Violation: leveling the western entrance of Qaryut village

Location:   Al-Ain area- Nablus

Date:  June 02, 2015

Perpetrators: Shilo colonists

Victims:  Qaryut residents

Details:

 The dozers of Shilo colonists on June 02, 2015 ravaged some lands in western Qaryut village and defaced the landmarks of Silon archeological site. The ravaging act came for the aim of creating a touristic and commercial zone for colonists.  The western entrance that is located alongside with Al-Ain road links the village to the neighboring areas and cities.

Two dozers accompanied by 6 colonists from Shilo were reported to carry out the attack in an attempt to opening a roads network to link the area’s colonies to each other.

 

Photos 1-3: the ravaging works at the western entrance of the village

 

Bypassing the law:

It is indicated that the Council of West Bank Settlements, through the Supreme Planning Committee, on March 27, 2014 deposited a master plan for the Al-Musrara and Silon areas. The master plan included the cancelation of Qaryut entrance, taking into account that the entrance has been closed since 2000 and that it is the village’s only entrance.

Photo 4: the advertisement featured on March 27, 2015

 

This step disappointed the residents of Qaryut, who have never stopped trying to re-open the road, which dates back to the Ottoman era and serves the whole area of Nablus city’s suburbs.

In the same context, it is indicated that the village council of Qaryut in coordination with the Ministry of Colonization and Wall Affairs filed an objection on the new plan to Israeli courts.

Israel Supreme Court on May 10, 2014 made a decision stating the halt of construction in Silon area and the western road of Qaryut village, given the status of archeological sites, which were founded before the occupation itself in the area.

Colonists got upset to the court’s decision and embarked on preparing a new master plan for the area, which eventually failed for it was not ratified by Israel Regional Planning and Construction Committee. As a result, colonists came back today and ravaged the road on their own, violating the decision of Israel Supreme Court.

The western entrance of Qaryut:

The road of Al-Ain (2400m) used to serve the villages Talfit, Qusra, Jalud, Jurish and Qaryut before the second intifada of 2000. But after the closure on the entrance in 2000, travelers are now forced to take a route of extra 20km to head to Ramallah city from Qaryut.

The village council of Qaryut tried in 2005, 2007 and 2010 to obtain a license for the road through the Planning and Construction Committee- Israel Civil Administration but all attempted were turned down and eventually rejected.

The village council on July 24, 2011 was approved to license the road through the Civil Administration; big expenses followed the licensing application due to complicated technical requirements from the occupation’s side. The council on April 2014 was promised by the occupation to have the road re-opened but nothing happened in reality.

 

Prepared by
 The Land Research Center
LRC