- Violation: Ravaging 145 dunums for colonial expansion.
- Location: Hajjah village / East Qalqilya.
- Date: Early October 2019.
- Perpetrator: “Karnei Shamron” settlement.
- Victims: People of the targeted plots.
Description:
Since early October , the Israeli occupation bulldozers carried on ravaging and leveling about 145 dunums of agricultural lands north “Karnei Shamron” settlement.
According to field observation at the location , LRC field team documented ravaging vast areas of agricultural lands close to the colonial industrial area , apparently there is an expansion scheme on natural block 11 of the town’s lands.
Noteworthy, the occupation claims that the targeted plot is an Israeli state property , while the village council has a prove that the plot belong to number of farmers from the village , who were denied accessing to it due to its location close to the settlement.
Mrs. Tahani Az-Zuhaidi , member if Al-Hajjah village council told LRC reporter the following :
“The targeted plot belong to heirs of Ahmad Hamed and Heirs of Abdul Rahman Hamed , they have ownership deeds and the plot is registered in the name of its owners in Lands department in “Beit El” military court. The owners managed earlier to obtain a resolution from the Israeli supreme court to halt the expansion , but that did not last long, the occupation bulldozers showed up and ravaged the land all over again.”
In the recent few years , the settlement expanded to reach new places. Noteworthy, “Karnhei Shamron” is fully supported from the government in terms of tax exemption and many other things.
“Karnei Shomron” industrial area:
The colony was established in 1978, east Kafr Laqif village, north Karnei shamron settlement cluster , it borders Qalqilya –Nablus street (north), and has a total area of 57 dunums , until the years 2005.
Factories and Workshops in “Karnei Shamron” industrial area:
- Shampoo and cleaning materials factory.
- Blacksmith, its tools and machines contradict with Department of public Safety and Israeli ministry of Labor safety standards, it has 30 employees.
- Paper factory, it produces school stationary and text books, named “Balfout” , most of its workers have to take their work home to reach the target, the factory has 50 employees , of whom the great majority are Palestinians who have to work in such conditions due to poor Palestinian economy.
- Car repairing shop , four employees.
- Gas station, with low prices in comparison with the market.
- Fiberglass cable factory, 30 employees.
- Paper printer.
- Textile factory.
- Spices factory.
- Laundry plant for scrubs and medical tools , serving hospitals in Israel, 70 employees.
- Repair shop for busses, 10 employees.
- Diapers factory with 30 employees.
Karnei Shamron industrial area has a major contribution in polluting the Palestinian environment , due to sewage water that reaches to Kafr Sour area through Kafr Laqif, Baqat Al-Hatab and Kour village lands.
The waste of the industrial area caused the spread of diseases and a bad smell , in addition to the damages caused by solid waste. (source: Mohammad Abu Ash-Shaikh, Health department , the responsible on colonization and wall resistance file , Qalqilya Governorate , 2008)
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