The Occupation Notifies Residential and Agricultural facilities in Ras Al-Auja

• Violation: Removal notice for residential and agricultural facilities.
• Location: Ras Al-Auja area / Jericho governorate.
• Date: May 18^th 2020.
• Perpetrators: The Israeli Occupation Civil Administration.
• Victims: Citizen Jamal Al-Rashayda.

Description:

An Israeli Occpation Army force accompanied by Archeology Officer raided Ras Al-Auja north west Jericho in May 18^th 2020, and gave citizen Jamal Al-Rashayda (42) a military notice entitled “Halting Destroying Antiquities”, numbered 00419 and includes a decision to remove residential and agricultural facilities immediately , under claims of violating an Archeological site numbered (733).

Photos 1+2: The targeted facilities

Photo 2: notice issued by the occupation authorities

Reportedly, the targeted facilities were constructed more than seven years ago , and make a home for a family of six , four of them are children. Here is more information about the targeted facilities:

• A shack used for agricultural purposes built of plastic sheets with a total area of (90 m²) and used as a barn (contains 75 heads of sheep).
• A tent, composed of a metal body and nylon, with a total area of 36 m².
• Residential tent with a total area of (46 m²) , inhabited by a family of six, four of them are children.
• Residential tent with a total area of 36 m².
• Tent used as a store for feeds with a total area of (32 m²) built of plastic sheets and a metal body.

The Owner told LRC the following:

“I have been living in Ras Al-Auja area and Al-Auja for more than thirteen years; I depend on agriculture and cattle breeding for living , early 2013 , the occupation destroyed our tents and displaced my family from Al-Auja ,so we had to move to the western area of Ras Al-Auja. But I also suffered from colonists assaults there , as Colonists of the illegal colony “’Umair” harass and assault the Bedouin community all the time , but we stayed in the area because we don’t have any other options. In may 18^th 2020, The occupation gave us notices under claims that we have been living on an Archeological site , the occupation authorities also refuse objections.” 

Noteworthy, the Bedouin community in Ras Al-Auja early this year witnessed a mass demolition operation that reached about 17 families living at the location, which resulted in a massive destruction, in addition to daily harassments represented in night raids , and depriving the community from basic survival needs such as electricity , water and roads, Other than using force of arms to displace residents under claims of state lands from one side, and archeological areas from the other. 

Al-‘Auja village – an overview:

12 km from Jericho city, Al-‘Auja village has a total area of 106,399 sunums, of which 1,186 dunums are a built up area for the village , it also has a population of 5,224 people until 2017 census.

The Israeli occupation confiscated about 4717 dunums for colonization , 1600 dunums are military bases for the army, while bypass 90 , which is 8,180 m long and devoured 818 dunums,  in addition to Israeli settlement that ate up 2,299 dunums, as shown in the following table: