As part of the Israeli harsh tactics implemented on Palestinians as a form of collective punishment and humiliation. The Israeli bulldozers backed with forces staged this morning into the village of Nazlat 'Isa located to the north of Tulkarem district and started demolishing houses in the village. The Israeli Government announced late yesterday the demolition of commercial area along with a number of houses, thus, implementing its vicious policy of house demolition in the Palestinian territories. See Map
Nazlat 'Isa is one of Tulkarem villages and has a population of 2500 and an area of 622 m². The village has been a target of repeated declarations of demolitions for over four months as Israel is widening its borders by building the Separation Wall inside the West Bank, segregating between Palestinian Built-up and agricultural areas to contain its Jewish Settlements and at the same time disposition Palestinians from their lands.
The location of Nazlat 'Isa along side the green line and between the Israeli's self-proclaimed military zone and the Separation Wall has made it of great importance to the Israelis. It is also known for its strong commercial relationships with a number of nearby villages, which are also threatened to be confiscated at favor of the Separation Wall.
The Israeli forces handed demolition orders to 28 houses and 170 commercial stores in Nazlat 'Isa village claiming that some of those houses and commercial stores were illegally build in the village and therefore must be evacuated for demolition purposes.
Among the owners, ARIJ Fieldworkers were able to list the following: Mu'en Ibrahim Mahmmoud, Asa'd Ibrahim Mahmmoud, Ziad Abdel Latif Asa'd, Amjad Abdel Latif, Abdel Rahim Abu Ash Shawareb, Abdullah Abu Ash Shawareb, Awni Muhammad Abdullah Asa'd, Tayseer Ibrahim Tawfiq, Abdel Halim Hasan, Abdel Rahman Yousef Khalil, Ibrahim Ahmad Muhammad Sa'ed, Lutfi Muhammad Sa'ed and Mahmmoud Mahmmoud Asa'd.
The Israeli plan is far from the above justification and is an excuse to justify their acts in the Palestinian Territories, from building the Apartheid Wall that led to the confiscation of thousands of dunums of agricultural lands to the uprooting of Olive Trees and the demolition of houses and commercial areas, destroying the hopes of Palestinians and devastating their abilities.
The Israeli policy behind such actions is to reduce as much as possible the number of Palestinian citizens living in the area located between the Green Line and the Separation Wall. The above-mentioned area shall be illegally annexed to Israel from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, a unilateral step of Separation; therefore, a sharp reduction in the number of Palestinians living on that area is becoming a target and a key step for Palestinian Ethnic Cleansing.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
