Shutting down of  a water supply hole (opening)  in Khirbet Al-Hadidiya / Tubas Governorate

July 27, 2020

• Violation: closing a water opening.
• Location: Khirbet al-Hadidiya in the northern Jordan Valley.
• Date of violation: 27/07/2020.
• Perpetrators: the Israeli occupation army.
• Affected party: Khirbet al-Hadidiya community.

Details of the violation:

On Monday noon, July 27, 2020, the Israeli occupation army closed a water supply hole in the Al-Hadidiya community in the northern Jordan Valley under the claim of un-licensing.

The Al-Hadidiya community is considered one of the most prominent rural agricultural communities spread in the northern Jordan Valley, which is still suffering from the arbitrary occupation measures that have transformed the lives of the residents into primitive. These measures are represented in the continuous siege of the village, which has led to the absence of the necessary infrastructure of water, electricity and streets, as residents are forced to buy water through mobile tanks at a high price of 100 shekels per three cubic meters which constitutes an additional burden on the population who depend on raising livestock and agriculture as main income. This situation  of severe water shortage has forced  them to search for water through illegal openings.

Photos 1-3: The occupation authorities who closed the water supply hole

Parallel to that, and at a distance of not more than one kilometre away  is located the colony of “Roi”, where  its inhabitants  enjoy abundance of water  at a low price, as the water is stolen by the Israeli company “Mekorot” from the Palestinian Jordan Valley areas of the eastern Palestinian water basin, and this paradox reflects the reality of racial occupation.

During the past years, the entire population of Khirbet Al-Hadidiya have been targeted through the demolition of a large number of residential and agricultural tents and the destruction of agricultural roads that have been constructed there.  In addition, t he occupation very often closes the surrounding pastures and transforms the Khirbet lands into a militarily closed area and confiscates agricultural machinery tunder the pretext of entering a military closed area. This worsened the situation and turned the residents’ lives into an unbearable hell.

A glimpse on khirbet Al-Hadidiya:

It is part of the village of al-Malih,  located 33 km to the east of the city of Tubas, its inhabits mounted to 183 people according to 2017 census who depend for their livelihoods on agriculture and herding sheep. The current population of Khirbet al-Hadidiya are decedents of the Bisharat and Bani Odeh families, and their lands belong to the towns of Tamoun and Tubas since ancient times. Al-Hadidiya has been subjected to successive demolition campaigns  at the hands of the occupation  during the past five years.