Violation: Closure of an agricultural road that links 120 dunums
Location: Wad Salem- Al Khadr- Bethlehem
Date: 08/06/2013
Perpetrators: Colonists of "Daniel"
Victims: Farmers from Al Khadr
Details:
08/06/2013, colonists of Daniel closed an agricultural roads with earth mounds and stones. The road links more than 120 dunums and is used by farmers and landowners to reach their lands by tractors and animals. Now after the closure of the road, people are only allowed to walk on foot. That makes it difficult for them to take care of their lands and crops. Colonists, by doing so, aim at harassing farmers and taking control of their lands to annex them to the colonies built on Al Khadr lands.
Farmers filed a complaint to the Israeli Civic Correlation Office that they wanted the blocks to be removed. But nothing has been done so far. According to Yihya Sabih, "there is a difficulty in movement. Even animals cannot pass through. My old father finds it hard to reach our land to harvest our crops…!"
The reason behind closing agricultural roads and preventing farmers from reaching their lands is to confiscate the lands for the benefit of colonies as there is an Israeli law that allows confiscating land and considering it state property if it is not used for 3 years or more. Colonists deny farmers access to their land so they can have a right to take it away.
Land Research Centre considers the closure of agricultural roads and banning farmers from reaching their lands grave encroachment on the right of taking advantage of one’s land and its crops, and an assault on the Palestinians’ right to property.
About Al Khadr:
4.5 km west of Bethlehem, Al Khadr has a population of 11, 062 people according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in 2012. From the east, there is Bethlehem. From the west and north, there are Husan and Battir. From the north and the north eastern side of Al Khadr, there are Ad Doha and Beit Jala. From the south and western south, there is ‘Gosh Etzion Complex’. Al Khadr has an area of 20090 dunums, 601 of which are built-up area. The Israeli occupation confiscated lands of Al Khadr upon which they built Kfar Etzion which is a kibbutz built in 1967 on a 4500 dunum pitch of land and has a population of 461 people. The other colony is Daniel which is a colonial residential village built in 1983 on a 200 dunum piece of land.
