Violation: plowing Palestinian lands for the purpose of opening a by-pass road connecting Shilo and Shivut Rahel colonies.
Location: parcel 12 – Jalud, Nablus Governorate.
Date: November 25, 2010.
Perpetrators: Israeli colonists.
Preface:
Jalud village is one of the most beautiful villages in the West Bank; it lies over numerous mountains with a number of plain fields in between. Its climate and the fertility of its soil attracted many Palestinians to reside peacefully in the village throughout history. Nevertheless, the village situation has been deteriorating since both the people and the land have become an Israeli target.
The Israeli Occupation have designated Jalud as a target. It has already taken over the hills surrounding the village and started planting colonies all around it. Nowdays, three colonies lie over Jalud lands including Shilo, Shivut Rahel, and ‘Adi ‘Ad; in addition to three colonial nucleuses including Qadish, Kida, and Hayya.
The colonies surrounding the village impose great threat on the stability and development of the village by expropriating more than 1200 dunums of the village lands in addition to converting more than 90% of the village total area to closed “military zones”. The purpose of such military zones is the protection of the surrounding Israeli colonies.
Details:
In the early morning hours of November 25, 2010, Israeli dozers initiated a large scale bulldozing campaign for the purpose of opening a road connecting Shilo and Shivut Rahel colonies. The plowings were held in Ras Mwes area located in parcel 12 in Jalud. More than 50 dunums were leveled.
Such an act has dramatic effects on the Palestinians lives; Ras Mwes area was declared as a military zone since 2000; thus, Palestinians were disallowed from reaching it except in the olive picking season and only after receiving special permits from the Israeli Occupation Army. The opening of the road implicitly means that the area is permanently sealed.
It is a clear violation of the Palestinians right to exploit their properties. Moreover, it is the Israeli way to put facts onto the ground and to send a message to the Palestinian population that this is a colonial area.
Abdullah al Jaludi, the president of Jalud Village Council, sorrowfully stated: “the opening of a road connecting the Israeli colonies over Jalud lands is a plan that has been put years ago. The Israelis aim for creating colonial facts in the region and to control as much lands as possible. They aim for turning the different colonies into one huge colonial compound in the future. Such colonial entity purpose will be devouring more land and displacing more Palestinians.”
It must be pointed that Jalud has been facing continuous and increasing aggressions. The colonists attacks had taken different forms in the village, these include, land grab, attacking farmers and herders, theft of property and equipment, and even attacking the village homes.
In addition, the colonists aggressions included burning and cutting olive trees as well. Jalud is located 25 km to the south east of Nablus city. An 8-km-long road connects the village to the main road network. Its total area is 16517 dunums including 80.5 dunums of built-up area inhabited by 464 people. 1207 dunums of the village lands were lost to Israeli colonization.
