Overview

Hizma is a Palestinian village located on the northeastern outskirts of Jerusalem. The village has a population of 6,097 people (PCBS 2006) and it is surrounded by the Illegal Israeli settlement of Adam (Geva Binyamin), and the Palestinian localities of Al Ram and Dahiet Al Barid, and the Israeli Apartheid Segregation Wall from its north and northwestern, from its Southside, by ‘Anata and Shu’fat Refugee Camp and the Israeli Apartheid Segregation Wall, and by Beit Hanina as well as the Illegal Israeli settlements of Neve Yacov, Pisgat Ze'ev, Pisgat Amir, and the Israeli Apartheid Segregation Wall from its west, and by the Illegal Israeli settlement of Almon (Anatot), the planned section of the Segregation Wall from its eastern side.

 

Hizma's village boundary exceeds to 10,394 dunums most of which is agricultural lands, as for the villages built up area it stands at 870 dunums.

 

Hizma …….The Strangulated Town

The town of Hizma is one of the Palestinian villages that lost many of its lands behind the Israeli Apartheid Segregation Wall and for the construction of Illegal Israeli Settlements. In Hizma, the interlacing relation between the Apartheid Segregation Wall and the Illegal Israeli settlements is evident since the Segregation Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is part of an Israeli long-term plan aiming to control as much as possible of the Palestinian empty anf agricultural lands including areas where illegal Israeli settlements are located.

 

On the ground the Palestinian town of Hizma had lost about (6,795 dunums) from its total area (10,394 dunums), which constitute 66% of the town total area, behind the Israeli Apartheid Segregation Wall and for the Illegal construction of the Israeli settlements.

 

The Illegal Israeli Settlements & Their Expansions

There are four Illegal Israeli settlements built on Hizma's lands.  These large urban settlements are: Neve Ya'acov, Pisgat Ze'ev, Pisgat Amir and Anatot .moreover, there is also an Illegal Israeli outpost controlling additional Palestinian lands located to the eastern part of Hizma.

 

It is worth mentioning that the four Illegal Israeli settlements accommodate more than 60,000 Illegal Israeli settlers, and occupy an area of 6,108 dunums of lands 2351, 5 dunums comes from land confiscated from Hizma. In other words, the town of Hizma had lost 23 % of its lands for the construction of Illegal Israeli settlements. See Table 1

 

Table 1: Illegal Israeli Settlements built on confiscated lands from Hizma Town

Settlement’s Name	Date of Establishment	Population	Dunums confiscated from the village lands to build the Israeli Settlements	Total Settlement area -Dunums
Neve Yacov	1972	20,250	505	1241
Pisgat Ze’ev	1985	38,684	148.5	1546
Pisgat Amir	1985	707	1600	2516
Almon (Anatot)	1983	739	98	805
TOTAL	******	60,380	2351,5	6,108

Source: ARIJ Data Base 2007

 

 

The Israeli Segregation Wall

In December 2004, the Israeli bulldozers started to turn Hizma’s lands upside down preparing for the construction of the Israeli Apartheid Segregation Wall. Some time during the following year, the Israeli Army served Hizma’s residents with two military orders holding numbers (5/34/T) & (5/36/T). The first was to confiscate approximately 9.2 dunums for the construction of the Segregation Wall and the other to the confiscate 12 dunums from the nearby Palestinian localities of Al Jab’a and Al Ram.

 

On the ground, the Segregation Wall stretch for 6.2 km along the Western parts of Hizma’s lands. Once completed,  the Segregation Wall will isolate 4,443 dunums (4.4 km2) = (43%) of the Hizma's lands. Thus, these lands will be de-facto annexed to the illegal Israeli settlements of Neve Ya'acov, Pisgat Ze'ev and Pisgat Amir, which dominate the western hills of the town. 

 

 

 

Pictures of the Section of the Segregation Wall in Hizma

 

Under Construction Hizma Terminal

In September 2006, the Palestinian residents of Hizma were taken upon surprise by the Israeli bulldozers backed by the Israeli Army, as they started to level and turn the land at the location of the Israeli permanent checkpoint leading to Jerusalem. The new work came to fulfill an Israeli plan to turn the location of the checkpoint to terminal-crossing point between Hizma and Jerusalem.

 

 Like other Jerusalem suburbs such as Al Ram, 'Anata, Abu Dis, Hizma was excluded out of Jerusalem yet to be boundary, the Segregation Wall. This happened for ambitions on the Israeli side at the municipality to take as much empty land as possible and for demographic reasons, to isolate as much as possible of those Palestinians out of Jerusalem as demarcated by the Segregation Wall. Currently, residents who wish to pass through the checkpoint into Jerusalem must acquire a permit from the Israeli Ministry of Interior, unless they are holders of Israeli identity cards, which allow them to pass. This new situation has increased the unemployment rate in the village, as the issuance of these permits is not easy; moreover, most of Hizma's economic and social life is directly connected with the city of Jerusalem, since it is one of the city’s suburbs.

 

On the ground, the Segregation Wall created new realities, as it turned many Palestinian who are not holders of Jerusalem ID to illegal residents within Jerusalem’s new boundary. On the other hand, many Palestinian with Jerusalem ID were left out of that newly defined boundary, thus threatening their status as residents of Jerusalem in the future.

The Under Construction Hizma Terminal

 

To Conclude

It become clear that the Israeli Apartheid Segregation Wall is being used to loot as much as possible of the Palestinian lands to the interest of the Israeli Illegal practices in the Occupied Territory, mainly to build the Illegal Israeli settlements among other.

 

The Palestinian town of Hizma has always been part of the city of Jerusalem, buth with the newly inflicted realities of the Segregation Wall, Hizma will become cut-off from its traditional life center which is Jerusalem city.

 

Accordingly, many Palestinian residents of the town will loose their work in Jerusalem, students; employs among other segnmments of the socity will no longer be able to get to their destination. Moreover, residents of Hizma who own lands beyond the Segregation Wall, will not be able to reach to their lands anymore unless they are in possession of an Israeli issued permit.

 

Under the International law rules, Israel is prohibited from confiscating the Palestinian lands. The appropriation and destruction of Palestinian land is an especially serious violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 147 of which clearly prohibits,''extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.''

 

Furthermore the 1995 Interim Agreement states that neither party will 'change the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations' (Chapter 5, Article XXXI, paragraph 7) and that “the integrity and status” of the West Bank and Gaza Strip territory 'will be preserved during the interim period' (Chapter 2, Article XI. paragraph 1, Chapter 5, Article XXXI, paragraph 8).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepared by
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
ARIJ