On September 11, 2012, The Israeli Occupation Army handed over Palestinian residents from Zawwata and Ijnisinya villages north of Nablus Governorate military order stating the confiscation of 90 dunums owned by the local residents of the two villages. According to the military order which hold No. 95/11/T the confiscation was justified by “security pretext to build a military road to prevent a terrorist attacks”.
In a geopolitical anaylsis conducted by the GIS department at the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem- ARIJ, the construction of the 9 km length military road came mainly to link between an Israeli military base located east of the village of Zawwata and Ijnisinya with the illegal Israeli settlement of Shafi Shomron. Moreover and in addition to the confiscation of the 90 dunums that privately owned by Palestinians, while another additional 1390 dunums will be de facto confiscated as a “security zone” or buffer zone (75 meters width from each side) on the two sides of the proposed road. Map 1
Zuwwata- Ijnisinya….. Location & Population
Zuwwata is a Palestinian village located to the far north of Nablus Governorate. It is bordered by Ijnisinya from the north, Beit Iba village from the south, Deir Sharaf and the illegal settlement of Shafi Shomron from the west, ‘Ein al Ma’ camp to the east. The village populated by 2081 residents (PCBS 2012), distributed on 454 dunums which constitute the village built up area for the village.
Ijnisinya is a Palestinian village located north of Nablus Governorate. It is bordered by Nisf Jbeil community from the north, An-Naqoura village from the south, Sabastya town and Shafi Shomron settlement from the west and southwest, Talouza village from the east. The village is populated 561 residents while the built up area is 179 dunums only (PCBS 2012).
Confiscation of 648 dunums in Burin and ‘Awarta
Furthermore, in Nablus Governorate and on September 12, 2012 the Israeli Army forces handed Palestinian residents from Burin and ‘Awarta villages military confiscation order holding No. 75/25/T for 640 dunums piece of land and another 8 dunums located to the north of the targeted land. It is worth mentioning that the targeted lands classified by the Israeli Army as a military base while the military order came to confiscate the land from the legitimate Palestinian owners. Map 2:
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In a geopolitical analysis for the targeted land and as we can see in map 2 above the military base came in the center of five villages south of the city of Nablus: Rujib, Kufur Qalil, Burin, Huwwara and ‘Awarta, interrupting the geographical contiguity between the five villages while constitute a de facto area for a future expansion for the illegal settlements of Itamar, Bracha and Yetzhar.
‘Awarta – Burin…. General Glance
‘Awarta is a village located about 8 kilometers southeast of Nablus city. It is bordered by Kufur Qalil and the illegal settlement of Itamar from the north and the north east, Bita from the south, the illegal settlement of Yitzhar from the west. The village is inhabited by 6242 residents (PCBS 2012) while the built up area is 695 dunums only.
Burin is a Palestinian village located in the center of Nablus Governorate. It is bordered by Iraq Burin from the north, Huwwara town as well as the settlement of Yitzhar from the south, Madama village from the west, Kufur Qalil along with the settlement of Bracha from the east. The village is a home to 561 residents (PCBS 2012) while the built up area for Burin is 468 dunums.
23 dunums confiscated in Wadi Fukin West of Bethlehem Governorate
On September 11, 2012, the Israeli Occupation Army handed over the residents of Wadi Fukin west of Bethlehem governorate two military orders confiscating 23 dunums of lands. The confiscation orders holding Nos. 178 and 179 issued on September 11, by what is so-called the “Israeli Custodian of State Property” at the Israeli Civil Administration.
According to the Israeli military order, the Palestinian owners of the targeted lands have to evacuate his 16 dunums of land within 45 days and remove all what exists on it, this includes but not limited to trees, infrastructure installations, or anything else, under the pretext that the lands are classified as “State Land”. Map 3:
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Wadi Fukin village, 4346 Dunums of land is one of the nine Palestinian villages located in the western part of Bethlehem Governorate. It lies 8 km away from Bethlehem center and approximately 16 km from East Jerusalem, and 0.5 km from the 1949 Armistice Line (the Green Line). The village houses a total population of 1,322 (PCBS 2012). Wadi Fukin village is one of the many Palestinian villages depopulated and destroyed during the 1948 war and was later rebuilt in the early 1970s when its original residents returned back to their lands to rebuilt their village.
