Israeli Occupation Forces evict 54 Palestinian families to conduct military trainings in northern Palestinian Jordan Valley

Violation: evicting families from their area of residency
Location: Al-Ras Al-Ahmar, Humsa Al-Fauqa, Al-Miteh and Al-Malih areas
Date: May 30- June 01 ,2016
Perpetrators: Israeli Occupation Forces
Victims: 54 Palestinian families (244 members including 84)

Details:

The so-called Israel Civil Administration served on May 25, 2016 eviction notices on families in the area of Al-Ras Al-Ahmar, north Palestinian Jordan Valley. Noteworthy, the notices were delivered to inform people of military trainings taking place from May 30 until June 01, 2016. Twelve families were targeted as a result. It should be marked that the occupation considered the area as "firing area number 901".

On May 26, 2016, Israel Civil Administration accompanied by an army patrol raided the areas of northern Palestinian Jordan Valley and delivered eviction orders on 43 families, considering the area as " firing zone number 903".

Now, 54 Palestinian families, residing in the areas of Al-Ras Al-Ahmar, Humsa Al-Fauqa, Al-Miteh and Al-Malih, are threatened of forcible displacement on the claim of conducting military trainings.

Israeli military trainings conducted in the area of northern Jordan Valley over the past five years are considered an occupational means to create a de facto and to deface the geographical and demographical landmarks of place. This happens through targeting Bedouin communities by transforming their habitats into military training zones. Residents of the area get their structures, residences, barns and lands affected by such practices. The occupation seeks to push these people out of their lands to create a room for colonial expansion in the area. The following table shows information about the recently targeted areas :

No.	Area	Date	No. of families	Eviction hours
1	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	30/5/2016	12	6:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
2	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	31/5/2016	12	6:00a.m.-5:00p.m.
3	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	1/6/2016	12	6:00a.m.-4:00 p.m.
4	Al-Miteh, Al-Malih and Al-Burj	30/5/2016	25	6:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m. 7:30p.m.- 6:30 a.m.
5	Al-Miteh, Al-Malih and Al-Burj	31/5/2016	25	12:30 afternoon- 12:00 midnight
6	Al-Miteh, Al-Malih and Al-Burj	1/6/2016	25	7:30 a.m.-1:30 afternoon
7	Humsa Al-Fauqa	30/5/2016	17	6:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m. 7:30p.m.- 6:30 a.m.
8	Humsa Al-Fauqa	31/5/2016	17	12:30 afternoon- 12:00 midnight
9	Humsa Al-Fauqa	1/6/2016	17	7:30 a.m.-1:30 afternoon
54 families are affected of forcible displacement

The following table shows information about the affected families:

