New Israeli Demolition Campaign in the Jordan Valley area

December 2, 2011

In the early morning of November 30^th 2011, the Israeli occupation bulldozers along with the Israeli Civil administration and under the protection of the Israeli Army and police carried out a large scale demolition operation, targeting a number of Bedouin communities in Wadi Al-Malih (Al Maleh Valley), and Kardala Village in the Jordan Valley. The demolitions targeted the following communities:

Wadi Al-Malih Bedouin Community – East of Tubas city
Al-Farsiyah Bedouin Community – East of Tubas city
Kherbit Tel Al Himma (Bedouin Community) – northeast of Tubas city
Kardala Village – northeast of Tubas city

Table 1 below gives details of the demolitions that took place in the Jordan Valley Bedouin Communities, in Tubas Governorate:

Table 1:Details of the demolitions in the Jordan Valley Communities,
No.	Owner	Location	Facility	Population
1.	Ali Abu Muhsen	Al-Farsiyah	Agricultural Barracks	15
2.	Ali Abu Muhsen	Al-Farsiyah	Animal Shelter	—
3.	Nayef Al-Faqyer	Al-Malih	Residential Tin House	7
4.	Nayef Al-Faqyer	Al-Malih	Residential Tin House	—
5.	Hasan Abu Zahou	Al-Himma	Agricultural Barracks	17
6.	Aref Daraghmeh	Al-Malih	100 Bee Hive	4
7.	Kardala & Ein Al-Bida Feminim Community	Kardala	50 Bee Hive	—
Source: ARIJ Field Team – 2011

It is worth mentioning that the Israeli Supreme Court had issued at earlier time an injunction to withhold the demolition of most of the facilities in Kardala, Wadi Al Maleh and Kherbit Tel Al Himma communities, but Israeli occupation authorities did not respond to the Israeli Supreme Court’s injunction and went on with the demolition of facilities. Photos 1-9 show the demolished facilities in the aforementioned Palestinian communities.

It is worth pointing out that this isn’t the first time that the Israeli occupation bulldozers target Palestinian communities in the northern valleys. Ever since the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian territory in 1967, the successive Israeli Governments focused on imposing geographic and demographic facts on the ground through the building of settlements to consolidate the Jewish existence on the Palestinian area; at the same, undermining the development of Palestinian communities, most specifically in the Jordan Valley area.

These activities aimed at evacuating the Jordan Valley from the Palestinian Communities to facilitate the control over these areas, and far expand Israeli settlements and military bases. In addition, the area of the Jordan Valley holds the largest military areas that are used by the Israeli Occupation Army for maneuvers & military trainings. Cobra Military Base is one of the largest military bases for the Israeli Occupation Army in the West Bank, and most specifically in the Jordan Valley area. See Map 1 & Map 2, for more details.

Geopolitical Status

The area of Al-Malih holds seven Bedouin communities, Al-Hadidya, Khalet Makhoul, Samra, Al-Hilwa, Wadi Al-Maleh, and Al-Himma. The whole area has a total population of around 1000 people. The area is classified as ‘Area C’ according to Oslo II Interim Agreement of 1995 and falls under full Israeli control. Furthermore, the area holds a mass number of water springs, which are controlled by the Israeli occupation authorities and Israeli settlers, who prevent Palestinian Communities in the Jordan valley area from benefiting from these springs.

It is worth mentioning that the area which witnessed the demolition holds several Israeli military bases and camps, which include: Cobra military base, Hamamat Al-Maleh military Base, and Balbas Samra military camp; not forgetting to mention the large areas of Israeli military trainings.

Some of the previous Israeli attacks against the Jordan Valley Bedioun communities

Demolitions and threats in Al Al Maleh Bedioun community

The Israeli Occupation Army demolished on May 30, 2011, a number of residential tents and shacks in Wadi al Maleh. At the early morning hours, two Israeli dozers accompanied by Israeli Army vehicles and troops started a huge destruction campaign, demolishing 6 residential tents and two shacks, the property of 7 families, they are: ‘Eid Saraya’, Mohammad Saraya’, Ghanem Saraya’, Salman Ka’abna, Salem Ka’abna, Mohammad Ka’abna and Ibrahim Ka’abna.

Later on July 27, 2011, The Israeli Occupation Authorities served seven Palestinian families stop-work orders against 8 tents and 6 shacks under the pretext of building with no permits. The facilities are owned by Yaser abu ‘Allam, Jameel Ka’abna, Yahya Ka’abna, Ayed Daraghma, Khaled Daraghma, Ali Daraghma, Salem Ka’abna,

Demolitions and threats in Al Farisiya Bedioun community

On June 27, 2010 Israeli occupation authorities handed Khirbet Al-Faresia residents military orders in which ten Palestinian families received notifications to evacuate the area within 24 hours under the pretext of building in an area classified as ‘closed military area’. The number of facilities threatened reached 68, inhabited by more than 100 individuals, including 35 residential and 33 agricultural.

Later on July 19^th, 2010 the Israeli occupation forces demolished at least 75 structures including 24 zinc shelters and tents inhabited by 103 Palestinians. The IOF also destroyed 21 agricultural barracks that hosted 1090 sheep. An additional 30 structures of various uses were also demolished including water irrigation networks and land fences.

Furthermore, On May 30, 2011 the Israeli Occupation Forces attacked Al Farisiyya and demolished two residential tents and a shack owned by Husein abu Mehsen and Ahmad abu Mehsen in Al Farisiyya. The Israelis justified the demolitions by claiming that the structures were built in an area classified as ‘closed military zone’;

Additionally On the 20^th of September 2011, the Israeli Civil Administration related to the Israeli Occupation Army delivered stop-working orders numbered 148459, 148460 & 148461 to three Palestinian families in Al-Farisiyeh Bedouin Community in the northern Valleys.. The targeted structures are owned by GHaleb Barakat, Nimer Hassan Daraghmeh and Adnan Sa’id Daraghmeh and are located in an area surrounded by a number of Israeli settlements, Rotem, Shedmot Mechola and Mechola.

Conclusion

What Israel has been doing since 1967 war is considered systematic eradication, where it evacuates the land from its native inhabitants at the same time, encourages settlers to build whatever, wherever, and whenever they want under the pretext of Security and many other inconvenient pretexts, violating by that many international Laws, human conventions and UN resolutions :

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Article 11 (1): ‘The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions’.

The Fourth Geneva Convention

Article 53: ‘Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.’

Article 47: ‘Protected persons who are in occupied territory shall not be deprived, in any case or in any manner whatsoever, of the benefits of the present Convention by any change introduced as the result of the occupation of a territory, into the institutions or government of the said territory, nor by any agreement concluded between the authorities of the occupied territory and the Occupying power, nor by any annexation by the latter of the whole or part of the occupied territory.’

Article 147: ‘Grave breaches to which the preceding Article relates shall be those involving any of the following acts … extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.’

Hague Regulations 1907

Section II Article 23: ‘it is especially forbidden- to destroy or seize the enemy’s property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war.’

Section III Article 46: ‘Family honor and rights, the lives of persons, and private property, as well as religious convictions and practice must be respected. Private property cannot be confiscated.’

Prepared by:

The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem