At around 2:00 am on December 8, 2011, Israeli dozers broke into Atos areas in Beit Ulla, north west Hebron. An Israeli force accompanied by a vehicle, a dozer, a jackhammer, a crane, and a large trolley showed up in the site before the dozer and the jackhammer carried out the demolition of a water cistern. Meanwhile, the crane loaded a container, used as storage for equipment, into the truck.
The target land is located 1 km to the east of the Israeli segregation wall; it is a 15-dunum-field owned by the heirs of Mohammad AlAmla. The field is planted with prunes, olives, and citrus.
It was rehabilitated through a project implemented by the PARC and funded by the Netherlands Representative Office. It must be noted that the owners have deeds proving their undisputed ownership of the lands.
Map 1: the field location – Beit Ulla
Damages:
1.Container confiscation: a container used as a warehouse for agricultural equipment, water pumps, fertilizers, fodder, etc. an estimated loss of 10,000 ILS has been recorded plus 12,000 ILS, the value of the container itself.
2. Demolishing a 150-m3 tank used to provide 15 dunums of lands with irrigation water. It was built through the aforementioned project.
It must be noted that despite the ownership deeds held by the owners; an Israeli eviction order was served on September 12, 2011.
The order was issued under claims that the designated lands are ‘state property – Jehovah and Samaria’ (the names Israel calls the West Bank with).
It was issued by the Israeli Occupation Civil Administration – the Central Inspection Unit. The owners assigned a lawyer to defer the order; however, despite the ongoing case, the Israeli carried out the demolition.
Scenes of Destruction
The Land Research Center views the Israeli vicious attack on Palestinian individuals and property as a severe breach of all the International conventions and a violation of human rights as well as the Geneva Fourth Convention, article 53, stating: ‘ Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations. ‘ The timing of the attack also raised questions among the locals who were wondering, who does such a thing at 2:00 am in the morning, an organized army or a bunch of thieves?
Previous Aggressions in Beit Ulla:
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State property declaration 1983: the Israeli Occupation Authorities declared lands in the Western part of Beit Ulla as state property. Please were made by farmers to change the order; however, the Army Committee recommended giving the cultivated lands back to the owners and keeping the rest.
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The Israeli Occupation Army placed a military encampment in the south western part of the village and nearby the armistice line. The encampment was removed in 1995.
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Building a stone crusher for an Israeli business man (Ben Ari) nearby the location of the abandoned military encampment. The Israeli Occupation Civil Administration manipulated documents to allow him to get the needed permits.
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The construction of the Israeli Segregation wall in 2004 and 2005; the wall isolated 2000 dunums of the town’s land. The wall section in Beit Ulla is 5.3 km long.
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Numerous aggressions against farmers and their farms which included demolitions of storages, equipment, uprooting and ravaging trees, plowing lands, and many others.
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A large number of eviction and demolition orders have been issued in recent months targeting various agricultural and residential structures.
Beit Ulla:
Beit Ulla is located 12 km to the north west of Hebron; it is one of the Palestinian towns edging the armistice line. The town lost 9000 dunums in 1948 and was left with 24,000 dunums only. Recently it lost more than 2000 dunums to the segregation wall and 50 dunums to the stone crusher. 4000 dunums of the village lands are frequent targets for Israeli attacks. The town is administered by a municipal council; its organizational plan includes 5000 dunums and the town is inhabited by 11,000 people. It is connected to electricity, water, and phone networks.
The town is known for agriculture, olives, almonds, and vegetation as well as livestock holding around 5000 cattle and a number of chicken farms. It has a small local market, 8 private and governmental schools and a number of clinics. It is also known for hosting some industries, such as safety doors as well as steel, brick, and tile manufacturing facilities.The locals are known for their participation in the organizational work which is evident in 12 active civil society organizations.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
The Land Research Center
LRC
