The Road in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan was paved in Area C on lands marked for takeover by settlers from the adjacent outpost. Construction of the road was funded by Fayyad who also personally laid the cornerstone during a Land Day demonstration last March. Structures were also demolished today in the Jordan Valley and the Jerusalem area.
Large military forces entered the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan south-west of Nablus this morning to demolish a greenhouse and an agricultural access road paved on privately owned Palestinian lands designated as Area C. The paving of the road was initiated by village residents after settlers from the nearby outpost of Havat Ya’ir tried to take over a water-spring to which the road leads.
Construction work on the road began late last March, during a Land Day protest, in defiance of Israel’s policy of preventing Palestinian construction in Area C. The demonstration and the laying of the road’s cornerstone were participated by Palestinian Prim Minister, Salam Fayyad, who also provided the funding for the project.
During the demolitions, clashes between local youth and the military developed, in which soldiers used tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets against the villagers. Israeli bulldozers also placed a new roadblock at the entrance to the road.
House demolitions were also carried today under the pretext of illegal construction in the Jordan Valley village of al-Jiftlik, where the army knocked down ten structures in the early morning, and in the village of Hizma near Jerusalem, where seven more structures were demolished – all in Area C.
Over 60 percent of the West Bank is currently classified as Area C, in which, under the Oslo accords, Israel has complete control, over both civil and security issues. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) some 70 percent of Area C, or approximately 44 percent of the West Bank, has been largely designated for the use of Israeli settlements or the Israeli military. The Israeli authorities generally allow Palestinian construction only within the boundaries of an Israeli-approved plan and these cover less than one percent of Area C, much of which is already built-up. As a result, Palestinians are left with no choice but to build “illegally” and risk demolition of their structures and displacement.
According to information released by the Israeli State Attorney’s Office in early December 2009, approximately 2,450 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C have been demolished due to lack of permit over the course of the past 12 years.
31 October 2010 | International Solidarity Movement
Sunday, settlers clashed with Bedouin villagers of Jiftlik in the Jordan Valley, as settlers tried to expand their settlement of Massu´a.
Their expansion will isolate Jiftlik and result in the whole Bedouin community losing access to their pastures, making it impossible for the Bedouins to live in their village and thereby forcing them to move.
In the past week settlers have been setting up a fence to cut away more land from a family in the village, acting with violence at any encounter with that family. Locals asked for the presence of internationals to document the violations going on, and prevent the settlers from completing the fence.
A group of 12 internationals spent the night in the village to be present in the morning when the settlers were expected to continue the fence.
At ten o´clock, thirteen settlers arrived with heavy machinery and tools for erecting the fence. A struggle between the settlers, villagers, and internationals occurred, focused around the heavy tool for pounding fence poles into the ground. Internationals and Palestinian women tried to pull the tool away, while the settlers pulled back and acted violently by pushing and shoving the Palestinian women, and grabbing the internationals. An international girl was thrown to the ground several times, and another was hit. The settlers tried to hit and take the cameras that were used to document the incident.
Israeli police, IOF, and border police arrived after 20 minutes, separated the settlers from the Palestinians and internationals, and after talking with the settlers agreed to defend them as they continued building their fence. The soldiers surrounded the settlers to prevent the Palestinians and internationals from disturbing them and thus helped the settlers to steal Palestinian land and expand the settlement.
Internationals demanded that these soldiers protecting the settlers provide documents proving the Israeli acceptance of the expansion. No documents were shown, probably because the expansion was illegal not only according to international law but also according to Israeli law.
As internationals continued to document, the soldiers started picking out people to ask for their passports. They arrested one Palestinian from the village, one international from Spain and one from Norway, and harassed others by taking their passports for long intervals and threatening to deport them. The 23 year old Norwegian woman was arrested by three border police officers, hand cuffed and foot cuffed, and taken with the Palestinian and Spanish international to the Police station in the settlement of Ariel.
All arrested were released after a short time and no charges were made.
The residents of the community expect the settlers to return to complete the fence, and behave violently towards the villagers. They therefore invite international activists to be present at their village. Currently there are some internationals in the area but more are needed.
