Violation: The Israeli High Court of “Justice” approves the realignment of the route of the Israeli Racist Wall in the villages of Khirbet Jibara, Al Ras and Kufr Sur upon the recommendations of the Israeli occupation force’s leadership.
Date: 17th of September, 2009.
Violated: The Palestinian residents of the three said villages.
Details:
On the 17th of September, 2009 the so-called Israeli High Court of Justice issued its decision approving the recommendations of Israeli occupation forces’ leadership to change the route of the Racist Wall. The recommendations were indicated in Military Order T/90/40 which was issued on the 25th of November, 2008 which called for the re-routing on the Racist Wall in the said villages.
The Military Order
The Palestinian residents of the three villages filed an appeal to the Israeli High Court against the military order in early 2009. However, the decision of the Court came for the benefit of the re-routing despite of all the negative effects it would cause to the Palestinian population; it constitutes the confiscation of 587.7 dunums of Khirbet Jibara with the aim of constructing a section of the Racist Wall in its northwestern and western direction at a total length of 6.01 km (vs. 4.15 km as planned earlier). This would, in effect, isolate the Khirbet from the city of Al Tayba located inside the Green Line.
On another hand, the new change would isolate 1,750 dunums of Khirbet Jibara (and a number of houses built atop them) as well as 2,000 dunums of the villages of Al Ras, Kufr Sur and Kufr Jamal behind the Racist Wall. As such, around 3750 dunums and 300 Palestinians will be isolated on the “Palestinian side” of the Wall while 2,500 dunums of the three villages’ lands will be isolated behind the Wall. In accordance with the new High Court decision, there will be only one agricultural gate through which Palestinian farmers from the three villages can use to access their lands beyond the Wall.
Mr. Azmi Jibara, the head of Al Ras village council, indicated the following to the Land Research Center (LRC)’s field researcher: ' The decision of the High Court is a ploy designed to give legitimacy to the Military Order which calls for further confiscation of Palestinian land to be annexed into Israel. We are afraid that the land will be used for the further expansion of the colony of Sal’eit which was established in 1977 atop Palestinian lands in Kufr Sur. '
Khirbet Jibara:
The village is located to the south of the city of Tulkarem and east of the City of Tayba located inside the Green Line. In the aftermath of the establishment of the Racist Isolation Wall in the year 2003, the Khirbet became totally isolated from its immediate environs along with the villages of Khirbet Far’oun, Al Ras and Kufr Sur.
Sal’eit Colony:
The colony was established in 1977as a small colony on Palestinian lands belonging to the villages of Kufr Sur and Kufr Jamal. Its build-up area is 921 dunums. Up to 2007, there were 441 Israeli colonists living there. Palestinians of nearby villages fear that the isolated lands as per the High Court decision would be used to further expansion of the colony especially that these lands are used for grazing purposes only. For additional information please refer back to previous LRC reports regarding the suffering of the village of Jibara
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
