The confiscation of Deir al Hatab water well
“Elon Moreh colonists refuse to comply with the Israeli Supreme Court Order”

Violation: Israeli colonists refuse to comply with the Israeli Supreme Court which ordered the eviction of Israelis in the area and remove the fence they built around the well.

Violators: Elon Moreh colonists.

Victims: Deir al Hatab residents.

Date: December 2, 2009.

 

Details:

At the beginning of December 2009 and concurrent with the Israeli Supreme Court order which decided that the ownership of the water well in the area (Al ‘Ayn al Kabeera) goes to Deir al Hatab villagers, the colonists of Elon Moreh increased the rates of their aggressions against the residents of Deir al Hatab. They have also built a fence around the well defying the Supreme Court decision.

 

At the beginning of 2007, a number of Elon Moreh colonists built a plastic pool near the well and the changed the water flow direction to make flow in the pool they built. Moreover, they connected the wastewater to the drinking water pipes that feed the village. The colonists used the area for recreation which provoked the locals who made several complaints through humanitarian organization and finally got to the Israeli Supreme Court which issued its decision for the benefit of the Palestinian locals.

 

As usual, the Israeli occupation forces stood with the settlers; Palestinians consider the Army and the colonists’ two faces of the same coin. The Israeli Occupation army tries to prevent Palestinians from getting near the well, or even come close to the well saying that it’s a military zone. The well is an old Roman well carved into stone. It is 70 meters deep and its water was used to supply the village with water. It is the most important water source in the village beside the state water that supplies the village with 60% of the needed water.

 

Elon Moreh is located on the hills to the north east of Salim and Deir al Hatab villages; it is considered a huge concern to the said villages’ farmers. Since its establishment in 1979, the villagers have been in a day to day struggle against the Israeli colonists who chased the shepherds, expropriated cattle, prevented farmers from taking advantage of their farms, and cutting down electricity by destroying the electricity network which feeds the village with the vital power. These actions had a dramatic effect on the lives of villagers. Moreover, 389 dunums of the lands of Deir al Hatab were confiscated. In addition, part of the Elon Moreh is built on the lands of ‘Azmut village. The total population of ‘Azmut is 1097 people who reside in a built up area of 1214 dunums!

 

 

 

In 1996, the Israeli Occupation Authorities started constructing a 20-meter wide by-pass road that reaches up to Elon Moreh. The road surrounds the residential areas in Salem, ‘Azmut, and Deir al Hatab and it acts like an isolation wall. The villagers consider the road a huge danger on their lands since it isolates more than 200 dunums from the villages. When the road is done, reaching these lands will be difficult and hazardous if they were able to cross that road at all. Taking care of their lands, shepherding, and olive picking will be almost impossible. Olive picking has always been so difficult since colonists attack the villagers, expel them from their lands, steal the crop, and pinch the cattle.

 

Furthermore, in 1997, a group of colonists built a new outpost in the area. It included 2 RVs, 2 barns, water reservoir, power generator, and most importantly, an Israeli Occupation Army post. The colonists took control of about 100 dunums. This outpost isolated about 2000 dunums of the lands of Salim village since it became located between the colony and the new nucleus. About 70% of the isolated lands used to be planted with grains while the other 30% is planted with olive trees.

 

Deir al Hatab is 5.5 km to the east of Nablus city. Its total area is 10875 dunums including 318 dunums of built-up area. It is surrounded by the villages of ‘Azmut, Salim, Talluza, and Beit Dajan villages. About 2213 people lived in the village in 2007. The nearby colonies took over more than 389 dunums of the village land. There exist many historical sites and ruins near the village.