Background
It was particularly important to stop the fence construction this day, as a court case is going on concerning the legality of the fence. Lawyers and judges were expected to come and inspect the premises the same day. The probable result of such an inspection was a “freeze” of the current situation. It was important for the settlers to freeze the situation with a fence and for the village to freeze it without.
Soldiers assist settlers in land confiscation
The village of Jiftlik have had problems with the settlers from Massu´a settlement for several years. The settlement has stolen huge quantities of land over the years for the purpose of growing flowers. An area of the village which is inhabited by 200 people and several hundred goats and sheep only a couple of meters from the settlement’s greenhouses. Five years ago the area where the greenhouse is situated was part of the village. Now the settlers claim even more of the land from the Bedouin village to grow their flowers. To cleanse the Palestinians out of the area, the settlers tried to and succeeded to build part of the fence, thanks to the the Israeli soldiers and police protecting them.
The Jordan Valley is a forgotten part of the West Bank. The valley is neglected by the Palestine Authority, and overlooked by the international community. According to the Oslo accords, most of the valley is defined as area C, which means that Israel has total military and civil control. The inhabitants Jordan Valley are some of the poorest and most marginalized in the West Bank. They have limited or no access to civil services such as health care. All travel to and from the Jordan Valley is controlled by checkpoints installed by the Israeli Occupation Force (IOF). These checkpoints are difficult for Palestinians to pass, unpredictable and isolate the valley from the rest of the West Bank. The main road (road 90) through the valley, is only open for Israeli cars and Palestinians with permits, which is hard to get. The Jordan Valley is very fertile but requires lots of water. The settlements are easy to spot as they are the greener areas. The settlers have stolen local water resources, which leaves local Palestinians with few water resources, and the village that was attacked by the settlers have to buy their water from the settlers. Palestinians have limited ability to farm their own land because of the high prices of water.
This morning, Thursday 5th August, the Israeli Civil Administration authorities in the Jordan valley demolished the village of Al Farisiya for the second time in two weeks.
This morning at 6:30 the army arrived in the village with two bulldozers and 13 jeeps, evacuated the villagers and destroyed 26 homes in one hour, making an estimated 170 people homeless. They beat two people with sticks but there were no serious injuries.
The villagers had just been able to rebuild the damage that was done on 19th July when 23 homes were demolished and over 91 made homeless.
Latest reports today indicated that water pipes connected by Life Source in the last two weeks are still in tact.
When ISM activists arrived in Al Farisiya the village committee were discussing how and where to rebuild when the chances of another demolition are so high. The inhabitants are of course very angry and tensions are high. International presence will be needed there constantly in the coming weeks.
Today’s demolitions followed an incident on Tuesday when, according to the Ma’an News Agency, the army confiscated the village’s tractors.
The Jordan Valley was designated as Area C by the 1993 Oslo Agreements, along with 60% of the West Bank, giving Israeli full civil and military control. Israel justifies demolitions by stating that the buildings were constructed illegally.
Amnesty International has called on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes, and voiced fears about an apparent policy of ethnically cleansing Area C. saying: “These recent demolitions intensify concerns that this is part of a government strategy to remove the Palestinian population from the parts of the West Bank known as Area C.”
Coordinator of the Save the Jordan Valley campaign, and village council member, Fathi Khdeiri described the demolitions as an “attack by occupation forces and an attempt to displace the residents of the Jordan Valley.”
Global Intifada 2010: Popular Struggle. Steadfastness. Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions.
Popular resistance to Israel’s apartheid is growing globally! In Palestine, non-violent resistance to land confiscation and settlement expansion is gathering momentum.
Weekly non-violent demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza have tripled since January, and continue to increase in size and number. The tents are standing strong in Jerusalem’s threatened communities of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, and resistance to settler attacks and land grabs in the Jordan Valley is also building.
The International Solidarity Movement is committed to supporting these communities in their struggle for justice and freedom. We stand alongside Palestinians in demonstrations, stay in the tents and homes of threatened areas, and walk with farmers to their land. By documenting and helping to resist the evils of apartheid, ISM projects the Palestinian struggle to a global audience, and shows Israel that the world is against its actions.
