- The Violation: An Israeli decision to seize 165 dunams.
- Location: The villages and towns of Habla, Azzun, and the city of Qalqilya.
- Violation Date: 11/05/2020.
- Perpetrators: the Israeli Occupation Army.
- Affected party: 166 farmers from the aforementioned communities.
Violation details:
As part of the Israeli occupation’s plan to seize Palestinian lands and to continue with a plan to annex vast areas of Palestinian agricultural lands, especially those lands located in the vicinity of the major colonial blocks, the so-called Governmental Property and Absentee Property Department of the Israeli “Civil” Administration issued on Monday morning, 11 May 2020, new military orders and directly sent them to land owners via registered mail. A total area of 165 dunums of Palestinian agricultural land were confiscated by these military orders. All the target land is located inside the Expansion and Annexation Wall in the vicinity of “Alfei Menashe” settlement, with the aim of expanding a section of the bypass road connecting the colony’s entrance with Road No. 5, at the length of 3 km long and width of 100 meters.
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Photos 1-3: Copies of the registered mails received by the landowners
It is noteworthy that these military orders which were signed by the so-called ” the person in charge of absentee’s and state’s property” will affect about 166 farmers from the towns of Habla, Azzun and Qalqilya, as well as the villages of Asla, Izbat al-Tabib and al-Nabi Ilias. Among the confiscated land, there are 110 dunums planted with olive trees and 23 dunums with citrus fruits.
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Photos 4-6: Lists of affected landowners
The targeted lands are located within the following basins:
- Qalqilya city: parts of the basin (7568).
- Habla Town: Parts of the Basins (7627,7628,7657).
Azzun Town: Parts of the Basins (143,126,125).
In a statement to LRC’s field researcher, Mr. Muhammad Abu al-Sheikh,in charge of the Wall and settlement file in Qalqilya Governorate, said the following:
“This plan is dangerous and affects the status of the Palestinian lands inside the Wall, as the occupation previously announced the existence of a preliminary plan to expand the bypass road between the entrance to the colony and even parts of the bypass road No. (5) with the aim of developing the infrastructure and creating a new reality on the ground. What has happened is only a preliminary step which aims at paving the way for expanding this section on both sides, through the creation of a proposed new (organizational) scheme, which means bringing more woes and establishing a bitter reality in the area. “
Legal commentary
The plundering and confiscation of Palestinian lands is a clear and explicit violation of all international covenants relating to attacks on lands and natural resources. Article 1 of the text of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that:
(All peoples, in pursuit of their own goals, shall freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources without prejudice to any obligations arising from the requirements of international economic cooperation based on the principle of mutual benefit and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own livelihood.)
Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 states:
Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
No one may be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