No.	Affected citizen	Area	Family	Minors	Affected structure		No. of order
No.	Affected citizen	Area	Family	Minors	Residence	Barrack	No. of order
1	Mohamed Mahmoud Bisharat	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	6	3	1	3	913
2	Muhammad Fahd Mohammed Bani Odeh	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	7	3	2	2
3	Hassan Abdullah Ahmad Bani Odeh	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	4	0	2	2	914
4	Inad Hassan Abdallah Bani Odeh	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	5	3	1	1	912
5	Fahd Mahmoud Mohammed Bani Odeh	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	7	2	2	3	906
6	Lutfi Jaber Said Bani Odeh	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	6	3	3	7	910
7	Jamil Suleiman Mufdi Bani Odeh	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	5	0	2	8
8	Saqr Izzat Yousef Bani Odeh	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	6	3	2	14
9	Ayman Ezzat Yousef Bani Odeh	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	3	1	1	3
10	Mohammed Khader Fayyad	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	7	1	2	4	915
11	Ali Khader Fayyad	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	6	2	1	3	905
12	Ali Izzat Yousef Bani Odeh	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	5	2	1	4	904
13	Abdullah Hussein Bisharat	Al-Ras Al-Ahmar	5	3	1	2	902
14	Ibrahim Abdul Nejadlh	Al-Malih	3	1	2	2
15	Khaled Ibrahim Bisharat	Al-Malih	4	2	1	2	901
16	Jamil Khader Fayyad	Al-Malih	4	2	1	2
17	Salah Suleiman Bisharat	Al-Malih	6	3	1	4
18	Methqal Fayez Daraghmeh	Al-Malih	8	3	1	1
19	Fayez Hamid Daraghmeh	Al-Malih	6	3	1	2
20	Fawzi Mahmoud Ienabusi	Al-Malih	4	0	2	1
21	Khaled Mahmoud Mohammed Daraghmeh	Al-Malih	3	1	1	2
22	Mohamed Mahmoud Daraghmeh	Al-Malih	2	0	1	0
23	Naeem Mesaieed	Al-Malih	4	2	2	1
24	Hafiz Mesaieed	Al-Malih	6	4	2	1
25	Hassan Khaled Mesaieed	Al-Malih	3	1	1	0
26	Sami Khaled Mahmoud Daraghmeh	Al-Malih	3	1	1	0
27	Omir Khalid Daraghmeh	Al-Malih	5	1	1	1
28	Ghallab Ali Musa Abu Zhou	Al-Miteh	5	3	1	1
29	Lutfi Kayed Musa Abu Zhou	Al-Miteh	4	2	2	1
30	Saed Ali Faleh Daraghmeh	Al-Miteh	4	1	1	1
31	Ahmed Khalil Kaa'bnah	Al-Miteh	7	3	1	1
32	Ali Hassan al-Faqir	Al-Miteh	5	2	2	1
33	Ayed Suleiman Zawahra	Al-Miteh	4	2	1	1
34	Maryam Holiday Zawahra	Al-Miteh	2	0	1	1
35	Ibrahim Abd Alyyan	Al-Miteh	2	0	1	3
36	Ahmed Ali Najadah	Al-Malih	6	1	2	1
37	Suleiman Kahil Najadah	Al-Malih	5	3	1	0
38	Ibrahim Salman Kahil Najadah	Al-Malih	2	0	1	1
39-41	Talib+Hossam +Tareq Abdelkarim Awawdah	Humsa Al-Fauqa	13	5	3	2	1016
42-44	Walid Ifreij, Mohammad Suliman Ifreij, Harb Suliman Ifreij	Humsa Al-Fauqa	23	6	3	3	1021
45	Ismael Ifreij	Humsa Al-Fauqa	7	1	1	1	1020
46-48	Ali Ifreij Hakam Ifreij	Humsa Al-Fauqa	8	2	1	1	1019
49	Abdelghani Awawadah	Humsa Al-Fauqa	9	2	1	1	1017
50-54	Mohammad Abu Kbash and for other families	Humsa Al-Fauqa	5	1	1	1	1018
Total			244	84	63	96

As a result of transforming pastures into training zones; hundreds of dunums were torched due to military activities in the area. Land Research Center has lately reported the torching of hundreds of dunums and the demolition of many structures. This will deprive locals benefiting from their agricultural lands and pastures and will force them to buy expensive fodder to feed the sheep instead of the fodder they used to plant and harvest in their lands.

Many Bedouins and residences fell under the circle of threat due to their proximity to the military trainings' zones. A number of citizens were reported to fall dead due to training leftovers where some others sustained injuries and lifelong disabilities, not mentioning the house and structure which were damaged as a result. Shepherd Ahmad Abu Al-Sheikh (41) died due to bomb leftover while grazing his herd in the area. In 2015, the kid Ali Al-Awad sustained injuries due to a military leftover that exploded in the area.

A massive devastation due to military training in al-ghoor area

The Israeli military trainings conducted in different parts of the Palestinian Jordan Valley( al-ghoor) turned the life of the area's residents (50,000 people) into an insupportable hell. Israeli occupation authorities tend to carry out military maneuvers nearby peoples' residences. As a result, residents get forcibly displaced from their houses to become an arena for army bombs and bullets. Not only that, the occupation troops confiscate properties and sheep, demolish structures and expel residents to new areas.

It should be marked that when residents of such areas get back to their homes, they find out that all their structures got demolished and their properties looted. Not only that, residents risk their lives coming back to their houses due to the training leftovers; many people fell dead and others sustained serious injuries or amputations. Landmines and leftovers are now causing an imminent threat on others' lives.

When the occupation army intends to conduct military trainings, an order entitled “eviction notification” is served for people including the following:

Eviction of the area at certain time. If not compelled to the order, all properties including livestock will be confiscated from the targeted area.
The orders usually target the Jordan Valley areas or Bedouin communities.
The usual claim of the orders is “conducting military training”
The issuer of the order is IDF- Israel Civil Administration

Land Research Center sees that evicting Palestinians from their homes to conduct military trainings around is a blatant breach and violation of all international laws and conventions, including but not limited to the following:

Article 147 of Geneva Fourth Convention, which stated the following:

"Grave breaches to which the preceding Article relates shall be those involving any of the following acts, if committed against persons or property protected by the present Convention: wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed in the present Convention, taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly"

Article 53 of Geneva Fourth Convention, which stated the following:

"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".

Article 17 of the (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating:

“Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property

Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC