Violation: Orders to evict agricultural lands
Date: 10/09/2013
Location: West of Kharas town- Hebron governorate
Perpetrators: The Israeli occupation army and Civil Administration
Victims: People of Kharas
Pretext: state property (Israeli lands)
Details:
Under the pretext of "state property", the Israeli occupation authorities sent orders to people of Kharas to evict their agricultural lands. Shepherds found the orders attached with aerial photos of the targeted lands and delivered them to Kharas Municipality. The so-called Israeli occupation army and Civil Administration along with its Guard of State Property- Central Inspection Unit issued the orders dating 10/09/2013 under the title of "Eviction Orders" . The second item of the orders asked to "leave lands and return them to their previous status within 45 days starting from the date stated in the orders." The orders also threatened people that in case they would not leave, the Israeli specialized authorities would evacuate them and make them pay the evacuation costs." The targeted lands are 304 dunums, according to the orders at Kharas Municipality.
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Pictures 1-3: The targeted lands
The lands are mountainous in nature. Their owners worked on rehabilitating them where they harvest olive and almond trees. They also built cisterns for agricultural purposes. Bedouin families of Arab Al-Ka’abna and Jahaleen live on these lands. They depend on grazing and agriculture for a living.
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Picture 4: Dwellings of Arab Al-Ka’abna and Jahaleen in the targeted lands.
Kharas Municipality found 7 orders while the mayor expects to find more. He held a meeting for people who own lands in the west of Kharas to know who the orders target since the maps and aerial photos do not clearly show. Mahmoud Halahla, a 60 year- old, highly- esteemed man, could know some owners of the lands and the areas of their lands in the targeted area . The table shows the names of the citizens whose lands are targeted:
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No.
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Landowner
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Area in dunums
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nature
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Age of the trees (years)
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Notes
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1
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Abdul-Rahman Halahla
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6 dunums
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Planted with almond trees
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4 years
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Has a cistern
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2
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Mohammad Halahla
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20
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Planted with olive + almond trees
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5 years
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Has a cistern
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3
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Ahmad Halahla
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6
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Planted with almond trees
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5 years
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4
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Mohammad Al-Daboqi
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3
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Planted with olive trees
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8 years
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5
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Hussein Halahla
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6
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Planted with olive trees
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6 years
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6
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Abdul-Rahman Al-Daboqi
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6
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Planted with olive trees
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6 years
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7
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Mahmoud Nimer
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3
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Planted with olive trees
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4 years
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8
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Kareem Abu-Gharfa
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4
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Planted with olive trees
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6 years
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9
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Wortha Halahla
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3
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Planted with olive trees
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6 years
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10
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Worth Al-Dabooqi
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5
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Planted with olive trees
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6 years
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11
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Mohammad Al-Dabooqi
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4
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Planted with olive trees
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6
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12
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Ismael Hroub
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6
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Planted with olive trees
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6
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13
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Younis Hroub
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8
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Pastures
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–
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14
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Mahmoud Halahla
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10
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Planted with almond trees
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22
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2 cisterns
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15
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Faisal Hroub
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17
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Planted with olive trees
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4
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16
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Yousif Hroub
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4
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Planted with olive trees
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3
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17
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Abdul- Kareem Hroub
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5
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Almond+ olive trees
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4
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18
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Abdallah Halahla
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5
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Pastures
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–
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19
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Wortha Halahla
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8
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Pastures
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–
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20
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Wortha Halahla
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8
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Pastures
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–
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21
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Badir Halahla
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3
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Olive trees
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6
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22
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Abdul-Fattah Hmeidan
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20
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olive trees
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6
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23
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Ali Halahla
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6
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almond+ olive trees
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5
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1 water cistern
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*Resource: Field Research- Monitoring Israeli Violations Team- Land Research Centre
The table gives information about the confiscated lands according to the attached maps along the orders:
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No. of order
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Area of land according to the orders/ dunum
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Attached map
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1702
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85
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1703
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15.5
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1704
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80.8
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1706
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6.9
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1707
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29
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1708
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68
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Area of threatened lands in dunums
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285.2
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According to the Mayor of Kharas, Abdul-Fattah Hmeidan, the lands are about 500 m away from the east of the Apartheid Wall. He concluded that the purpose of the Israeli orders is to seize more lands under the pretext of their being state property and annex them to the wall.
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Hmeidan explained that the Apartheid Wall devoured around 3000 dunums of west Kharas, not to mention the lands of Kharas left beyond the wall. These lands are planted with olive trees whose owners are denied access to unless they have permissions from the Israeli authorities.
The purpose of eviction:
The Israeli occupation had already sent eviction orders to citizens in Hebron before. After making sure citizens complied with the orders, they had ravaged the lands, destroyed stone chains, cut down trees and plants, and sprayed toxic materials so that the roots of the trees were deemed barren. They also demolished cisterns. Thus, it is expected that if citizens comply with the orders that the Israeli occupation will damage the agricultural industry, especially the olive harvest in Kharas.
