Khirbetl Al Mukkahel – a Palestinian Village en Route to be Cleansed – Jenin Governorate

Khirbet Al Mukkahel is a clear example of the agony and suffering of Palestinian towns, villages and communities over the past 60+ years of Israeli occupation. It is located 2 kilometers south of Khirbet Imreiha which shares the same fate as Al Mukkahel as Israeli occupation forces insist on uprooting them from their lands day in and day out.

Mr. Waleed Hamdan Mukkahel, the head of the Projects Committee at the Khirbet indicated the following to the Land Research Center (LRC)’s field researcher: In the year 1948 Israeli armed gangs drove the current residents of Al Mukkahel from their original town of Jisr Al Zarqa in aftermath of an orchestrated attack that left most of the residents dead and most of the structures demolished. The residents were forced to leave towards the West Bank where they stayed at a distance of 4 kilometers south west of the city of Ya’abad where they built simple shelters of zinc and plastic to provide some sort of refuge for them and their children. In aftermath of the occupation of 1967, these refugees were targeted yet again by the Israeli forces as it declared the area as “not-recognized” leaving the residents to become refugees yet once again with no basic rights.

 

Israeli occupation forces do not allow the residents of the Khirbet to add any new buildings. They have also prevented them from renovating the shelters they have built in the aftermath of the Nakba of 1948. Currently, these shelters are in such a bad condition that they might crumble atop the heads of its residents. Such a condition has pushed three families (out of the 12 families living in the Khirbet) to move to other nearby villages (such as Al Nazleh Al Wusta and Kufr Ra’ei) to run away from the harsh conditions caused by the Israeli occupation. 

 

It has to be pointed out that the residents of the Khirbet are facing big problems in getting access to the most basic human services due to the Israeli policies; the head of the nearby Khirbet Imreiha indicated the residents of both Khirbets managed to convince a number of international organizations to build a main water storage unit that would eventually supply both Khirbets with water.

 

The implementation of the project was supposed to take place at the beginning of 2012, yet the Israeli insistence on not providing the needed permits brought the project to an abrupt halt. As such, the residents of both Khirbets continue to be obliged to buy water from the city of Ya’abad and then tanker it to the Khirbets at a cost of NIS 150 for every 3 m³ which is an enormous sum of money to be paid by the simple residents of the Khirbets who depend mainly on herding and farming as the main sources of income.  

 

Moreover, Israeli occupation forces have declared the area as a Closed Military Area and placed a large number of military towers in the vicinity of Khirbet Al Mukkahel. Grazing is prohibited while sheep were confiscated in the nearby hills under the pretext that they were caught inside a Closed Area.

 

 

  

 

As for the children of the Khirbet, they are forced to attend schools in nearby villages, especially Al Nazla Al Wusta which is located 8 kilometers away from Al Mukkahel. On daily basis, 20 students from the Khirbet use donkeys to reach their school as to continue their education. As to lessen the hardship of the students, Mr. Waleed Hamdan indicated that the residents of the Khirbet collected money and bought a mobile caravan to be used as a school for their children. However, Israeli occupation forces confiscated the caravan and threatened to demolish the shelters of the residents if they continued to resist the policies of the occupation. The result of this pressure is that students continue to face travel problems while not being able to reach their school during the winter season. 

 

The colony of Kharmeish rests on the hills overlooking Khirbet Al Mukkahel. It steals the water and the land of Ya’abad with continuous support and encouragement from the successive Israeli governments. The continuous monitoring of this colony reveals that since the year 2000 this colony has expand five folds which reflects the true face and intentions of the Israeli occupation.