On March 8, 2015, the Israeli bulldozers accompanied with Israeli Army Forces stormed Kisan village southeast of Bethlehem Governorate and started to raze 80 dunums of Palestinian lands owned by local residents from the village.
Israeli Army officers from the “Israeli Civil Administration” notified the owners of the targeted lands that their lands along with nearby (600 dunums of lands) had been confiscated from the year 2004 under the pretext of “State Land”.
Industrial Zone in Kisan
ARIJ filed workers interviewed Mr. Hussein ‘Ali Ghazal the head of Qisan village council where he provided that the targeted 80 dunums piece of land that owned by local families from Kisan was targeted in the year 2004 with an Israeli order stating the expropriation of the lands under the pretext of “State Land”, while the owners submitted to the Israeli court that supposed to be considering the case until now.
Mr. Ghazal also added that the Israeli Army officers informed him that what is so-called “the Custodian of the State Property” and after confiscating the land (600 dunums), had sold a peace of 80 dunums for an Israeli settler from Gush Etzion settlement bloc for the purpose of building an Israeli industrial zone in the site! Among the owners of the targeted Palestinian lands were known :
- Ayoub Youseph Mohammad Subeih
- Mahmoud Youseph Mohammad Subeih
- Mohammad Youseph Mohammad Subeih
- Mousa Mohammad Awadallah Ebayyat
- ‘Ali Mohammad Awadallah Ebayyat
- Issa Mohammad Awadallah Ebayyat
- Ahmad Mohammad Awadallah Ebayyat. See photos and maps below:-
Photos captured b ARIJ field workers for the targeted lands in Kisan
Map 1: targeted lands in Kisan village
Gush Etzion- Dead Sea………… Geopolitical Analysis
In a geopolitical analysis conducted by the (Settlement Monitoring Department –ARIJ) , the expropriation of the lands in Kisan village is part from a unilateral Israeli colonial plan to expand the illegal settlement bloc of Gush Etzion to reach the dead sea area.
Hence, the lands of Kisan constitute the corner stone to pave the way for the geographical linkage between Gutsh Etzion bloc to the Dead Sea area taking into consideration focal facts:-
- Kisan village located in a strategic area the middle between Gush Etzion bloc and the Dead Sea Area.
- Kisan village lands located adjacent to the what is known as “Nature Reserve Area” where the Palestinians deprived to enter their lands in these area.
- Kisan village located on the road that linking Gush Etzion bloc with the dead Sea shores (noting that the Israeli Ministry of Transportation started few months ago to rehabilitate significant parts of the road to facilitate the Gush Etzion settlers to reach the Dead Sea shores).
- Kisan is the main urban community located adjacent to the natural reserve area , Ma’aleh ‘Amos, and Abi Nahal outposts via the closed military zone 912 that extends to reach the Dead Sea shores.
- If implemented , the proposed Industrial zone can be easily attached as a part of Gush Etzion bloc whereby the bloc would Reach the Dead Sea Shores.
More than that, all of the Palestinian Bedouin communities located east and south from Kisan village via the Dead Sea, located in the Nature Reserve” area and the firing zone 912, in addition to the (139,000 dunums expropriated in the year 2009 along the southern shores of the Dead sea) while all of these lands closed for their Palestinians owners.
Accordingly most of the lands located between Gush Etzion settlement bloc and the dead sea area forcibly captured by the Israeli Occupation Authorities under several illegal pretexts, where the way paved for gush Etzion bloc to extend and reach to the Dead sea Shores. See map 2:
Kisan is a Palestinian village located southeast of Bethlehem Governorate. The village is bordered by Toque’ and Al-Menia village from the south, Ibei Nahal illegal settlement from the south, Umm Buttum village from the west and the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’aleh ‘Amos (est. 1981, area 320 dunums) from the southeast, the Dead Sea shores from the east. The village total population is 557 residents (PCBS 2015 Projections).
According to Oslo Accords, 11% of Kisan is considered nature reserve while 40% is under Area B (PA is in charge of civil matters with Israel responsible for security). However, most of the village lands (49%) is under Area C (Israel maintains full security and administrative control).
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
