- Violation: reclosing Aqraba entrance
- Date: April 15, 2016
- Perpetrators: Israeli Occupation Forces
- Victims: residents of the village
Details:
Israeli occupation forces closed on April 15, 2016 the entrance of Aqraba village from the southwest via earth mounds and cement blocks.
It should be marked that the entrance was closed on November 20, 2015 as a collective punishment on the village's residents. It was also closed on February 12, 2016 via cement blocks. On April 14, 2016 residents of the village opened the entrance themselves after being exhausted by the closure and its negative impact on the area. Unfortunately, the occupation closed it again in less than 24 hours.
Entry and exist to and from the area were restricted, which doubled the suffering of the village's residents. The occupation exhausted Palestinians via its unsystematic crimes of youth execution, closures, home demolition and violations of Palestinian rights.
It should be marked that the occupation justified the latest closure on the claim of “Security Purposes". For further information about the closure on Nablus villages on November 20, 2015, please read the following report (Link)
About Aqraba:
18 kilometers to the southwest of Nablus, Aqraba can be set as an example of a recurrent target for the Israeli occupation attacks.
The village totals 34,660 dunums in area, mostly, agricultural lands. However, the Israeli occupation declared more than 281,000 dunums of the village lands as military zone that Palestinians are not allowed to exploit in any way while soaking the area with various colonies including Gittit. Thus, Aqraba is left with only1, 350 as a built-up area.
Colonies founded on Aqraba lands are expanding on daily basis; they are classified as “agricultural settlements”. In addition, the Israelis have placed numerous watch towers and military encampments in order to control the whole region.
In 1969, ‘Aqraba witnessed the milling of by-pass road “506”, which connects the Israeli colonies to the east of ‘Aqraba to each other and eases the movement of the Israeli Occupation Army vehicles in the area. However, the Palestinians are not allowed to even get near the road.
More than 500 Palestinians reside in nomad gatherings around ‘Aqraba; the residents of these communities face day-to-day threats against their houses, tents, shacks; basically, their existence.
Additionally, the Israeli colonists try to chase these people out of their fields in an attempt to take over the area.
‘Aqraba is inhabited by around 8,180 people with unemployment reaching up to 50% due to the hardships imposed by the Occupiers.
International conventions and laws regarding freedom of movement which Israel unabatedly violates:
- Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”.
- Article 5: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.
- Article 9: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”.
- Article 13: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
- Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.”
- Article 9: “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
