Violation: ravaging lands for the favor of expanding an electricity station in Ariel colony
Date: 11/09/2014
Location : Kifl Haris / Salfit governorate
Perpetrators : Israel Electric Corporation IEC
Victims: the family of Alaadeen Hammad
Details:
The farmer Alaadeen Hammad (41) from Kifl Haris was traumatized due to the damage inflicted upon his lands, which are located in the area known as 'Amair el-Thail, south of village. After being a fruitful olive groove, his lands became a station for electricity providing poles. On Thursday September 11th 2014, the IEC uprooted 8 roman olive trees aging tens of years while embarking expansion works on the station relative to it, which is located on parts of the farmer's lands. The station is known to provide the nearby colonies situated on Salfit lands with electricity.
Not only that, colonists moved the uprooted trees to be planted in one of the nearby colonies for the favor of acquiring a "faux" history on the land.
Photos1-3: the targeted location
The following table shows information about damage resulted by the expansion:
|
Affected citizen |
Family |
Minors |
Area of the targeted location |
No. of targeted trees |
Nature of the damage |
|
Alaadeen Hammad |
6 |
4 |
7 |
8 |
Uprooting and looting |
Looting the lands of grandfathers and changing facts on the ground:
Citizen Alaadeen to the LRC researcher stated the following: "since the early eighties, the occupation took over a vast areas of our lands in 'Amair al-Thail for the sake of establishing a electricity providing station which is relative to IEC to serve the nearby colonies. My five brothers and I lost not less than 17 dunum in that operation where the occupation posed too many complicated procedures and conditions on us to access out lands. The station even became the pretext under which the occupation denied farmers right to planting the lands adjacent to the station. Despite all hindrances and obstacles, we do our best to keep connection with the land".
The occupation police stands with the IEC and colonists:
Mr. Hammad has also asserted that he submitted a complaint to the police about the damage inflicted upon him but it was to no avail. The occupation police even denied the fact that the farmer had roman olive trees planted in his land and denied stealing any. Instead, bulldozers of the occupation went on ravaging the location under military protection not caring about farmers.
Kifl Haris:
4 kilometer north of Salfit, Kifl Haris is surrounded by Deir Istiya, Zaita, Jamma'in and Haris. With a total population of 3,248 people. It has a total area of 9,254 dunum, 786 of which is a built-up area of the village.
The Israeli occupation devoured 278 dunums of Kfil Haris lands for the construction of Ariel colony. Part of Samara Road was built on Kifl Haris with an area of 2,7770 km.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
