New Colonial Activity in Kafr Qadoom Village – Qalqilyia District

Location:

The village of Kafr Qadoom is located 20 kilometers to the northern east of the city of Qalqilia. It is also located 12 kilometers to the west of the city of Nablus. There are almost 3 thousand inhabitants in the village most of which work in agriculture and trade.(see map)

Past Colonial Activities in the Village:

The colony of Qadomim was established in 1970 on lands belonging to the village. These lands include Jabal Suwaimeh, Jabal Mohammad, Harayeq Sa'adah, and Khillat Abu Toubah. The colony is located close to a military camp used in the past by the Jordanian army. Israeli army is currently using this camp as a military base ever since the withdrawal of the Jordanian army in the after math of the 1967 war.

In addition to the camp, there are three colonial sites established there. They include:

1. Qadomim settlement

2. Lower Qadomim settlement

3. Three hilltop settlements established on the eve of the signing of the Wye Plantation Accords

Current Colonial Activity:

A new colonial site, called Upper Qadomim, is under construction. It is planned that this new settlement would have at least 40 villas.

In terms of land, the settlement is being established on a 35-dunum area of the lands of Khillat Al Jame'a and Harayeq Sa'adah The owners of the expropriated lands include:

Location	Owner	Area in dunums
Hariqat Mauzoonah	Hassan Ibrahim Shihada and brothers	15
Hariqat Mauzoonah	Mohammad Al Shahtoot	5
Khillat Al Jame'a	Islamic waqf	15
TOTAL		35 dunums

The initial work on this site took place in July 1999, after Mr. Ehud Barak became the Prime Minister of Israel. Construction now is in its final stages as work has continued unabated ever since it was initially started on the above-mentioned date.

The new settlement carries with a number of repercussions. They include:

1. The expropriation of lands owned by Palestinian individuals and the Islamic waqf.

2. The expansion of existing settlements in the area.

3. The eradication of agricultural lands which leads to additional desertification of the village. Please note the green fields around the newly established villas.

4. The most immediate and present danger is the fact that this settlement can cut off the main road connecting the village with the rest of the District of Qalqilia. The new construction have reached the main road violating in the process the most basic principles of city planning.

5. This new situation is going to force the inhabitants of Kafr Qadoom to look for an alternative road to connect them to Nablus and Qalqilia. It is most probable that they are going to have to construct a new road through their agricultural lands leading to more losses of their daily livelihood and damage to their already-besieged lands.