- 1 sept 2010
Bedouin families told to leave by June
JERICHO (Ma’an) -- Israeli authorities issued warrants ordered Bedouin families lodging in tents and sheds on land between Jericho and Jerusalem to leave the area by June 2011.
Ahmad Ka'abna, who was issued a warrant, said around 600 households would face evacuation if the order is enforced.
Resident Fayiz Ka'abna, who supports a family of 11, asked “We have been living in the area for more than half a century when the West bank was under Jordanian rule, and we are to leave now?”
Civil Administration representatives were not immediately available by phone for comment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=311841
Bedouin's legal fight threatens Jewish state
Israeli authorities demolish the Bedouin village of al-Araqib, 10 August 2010. (Oren Ziv/ActiveStills)
Nuri al-Uqbi's small cinderblock home in a ramshackle neighborhood of Hura, a Bedouin town in Israel's Negev desert, hardly looks like the epicenter of a legal struggle that some observers say threatens Israel's Jewish character.
Inside, the 68-year-old Bedouin activist has stacks of bulging folders of tattered and browning documents, many older than the State of Israel itself, that he hopes will overturn decades of harsh government policy towards the Negev's 180,000 Bedouin.
For the past few months, al-Uqbi has been in court pursuing a case that has pitted his own expert witnesses against those of the state.
Al-Uqbi claims the right to return to a patch of 82 hectares in the Negev, close to the regional capital, Beersheva, that he says has belonged to his family for generations. But as both the government and the judge in the case, Sarah Dovrat, seem to appreciate, much more is at stake.
Should al-Uqbi win his case, tens of thousands of Bedouin, who long ago had their properties confiscated, could be entitled to repossess their agricultural lands or seek enormous sums in compensation.
Theoretically, it might also open the door to claims by millions of Palestinian refugees scattered across the Middle East.
The Negev, constituting nearly two-thirds of Israel's territory, has been almost entirely nationalized by the state, with the land held in trust for world Jewry. But the Bedouin have outstanding legal claims on nearly 80,000 hectares of ancestral property.
Tom Segev, an Israeli historian, observed that the historical documents presented by al-Uqbi "raise a fundamental question: Who does this country belong to?"
The lawyers and witnesses in the case, Segev added, were not just "arguing over a plot of land. They are arguing over the justness of Zionism."
Such high stakes may explain why over the past few weeks, as Dovrat has been considering her verdict, the authorities have sped up plans to plant over al-Uqbi's land a "peace forest," paid for by an international Zionist charity called the Jewish National Fund (JNF).
Until now the main obstacle in their way has been a small village, al-Araqib, re-established a decade ago by several Bedouin families who, rather than pursue al-Uqbi's legal route, have simply reoccupied the land.
Last week, about 300 Bedouin were again evicted when the police destroyed the village's forty homes for the fourth time in less than a month.
Al-Uqbi, a father of eight, said that five years ago -- after years of challenging the land confiscation with protests and appeals to the authorities -- he launched the lengthy legal process that has finally reached the Beersheva court.
"I realized that the authorities were simply waiting for me to die. When all the old people are gone, who will be left to come and testify?"
Al-Uqbi said his father, Sheikh Suleiman al-Uqbi, and the other villagers were "tricked" by the authorities in 1951. They were told that they would have to relocate "temporarily" while military exercises were carried out in the area.
Al-Uqbi, who was nine at the time, remembers the tribe being forcibly moved to a new site, next to Hura, where they have lived ever since, although their neighborhood has never been recognized by the state.
All these years later, al-Uqbi's home, like his neighbors', is still illegal, and they are all denied water, electricity and other services.
The only option they had been offered to make their lives legal again, al-Uqbi said, was to move to one of seven government "townships" set up in the 1970s. All are sunk at the very bottom of Israel's social and economic tables.
The families have refused, protesting that they would also have to renounce both their claim to their ancestral lands and a pastoral and agricultural way of life known by the Bedouin for centuries. The Uqbi tribe's fate is far from unique. Tens of thousands of other Bedouin were also moved by the army and have been faced with a similar, stark choice.
Today, 90,000 Bedouin, or half the Negev's Bedouin population, live in unrecognized communities, according to a human rights group.
Al-Uqbi's court case has set two noted Israeli geography professors in sharp opposition.
