- Violation: confiscating agricultural equipments
- Location: Samra and Al-Deir hamlets- Al-Ghoor
- Date: June 14-15, 2016
- Perpetrators: Israeli Occupation Forces
- Victims: two Palestinian families
Details:
The Israeli occupation continues on imposing movement restrictions on Bedouins and farmers in the area of northern Palestinian Jordan Valley (Al-Ghoor). Life became hard for residents in the shadow of non-stop attacks and violations by the Israeli military. Not only, the occupation went further in its violence by transforming Bedouin hamlets into military training zone and confiscated water resources and other equipments for the sake of forcing people out of the area.
Confiscation of tractor and water truck in Samra hamlet:
It should be marked that Israeli Occupation Forces raided on June 14, 2016 Samra hamlet and confiscated a Mass Ferguson tractor and a water truck (3.5m3) that was used to provide water for the community inhabited by 14 people. The confiscated items were moved to a nearby military camp.
The occupation justified the confiscation on the claim that the confiscated items were present in an area classified as closed military zone.
The confiscated items belong to citizen Mohammad Abu Awwad, who makes living for a 14 member family including 8 children. It should be marked that it is not the first time the occupation raids Samra hamlet to carry out confiscation operations. Such a practice happened many times. To make it worse on Palestinians, affected people have to pay high fines to restore their confiscated items.
Confiscation of a tractor and water pump in Al-Deir hamlet:
To the east of Ein Al-Beida village, the occupation raided on June 15, 2016 Al-Deir hamlet and confiscated a Gonder tractor and a Samsun water pump that is used by the owner to move water from a water pool to irrigation networks.
Photo 1+2: the confiscation minute
Photo 3: the water pool and targeted lands
The owner of the confiscated equipment, Iyad Daraghmeh, told Land Research Center the following: " The water pump serves 50 dunums planted with different types of vegetables and three dunums of green houses"
He also added: " Confiscating the pump will hinder the process of getting water and moving it towards the planted lands, which might cause the destruction of the fields"
The occupation justified the confiscation claiming that the confiscated items threatens the water status of the area, taking into account that the occupation sells the water stolen from Palestinian resources for farmers of the area through pipes controlled by the military.
Random water pools are considered illegal by the occupation. This is why such structures are targeted of demolition by the occupation. It should be marked that Khirbet al-Deir is 1km to the western side of the Palestinian-Jordanian borders and 2km to the eastern side of Tubas governorate.
The lands of Khirbet al-Deir are classified as "taboo" or listed in the Ottoman land registry ; despite that residents have ownership documents for their lands, yet the occupation insists on displacing them. Residents of the area come originally from Tubas and Tammun village in the nearby. Life is characterized as primitive where houses and barns take the shape of tents; agricultural and animal husbandry is people's only source of income there.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
