Settlers from Enav colony set fire to 300 dunums of agricultural lands which belongs to Ramin village in Tulkarem governorate. The burned land is located in As Sadara, Khalayel Salah and As Sahlat areas in the south western side of the village and at the distance of about 2 kilometers to the south of the colony of Enav. One hundred dunums of the target land is cultivated with olive trees while the remaining two hundred dunums are either cultivated with ground seasonal crops or serve as grazing zones.
The attacked land is owned by three people from Ramin village who are:
1. Mr. Sabri Abdul Aziz Salman, 52 years old;
2. Awad saleh Hamad, 44 years old,
3. Mrs. Shahira Ibrahim Zaidan, 72 years old.
(Photo1: the colony of Enav and surrounding Palestinian land)
The arson took place at midday near the bypass road number 57 that leads to the colony of Enav. It synchronized with the harvesting season of summer crops and the beginning of the devastation of the land for the purpose of setting up the Segregation Wall around the colony. This arson is the second of its type that occurs in the same area after the 17th of May one when 30 dunums of wheat and barley were set ablaze by the Enav colonists. These 30 dunums are owned by:
1. Mr. Kamal Fahmi Zaidan;
2. Mr. Nidal Fahmi Salman;
3. Mr. Mohammed Abdul Latif. The three of them are, also, from the village of Ramin.
(Photo 2: a copy of the report of the fire brigades in the northern
districts confirming the arson and the brigades' efforts to put it off)
Ramin village
It is located 15 km to the south east of Tulkarem city near Anabta checkpoint. It has the population of 2364 ( Source- PCBS) and a total land area of 8479 dunums of which only 317 are built up area ( source-GIS unit at LRC). Another 500 dunums are home for four stone quarries, 500 dunums form the Ramin plain which is mainly used for growing ground seasonal crops and 500 dunums pastures. The remaining land is used for olive and almond cultivation, while 470 dunums have been confiscated for the establishment of the Enav colony, military positions and bypass roads ( Source- Ramin local village council). Currently, about 45% of the population are jobless. In addition, about 200 people from the village obtain the UNRWA registration cards (registered refugee) and about 70 families make living on foreign aid ( Source-ibid). See Map 1
Enav colony
It was established in 1981 on lands taken from Ramin, Kafr Al Labad and Beit Lid. Now, it has the municipal area of 1252 dunums of which 158 dunums are built up area ( Source- Foundation for Middle East Peace). In 2005, its population mounted to 538 settlers. ( Source-ibid).
Land grabbing
In 2005, the Israeli occupation authorities informed the village councils of Ramin, Kafr Al Labad and Beit Lid of the military order number T/68/05 stating the confiscation of 312 dunums for the purpose of establishing a segregation Wall around the colony. This process has led so far to the total devastation of 132 dunums under the path of the Wall and the separation of 318 dunums behind it. Out of this area, 150 dunums are cultivated with olive trees and the remaining parts with ground seasonal crops. An additional 80 dunums have been seized since the beginning of the eighties for the benefit of the bypass road number 57 which travels at the length of two km over the land of the village of Ramin.
Closing or main road
Between now and then, the Israeli occupation forces close the main Nablus – Tulkarem road at Anabta military checkpoint obliging Palestinian traffic to find alternative dirt roads through agricultural fields in the Ramin plain which supports the livelihoods of 30 -40 families from the village. Most of these agricultural fields have been destroyed as a result of random traffic increasing the level of poverty and unemployment in the village.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