The state's position is represented by Ruth Kark, of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who claims that the Negev Bedouin were nomads with no ties to the land. Instead, she argues, most of the Negev was considered mawat, or dead, and its ownership passed to Israel in 1948 as the new sovereign ruler.
On these grounds, the state has long classified the Bedouin as "trespassers" and "invaders."
But al-Uqbi's expert, Oren Yiftachel, of Ben Gurion University in Beersheva, has countered that there was a well-established system of Bedouin land ownership and crop cultivation in the Negev long before Israel's creation.
He says Bedouin deeds -- though never formally recorded -- were recognized by the Ottomans, the British and even early Zionist organizations such as the JNF, which bought land from the Bedouin.
A 1921 document from the public records office in London unearthed by Yiftachel shows that Winston Churchill, the colonies minister, signed an agreement with Bedouin in the Beersheva area that exempted them from registering their lands and set up a special tribal court to settle land disputes.
Al-Uqbi has kept a large store of documents passed on to him, showing that his father cultivated crops on the land and paid regular tithes on the profits to the Ottoman and British authorities.
He also has a copy of the treaty signed in 1948 between 16 Bedouin tribes, including the Uqbi, and the new Israeli army, pledging loyalty in return for a guarantee that they could continue living on their lands.
Yiftachel said the legal battles of the Bedouin should be compared to those waged by other indigenous peoples in countries such as Australia, Canada, South Africa, India and Brazil. "Like them, they are fighting for recognition of 'native title,'" he said.
Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.
A version of this article originally appeared in The National, published in Abu Dhabi.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11502.shtml
23 nov 2010, 21:20 , Respect -
Maria 3 & 4 sept 2010
HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Israeli soldiers raided a house in Hebron and converted it into a military base on Friday afternoon, residents said.
Salem Salayma said soldiers instructed his family of 14 to move into the first floor of his house in Al-Baq'a, east of Hebron.
An Israeli military spokesman was not immediately familiar with the report, but said he would look into it.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=312983
4 sept 2010
Family says Israeli court ordered them to raze kitchen
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- An Israeli court recently ordered a family of nine to demolish a kitchen and bathroom in the home of a Palestinian in the Al-Qurmi neighborhood in the Old City of Jerusalem, relatives said.
The court ruled in favor of Israel's Jerusalem Municipality, ordering Nasri Abu Rajab, 60, to either demolish the structures at his own expense or allow the work to be undertaken by the municipality but pay a fine.
One relative, Nabila Nasri, 52, said the family refurbished the kitchen and the bathroom that was in severe dilapidation, having not been renovated for 33 years.
She said the municipality fined them 24,000 shekels for the work because they replaced tin plates with stones. An additional fine of 12,000 shekels was ordered and the family is paying in 500 shekel installments until October, she said.
The family appealed to human rights groups and politicians to protect homes in the Old City and to form a legal committee to protect them.
A spokesman for Israel's Jerusalem Municipality said the decision was court-ordered and not initiated by the municipality.
Residents living in East Jerusalem are subject to Israel's municipal planning, despite the international community rejecting Israel's claims of sovereignty, instead deeming it occupied land.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=311773
IOF continues seizing homes in hebron
(Pal Telegraph) Israeli soldiers seized the second Palestinian home near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba, east of Hebron on the West Bank back which belongs to a Palestinian citizen named Salem Salaima.
The Israeli soldiers took control of another house near the previously mentioned settlement which belongs to the citizen Numan Shabana in the area near the road of Bani Naim.
Local witnessed confirmed that about 15 Israeli soldiers raided the house in the morning and threw the home owners out of their home forcing them to sit in a room down in the house.
The house that sheltered 15 persons is located in the village of Baq'a near the Israeli settlement, noting that this barbaric illegal process has surprised the owners of the house.
http://bit.ly/bPX1RR
23 nov 2010, 21:22 , Respect -
Maria 5 sept 2010
Salfit resident says soldiers stole jewelry
SALFIT (Ma'an) -- A man from the Salfit district accused Israeli soldiers Sunday of stealing jewelry from his car at a West Bank checkpoint.
Abed Al-Latif Ismail Suleiman, 27, said he was driving to his home in Kafr Ad-Dik from neighboring village Kafr Ghassan with two friends when soldiers at a temporary checkpoint stopped the car and ordered the men to get out.
The soldiers proceeded to search the car, Suleiman said, and when he returned to the vehicle his gold jewelry, worth 1,000 Jordanian dinars (over $1400), was gone.
He said the jewelry, which he had collected from his divorce, had been in a box on the front seat of the car. He had hoped to sell the jewelry, he added, in order to finalize his divorce.
Suleiman said he had not filed a legal complaint against the soldiers as he did not know who to approach.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313369
Israel tells Jordan Valley farmers to leave land
SALFIT (Ma'an) -- Israel's Civil Administration ordered farmers to leave land they were cultivating on Wednesday in the Wadi Abu Ammar area in the northern West Bank district of Saflit.
Saber Mar'ey, one of the farmers from the Qarawat Bani Hassan village, said Israeli authorities warned them not to continue working on the lands, which all fall under Area C. He said the land, estimated at 400 dunums, was originally abandoned and recovered by farmers for cultivation.
Ma'rey said he received an initial stop-work order from the Civil Administration on 12 July 2010 and later on 5 August 2010 before they were all ordered to vacate the area.
A spokesman for Israel's Civil Administration said the the farmers "intruded on government land without a permit and therefore were ordered to evacuate the area."
The farmland is under full Israeli control over security, planning and construction. Many Palestinian buildings and agriculture-related constructions have been torn by Israel's Civil Administration for failing to receive approval for the initial building.
Several villages in the Jordan Valley have seen structures razed by the Civil Administration since July. A UN report said 86 structures in the were demolished in the area in mid-July, and 17 others were demolished in other areas of the West Bank the week after.
"The spate of demolitions raises concerns over whether Israeli authorities could further escalate demolitions throughout Area C," the report said, noting more than 3,000 demolition orders handed down by Israeli officials to locals were still outstanding.
In mid-August, residents of the Al-Farisiya village in the Salfit district saw several structures razed for the third time in just over a month, after farmers continued rebuilding the area after it was demolished.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313059
24 nov 2010, 00:32 , Respect -
Maria 13 sept 2010
Bedouin village razed for 5th time
Land Administration, police demolish village of al-Arakib in Negev a month after residents rebuild it. MK El-Sana: Solution is recognition, not displacement.
Authorities are determined to demolish an unrecognized Bedouin village in The Negev residents of the Bedouin village al-Arakib rebuilt their houses four times, after they were razed by The Israel Land Administration.
On Sunday night, a day after the conclusion of Eid al-Fitr, the village was razed once again. However, as soon as Land Administration members and police officers left the scene, the residents promptly began the reconstruction work.
The village was demolished for the fourth time at the beginning of the month of Ramadan, but as in previous instances, it was immediately rebuild.
Member of Knesset Talab El-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al) said "the demolition operations lead to unrest and disobedience in the Arab sector in general, and the Negev in particular. We are victims of the State of Israel."
El-Sana vowed the demolished village would be reconstructed, adding that "the only solution is recognition, not displacement; issuing building permits, not demolition."
Bedouin rights activist Haya Noah noted the demolitions were "a routine procedure. Dozens of police officers arrived, followed by bulldozers. They razed all the houses. They ruined everything we built and left nothing. It's a big disgrace."
Officials at The Israel Land Administration stressed that the demolitions were carried our legally and according to a court order that determined the residents invaded an area that were not theirs, and did not act in good faith.
The police claim they were taking measures to charge the residents of al-Arakib with demolition expenses, which were incurred by State and estimated at millions of shekels.
Police officials said they were cooperating with the southern district prosecutor and planned to take civil action against the residents.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3953174,00.html 24 nov 2010, 11:09 , Respect -
Maria 14 sept 2010
Residents: Israel to demolish barns, greenhouses
TUBAS (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces handed notifications to residents in the Al-Maleh area of the Jordan Valley that 16 barns and greenhouses are slated for demolition, locals said.
One of these houses is owned by the municipality and is used by the public. The head of the village council, Aref Daraghma, appealed to the Palestinian Authority to stop the plan.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=315013
MK calls on villagers to rebuild Araqib after fifth Israeli demolition
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- Arab member of the Israeli Knesset Hanna Suweid said the people of the village of Araqib, which remains unrecognized by Israeli authorities, should rebuild their homes after they were demolished Monday morning for the fifth time in less than two months.
There is no other way but to stick to the Negev territory and rebuild what was demolished as on previous occasions, to ensure our survival, and to enhance the steadfastness of our people in Negev, Suweid said in a statement to Quds Press.
