• Violation: issuing a military order targeting a Palestinian natural reserve, in an attempt to take over the area for colonial expansion.
• Location: An-Nabi Elyas village / Qalqilya governorate.
• Date: 05/05/2019.
• Perpetrator: The Israeli occupation army commander in the West Bank.
• Victims: Families in An-Nabi Elyas.

Description:

The Israeli forces commander in West Bank (Nidav Aloof) issued a military order in the 5^th of May 2019, entitled “An order to cancel the declaration of a natural reserve in British Mandate era 5779 – 2019”, the order includes changing the utilities of the natural reserve that is located close to “Alfei Menashe” illegal settlement , leveling to annex the plot for the sake of expanding “Alfei Menashe”.

 

As the military order says, the occupation authorities gave themselves the right to change the Topographical status of a Palestinian land, in order to go in line with their colonial schemes, which is a clear violation of UN resolutions that calls on Israel to rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any action which would result in changing the legal status and geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967. The Israeli occupation authorities consider themselves the guardian on Palestinian natural resources and properties, and frequently come up with methods to Judaize the area , change its historical identity and devour its natural resources.

 

An-Nabi Elyas village council head told LRC reporter:

“On one hand the occupation is imposing blockage on Ab-Nabi  Elyas village and notifying number of structures and facilities on the pretext of building without licenses – the town’s built up area is only 113 dunums which is insufficient for the village’s natural expansion – .on the other hand , they are grabbing more lands for the favor of colonization.”

 About Nabi Elyas:[1]

It is located 3km to the east of Qalqiliya governorate and is edged by Izbbet Al-Tabib and Aslah villages from the east, Arab Abu Fardeh area from the west, Jayyous town from the north and Ras Tayreh from the south.

The village populates 1399 inhabitants (2017 census) that are relative to three main families namely ( Hannun, Khleif and Majd)

Nabi Elyas has a total area of 4435 dunums, of which 113 dunums are considered the village’s built-up area.

• Israeli illegal settlements devoured about (1,912 dunums” for the favor of Alfei Menashe settlement , which was established in 1981 , and populates 5,347 illegal Israeli settlers.
• Bypass 55 devoured more than 134 dunums.
• The segregation wall devoured under its route about 250 dunums , and blocked 2,539 dunums.

Oslo conventions classified the land to :

B area : (89) dunums.

C area : (4,346) dunums.

About Alfei Menashe colony:

The colony started in the 1980s after the Israeli Occupation Forces confiscated some agricultural areas from Nabi Elyas and Ras Atyyeh villages to turn them into military base. The base later developed to accommodate more colonists and caravans. In 1986, colonial activity escalated to the level of opening new roads and developing the infrastructure, devouring more dunums from the area for the sake of the colony’s expansion .

After the establishment of the apartheid wall in 2002, colonists took advantage of it to confiscate more lands and expand their colony on.

The Apartheid wall that surrounds the colony is 18,565 m long, 9,397 m are built of cement , and the rest are a steal siege.

The settlement is close to bypass 55 which leads to the occupied territories of 1948.

Israel is a racist state, it is clearly illustrated in the following examples:

• When a natural reserve has existed in Palestine before the occupation, the Israeli authorities intent to turn the area into a colonial reserve – which is what happening to An-Nabi elyas natural reserve.
• When a privately owned Palestinian land is naturally used by its , the occupation’s government intend to declare it a natural reserve. That is what is what happened in the case of Prophet Nun mount lands in Yanun village east Nablus, that are now declared as natural reserve and their owners were denied accessing it.

The occupation is imposing facts on the ground and changing Palestinian land’s usages.

The existence of the Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank and their expansions are Illegal and contradicts with the international law rules, United Nations Security Council Resolutions such as 237 (1967), 271 (1969), 446 (1979), 452 (1979) ,465 (1980.

• Resolution 446 March 22, 1979 calls on Israel to rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any action which would result in changing the legal status and geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem and, in particular, not to transfer parts of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab territories”
• Also the resolution 452 of the 1979 “calls upon the Government and people of Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.”
• Furthermore the Forth Geneva Convention also states in Article 49 that “The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own population into the territories it occupies.” and Article 174 of the same convention “prohibits the ‘extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.”

• In May 2001, the head of the International Red Cross delegation to Israel and the Occupied Territoriessaid that settlements are “equal in principle to war crimes”. (Note: “The transfer, the installation of population of the occupying power into the occupied territories is considered as an illegal move and qualified as a ‘grave breach.’ It’s a grave breach, formally speaking, but grave breaches are equal in principle to war crimes”, Rene Kosirnik, head of the ICRC delegation to Israel and the OPT, press conference 17 May 2001

 

[1] GIS-LRC

 

 

 

 

Prepared by
 The Land Research Center
LRC