On August 6, 2007, the Israeli settlers' unleashed their destruction mechanisms; several bulldozers to razed 500 dunums of Palestinian agricultural lands planted with Olive trees in Al Mazra'a Al Qibiliya village, Ramallah governorate. The targeted land, which belongs to eight residents from Al Mazra'a Al Qibiliya village, is located in Qarnat Abu Baqi area at the northwestern part of the village. The land falls with an area  classified “C”, which falls 'under full Israeli Control'. The targeted land area is surrounded from three direcions (north, west and south) with cluster of illegal Israeli settlements (Nahliel northwest, Talmon C west, Talmon B west and Talmon southwest of the village) and bypass roads.. See Photo 1

 

 

ARIJ field staff met with the head of Al Mazra'a Al Qibiliya village council Mr. Sa'id Shretah, who the Israeli settlers just came from nowhere and started bulldozing the land, uprooting trees and destroying agricultural crops. Mr. Shretah added that the council complained to the District Coordination Office (DCO) about the Armed settlers, but the former replyed that the Israeli side is not aware of the Israeli action, which is highly doubtful specially that a military base set just north of the targeted land. The head of Al Mazra'a Al Qibiliya village council continued to say that the Israeli settlers targeted that same area during the past four years and they attempted to establish an outpost when they planted 6 caravans, but were forced to evacuate the location a week later.  

 

General Glance:

Al Mazra'a Al Qibiliya village is located 7.2 km e northwest of Ramallah city with a population exceeding 4500 inhabitants, PCBS – 2006. Today, most of the villagers has turned from the labor to the agricultural sector after they no longer have jobs inside Israel. The village, which spread on an area of 13280 dunums, is renowned for its fertile lands, of which 884 dunums are the village’s built up area; while the rest of the lands, are classified as agricultural and grazing fields. See Photo 2 & Photo 3

 

 

Looting Al Mazra'a Al Qibiliya lands:

In December 2006, the Israeli Occupation Forces issued an amendment to military order number (95/16/T) to which 145.3 Dunums were confiscated from residents of Al Mazra'a Al Qibiliya village and from the surrounding Palestinian villages Beitillu, Deir 'Ammar and Ras Karkar to construct a bypass road that will link Talmon settlement with its neighboring Nahliel.

 

This bypass road holding number 465 runs a length of 3.3 Km inside the village boundary, starting from the settlement of Nahliel in the northwestern part of the village and then it continues southward to reach the settlement of Talmon southwest of the village. According to the village local council, the Palestinian farmers will be severely affected since the order will cut them off from accessing 2000 Dunums cultivated with Olive groves. Those farmers depend on Olive harvest as their livelihood. The Palestinian farmers were denied access to the olive groves to cultivate and harvest them in over five years.

 

Moreover,599 dunums ( 4.5 %) of Al Mazra'a Al Qibiliya village lands had been expropriated during the years (1984-1988) to build four illegal Israeli settlements ( Nahliel , Talmon C , Talmon B and Talmon ) , accommodating more than 2364 Israeli settlers. It is worth pointing out that the Israeli bulldozers continued razing Palestinian agricultural lands located at the southwestern side of Nahliel settlement  in order to expand it. See photo 4

 

 

Furthermore, the Israeli settlers established an outpost (Horesh Yaron) on Al Mazra'a Al Qibiliya agricultural, which stands today with more than 26 caravan mobile units. See Map 1

Map 1: The location of the targeted lands

 

 

Conclusion:

Israel has adopted a policy to unleash the Israeli settlers in the West Bank to wreck, ruin and destroy Palestinians’ lands and properties nkwoing that all they do will go with impunity, pretty much the same kind of careless the world deals with the Israeli state aggression on the entire Palestinian people and land, even though every thing the Israeli settlers and the state of Israel do in the occupied Palestinian territory is a clear violation of international law, including numerous United Nations Resolutions and the Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 ( Article 147), which state the following:

• The Hague Regulations expressly forbids an occupying power 'to destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war' (Article 23).

• 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.''  Violations of Article 147 constitute grave breaches of the Convention and should be prosecuted as War Crimes.

 

Prepared by
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
ARIJ