Eviction Notices in Al Ras Al Ahmar and Atouf

Violation: eviction notices against a number of Palestinians in Al Ras Al Ahmar.

Location: Al Ras Al Ahmar, 8 km to the east of Tubas.

Date: June 6, 2010.

Violators: the Israeli Occupation Army.

Victims: nomads residing in Al Ras Al Ahmar.

Details:

The Israeli Occupaton Army delivered a number of eviction notices to residents of Al Ras Al Ahmar on June 6, 2010. The Israeli Army gave the victims 8 days to evacuate their building before facing the fate of many nomads around Tubas who suffered from the extreme measures of the Israeli Army that included structures demolitions and sabotages.

To Be-Evicted citizens:

No.	Victim	Family members	Children (under 18)	Structures type	Area (m2)
1	Jum’ah bani Odeh	8	4	Shack (agricultural), tent (residential), stove	Shack: 24 House (tent): 15
2	Iyad bani Odeh	5	2	Shack (agricultural), tent (residential)	Shack: 18 House (tent): 14
3	Mohammad bani Odeh	7	4	Shack (agricultural), tent (residential), stove	Shack: 28 House (tent): 14
4	Mustapha bani Odeh	9	4	Shack (agricultural), tent (residential)	Shack: 22 House (tent): 18
5	Abdullah Bisharat	5	3	Shack (agricultural), tent (residential), stove	Shack: 14 House (tent): 12
Total		34	17

on June 6, 2010, the Israeli Occupation Forces handed a number of residents of ‘Atouf village military orders entitled ‘warrant related to clearing a closed area’. Mujahid Fayyad and Amina bani Odeh were among the victims.

Order 1-4: photocopies of the handed orders

18 families are currently residing in Al Ras Al Ahmar though the number might change because of the nature of the nomads live. The nomads, most of them originally from Tamoun village, keep moving from one spot to another, building their shelters of simple materials (wood, metal, or goat hair for tents). Such shelters barely protect its residents from the heat or the cold.

Every year, their journey starts, looking for a suitable grazing areas for their herds. However, since the Israeli conquest of the West Bank in 1967, the Israeli have extremely impeded their movement. The Israeli ambition of taking over the Jordan Valley area was clear from the beginning; they have declaring areas as ‘military zones’ and took numerous steps towards driving the Palestinian residents out of the area.

The Israeli policy towards the Jordan Valley is forcing the locals out and replacing them with Israeli colonists. More than 36 Israeli colonies are located in the region. Unlike their Palestinian counterparts, the Israeli colonies benefit from a wide variety of services (water, electricity, education, entertainment, etc.) in addition to tax exempt.

Whereas, the Palestinian villages or gatherings suffer from scarcity of water, lack of electricity and the basic needs of life thanks to the Israeli measures that disallow them to even construct water cisterns in the area. The Israeli measures tend to deprive the Palestinians from the ability to develop on different levels.

Also, the Israeli Occupation Authorities never hesitate in seizing Palestinian lands under different pretexts, e.g. military zones, military training ground, land-mines fields. A total of 46% of the Jordan Valley area is considered military zones. Moreover, most of the simple Palestinian structures in the area are being under demolition threats.

It seems that the Israeli are sending a message to the Palestinian residents of the area informing them that they have no place here and that they ought to leave their ancestors lands which is a step towards land judaization and implementing the policy used by the Israeli in the Nakba (catastrophe) back in 1948.