Israeli occupation forces have issued on January 5th, 2009 a military order renewing the confiscation of Palestinian lands used for the purpose of constructing the Israeli Racist Isolation Wall in the northern parts of the West Bank. The renewal order was titled “Declaration of Area Closure Number S/02/03 and Renewal Number 2.” 

The renewal order also called for the circulation of the village of Khirbet Jibara from the western direction by additional sections of the Racist Wall (in accordance with Order Number S/02/03 issued in 2005) while keeping the Isolation Wall in the east of the village (built in accordance with Military Order T/02/03 in 2003). In other words, the Khirbet of Jibara will be completely surrounded from all directions with the Wall while keeping its only access gate. As such, the 1,000 residents of the Khirbet will be living in one big jail. See Map 1

Moreover, the new order calls for the extension of the confiscation of lands beneath and beyond the Israeli Racist Wall in the northern parts of the West Bank until the end of December 2011. The following table lists all military orders included in the renewal:

Year Issued	Order Number	No.
2003	95/ 35/ T	1
2007	02/12/ T	2
2007	02/ 17/ T	3
2007	02/19/ T	4
2007	02/20/ T	5
2007	02/21/ T	6
2007	02/22/ T	7
2007	02/23/ T	8
2007	02/24/ T	9
2007	02/25/ T	10
2007	02/26/ T	11
2007	02/31/ T	12
2007	02/33/ T	13
2007	02/34/ T	14
2007	02/35/ T	15
2003	02/37/ T	16
2007	02/39/ T	17
2006	02/40/ T	18
2002	02/43/ T	19
2007	02/46/ T	20
2007	03/ 36/ T	21
2007	03/ 57/ T	22
2007	07/ 14/ T	23
2007	03/ 97/ T	24
2007	03/ 18/ T	25
2007	03/ 28/T	26
2007	03/ 24/T	27
2007	03/ 26/T	28
2007	03/ 30/T	29
2007	04/ 04/T	30
2007	03/ 36/T	31
2007	04/ 15/T	32

Information Regarding the Israeli Isolation Wall in the West Bank:

The Wall consists of a combination of cement blocks, roads, gates, barbwires and electrical fences over a distance of 409 kilometers. The total length of the Wall upon completion is expected to be 780 kilometers. According to Head of the Economic Committee in the Knesset, the total cost of building the Wall is expected to reach $ 3.4 billion.

Its Effects:

A) – Lands Affected:

About 840,000 dunums of the West Bank (around 14% of the area of the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem) will be affected by the Wall. The figure includes 148,000 dunums which the wall is expected to surround from the four directions, 612,000 dunums isolated beyond the Wall in addition to 81,000 dunums used in constructing checkpoints.

The affected lands are the home for more than 274,000 Palestinians living in 122 villages and cities who will find themselves isolated one way or the other due to the Racist Wall. Of these, 161,000 Palestinians will be surrounded by the wall from the 4 directions while 96,000 will be living in-between checkpoint and 17,000 Palestinians will live beyond the Wall. Moreover, more than 400,000 Palestinians living east of the Wall will be forced to cross the Wall to get to their farmlands, their work and their service centers. In total, around 680,000 Palestinians (30% of the Palestinian population of the West Bank) will be directly affected by the Isolation Wall.

B) – The Length of the Isolation Wall:

The total length of Wall is 780 kilometers including the section in Jerusalem. The Wall starts from Jenin in the north and ends in Hebron in the south. Due to the “snaking” route the Wall has taken, its total length is twice the length of the Green Line. Upon completion, its length is expected to be 4 times the length of the Green Line. It is worth pointing out that only 11% of the length of the completed Wall lies on Green Line while the remaining part “snakes” its way inside the West Bank, sometimes as far as 22 kilometers such is the case of the wall surrounding the colony of Ariel.

Photo 1: Wall section in Tulkarem

Photo 2: Wall section in Jerusalem

 

The Wall has, also, created 12 Closed Areas in which the Wall surrounds it completely. The residents of these areas are only allowed access through gates on specified times. In addition, there are 54 Israeli colonies located in the area beyond the Wall in which 142,000 illegal colonists reside comprising 63% of the number of colonists in the West Bank, not including those residing in East Jerusalem.

C) – Humanitarian Impact:

The number of Palestinians able to reach their lands to farm it and graze their sheep in it as a source of livelihood is decreasing drastically and, as such, the Palestinian society will face the problem of hunger and aid dependency. The impact of the establishment of the Wall is so severe that it is not conceivable that the Palestinians, even if by some miracle the political situation improves, will be able to rehabilitate the damage sustained by their agricultural lands.

Moreover, the Wall has cut ties between Palestinian communities as well as prevented its members from reaching their service centers, universities and other necessary destinations. See Military Order

 

 

::::::::::::__

[1] UN OCHA

 

 

 

 

Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC