On the 19th of March 2011, the Israeli Civil Administration delivered orders to Odeh Family in Ras Imteirda area in Arab Al Rashayda village southeast of Bethlehem city. The orders included the demolition of residential tents, barracks, and old caves used for cattle raising. The threatened properties belong to Ali Odeh Muhammad Al Rashayda, a father of 50 family members, and his son Muhammad Ali Odeh Al Rashayda.
Mr. Ali Al Rashayda stated that the Israeli Occupation Authorities claim that Al Rashayda family violated the borders that fall under their exclusive sovereignty which were determined by the Oslo II Interim Agreement of 1995. He added that the Israeli Borders’ signs are away from their properties about 450 meters and that the delivered orders are only initial steps towards evacuating the area from its habitant, and suffocating them in order to leave, leading at the end to the full Israeli Military control over the land.
Not forgetting to mention that these procedures will lead to the forbiddance of getting benefit from the livestock in the area, where these livestock are considered the main and lonely source of income to families living in the area. Table 1 gives details of the threatened facilities and their owners in Ar Rashayda village.
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Table 1: the threatened facilities and their owners in Arab Ar Rashayda village
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No.
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Owner
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Facility
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Area (m²)
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Date of Building
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No. of Family
members |
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1
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Muhammad Al Rashayda
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Livestock Barracks
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80
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01-07-2008
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2
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Muhammad Al Rashayda
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Livestock Barracks
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30
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01-06-2009
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3
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Muhammad Al Rashayda
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Livestock Barracks
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30
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01-06-2009
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4
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Muhammad Al Rashayda
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Solar Energy Unit
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6
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01-09-2010
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5
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Muhammad Al Rashayda
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Residential wooden house
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25
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01-04-2000
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12 members
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6
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Muhammad Al Rashayda
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Residential tent
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96
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01-05-2007
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12 members
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7
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Ali Odeh Al Rashayda
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Livestock Barracks
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25
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01-06-1996
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8
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Ali Odeh Al Rashayda
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Residential tent
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45
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01-06-1996
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10 members
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9
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Ali Odeh Al Rashayda
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Residential house
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16
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01-06-1996
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3 members
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10
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Ali Odeh Al Rashayda
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Residential house
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20
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01-06-1996
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3 members
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Source: Arab Al Rashayda Residence
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Map 1: the threatened structures in Arab Ar Rashayda village southeast of Bethlehem city
Photo 1-4: Photos of the threatened properties in Arab Al Rashayda Village.
Source: ARIJ Field Team – 2011
Also on the 23rd of March 2011, the Israeli Civil Administration, accompanied by Israeli Occupation Forces and bulldozers demolished two water wells in Al Hatata area in Kisan village southeast of Bethlehem city. The demolished wells belong to Yousef Muhammad Salem Al Rashayda and Majed Falah Hidewi Al Rashayda. The water wells hold capacity of 900 cubic meters and serve 15 family members and the livestock. The wells were notified with demolition orders in the beginning of February 2011. Map 2, shows the location of the demolished wells.
Map 2: Arab Al Rashayda demolished wells
Arab Al Rashayda, Location and population
Arab Al Rashayda village, is located around 19 km southeast of Bethlehem City. It is bordered by Kisan village lands from the east, Kisan village and Ma’ale ‘Amos settlement from the north, Sa’ir town lands from the west, and Bani Na’im town from the south. The village is located at an altitude of 512 meters above sea level with a mean annual rainfall of 246mm. The average annual temperature is 19.2 C, and the average annual humidity is about 58 % percent. See Map 3
Map 3: Arab Al Rashayda village – ARIJ
Source: The Geo-graphical Information System Department, ARIJ 2011
Arab Al Rashayda village is like many Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley that are located in the areas classified by the Israelis as ‘Closed Military Area’. It is worth mentioning that 95.1% of the total area of the West Bank’s eastern part (1664 square km) is controlled by Israel, of which 855.5 (51.4%) were classified as closed military areas since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank. Palestinians living in these areas were denied building rights and land utilization and face the threat of evacuation and displacement.
The Israeli policies in all their forms towards Palestinians are considered illegal, and violate international law and Human Rights conventions, of which, the 4th Geneva convention of 1949, article 49 which states that: ‘Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive‘. Also The right to respect for one’s property is set out in:
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Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property”.
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Article 46 of the 1907 Hague Regulations states that the occupying power must respect private property, which cannot be “confiscated.”
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[1] Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
