Three families from Al Suleiman clan are currently living in total isolation due to the Israeli Isolation Wall and a decision from the Israeli Ministry of “Defense” declaring 1500 dunums belonging to Beit Hanina families as “Seam Zone.” The declaration prevents the Suleiman family and others from accessing the land for any purpose.
The members of the Sulieman three families hold West Bank IDs and are currently living in Old Beit Hanina which is classified as West Bank area. However, the establishment of the Racist Wall meant the annexation of the land along with the remaining 1500 dunums. In this case, occupation authorities considered the houses as Jerusalem-based while its residents are living illegally in them as they hold West Bank IDs. Furthermore, the movement of residents of the houses became more restricted due to military order number 378, 1970-5730 which considered them living in a seam zone from which they cannot leave. (Press Order 1-6 for more details regarding the said military order).
The Suleiman families live in three houses belonging to Mr. Saleh Yousef Shahada Sulieman, Mr. Yaseen Yousef Shahada Suleimna and Mr. Jamal Saleh Yousef Suleiman. There are 12 individuals living in these houses which were built as early as 1955.
In a field visit by the Land Research Center (LRC) to the Suleimans, the families summarized their agony as follows:
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They have lived on their lands since they were born 50+ years ago. In 1967 the Israeli occupation separated Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. Beit Hanina was divided into two; the Old Beit Hanina which became West Bank and, as such, its residents carried West Bank IDs while the New Beit Hanina (located east of the Old Beit Hanina) became ranked as Jerusalem. Its residents were given Israeli Blue IDs.
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In 1998 initial construction work on Road 45 started about 30 meters west of the Suleiman houses. In 2003 traffic started to flow on the Road which made it harder for them to access their homes in an easy manner.
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On July 3rd, 2006 the Israeli occupation forces placed a gate on the part of Road 45 which leads to Old Beit Hanina. Eight months passed before these forces replaced the gate with cement sheets 3 meters high. When the Suleimans tried to protest the new wall, two Israeli commanders present at the site (Eli Haggai and Yaser Osodi) reportedly told them “Let us work and we will work on getting you a Blue ID that would allow you to access Jerusalem.” They even requested personal pictures and complete personal information. Two months later, though, the 3-meter wall was raised and it completely blocked the tunnel leading to Old Beit Hanina. The Suleimans wrote a complaint on the 3rd of July 2006 and delivered it to Eli Haggai in which they demanded an access to and from Jerusalem. After five days they received Jerusalem access permit that is valid for only a month. In the same week, Shaoul Tiba’ari, the Wall Supervisor in the Israeli occupation army visited the Suleimans and promised them to grant them free access. The promise is still to be fulfilled.
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When the month period was up, the Suleimans received a 3-month renewable permit. After a year, the permits were issued for only one month period. The Suleimans hired a lawyer (Mr. Saher Ali) and paid him $1500 to get the permits back to their 3-month period. The last such permits expired on April 25th, 2009. Occupation forces, then, offered them permits for one week only and it can only be used from their homes to Qalandia Crossing and only through Taha Hussien Street (running parallel to Road 60)
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On January 23rd, 2009 occupation authorities issued an order declaring the area in which the Suleimans are living as a “Seam Zone” to which no one is allowed to enter. The authorities indicated that even the weekly permits cannot be considered as a proof of the legal rights of the holder, including ownership or residency rights in the region. The Suleimans refused to accept the military order and they filed a court case at the Israeli High Court of Justice (through the lawyer Majed Hamdan) against the military order and especially the fact that it identified their houses and an additional 1500 dunums in its vicinity as a Closed Military Area.
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The Suleimans have indicated that the Racist Wall, on the one hand, and the Seam Zone military order, from the other, has placed them in a real prison and under house arrest. They have stressed that their presence in their land is longer that the occupation itself and older than the Wall. They wondered about the logic used to declare their houses as being under Jerusalem jurisdiction while the residents are West Bankers !!!!!. They have also emphasized that they did not put themselves inside the Racist Wall. It was the occupation army who did this leading to the isolation of these families away from their people and village with little or no freedom of movement.
The Racist Wall and Roads Shredded Beit Hanina Lands:
The highways used by Israeli colonists in Beit Hanina in addition to the Racist Isolation Wall have chopped of Beit Hanina lands. The Wall is considered one of the most devastating instruments used by the occupation against the Palestinian people as it grabbed more Palestinian lands and negatively affected its social and economical life. It even brought 12 new colonies into occupied Jerusalem in which more than 70,000 colonists live. The Wall also encircled entire Palestinian cities (such as Qalqilia and Jerusalem), villages (such as Al Sawahra Al Sharqia, Qalandia, Beit Hanina, Al Zu’ayyem) as well as other Palestinian communities (including Al Sheikh Sa’ad, Al Oddeisa, Al Fuehidat Neighborhood east of Anata and the community of Wa’er Salah in Beit Hanina).
Prepared by:
The Land Research Center
LRC