Lessons of the past show there should be no surrender or compromise and that sticking to the right is the guarantee against displacement schemes. Our existence in our land increases and grows with increased attempts from the authorities to displace us, and we will never surrender to the colonial plans, added the MK.
The relentless struggle against the demolitions will continue as cooperation on the field widens every day, he said.
Rebuilding Araqib is a natural response to the recurring demolitions, he went on to say, adding that there will be no compromise in the matter.
The Israeli government stabs at changing the demographics of Negev by claims of development, but without regard for the original people of Negev, Suweid underlined.
Araqib villagers announced they have begun rebuilding their homes immediately after the demolition operation.
http://bit.ly/atTFmL 25 nov 2010, 14:05 , Respect -
Maria 15 sept 2010
Israeli authorities demolish four Palestinian homes in Negev
NEGEV, (PIC)-- Israeli municipal authorities razed four Palestinian homes on Wednesday in the Negev villages of Fara'a, Tel Arad, Bani Yacaba and Al-Sayyad, local sources reported.
They noted that large numbers of policemen and special security men escorted the municipal teams and blocked entry into the targeted homes before leveling them.
The bulldozers turned those homes into rubble rendering the women and children homeless in the open, the sources said.
Sheikh Ali Abu Qarn, leader of the Islamic movement in the Negev, described the Israeli step in a press release as a "rabid campaign" targets Arab presence in the Negev.
He said that the Israeli attempt to vacate the Negev of its Arab population would fail similar to past attempts, adding that the Islamic movement would support the Arab historic steadfastness.
http://bit.ly/cjEn2z
Israeli troops hand out 16 demolition notices in northern Jordan Valley
JORDAN VALLEY, (PIC)-- Israeli forces handed out Tuesday demolition notices against 16 tin houses owned by Palestinian shepherds in the Al-Malih region of the northern Jordan Valley, "Save the Valley" coordinator, Fathi Khaddirat, said.
Israeli troops have taken down the structures on several prior occasions, Khaddirat added.
One of those houses belongs to a village council in the Malih region and is used to serve local inhabitants, he went on to explain, adding that they are used as homes for Bedouins traveling in the region.
Khaddirat called on the international community to put a stop to ongoing violations aimed at displacing the Palestinians from the northern Jordan Valley, and to pressure the Israeli government to stop attacks against Palestinians.
Palestine's de facto president Mahmoud Abbas has received harsh criticism for going into direct talks with Israel in light of ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinians.
http://bit.ly/9yhozQ
Chief justice: State ignoring demolition orders
Beinish: Nothing being done
Supreme Court president orders state to explain why buildings built on Palestinian land were not razed.
Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish criticized the State Wednesday for neglecting to carry out demolition orders issued by the court against illegal structures in the West Bank.
At a hearing on a petition filed by the Yesh Din organization, which is demanding that structures near the settlement of Beit El be demolished, Beinish said, "We discuss many such cases, yet despite the State's declarations regarding its priorities, the orders are not being implemented in any of the cases. There are no priorities because nothing is being done."
Yesh Din's petition, filed in 2008, regards five apartment buildings (30 apartments in all) that were built on private Palestinian land located near the settlement.
The petition claims that other structures were also built illegally and asks the court to evacuate the residents and demolish the homes.
At the time the petition was filed, a State representative said demolition orders are carried out according to a list of priorities, a claim usually made by the government in such cases.
Residents of Beit El said they did not know the homes were built illegally and that they did not purchase them directly from the owner, a claim backed by police. However, the State recognizes that the structures are illegal.
Beinish concluded the hearing by ordering the State to explain within 60 days why the buildings had not been demolished. She also recommended that the State reexamine its decision on the ownership of the land.
Attorney Michael Sfard of Yesh Din said after the hearing that "it has once again been proven that, to its great shame, Israel is scared to death of settlers and prefers to accept the looting of private land over doing the right thing".
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3954742,00.html
IOF troops bulldoze lands in southern Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) escorted huge bulldozers into southeast of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday to bulldoze Palestinian cultivated land.
Locals told the PIC reporter that IOF soldiers in seven armored vehicles escorted three bulldozers on their destruction mission.
They pointed out that the incursion was coupled with the usual indiscriminate firing at residential quarters to scare off civilians.
http://bit.ly/96M0kV