2 August 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Olive harvest in the Jordan Valley
Reuters reports thats Israeli authorities have given Palestinian farmers living in Jericho in the West Bank an order to uproot palm trees they have grown and leave the agricultural lands within 45 days. The orders came in the form of letters sent to the farmers in what is known as “Area C” and gave the farmers a 7 October 2012 deadline to vacate their land.
Shawkat Housheyeh, a farmer who received an official warning letter to uproot his palm trees told Reuters news agency that the measure threatened the livelihood of thousands of farm workers in the Jericho area. He called on the Palestinian Authority to fight the Israeli threat to Palestinians working on farms in the 3,000 dunams (about 741 acres) of Dier Hijlah and al-Zour.
Liza Ennab is the media coordinator for the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
Israeli authorities have stepped up unlawful demolitions in the West Bank including East Jerusalem over the past year, displacing a record number of Palestinian families from their homes, an international coalition of 20 leading aid agencies and human rights groups said today.
The statement comes as the Middle East Quartet meets in Jerusalem in its latest effort to revive peace talks.
The sharp rise in demolitions in 2011 has been accompanied by accelerated expansion of Israeli settlements and an escalation of violence perpetrated by settlers, the groups said.
The humanitarian and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam International, are calling for the Quartet to hold all parties to the conflict to their international law obligations. The Quartet must, therefore, press the Israeli government to immediately reverse its settlement policies and freeze all demolitions that violate international law.
“The increasing rate of settlement expansion and house demolitions is pushing Palestinians to the brink, destroying their livelihoods and prospects for a just and durable peace. There is a growing disconnect between the Quartet talks and the situation on the ground. The Quartet needs to radically revise its approach and show that it can make a real difference to the lives of Palestinians and Israelis.” said Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director, Oxfam International.
The evidence of rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground includes:
Doubling the number of people displaced by demolitions: Since the beginning of the year more than 500 Palestinian homes, wells, rainwater harvesting cisterns, and other essential structures have been destroyed in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, displacing more than 1,000 Palestinians, UN figures show. This is more than double the number of people displaced over the same period in 2010, and the highest figure since at least 2005. More than half of those displaced have been children for whom the loss of their home is particularly devastating.
Accelerating settlement expansion: Plans for around 4,000 new settler housing units have been approved in East Jerusalem over the past 12 months – the highest number since at least 2006, according to Peace Now. In November, moreover, Israel announced plans to speed up construction of 2,000 new units in the West Bank including East Jerusalem.
Sharp increase in settler violence: violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians have escalated by over 50% in 2011 compared to 2010, and by over 160% compared to 2009, the UN reports. 2011 has seen by far the most settler violence since at least 2005. Settlers have also destroyed or damaged nearly 10,000 Palestinian olive and other trees during this year, undermining the livelihoods of hundreds of families. The perpetrators act with virtual impunity, with over 90% of complaints of settler violence closed by the Israeli police without indictment in 2005-2010.
Impending threat of forced displacement of Bedouin: Up to 2,300 Bedouin living in the Jerusalem periphery could be forcibly and unlawfully relocated if Israeli authorities follow through with their reported plans in 2012, which would destroy their livelihoods and threaten their traditional way of life. Rural communities in the Jordan Valley are also facing the prospect of further demolitions as settlements continue to expand.
“The Quartet should call ongoing settlement expansion and house demolitions what they are: violations of international humanitarian law that Israel should stop,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
“Israel’s escalating violations show the fundamental failure of the Quartet’s approach. It’s time for the Quartet to understand that they cannot contribute to achieving a just and durable solution to the conflict without first ensuring respect for international law,” said Phillip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Interim Programme Director, Amnesty International.
by Samira | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
The people in the Bedouin community, Mihtawish, in Khan el Ahmar area outside Jerusalem today faced a house demolition. Three family houses were demolished, which hosted in total 39 people. 30 of them are children. One family lived in their house year round and two were soon to come for the winter. The families will now stay temporary in tents provided by the UN, but they will have to move to another area, while the demolition order is still valid.
The families received the first demolition order 10 days ago and were then told to demolish their own houses. When this did not happened a final demolition order was sent three days ago. Around 10 AM today 15 military vehicles arrived and the army demolished the three houses. Two of the sons of the families spotted the jeeps and called the head of the community, Abu Rayyed, who contacted the UN and the president of the whole area.
Charging victims of house demolitions - Click here for more images
Of course the families did not demolish their homes themselves. Not only did they loose their homes, but they will also be held responsible to pay for the rent of the bulldozer that demolished the houses. Only one woman and one child were present when the demolition happened. All the men stayed away from the location in order not to be held financially responsible.
The area is considered Area C, which means no Palestinians are allowed to build anything, yet Bedouins, known for their nomadic lifestyles, have been caged between areas. They are also prohibited from rebuilding old encampments or houses.
Abu Rayyed recently brought new wooden panels and corrugated iron for his house, but all building materials were confiscated by the Israeli army. The area is also a nature protectorate, but the hills are all sand and stones and the only green to be seen is inside the illegal Israeli settlements that are surrounding the Bedouin communities.
The families in the Bedouin community in Khan el Ahmar are originally from southern Palestine, but were displaced in the 50’s.
“I was born in ’58, but I am born here too.” Says Aby Rayyed.
Now the families are soon to face a second replacement. This was the first demolition in the whole area of Khan el Ahmar, but not the last one. The villagers have received a verbal demolition order for the whole area, and the whole Bedouin community will be displaced. There are speculations that this will happen In January, but yet none knows for sure when and how it will happen, or where they will go, as expressed by a woman who lost her home today.
“They want us to go away, but where should we go? There is nowhere for us to move. But they want us all to disappear. All of us,” she said.
Samira is an activist with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
