The Israeli Occupation Army Issues Four Demolition Orders in Al Ras al Ahmar

Israeli Occupation troops accompanied by the Civil Administration Officers broke into Al Ras al Ahmar on October 28, 2010. They handed four families eviction orders calling for evacuating their homes and lands within 48 hours. If the families do not comply with the order, their fate will be similar to many other nomads family who lost their structures and properties.

 

It must be pointed that Al Ras al Ahmar area, 8 km to Tubas city, like any other nomad gathering has been the target of the Israeli Occupation Army since the conquest of the West Bank in 1967. The various Israeli Governments were keen to clear the Jordan Valley Area from its Arab residence; comparing its importance with that of Jerusalem.

 

According to the local residents (17 nomad families consisting of 137 members), all of their structures, no matter how simple they are, are endangered. Any structure in the area, classified as a military zone, immediately receives a demolition or eviction order as soon as the owner amends even a slab of metal to the structure.The residents have been living in the area for generations, depending on agriculture and herding; they were living in peace before the Israeli conquest.

 

No.	Victim	Number of structure	Family members	Children (under 18)	Endangered structures
					Houses	Shacks	others
1	Khalid Bisharat	2	13	8	2	2	Bathroom, Stove
2	Sa’id bani Odeh	1	9	7	2	1	Bathroom
3	Jamil bani Odeh	3	11	8	1	1	Warehouse, Bathroom, Stove
4	Yusuf bani Odeh	2	8	4	2	1	Bathroom, Stove
Total		8	41	27	7	5	8

 

Palestinian families living in Jordan Valley Region have been suffering from the Israeli Occupation measures since the conquest of the West Bank in 1967. The Israelis targeted the area to stop the Palestinian expansion and development by declaring that most of the area is a closed military zone. The Israelis have depleted the natural resources in the area by transferring resources like water to the nearby Israeli colonies. The objective has always been forcing the Palestinians to leave the area in order to ease taking over it.

 

In addition, the Israelis made the lives of the Palestinians in the area more difficult by imposing movement restrictions in an attempt to isolate the area from its Palestinian surroundings. They have also dug trenches that extend from the northern to the medium parts of the valley, isolating thousands of dunums and depriving farmers from the ability to herding. Moreover, the Israelis have been trying to destroy the livestock in the area by closing vast areas, attacking herders, and planting mines in the area; mines that caused losses in life.

 

On the one hand, the Israelis impose onto the Palestinians in the area all the movement restrictions and difficulties possible. On the other hand, they provide the colonists in the area with everything that facilitates their lives, infrastructure, by-pass roads, and expansion plans for Meskiot and Mekhora while its demolishing the Palestinians simple structures.