The Israeli occupation Authorities (IOA) delivered on the 6th of January 2016, a new military order to the village of Yabad north of Jenin city indicating the seizure and confiscation of 5.283 dunums of land for urgent security needs, to construct a barbed-wire fence, parallel to the Israeli bypass road No. 585 which links between Jenin and Tulkarem Governorates. The Israeli military order comes under the title: “Land Seizure order No. 16/02/MD (Judea and Samaria), 5776-2015”
The IOA delivered the confiscation order signed by the so called “Judea and Samaria” Division Commander Brigadier General Lior Carmeli on the 6th of January 2016, that gave Palestinian land owners in Yabad village until the 12th of January 2016 to file objections against. Additionally, the order will remain in force from the day it was signed (January 6, 2016) until the 21st of February 2016. See copy of the military order below:-
Photo 1-4: A copy of the military Order
Analysis of the military order and the attached maps at the applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) showed that the barbed-wire fence which Israel is about to construct, will extend a length of 1.83 kilometers on lands of Yabad village, on the road section linking Yabad village with Al Kafriat village from the East and Imreiha village from the west. The order will also isolate (in addition to the land area mentioned in the order) almost 196 dunums of land, between the path of the Israeli bypass road and the path of the barbed wire fence. See Map 1
Map 1: Land Seizure order No. 16/02/MD (Judea and Samaria), 5776-2015
Earlier in February 2013, the Israeli Occupation army closed with earth-mounds, five agricultural roads that branched out from the Israeli bypass road No. 585, and were used as an access to the village and the agricultural lands. The Israeli closure of the agricultural roads forced Palestinians of Yabad and Imreiha villages to take long route and go through the Mevo Dotan checkpoint to reach their homes and their farmlands, in an attempt to control the movement of Palestinians to and from their homes and agricultural lands.
Due to the harsh Israeli practices imposed on Farmers of Yabad and the neighboring Palestinian villages in the area and the denial of access to their lands unless through the Dotan military checkpoints, Palestinian farmers constructed eight other agricultural roads that branched from the Israeli bypass road No. 585 instead of having to go through the time consuming and humiliating Mevo Dotan checkpoint, in order to access their agricultural farmlands. Again in February 2014, the Israeli occupation army closed the newly constructed agricultural roads.
On the 22nd of December 2015, the Israeli occupation Army handed out Yabad village residents a military order declaring 90 dunums of land as “Closed military area” under the pretext of “Abuses and deliberate damage of the road linking Yabad and Imreiha villages”. The military order also stated that “the Israeli occupation army intends to take strict procedures against those involved in violence to include the establishment of a closed military zone (a measurement of area equal to 900 meters length by 100 meters width).” The order also prohibits village residents from coming close to the road and causing harm to people using the road (referring to Israeli settlers). See Photo 5 below
Photo 5: A copy of the military order issued in December 2015
Few days later, the Israeli occupation Army installed road signs declaring the following: “Risk Death- military zone, anyone who crosses or touches the wall, exposes himself to danger”, in Hebrew and in Arabic.
On the 12th of January 2015, the Israeli occupation army embarked on expanding and fortifying Mevo Dotan military checkpoint established at the northern entrance of Mevo Dotan settlement, on lands of Ya’bad village. The Israeli army razed land near the checkpoint and placed concrete blocks on the road.
To conclude,
Israel is using the “security pretext” as a direct tool to seize lands in the occupied Palestinian territory and continues to deprive Palestinians thousands of dunums of lands. The appropriation of land by the occupying power is prohibited under international humanitarian law and contravenes Israel's obligations under the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, article 47, which states that 'Protected persons who are in occupied territory shall not be deprived, in any case or in any manner whatsoever, of the benefits of the present Convention by any change introduced, as the result of the occupation of a territory, into the institutions or government of the said territory, nor by any agreement concluded between the authorities of the occupied territories and the Occupying Power, nor by any annexation by the latter of the whole or part of the occupied territory.'
Article 53 of the same convention also stipulates that “'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 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – Food (ICESCR, art. 11): The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.
Prepared by
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
