On the 10th of February 2015, the head of the Israeli Civil Administration handed Palestinians of Ash Shoyoukh town in Hebron Governorate military orders stating the evacuation of their lands under the pretext of “State Land”. The orders target Al Wrasneh, Al Hsasneh and Al Halayqa families in the town. Among the targeted land owners, the following were known: Adnan Mohammad Abdullah Al Wrasneh, Adnan Mahmoud Hussein Al Wrasneh and Bassam Muhammad Jibril Al Wrasneh.
The available orders target 38 dunums of Ash Shoyoukh’s town land, in the area known as Qenan An Nayyas which is located in area “C” (classified according to OSLO II Interim agreement of 1995) where Israel retains full control over security and administrative issues. The orders hold numbers 392252, 392262 and 392253[1]. Table 1 gives more details of the military orders:-
| Table 1: Details of the Israeli military orders targeting Ash Shoyoukh Town | ||||
| No. | Military Order No. | Purpose | Notes | Parcel No. |
| 1 | 392252 | evacuation of 3 dunums | land cultivated with 300 trees | 52 |
| 2 | 392253 | Evacuation of 30 dunums and a barracks | a 500 sqm barracks | 52 |
| 3 | 392262 | evacuation of 5 dunums | land cultivated with 150 trees | 51 |
| SOURCE: Ash Shoyoukh Municipality, 2015 | ||||
Map 1: location of the targeted land in Ash Shoyoukh town – Hebron Governorate
The military order states the following :-
| The custodian of State Property: “According to the powers assigned to me concerning State Property (Judea & Samaria) (No. 59) of 1967 and under Article (2) of Ordinance and powers according to State Law of land and property (Judea and Samaria) (No: 1006) of 1982, I acknowledge that the described land below is illegally owned by You. |
The custodian of State Property gave Palestinian land owners a 45 day deadline to restore the previous status of the notified lands. If land owners don’t abide by the order, the Israeli Authorities will carry out the evacuation process and will fine Palestinian land owners of the cost of evacuation.
Palestinian land owners can submit their petitions against the aforementioned military order within thirty (30) days of the issue date of the order at the office of Custodian of Absentee Property at the Israeli Civil Administration. Additionally, the custodian of State property asks Palestinian landowners to provide the Israeli Authorities with a map that shows the total area of the land on which “owners claim rights” as stated in the order, and any other documents needed for clarification. See Photo 1
Photo 1: a copy of one of the military orders that were handed to Palestinians in Ash Shuyoukh Town.
Israel underwrites its acquisition of the Palestinian Land by force
A deeper look into the content of the Israeli military order, especially the section entitled "owners claim rights” in the land," it is necessary to reaffirm that Israel underwrote its acquisition of the Palestinian territory by force following its occupation of the Palestinian territory in June 1967. Since that time, Israel invented dozens of illegal laws and orders to control Palestinian land while at the same time, define itself to the International community as democratic state. However, what had happened on the ground and is still happening clearly contradicts with what Israel was trying to show to the international community because Israel actually manipulated the laws to better suit its settlement program in the Palestinian territory which was later translated into building settlements, military bases, bypass roads, outposts and other colonial projects.
To make things look realistic, Israel has confiscated Palestinian land by several laws, most notably the confiscation under the pretext of “state land"[2], and the confiscation under the pretext of “abandoned property and uncultivated land"; and confiscation under the pretext of “military training areas (combat zones)”[3] and also confiscation under the pretext of "closed areas"[4]; this is in addition to expropriation for “public purposes”[5] as well as confiscation by the Absentee Property Law[6], and confiscation under the pretext of "Nature Reserves."[7]
It should be noted that Palestinian lands targeted in the town of Ash Shoyoukh falls within what Israel classifies "state land" in the occupied West Bank. Of course, all these Israeli allegations are nothing but innovative ways to sustain the occupation of the Palestinian territory and the depletion of Palestinian natural resources and most of all, circumventing the fact that it is an occupying power.
[1] The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) was only able to get three orders out of many that were handed to Palestinians of Ash Shoyoukh town. The bad weather conditions caused the loss of many orders and land owners hired a lawyer to find out whether their lands were targeted or not. Additionally, the total targeted area in the town is still known, which puts the town in a state of fear and concern that more land might be targeted with such military orders.
[2] Israeli Military Order No. 59 of 1967 and Israeli Military Order No. 291 of 1968
[3] Israeli Military Order No. 271 of 1968
[4] Israeli Military Order No. 378 of 1970
[5] Israeli Military Order No. 321 of 1969
[6] Israeli Military Order No. 58 of 1967
[7] Israeli Military Order No. 363 of 1969
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