Come and join the Global Intifada in Palestine! Committed volunteers are needed in the West Bank. This new wave of unarmed resistance is exciting and powerful, and it needs your support. Whether for 2 weeks or for 3 months, your contribution is needed. See www.palsolidarity.org for more information, or email us at palreports@gmail.com.
From abroad: Under the banner of “Global Intifada”, solidarity actions are needed worldwide. Please consider organizing an action in your hometown.
The growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is crucial, and is a great way for you to get involved in your own country. Similar tactics were used in ending South African apartheid. For more information, go to bdsmovement.net
Please join the Global Intifada. We look forward to seeing you here.
The Jordan Valley is an area under urgent threat of annexation, and during the last few weeks Israel has considerably tightened its grip on the indigenous Palestinian population. On the 11th of April the Israeli military shut of the main water source to Bardala -jeopardising the village’s viability as a farming community-, on the 12th of April they declared Al Maleh a closed military zone, which prevented shepherds from grassing their animals, and on the 15th of April the Israeli military raided Al Farisiya and stole four water pumps in a further attempt to control all water resources in the area. On the 25th of April the harassment of Palestinians increased significantly as armed settlers from the strongly Zionist Maskiot settlement erected a tent only ten meters from the the Al Maleh Bedouin community.
The Maskiot settlers, who have resettled in the valley after being evacuated from the settlement of Gush Katif during the Israeli “withdrawal” from Gaza in 2005, are ideological settlers aiming to expand the Jewish presence in the area. An estimated 20-30 settlers arrived in Al Maleh at four pm on Sunday afternoon and the erection of their outpost was facilitated by the Israeli army and settler security. The settlers then proceeded to intimidate the community, which has live in the area for 25 years, by circling their community carrying guns and taking photographs and video of its inhabitants. During the first night the Maskiot tent brought in a generator and played loud music until four am -around the time when the people of Al Maleh normally rise in order to herd their sheep. By Monday evening the settler tent had already expanded to three times its original size, and lines which could not be crossed by Palestinians had been established. People from Maskiot were doing shifts in the tent, with around 10-20 settlers present at any one time. In a strong show of collective defiance, Palestinians from areas close by came to show their support with Al Maleh , and on Tuesday evening a Palestinian party with singing and dancing managed to drawn out the settlers’ amplified music. Al Maleh, as an area C community, are not allowed electricity by the Israeli occupation forces.
Soldier draws his gun in Al Maleh
Throughout the next few days army and police presence by the tent increased, with soldier frequently seen having a laugh with the settlers and enforcing the illegal “border line” drawn by them. When Palestinians attempted to cross this border and reclaim their land they were met by force from both the settlers and the army. Early on Thursday morning (29th of April), in the presence of the army, police and border police, the area was declared a closed military zone and, in a move that essentially rewarded the settlers for their illegal actions, an army official instructed that both tents be dismantled. This was done voluntarily, meaning that Al Maleh now have one less tent for their community.
Although the immediate physical threat of settler outposts have now decreased, the repression in the xalley continues. In the early hours of Friday the 30th, just one day after the Al Maleh eviction, a large amount of Israeli soldiers raided a house in Al Jiftlik, arresting a several people. Army, police and border police were present as they then proceeded to dig up the family’s front yard for “security reasons”. Needless to say, nothing was found on the scene. Cameras used by activists to film the event were confiscated by the police, after the army made it clear that there were people involved in this operation who could not be seen on film. The Israeli military are still refusing to release information about the location of Palestinians arrested on the day.
The communities in the valley, many of whom are Bedouin, are used to the slow and systematic ethic cleansing carried out by the Israeli state in the area. Nonetheless, these new developments are deeply worrying. It is high time for the international community to come and stand in solidarity with the Jordan Valley and to recognise the urgency of this battle.
For an article on the general situation in the Jordan Valley, including the establishment of Maskiot, see http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/71348
For a report from inside Maskiot, see http://www.brightonpalestine.org/node/611
