30 dunums of Beit Ummer agricultural land confiscated for colonial road construction

December 5, 2003

Location:

Beit Ummer village is located 12 km to the north of Hebron city. It has a population of 12000 inhabitants. It is mostly dependent on agriculture as a main source of income, particularly grapes, peaches and apples. See Map

The village of Beit Ummer in pink circle at the bottom of the map and Gush Etzion junction in pink circle at the top of the map where land confiscation and road construction are taking place.

Type of violation:

The confiscation and devastation of 30 dunums of agricultural land to make room for the construction of the colonial bypass roads.

Exact location of violation: the violation took place in Qurnat Al Hirba which is located near the Gush Etzion junction and military checkpoint at the northern entrance to Hebron governorate.

Primary victim: Mr. Hassan Ibrahim Mohammed Abu Ayash, 73 years old, resident of Beit Ummer village, whose extended family is comprised of 20 members, including 10 children under the age of 16. Out of the 30 dunums mentioned above, Mr. Hassan Abu Ayash owns 6 dunums all cultivated with grapes.

Historical background to the violation:

In 1971, the owner of the land Mr. Hassan Ibrahim, tried to build on his land depending on the original ownership documents he owned ( which include Turkish Tabo ) and on designs and surveys made by authorized persons at the time. Nevertheless, the Israeli absentee property officer prevented him from doing so and confiscated all construction designs and survey mappings.
In 1998, the Israeli occupation authorities started to build a new colonial road to replace the old high land road No. 60 linking between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank. In that year, the Israeli bulldozers leveled 3 dunums and uprooted 200 grape trees belonging to Mr. Hassan Abu Ayash with the aim of enlarging the Gush Etzion junction. He presented a complaint to the civil administration office in Beit Eil, but in vein.
They returned this year, 2003, claiming that they wanted to build a new circle at the junction and a new road to link between road No. 60 and the Settlement of Migdal Oz which is located at the northern gate to the Palestinian village of Beit Fajjar in Bethlehem govern orate, said Mr. Hassan Abu Ayash, in an interview with LRC field worker.

He added the following: ''At the beginning of the new road construction, they started to level the land of my neighbor, Mr. Issa Al Faghuri, resident of the Palestinian village of Juret Ash Shama' whose land is adjacent to mine. They had uprooted about 30 grape trees from his land before he came and stopped them. Suddenly, the path of the road was moved to my land and my relatives' land where Israeli bulldozers started to bulldoze and uproot about 100 grape trees over an area of one dunum. When I protested, they brought the army and resumed work under army protection. An officer from Gush Etzion civil administration, named Azhar, told me that my land has been confiscated since 1998, however, he showed me no written documents. Moreover, the only remaining piece of land which I own in that area ( about two square dunums) has been marked for road construction. These two dunums contain about 200 grape trees which are expected to be uprooted in case the Israelis went on their plans. ' See Photo 1

Photo 1:Land devastation and uprooted grape trees at Gush Etzion junction. The Israeli permanent military checkpoint can be seen in the back of the picture.:Land devastation and uprooted grape trees at Gush Etzion junction. The Israeli permanent military checkpoint can be seen in the back of the picture.

Photo taken by LRC filed worker

Photo 2: The only remaining two dunums of grapes for Mr. Hassan Abu Ayash are seen behind the vehicles. They are threatened with confiscation. : The only remaining two dunums of grapes for Mr. Hassan Abu Ayash are seen behind the vehicles. They are threatened with confiscation.

Photo taken by LRC filed worker

List of owners:

Since the beginning of the road construction in 1998, the total of 110 dunums of land have been seized, 70 dunums of which belong to the Christian family of Mukarer from Bethlehem, 30 dunums belong to the family of Abu Ayash and Ibrigheit from Beit Ummer and 10 belong to Isa Al Faghuri, from the village of Juret Ash Shama', Bethlehem governorate.

The seized Beit Ummer land is owned by the following persons:

Mr. Hassan Ibrahim Mohammed Abu Ayash, 6 dunum ( cultivated with 600 grape trees);
Adnan Abdul Halim Abu Ayash, 2 dunum ( cultivated with grape 120 trees);
Badawi Abdul Hamid Abu Ayash, 2 dunum ( cultivated with 120 grape trees);
Hussein Khalil Abu Ayash, 2 dunum ( cultivated with 120 grape trees);
Ommer Abdul Aziz Ibrigheit, 4 dunum (non cultivated);
Ali Isa Ali Ibrigheit, 5 dunum ( non cultivated );
The remaining 9 dunums are common land for Abu Ayash and Ibrigheit extended families ( non cultivated). See Photo 3

Photo 3: Mr. Hassan Abu Ayash taking off the signs for new road path on the only remaining field of grapes he owns at Gush Etzion junction. : Mr. Hassan Abu Ayash taking off the signs for new road path on the only remaining field of grapes he owns at Gush Etzion junction.

Photo taken by LRC filed worker

Total material losses:

So far, 400 grape trees at the age of 30 years have been uprooted. Another 200 are expected to be uprooted in the next few days. All the aforementioned trees belong to Mr. Hassan Abu Ayash with a total area of 6 square dunums. Apart from this, another 360 grape trees will be uprooted in 6 dunums in the same area belonging to the extended families of Abu Ayash and Ibrigheit. This brings the total number of grape trees uprooted or expected to be uprooted at 960.

The total material losses in grape sales are estimated at 4800 JD per year, that is, 5 JD/tree X 960 tree = 4800 JD. This doesn't include the priceless value of the seized land. See Photo 4