On 25 July, 2009, dozens of settlers from Bracha (meaning blessing) colony forcibly seized more than 40 dunums of land from the neighboring village of Burin, Nalbus governorate. The seized land is located in basin 4 in a place called Wasatiya which is adjacent to the bypass road that leads to the colony and not far from the Hawara military checkpoint at the main southern entrance to Nablus city. The seizure action took place under the sight of Israeli soldiers at Hawara checkpoint who made no interference.
The aggressors arrived at the site with a number of lorries loaded with iron poles and fences and immediately began to encircle and close the land which is located between the villages of Kafr Qalil and Burin. Once they have finished the fencing process they started to plough the land in preparation for cultivation and final confiscation.
Before the year 2000 the area was used to be planted with wheat by its Palestinian owners but after the breakout of the second Intifada Israeli settlers from the colony denied Palestinian access to the area under the pretext of safeguarding security. Gradually, the settlers began to ascertain their grip over the land until, finally, they managed to encircle it with fencing. All these developments took place with no interference, whatsoever, on the part of the Israeli political and military levels.
The land owners are:
1. Mr. Sulieman Qasen an Najjar;
2. Qasem Khalil an Najjar;
3. Heirs of the deceased Mahmud Ahmad Eid;
4. Heirs of the deceased Mohammed Kamel Ayub
5. Taher Isma’il Najjar.
All of them levied a complaint with the Palestinian DCO supported by necessary land registration and ownership documents and , currently, they are waiting response from the Israeli side.
Background to Burin
It is located 8 km south of Nablus city. Its total surface land area is 10416 dunums of which 335 dunums built up area ( source: GIS department at LRC). The village’s total population is about 3500 ( source: PCBS- Ramallah). Two colonies were built on the village land: the first, is Bracha built over 205 dunums of the village land, and second, is Yizhar built over 150 dunums taken from the village land ( source: ibid). In addition to this, the Israeli Hawara military camp is, also, built over 373 dunums of Burin village land, basins number 1 and 2.
Map 1: Burin village location
All together, the Israeli settlement and military presence in the study area has seized about 13 000 dunums of the total Burin village land which has caused far negative impacts on the very livelihood of the people in the village given that the villages was mainly dependent on agriculture as main income.
Bracha and Yuzhar colonies
Established on mount Gerizim in 1982 and by the end of 2007 its total municipal area reached 262 dunums of which 258 dunums built up area, while its population by the end of the same year was 1275 ( source Foundation for Middle East Peace- Washington). The colony was built and expended over the lands of the Palestinian villages of Burin, Kafr Qalil and Iraq Burin.
Photos 1+2: Two views of Bracha colony expanding over nearby Palestinian land
Yizhar was established in 1983 and ever since it has been expanding over the lands of Burin, Hawara, Einabus, Urif, Asira Al Qibliya and Madama. By the end of 2007 its total municipal boundaries were 1223 dunums including 269 dunums as built up zone and a total population of 743 ( source: ibid).
Photo 3: The colony of Yizhar occupying the hill top to the south of Burin village
Violent settlers
The two colonies are mostly inhabited by extremist ideological and religious Jews who continue to attack Palestinian human and material presence in the area by all possible means. Last year a number of locally made rockets were fired at Palestinian villages from these two colonies causing some matrial damage and the Israeli army made no arrests or serious investigations. Particularly, there are four houses in Burin village which are located very close to Yizhar colony and owned by: Mr. Attalah Sufan, 9 family members; Ghaleb Isa Najjar, 6 family members; Mahmud Qasem Najjar, 7 family members; and, Ibrahim Yusif Hindi, 4 family members. These families and houses are under daily attacks and encroachments by Israeli settlers from the two aforementioned colonies.
Related case studies:
1. Israeli Colonists Burn More Palestinian Agricultural Lands in the village of Burin, 10,August,2009
Prepared by:
The Land Research Center
LRC
The Land Research Center
LRC
