An additional 894.500 dunums (eight hundred ninety four dunums and five hundred square meters) of fertile agricultural land are targeted for confiscation in a new amendment move for the military decree carrying the number of T/04/02.
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The new amendment was issued under the pretext of re-routing the Wall path so as to exclude a number of Palestinian residential areas already included in the current path of the Wall already built around the settlement of Alfe Menashe. These areas are: Khirbet Ad Daba'a, Wadi Ar Rasha and Ras at Tira which all located in the south east of the city of Qalqiliya with a total population of 1000 inhabitants.
(Photo 1: a copy of the military decree number T/04/02)
The following locations will, also, be affected by the proposed Wall amendments:
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To the west of the villages of Azzun and Isla, particularly basins of Teen As Sahl, Qurnat Hamad and Dhaher Al Munsif;
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To the north west of Habla village, especially basins number 7531, 7627, 7626 and 7625;
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To the west of Kafr Thuluth village, particularly Khirbet Ad Daba'a, Wadi Ar Rasha and Ras Tyra.
The construction of the Wall around this particular settlement has led to the confiscation and separation of more than 15000 dunums of fertile agricultural land from the above mentioned villages.
The proposed amendments came in response to the Israeli high court's ruling of last February which stated that the path of the Wall in this section should be put back so as to exclude the three Palestinian residential clusters. This ruling came after a long legal process that started at the beginning of 2004.
Back ground to Alfe Menashe
The settlement was established in 1983 over land confiscated from the villages of Azzun, Isla, Kafr Thuluth, Habla and others. Now, it has a built up area of 1085 dunums and a municipal area of 4667 dunums. Its total population in 2004 was 5433 (source- Foundation For Middle East Peace).
(Map 1: Alfe Menashe enclave)
Impacts of proposed Wall amendments on Palestinians
The following are some of the impacts that will directly affect the Palestinian citizens who live in this enclave:
1. The destruction of more than 894 dunums of land mostly cultivated with olive groves and ground seasonal crops under the newly proposed 8 km long Wall path. This number is added to the areas already destroyed under the current path of the Wall estimated at hundreds of dunums;
2. The new path is expected to confiscate more than 12000 dunums from the villages of Azzun, Kafr Thuluth, Isla and Habla with the aim of annexing it into the municipal boundaries of greater Alfe Menashe whose expansionist plans were put in action at the beginning of 2005 by opening a network of roads to connect the settlement with Israel;
Depriving hundreds of Palestinian families from their only source of living as they are expected to loose their fertile agricultural fields in the area
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
