- Violation: confiscating a JCB large hammer
- Location: Aqraba village- Nablus
- Date: January 07, 2015
- Perpetrators: Israeli occupation forces
- Victims: family of farmer Bilal Dheiban
Details:
A massive force from the Israeli occupation army raided on January 06, 2015 the area of Soof, east Aqraba and ordered to stop rehabilitation works on a 10 dunum plot belonging to farmer Bilal Dheiban. The force then confiscated the JCB large hammer that was working in the plot and a minute of confiscation was delivered to the owner before moving the large hammer to the nearby military camp.
It should be marked that the rehabilitation project is implemented by Union of Agricultural Work Committee with funds from the Dutch Representative Office. The rehabilitation comes within “Improving the livelihoods in the West Bank” project that targeted 150 dunums in the area.
Photos 1-2: the occupation’s forces at time of confiscation
The confiscation order
It is reported that occupation justified the confiscation on the claim that the machineries were present at “State lands”.
Aqraba village; especially the eastern part has been and is still a hot spot where Israeli attacks are reported to be carried out on agricultural and residential structure, not forgetting the natural resources that are being taken over and sapped every day.
About Aqraba:
18 kilometers to the southwest of Nablus, Aqraba can be set as an example of a recurrent target for the Israeli occupation attacks.
The village totals 34,660 dunums in area, mostly, agricultural lands. However, the Israeli occupation declared more than 281,000 dunums of the village lands as military zone that Palestinians are not allowed to exploit in any way while soaking the area with various colonies including Gitit. Thus, Aqraba is left with only1, 350 as a built-up area.
Colonies founded on Aqraba lands are expanding on daily basis; they are classified as “agricultural settlements”. In addition, the Israelis have placed numerous watch towers and military encampments in order to control the whole region.
In 1969, ‘Aqraba witnessed the milling of by-pass road “506”, which connects the Israeli colonies to the east of ‘Aqraba to each other and eases the movement of the Israeli Occupation Army vehicles in the area. However, the Palestinians are not allowed to even get near the road.
More than 500 Palestinians reside in nomad gatherings around ‘Aqraba; the residents of these communities face day-to-day threats against their houses, tents, shacks; basically, their existence.
Additionally, the Israeli colonists try to chase these people out of their fields in an attempt to take over the area.
‘Aqraba is inhabited by around 8,180 people with unemployment reaching up to 50% due to the hardships imposed by the Occupiers.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
