The President of the Aqaba Village Council says the small community in the Jordan Valley is facing a new scheme which includes demolishing the village mosque, kindergarten, clinic and rural women’s center. Israeli forces issued 19 more demolition orders for houses and organizations that will replace Aqaba with military installations.
Council President, Sami Sadiq, told PNN that the features of a massive takeover became apparent at the beginning of the month.
He did say, however, that residents were “patient at first, simply watching and waiting as they had become accustomed to arbitrary actions.”
He said that the trouble began when the Israeli government decided to build the Wall on village lands. “They took vast areas and demolished many houses and buildings in the village, destroyed much of the water supply, and agricultural lands. When they demolished Ahmed Mahmoud Ali’s house they used the pretext of ‘security,’ which is the argument frequently employed to explain the policies of occupation.”
Sadiq said, “There is no international law that provides for the destruction of educational facilities for children or a mosque devoted to worship, or even a health center. What is the relationship between security and these centers? How can citizens live without the provision of vital services?”
The Village Council President answered his own question. “That’s just it, they can’t.”