On January 1, 2009, the Israeli Occupation Forces issued a new military order holding number 29/08/T to confiscate 10.2 dunums to build an Israeli security road on the lands of Nahalin village to the southwest of Bethlehem city to link the Israeli settlements of Gava'ot and Betar 'Illit with each other. See Copies of Military Order in Hebrew
Photo 1 & Photo 2: Copy of the Military Order in Hebrew as provided by the Israeli Military Forces
The Israeli proposed security road will dramatically isolate more than 4400 dunums from Nahalin village lands where lands owners will have to travel an 8 km instead of the current 1.5 km, which is the original route to reach their lands. Furthermore, once the Israeli occupation Authorities completely build the Israeli Segregation Wall around the western part of Bethlehem City (the western zones which includes a number of Palestinian villages including Nahhalin and the Gush Etzion settlements bloc. The aforementioned lands will be totally isolated and local owners will have to issue special permits from the Israeli Civil Administration in order to be able to access their lands.
In an analyses conducted by the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) , the Israeli proposed road will stretch a length across 2 km on lands belong to Nahalin village and will come over, meaning it will confiscate 18.5 dunums of land, contrary to what the Israeli military order indicated. See Map 1:
Map 1: Lands trageted by the Israeli Military Order
Photo 3 & Photo 4: Maps provided by the Israeli Military Forces
Moreover, most of the 4400 dunums that will be isolated behind the proposed road are already classified by the Israeli occupation Authorities as 'State Lands' where their ownership is referred to the Israeli state Authorities; while the remaining lands are private Palestinian lands owned by the local residents of Nahalin village. The isolated lands are the most fertile of Bethlehem Governorate, and it incorporate natural water wells and springs such as ''Ein Faris' which is also threatened with isolation if Israel proceed with its plans. What is more, it is most likely as precedent recorded that the 4400 dunums isolated from its original owners and illegally defined as Israeli state land; will be designated for future Israeli settlements expansions.
To Conclude
It is undoubtedly, and as expected, Israel is taking advantage of what is happening in Gaza, and the world's attention turned there still they work in steady and even a faster pace with their plan in the West Bank to force facts on the ground and set the infrastructure for the long run plans to loot as much as possible of the Palestinian lands.
The Illegal Israeli plans clearly violate the International law rules and conventions.
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Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention indicated that: Extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly. is a grave breach of the Convention.
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Also Art. 23 of the Hague Convention of 1907 also provides: In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden to destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war;
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Moreover Article XXXI of the 1995 Oslo agreement Israelis forbidden from building or planning to any project or settlements or any colonial expansion or any plan that lead to change the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The article provides “Neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations”.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
