On April 18, 2012, 7 Israeli vehicles accompanied by 4 dozers and two trucks (one crane) broke into an area known as Sh’ib Wishah, western al Jib and embarked on a large-scale demolition campaign that hit barns and 10 residential sheds, inhabited by 50 people including 33 children. Mohammad al Jahaleen stated to a Land Research Center observer: ‘as soon as the officer in charge and his troops stepped of the cars and before even addressing any of us, the bulldozers commenced the demolitions. The officer said, from here on, while pointing at the first shed, everything will be wiped off except for one temporary tent till you all leave. The soldiers prevented us from getting to our houses or clear the contents; they also prevented us from calling each other. They also pulled out the fences surrounding the sheds and the barns and loaded it into the trucks; as a result, 300 heads of cattle were left shelter-less.’.
Mohammad Salim said: ‘in 2008, the Israeli Occupation Civil Administration handed us eviction orders, we responded by assigning an attorney to defend our case. The eviction order was postponed several times; every time it happened, the Israeli Ministry of Defense ordered us to provide certain documents, a permit from the owner. Soon, a lease contract signed by the owner was demanded for the Israeli Occupation Civil Administration and then they asked for an ownership deed despite knowing that we don’t own the land. In the end, they demanded that we apply for construction permits; the thing that is illogical since we own primitive residences that have no proper foundation; acquiring a permit will be impossible. On November 21, 2011, the Organization and Construction Committee decided to carry on with the eviction plans unless we manage to acquire a permit within 45 days. On January 15, 2012, the respite was over; we as residents demanded resettlement or being allowed to go back to our original dwelling in Wad Arar in Negev, which we were forcefully evicted from in 1950.’
Table 1: victims:
|
No.
|
Victim
|
Family members
|
Children
|
Residences
|
barns
|
|
1
|
Salim al Jahaleen
|
8
|
6
|
2
|
1
|
|
2
|
Suleiman Odeh
|
9
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
|
3
|
Daoud al Jahaleen
|
6
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
|
4
|
Iyad al Jahaleen
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
5
|
Fayez Salim
|
14
|
11
|
2
|
1
|
|
6
|
Fawwaz Salim
|
7
|
5
|
1
|
2
|
|
7
|
Khalil Salim
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
|
total
|
50
|
33
|
10
|
6
|
|
The Land Research Center
LRC
