Press Alert: Al-Hadidiye area (Jordan Valley) to be ethnically cleansed!
Breaking News, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, April 30th, 2007
Hadidiya, a 20,000 dunum stretch of fertile lands in the Jordan Valley, is to be ethnically cleansed from its Palestinian inhabitants. On April 10, the Occupation courts have issued orders to 5 extended families living since generations in Hadidiye to leave the area before April 21 and their homes to be destroyed. An estimated 120 people out of the approximately 500 Bedouins living permanently in the area are to be turned refugees.
The situation on the ground:
The people in Hadidiya have refused to move, challenging the Occupation’s unjust actions once again. The remaining inhabitants are expecting expulsion orders for them to follow soon, clearing Hadidiye completely from its Palestinian inhabitants.
Hadidiye land is owned jointly by its permanent residents and by farmers from Tamoun and Tobas. The latter are barred from reaching their land since January 2005, when the Occupation closed the Jordan Valley for all Palestinian non-residents. A 2 km long trench with two gates (opened by the Occupation for 20 minutes two times a week) isolates Tamoun from the Sahel Libqe’a and Hadidiye area.
Media, national and international organizations and foreign diplomats are visiting the area, taking up the people’s call to stay in their land.
Background:
Rising attacks by the Occupation since 1967 have included several home demolition campaigns. Yet, each time, the people built their shacks and tents again. The current expulsion orders mark the final step of Israeli colonization of the area and another move towards the ethnic cleansing and annexation of the Jordan Valley.
Since the beginning of the ‘70s, Zionist agricultural settlements have stolen Palestinian land in Hadidiye, renowned for its fertility and ground water resources. The settlers maintain intensive cultivations and have dug groundwater wells that steal the vital water resources of the land. While modern artisan wells and irrigation systems allow green gardens in the settlements and profitable agriculture, the Palestinians living in Hadidiye – sometimes only meters away from the Zionist water wells - have to transport drinking water from 20 km distant. They are prohibited from building roads or even linking to electricity systems. Much of the grazing land has been declared a “no go” zone and shepherds see their cattle regularly confiscated, transported to “animal prisons” in the settlements and released only after paying heavy fines.
The case of Hadidiye is emblematic of Israeli policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing since 1948. Palestinian communities are expelled, displaced and discriminated against on both sides of the Green Line. 14 villages are to be demolished along the Wall’s path and almost 100 villages imprisoned in unsustainable conditions. For more information regarding threatened villages inside the Green line, see: http://www.assoc40.org.
For photos, please click here.
The Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign:
We work together with the people in Hadidiye to safeguard their lives and lands and for Dignity and Justice in the Jordan Valley as part of our struggle to Free Palestine. Our commitment is to mobilize threatened communities all over the West Bank, support their steadfastness and raise awareness about their struggle.
Contact:
THE GRASSROOTS PALESTINIAN ANTI-APARTHEID WALL CAMPAIGN
Campaign Head Office: +970-2-2971505
Campaign Fax: +970-2-2975123
Campaign E-Mail: Mobilize@StopTheWall.org
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