On Tuesday we visited a village in the Jordan Valley that is under the threat of being removed from the map completely. Since 1967 when Israel took over the West Bank the area surrounding the village has been used as a military training camp. 
On the lands farmed by the villagers the Israelis carry out training exercises using live ammunition, tanks and helicopters, to date 50 villagers have been killed or injured as a result of these exercises including the mayor who was injured at the age of sixteen and has since been in a wheelchair.
The Israelis have issued demolition orders for 35 of the 48 buildings in the village and banned the construction of any new buildings in an attempt to annex the land from the Palestinians, expand their military bases and presumably eventually establish more illegal settlements in the area. As a result of the dangers of the military training exercises and the threat of demolition 700 people have left the village leaving a population of just 295.
The village has challenged the demolition orders in the Israeli High Court and was successful in freezing some of them, however in April 2008 the Israeli government created a zoning plan for the village.
This means that the village can keep some of its structures and build new ones – in a tiny circle around the village centre that equates to 3% of their land. This means that all the buildings outside of this circle will be demolished, displacing 18 families (over half of the population). There is no room within the proposed circle to house these displaced people. It also means that 97% of their land most of which the villagers rely on as their only source of income will be lost. When the village contested this in the High Court they were told that they must accept the plan. As it stands the demolition orders within the proposed circle are frozen but the buildings that fall outside of the circle can be demolished at any time. International funding has allowed the village to build a mosque, a clinic and a kindergarten where 130 village children attend school. The Israelis have said these buildings were constructed without a permit and therefore they may also be demolished at any time.
With the danger presented by the military training, the threat of demolition to their basic services and the fact that they can simply not build houses to live in, most of the villagers, especially those with young families are being forced to leave the village. To me it is clear that what is happening is ethnic cleansing, the removal of one people to make way for another.
On the lands farmed by the villagers the Israelis carry out training exercises using live ammunition, tanks and helicopters, to date 50 villagers have been killed or injured as a result of these exercises including the mayor who was injured at the age of sixteen and has since been in a wheelchair.
The Israelis have issued demolition orders for 35 of the 48 buildings in the village and banned the construction of any new buildings in an attempt to annex the land from the Palestinians, expand their military bases and presumably eventually establish more illegal settlements in the area. As a result of the dangers of the military training exercises and the threat of demolition 700 people have left the village leaving a population of just 295.
The village has challenged the demolition orders in the Israeli High Court and was successful in freezing some of them, however in April 2008 the Israeli government created a zoning plan for the village.
This means that the village can keep some of its structures and build new ones – in a tiny circle around the village centre that equates to 3% of their land. This means that all the buildings outside of this circle will be demolished, displacing 18 families (over half of the population). There is no room within the proposed circle to house these displaced people. It also means that 97% of their land most of which the villagers rely on as their only source of income will be lost. When the village contested this in the High Court they were told that they must accept the plan. As it stands the demolition orders within the proposed circle are frozen but the buildings that fall outside of the circle can be demolished at any time. International funding has allowed the village to build a mosque, a clinic and a kindergarten where 130 village children attend school. The Israelis have said these buildings were constructed without a permit and therefore they may also be demolished at any time.
With the danger presented by the military training, the threat of demolition to their basic services and the fact that they can simply not build houses to live in, most of the villagers, especially those with young families are being forced to leave the village. To me it is clear that what is happening is ethnic cleansing, the removal of one people to make way for another.
1 comment:
Its just unimaginable for me that someone could come in and buldoze my home from under my feet I admire you izy not only going out there and aiding these people in what ever way you can in such volotile surroundings but for also putting in on here for all to see and opening the eyes of shamfully people such as my self who is not always so aware of the atrocities these people face. Its just sole distroying to hear how humans ae treating other humans but i am so glad you are giving them a voice of defence.
Ann
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