Due to the semi mountainous lands, Wadi Fukin has rich agricultural lands, good grazing areas and open spaces to utilize, which reflect the good productivity of Grapes, fruits, Almond, and olive Oil.
The Israeli Colonial Activities in Wadi Fukin
Today, two illegal Israeli settlements: Hadar Betar to the east and Betar Illit to the southeast are neighboring the Palestinian village of Wadi Fukin. The two settlements were established on lands originally owned by Palestinians and continued to expand throughout the years on the expense of the village lands.
More than that the Israeli bypass road #375 encircled the northeastern parts of Wadi Fukin where this bypass road stretches from the northeast of Wadi Fukin, heads towards the northeast and north edges of Betar Ellit and Hadar Betar settlements to finally intersect with bypass road 60 (the main north-south artery of the West Bank).
The Segregation Wall at Wadi Fukin
According to the latest Segregation Wall updated map issued by the Israeli Ministry of Defense on April 30, 2007, the entire western rural villages of Bethlehem was isolated from Bethlehem governorate, Battir and Husan villages were set to be entrapped in one ghetto, Nahalin in another Ghetto, Al Jaba to be included within Hebron governorate, cutting it off from Bethlehem Governorate and as for Wadi Fukin, it was excluded separately in an enclave between the Israeli settlements and the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line).
Giv’at Hadagan………a New Neighborhood in Efrat Settlement Southwest of Bethlehem Governorate
‘Efrat and Gush Etzion are an integral, elementary and evident part of Greater Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said. “They are the southern gates of Jerusalem and will always be part of the State of Israel. We are building Efrat and Gush Etzion with enthusiasm, faith and responsibility; thus we are also building education.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu at first day of new school year- Aseh Hayil elementary school- Efrat Settlement – August 27, 2012.
And he was on his promise …………….. three weeks later and on September 24, 2012, the Israeli Army bulldozers started working on a site planned to be what called “Giv’at Hadagan” settlement neighborhood located north of the illegal settlement of Efrat (one of Gush Etzion settlement bloc) southwest of Bethlehem Governorate.
The story of “Giv’at Hadagan” neighborhood which is few hundred meters away from Al-Khader village town started in 1990s when the Israeli occupation authorities planned for a neighborhood of 500 homes in the site to settle dozens of settler’s families. On December 2011, the Israeli Ministry of Housing and Construction issued tenders for the construction of 40 housing units in Giv’at Hadagan instead of the 40 illegal caravans that was installed in the site in the year 2000, where as mentioned before the construction of the 40 housing units is a part of a larger plan to build more than 500 housing units n the new neighborhood which is awaiting of the approval of the Defense Minister before issuing tenders for marketing and construction. Map 4 & Photos:
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Photos 1-4: the illegal Israeli caravans in Giv’at Hadagan settlement outpost
To Conclude
From 1967 and following the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian lands, Israel is refusing to comply to the International law rules and conventions and to the United Nation Security Council Resolutions UNSCRs concerning the building and expanding the Illegal Israeli settlements, confiscating private lands, and demolition of Palestinian houses and properties, despite the fact that their existence are Illegal and constitute a grave breach of the International Law. Furthermore, Israel is deliberately expanding the settlements and their outposts and building a new of them in an attempt to impose facts on the ground to undermine the opportunity for a future Palestinian state based on two -state solution.
Under the International law rules and the signed agreements between the Palestinian and Israeli, Israel is prohibited from confiscating and looting the private Palestinian lands or taking any steps leading to change the status on the ground which might result to undermine any chance for a future “just and lasting” peace process.
The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, Article 49, states: ‘The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own population into the territories it occupies.’ Article 53 of the Convention also prohibits ‘any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.’
The Hague Regulations of 1907, Article 23 of which prohibits the destruction or seizure of occupied property, unless it is imperatively demanded by military necessity.
Article XXXI, Oslo II, 1995 provides: Neither side shall take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) which requires Israeli armed forces to withdraw from ‘the territories occupied’ in the 1967 war, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 452 (1979) which calls upon ‘the Government and people of Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.’
United Nations Security Council Resolution 465 (1980) which ‘Determines that all measures taken by Israel to change the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure of status of the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, or any part thereof, have no legal validity and that Israel’s policy and practices of setting parts of its population and new Immigrants in those territories constitute a flagrant violation of the fourth Geneva convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war and also constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.’
