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Land theft continues to destroy lives in Jenin district
Latest News, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, March 8th, 2007

Occupation forces have distributed military confiscation orders in Faqu’a Zabda, Yabat and Barta’a village, northern Jenin district.

Above: The Apartheid Wall in Jenin slices through some of the most fertile Palestinian fields.

150 dunum of land has been confiscated alone in Faqu’a, north east of the district capital. The land is located east of the Apartheid Wall that has been encroaching on the village’s land since 2004,, its path passing only meters from the boundaries. The people of the village were not informed of the reasons for the land theft. The most plausible explanation seems to be that the Occupation wants to erect a secondary wall, fence or military zone to expand the damage made by the main wall and to ensure that nobody can get close to it.

The occupation forces have destroyed or isolated around 460 dunum from the village land so far to build the Apartheid Wall and the people have not been allowed to access the isolated land. The land was planted with olive trees and seasonal vegetables and has been the main source of income for the people, especially after the Occupation imposed its closure over the area forbidding people to pass to the ’48 lands and rendering movements within the West Bank almost impossible.

This land theft is, however, only the last step in a long history of dispossession the people from Faqu’a have been fighting since 1948, when most of the lands were isolated behind the Green Line.

Moreover, land confiscation orders were given to Zabda, Yabat and Barta’a – all villages located west of Jenin. 198 dunum and 400 meters of Palestinian lands have been rendered inaccessible through these orders. The land had already been isolated behind the Wall but now it has become a “no go zone”.
The Occupation program amounts to a staged starvation and dispossession campaign against the population in this area