The Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaignâs three Emergency Centers in the northern West Bank continually send in information regarding destruction and devastation from the Wall. Information sent from the Emergency Centers will be published regularly under the heading âA Day in the Northâ, surfacing the daily devastation which the Apartheid Wall continues to lay upon Palestine.
Azzun Atma, Qalqiliya district
Less than one week ago, the Occupation forces erected a watchtower along the Wall around Azzun Atam. The watchtower, which looms five meters high and is located at the villageâs main entrance, continually has Israeli snipers who âsurveyâ the village and surrounding area and inspect the identification cards of all individuals wishing to pass in or out of the village. Though the gate is now âopenâ, times are inconsistent and limited for passage only twice a day. Additionally, after 8am only people with IDs stating they live in Azzun Atam are allowed into the village.
Qalqiliya city
***image2***Since Sept 24th all of the agricultural gates around the city have been closed; this has forced farmers to go wait and attempt to pass through the military checkpointâthe sole entrance and exit for the entire city and its some 42,000 residents. The process is one of uncertainty with long delays from soldiers âinspectingâ IDs and requiring that farmers return before 3pm, rendering few farmers to be able to successfully reach their land.
During the month of October all of the entrances, including the military checkpoint, were closed for 20 days, making it impossible for farmers to reach their crops. The majority of guava crops, which are harvested during the October month, rotted along with crops raised in green houses. For one farmer who owns a chicken farm of 50,000 birds, this closure brought the death to nearly 7,000 chickens as he was prohibited entirely from tending to the farm.
Jubara
Israeli soldiers continue to delay opening the Wallâs gates for several hours each day for school children to return home to Jubara. After students are forced to wait hours for the gateâs opening, all of their belongings are rummaged through by the soldiers who have been confiscating everything other than books from the children.
Only farmers with permits in Jurbara have a minimal chance of reaching their land. However, if the gate opens, the time is limited and steep fines have been given to tractor drives on the claim that their vehicles do not have the âcorrectâ permits for passage. During the holy month of Ramadan soldiers have been delaying farmers return to Jubara at the time when families break fast. Furthermore, soldiers have been confiscating the IDs of women in Jubara at the gate and refusing to return them until the evening.
Farâun, Tulkarem district
Farâun is trapped between the Apartheid Wall and the so-called âisolation barrierâ surrounding Tulkarem city and neighboring villages and refugee camps. The Wallâs gate for residents in Farâun to reach their isolated land has been permanently closed since construction for the Wall finished some eight months ago. Farmers are only able to reach their land by attempting to cross the Israeli military checkpoint at Irtah; this applies only to farmers who have specific permits and they are given only two to three hours to work on their lands.