city is 175,000.
The report also says that the completion of the security barrier along its planned route would lead to the expropriation of Palestinian land. The barrier would surround nine villages, where 21,000 Palestinians reside – a move which the agency says would cause long term harm to the Palestinian population.
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