Tag: Land confiscation - Page 5 - International Solidarity Movement

B’Tselem: Report on Israeli expropriation of Palestine’s natural resources

11 May 2011 | B’Tselem

Dispossession and Exploitation: Israel’s Policy in the Jordan Valley & Northern Dead Sea

The dry ‘Ein Uja spring. Photo: Eyal Hareuveni, BTselem, 23 March 2011.

Click here for an interactive version. Download the full report here (pdf).

The Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea area contains the largest land reserves in the West Bank. The area covers 1.6 million dunams, which constitute 28.8 percent of the West Bank. Sixty-five thousand Palestinians, live in 29 communities, and an estimated additional 15,000 Palestinians reside in dozens of small Beduin communities. Some 9,400 settlers live in the 37 settlements (including seven outposts) in the area.

Israel has instituted in this area a regime that intensively exploits its resources, to an extent greater than elsewhere in the West Bank, and which demonstrates its intention: de facto annexation of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea area to the State of Israel.

Israel has used various means to take control of most of the land in the area, as follows:

Thousands of dunams were taken from Palestinian refugees and used to build the first settlements there, beginning in 1968 and extending throughout the 1970s. This, in violation of a military order.
By legal manipulation, Israel has enlarged the inventory of “state land” in the area, such that 53.4 percent of the area, four times greater than pre-1967, is now deemed state land.
Israel has declared 45.7 percent of the area military firing zones, although they are situated next to main traffic arteries, alongside settlements’ built-up areas and farmland, or include land of settlements that is under cultivation.
Israel has closed some 20 percent of the land by declaring them nature reserves, although only a small section of them has been developed and made suitable for visitors. Two-thirds of the nature reserves areas are also areas of military firing zones.
Israel has seized lands in the northern Jordan Valley for the Separation Barrier and has placed 64 landmine fields near the route of the Jordan River. The army itself contends the landmines are no longer required for security purposes.

Using these means, Israel has taken control of 77.5 percent of the land and has prevented Palestinians from building on or using the land or remaining there. Twelve percent of the area has been allocated for settlements, including the entire northern shore of the Dead Sea. Israel’s policy has cut up the Palestinian spatial sphere and isolated Palestinian communities in the area. In the last two years, the Civil Administration has repeatedly demolished structures in the area’s Beduin communities, although some of them were established before 1967.

Taking control of water sources

Israel has taken control of most of the water sources in the area and has earmarked them for the almost exclusive use of the settlers.

Most Israeli water drillings in the West Bank – 28 of the 42 drillings – are located in the Jordan Valley. These drillings provide Israel with some 32 million m3 a year, most of which is allocated to the settlements. The annual allocation of water to the area’s 9,400 settlers from the drillings, the Jordan River, treated waste-water, and artificial water reservoirs is 45 million m3. The water allocated to the settlements has enabled them to develop intensive-farming methods and to work the land year round, with most of the produce being exported. The water allocation to the settlements is almost one-third the quantity of water that is accessible to the 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank.

Israel’s control of the water sources in the area has caused some Palestinian wells drying up and has led to a drop in the quantity of water that can be produced from other wells and from springs. In comparison, in 2008, Palestinians pumped 31 million m3, which is 44 percent less than Palestinians produced in the area prior to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement of 1995. Due to the water shortage, Palestinians were forced to neglect farmland that had been in cultivation and switch to growing less profitable crops. In the Jericho governorate, the amount of land used for agriculture is the lowest among the Palestinian governorates in the West Bank – 4.7 percent compared to an average of 25 percent in the other governorates.

Israel’s control of most of the land area also prevents equal distribution of water resources to the Palestinian communities in the area; it also prevents the movement of water to Palestinian communities outside the area. Water consumption in Beduin communities is equivalent to the quantity that the UN has set as the minimal quantity needed to survive in humanitarian-disaster areas.

Restrictions on movement

In the framework of the easing of restrictions on movement in the West Bank that was carried out in 2009, Israel did not eliminate the movement restrictions in the Jordan Valley, despite the security calm in the area. Israel still operates four checkpoints in the Jordan Valley – Tayasir, Hamra, Ma’ale Efrayim, and Yitav. At these checkpoints, only Palestinian-owned vehicles that Israel recognizes as belonging to residents of the area are allowed to pass.

The restrictions on movement seriously impair Palestinian life, since most of the educational facilities and medical clinics that are supposed to serve the local residents are situated outside the area.

Restrictions on building

Israel’s planning policy in the Jordan Valley makes it impossible for Palestinians to build and develop their communities. The Civil Administration has prepared plans for only a tiny fraction of the Palestinian communities. Furthermore, these plans are nothing more than demarcation plans, which do not allocate land for new construction and development. For example, the plan for al-Jiftlik, the largest community in Area C (the area that is under complete Israeli control), left 40 percent of the built-up area of the village outside its borders; as a result, the houses of many families are in danger of demolition. The plan for al-Jiftlik is smaller in land area than the plan issued for the Maskiyyot settlement, although al-Jiftlik has 26 times as many residents.

