Eviction Orders for Agricultural Lands

August 29, 2012

Violation: eviction orders for 30 dunums of agricultural lands.

Location: Sider, Wad Sakran, Khirbat ad Deir, and Ein Faris in Nahhalin – Bethlehem

Date: August 28, 2012.

Perpetrators: the Israeli Occupation Army.

Victims: various families.

Details:

On August 27, 2012, a farmer found eviction orders thrown in his field; the orders demanded the eviction of over 30 dunums of lands planted with olives and prunus while they are also partially planted with grains. According to the GIS Unit at LRC, the eviction orders targeted a total area of 30 dunums.

A member of the Village Council said that the orders are aimed for capturing as much land as possible. He also said that the orders gave a 45-day-respite; however, the number ‘4’ was dashed and replaced with 7 instead. 7 days are not enough to prepare the needed documents, however, Gayyath Naser, an Attorney of Law was assigned to object to the orders.

It must be noted that Nahhalin has been the target of a vicious colonial attack which did not only include the eviction orders but also pumping sewage towards the village and torching of fields and properties.

Table 1: victims:

Victim	Area	Order	Remarks	picture
Mohammad Fannoun and Abdul Hafiz Shakarna	N.A	05/56	The area is not specifiable as the enclosed map is unclear	1–2
Husein Gayatha	N.A	06/39	The area is not specifiable as the enclosed map is unclear	3
Ali Fannoun, Issa Fannoun, Hasan Najajra, Hasan Naji Najajra, Salim Uthman, Mohammad Shakarna	12	05/34	Within agricultural lands	4–5
	16.5	05/38	Within agricultural lands	6–7
	1	05/15	Within agricultural lands	8–9

Nahhalin:

The village is located 9 km to the south west of Bethlehem and 3.5 km to the east of the armistice line of 1949. It is edged by Bitar Illit and Hadar Bitar colonies (north), al Khader (east), Wadi Fukin and the armistice line (west), and number of Israeli colonies (Rush Tzorim, Ealazr, Allon Shevut, and Ezyon) (south).

The village’s total area is 17250 dunums including 496 dunums of built-up area, inhabited by 7460 people according to the PBS statistics of 2007. Israel has confiscated 2988 dunums of the village lands for colonial expansion purposes. 5 colonies inhabited by more than 30,000 colonists reside over the village lands. They are all part of Ezyon colonial compound which hold 11 colonies within.