Although a long way from so called Israel proper,the village is surrounded by illegal Israeli settlements that have been built on land confiscated from Haris and the surrounding villages. An Israeli watch tower marks the entrance of the village and a huge highway built on land belonging to village farmers runs through the fields below the village. (The picture shows the village, the the highway and the Israeli military watch tower on the the left handside)
Access to the highway is sporadic for Palestinians, they are only able to use certain sections of the highway and the Israelis can and do change this limited access at any time. The Israelis have also constructed gates at the intersection of each village with the highway. These gates can be closed at any time, or in some cases remain permanently closed meaning that villagers have to get transport from the village to the gate and then cross the gate on foot and find new transport to take them along the highway. The Israelis say the gates are a security measure but as they can be crossed easily on foot it is clear that their only purpose appears to be to disrupt, inconvenience and delay the Palestinian villagers as they try and conduct their daily business. (The picture shows the existing a highway, a new highway under construction and an illegal Israeli settlement on the top of the hill )
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