Witnessing Israeli violations:” Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi village, Jeet village, Beit Hanina” Proactive Israeli Colonial Escalation before September bid for a Palestinian State

 

 

 

 

 

On September 4, 2011, the Israeli “Peace Now” movement revealed that the Israeli Ministry of Defense had recently signed an agreement with the regional council of the Illegal Israeli settlement of Beit Arye* to build new 100 housing units in Kermim neighborhood in the settlement located about 0.5 km east of Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi village north west of Ramallah Governorate. Moreover the agreement included funding for the construction of a bypass road to link Beit Arye settlement with Ofarim Illegal settlement which is located about 1 km south of Beit Arye. The main terms of the agreement were as follow:

• The approval to market and build 100 new housing units in Kermim neighborhood in Beit Arye settlement.

It is worth pointed that the local residents of Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi had submitted a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court in the year 2006 in order to change the route of the Segregation Wall which isolates 1371 dunums (14% from the total village lands), where the owners of these lands will not be able to reach them without a special permits issued by the Israeli Civil Administration, where their requests are most often rejected.

 

Accordingly, the Israeli court ordered the Israeli Ministry of Defense Ministry to change the route of the Segregation Wall but nothing changed on the ground where the new route of the Wall, which is not officially published y the Israeli Defense Ministry, will isolate more lands from Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi village.

 

Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi is a Palestinian village located northwest of Ramallah Governorate. The village is bordered by the Segregation Wall from the north, the Illegal Israeli settlement of Ofarim from the south, Beit Arye settlement as well as the Segregation Wall and ‘Aboud village from the east and Rantis village along with the Segregation Wall and, Green Line (Armistice Line of 1949), from the west.

 

The built-up area of Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi village spreads on 211 dunums of land, about 2 % of the village’s total land area (9695 dunums). The village is home to 1924 inhabitants (PCBS 2010), most of who work in the agricultural sector, which is considered the major source of income for the residents of the village.

 

On September 5, 2011, the Israeli Army handed over three residents from Jeet village east of Qalqilyia Governorate military demolition orders for their houses under the pretext of lacking building permits. The owners of the threatened houses are: Mr. Abdel Salam Jamal ‘Arman, Mr. Jum’a Hussein Mahmoud Sakhen and Mr. Nidal Khalid Jamil Khader.

 

The owners of the houses indicated that in the morning of Sep, 5, vehicles from what is so-called “Israeli Civil Administration” accompanied with Israeli Army stormed the village and stationed in the area were the houses are located and started to take pictures for the three houses and they handed the owners the military demolition orders and informed them that they have to come to the Israeli district court in Beit ‘Il in the morning of September 27, 2011. The owners added that they built the houses three years ago where 25 family members live in today and they are at the threat of displacement.

 

Jeet is a Palestinian village located east of Qalqilyia Governorate. The village is bordered by Qusein village from the north, Far’ata and Amateen villages from the south, Surra village from the east, the Segregation Wall along with the Illegal settlement of Kedumim, from the west.

The built-up area of Jeet village spreads on 134 dunums of land, about 2 % of the village’s total land area (6480 dunums). The village is home to 2953 inhabitants (PCBS 2010).

 

On August 28, 2011, the Israeli daily newspaper Ma’ariv revealed that the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem had issued a decision to confiscate 4 dunums of lands in Al-Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood near “Shim’on Al-Seddik” owned by the Jerusalemite resident Mr. Kaml ‘Beidat, in order to construct a parking for the cares in the area.

 

The newspaper added that the Israeli Municipality plan for parking will actually be used for the visitors of the “Shim’on Al-Seddik” tomb, where a road will be opened through the confiscated land to enable the visitors to reach to the tomb through the parking which will be built adjacent to the tomb. 

 

Mr. ‘Beidat, the owner of the land indicated that when he found papers hanged on the fence surrounding his land, issued and signed by Nir Barakat, the Mayor of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem, “calling the owner of the land to evacuate the area along with the installations inside the land, within 60 days during which he may submit an objection to the Israeli court”. Mr. ‘Beidat added also that he will fight the municipality order and if anyone is to build there it should be him as he had submitted some 6 years ago for a licensing to build a parking but the municipality refused his request and apparently just decided to seize the land and put the parking on his land.

 

On August 29, 2011, Kobi Kahloun, the head of the Regional Committee for Planning and Construction in the Israeli Ministry of Interior declared that the committee had removed from its agenda  a plan to build a high school in Beit Hanina neighborhood in the northern parts of the city of Jerusalem. Kahloun justified the Israeli step by claiming that the proposed school will be built nearby the Illegal Israeli settlement of “Pisgat Ze’ev” which constitutes a security threat to the settlers living in the settlement”.

 

The Palestinians residents of Beit Hanina neighborhood had agreed to make the school for females in order to take the license but the committee and under the pressure of the settlers of Pisgat Ze’ev settlement (est.1985 pop 41,882) complied with the settlers’ demand and went to cancel the plan that was put forward by the residents seven years ago.