Taking control of tourist sites

Israel has taken control of most of the prominent tourist sites in the area – the northern shore of the Dead Sea, Wadi Qelt, the Qumran caves, the springs of the ‘Ein Fashkha reserve, and the Qasr Alyahud site (where John the Baptist baptized Jesus). Israeli entities administer these sites. Israel also limits tourist access to Jericho, channeling tourists to the southern entrance to the city. As a result, few tourists visiting Jericho city spend the night there, resulting in heavy losses for the tourist industry in the city.

Exploitation of natural resources

Israel enables entrepreneurs in Israel to exploit the area’s resources. The Ahava cosmetics firm, in Kibbutz Mizpe Shalem, produces products from the high-mineral-content mud of the northern Dead Sea. An Israeli quarry next to the settlement Kokhav Hashahar produces building materials. Also, Israel has established facilities in the Jordan Valley for treating waste-water and for burying waste from Israel and from settlements.

International law prohibits the establishment of settlements in occupied territory and exploitation of the resources of occupied territory. B’Tselem calls on Israel to evacuate the settlements, to enable Palestinian access to all the lands that have been closed to them, and to allow them to use the water sources for their purposes. In addition, Israel must remove the restrictions on movement in the area and enable construction and development in the Palestinian communities. Israel must also close down the enterprises that profit from the minerals and other natural resources in the area, and it must also shut down the facilities for disposal of Israeli waste.

3 Arrested Protesting Expansion of Settlement in Jiftlik, the Jordan Valley

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.

1201 — 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.

Aqraba inhabitants facing confiscation of yet more farmland to serve the expansion of an illegal settlement

9 September 2010 | ISM Media

Aqraba, NABLUS

On Monday 6^th September, farmers in Aqraba were forbidden by the Israeli army to work on a 200 dunam area of land near the village.

The land is currently in the process of being converted, by a combination of local workers and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, from rocky terrain into usable farmland to increase the productivity of local agriculture.

The land in question was bought one year ago by a businessman from the area as a gift for many local farmers, and is located next to the main road between Nablus and the Jordan Valley (southwest of the village, towards Jurish). Three days ago, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees received a letter from the Israeli authorities saying that they must depart the area immediately. They claim that the land is in Area C, despite papers held by the owner showing otherwise. In one month, the land would have been ready to be used as farmland in the winter. The army threatened to confiscate bulldozers, and arrest workers and union members if work continued.

Ayssar, a member of the Aqraba Municipality, is convinced that the Israeli army have a different agenda. He said, “When they say it belongs to them, their aim is clear: they want to enlarge the settlement, they want to take our land. They threaten the workers, they take the machines, sometimes they burn the land. It is simple: they want to confiscate our land.”

The illegal settlement of Migdalim is located about 2 kilometres south of the land in question.

The municipality reports that many local farmers have been forced to sell their animals, as land grabs in the area have not left enough land to graze animals on. Despite threats from the army to confiscate machinery and arrest workers, local workers are still determined to clear the land, build, and plant trees by hand, and are requesting international accompaniment.

Background

The Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) is a Palestinian organisation that was set up in 1986 to support farmers in their struggle against the occupation policies of destruction of Palestinian infrastructure and confiscation of Palestinian resources. See more at http://www.uawc-pal.org.
Aqraba is a small village with a population of around 8000 in the village proper, situated 18 kilometres southeast of Nablus. According to the ARIJ GIS Database of 2009, 90.1% of Aqraba village land is classified as Area C; this area contains all the agricultural lands, and the open spaces in the village. 4.1% of the village’s land area is taken up by settlements (can be seen at http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/ITS_Map1.jpg). Of the farmlands, 62% are olive trees, 8% are for fruit and vegetables, 30% for animal grazing.

Grapes withering on the vine

International Solidarity Movement

17 May 2010

Souad has lost access to the land that provides her livelihood

Souad lives in the beautiful village of Safa, south west of Bethlehem, close by the path of the apartheid wall. From her house in the village it is only a short walk to her land – an entire, rolling hillside, the summit of which has been stolen by the Israeli colony/settlement of Bat Eyn. No fence separates her fields and terraces from the settlement: Bat Ayn is one of only two colonies without such a fence in the entire West Bank, designed to make it easier, without a defining border, to make future land grabs.

The title deeds to Souad’s hillside have been in her family for over 100 years. Not that it does her any good – she cannot even graze her sheep without risking being fired upon by the settlers. She can only watch from a nearby hill while her peaches and grapes, soon ready for harvest, wither and rot on the vines and trees, or are stolen by settlers. She needs to work the land, to ensure the proof of continuing ownership and to keep the soil in good condition, but fears for her life if she was to venture there. She has watched helplessly as hundreds of fruit trees, replanted with help from international donors after the original trees were torched by settlers, were dug up and taken back to the settlement to be planted there.

Our presence on this nearby hill was soon noticed by Israeli soldiers patrolling nearby roads and we decided to move back to the village, lest the soldiers enter and fire tear-gas into the village as punishment for the presence of international observers. As we left Souad ruefully remarked, “My hill is gone. Where we are standing may be next.”

It is difficult to see how villagers such as Souad can carry on. She may say, “With God’s help we will survive”, but, dependent wholly for her livelihood on what her land produces, her future is precarious in the extreme. From these hillsides it is possible, on a clear day, to see well beyond the Green Line and, they say, to Tel Aviv. Such a beautiful land. The Stolen Land. And the disappearing land.