The Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign Statement Against Israeli “Permits”

To Palestinians in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Qalqiliya
To all Palestinians

After the military order that was issued by the Occupation Forces on the status of lands isolated behind the Wall in the completed “first phase”, and regarding the requirement for “permits” from the Occupation Forces for the villages isolated behind the Wall and for people to access to their lands west to the Wall, we –the Anti Apartheid Wall Campaign- state the following:

1. We consider the military order, issued by the Occupation Authorities on October 2nd, 2003 under the title “Announcing the Closure of the Seam Area”, an explicit annexation of all the lands located west of the Wall as the order declares the prevention of people being on or living on the land except Israelis or those who obtain special permits from the Occupation Authorities. Such an order represents land theft and annexation by force, and is a continuation of the Israeli measures to expel Palestinians from their villages which are isolated by the Wall; these villages now number 16 with a total 11,550 people living in them.

2. Based on the order’s first article regarding “closure” of the lands, another military order was issued in the same day under the title “Orders for Military Arrangements and General Statement about Entering the Seam Line or Staying In It”. This order states under article 3 that the military officer has the right to issue an order to block “certain” people from receiving permits to access their lands.

The possibility of a list of “exceptions” to permits will lead to:
• The expulsion of a number of people in isolated villages, especially those who have been arrested before.
• Barring many farmers from accessing their land west of the Wall if they are residing in villages east of the Wall.

This is in addition to the already existing arbitrary Israeli measures on the Wall’s gates, which can be summarized in the following:
• Complete closure of the gates during all Jewish holidays,
• Prohibition of vehicles passing through the gate,
• Limiting the age of men and women allowed through the gates,
• Limiting the time allotted for opening the gates, which is not adequate to the working time of farmers or school hours,
• The continuous harassment the Occupation Soldiers are exercising on the farmers, in addition to daily humiliation and torture,
• The nightly Israeli incursions in the isolated villages or the tents in which farmers are staying in on their isolated lands, and
• Not “reopening” the gates for people after they have crossed to their land west of the Wall, forcing them to sleep outside on the ground.
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It is obvious that these measures consisting of the military statement of land annexation and declaration of the Wall as a “seam line” instead of referring to the Green Line, and the subjection of Palestinians to “permits” from the Occupation military commander indicate that the Palestinians’ existence on their lands is a “temporary” situation. All these measures are nothing but a systematic expulsion and land theft and closure on a final level.

The Occupation plans have always implemented gradually, step by step, and build on an experienced methodology. Succeeding in passing the military permits would lead to the expulsion of those who do not carry them and the barring those who cannot obtain them for entering their lands; besides, the list of “exceptions” will grow steadily until complete separation from their lands is achieved. Moreover, what applies to this “first phase” of the Wall applies to the coming phases in Salfit, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, and the Jordan Valley; this is when we will find ourselves completely enclosed into Apartheid ghettos, with no land or sovereignty.

To our people in isolated and affected villages on both sides of the Wall…

We have to stop the annexation conspiracy;
We cannot cooperate with Occupation plans of Judaizing our villages and annexing our lands;
This is our land– we do not need permits to access it;
The people in Jubara and Jayyus refused to take any permits and held on to their lands, emphasizing its Palestinian identity and their right to access their lands without needing permits;
Permits acknowledge the legitimacy of land confiscation and the Occupation, and sacrifice the Palestinian identity. We all have to stand-up to the permits and everyone who has anything to do with them.

Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign’s
Northern Districts’ Committees
October 19, 2003