The Apartheid Wallâyet another means of threatening and forcing Palestinians off their landâis intensifying the daily militarization and suffering which residents in communities along its treacherous path live. Day after day, more testimonies are spoken in which people reveal the Occupation Forcesâ measures against them through rhetoric of the Wall. From stories of entire communities having their land stolen to erect an Occupation military camp, to families being shot at by soldiers while working on their land, to children who have been arrested under the pretext of “breaking” the Wall, the horrid certainty of expulsion is unequivocally clear.
Destruction for Oppression
In Farâun, a village of some 3,000 people south of Tulkarem city, residents have lost half of the communityâs 10,000 dunums to the Wall- 4,000 are isolated behind it while 1,000 dunums have been destroyed for its path. In April 2002, the military confiscated some of the land behind the Wall without clarification; in the beginning the people where told it was for the Wallâs footprint and then in a later military order, they were told that it was for âmilitary purposes,â and not for the Wall.
***image4***Since the Wall was completed, the people have been prohibited from reaching their isolated lands; most all of their citrus and guava trees have died with tremendous losses to families dependent upon these crops. Furthermore, 90% of the lands used by Jubara, a village located just south of Far’un, are shared between the two villagesâthus all residents from Jubara are also prohibited from reaching their land. During the olive harvest last fall, some residents in Farâun were issued one month permits for collecting their olives; however they were not allowed to carry the olives in vehicles and could only bring out small quantities on their backs, thus still rendering the harvest a tremendous loss.
The prospect of reaching their land is pilfered away each day. The military theft of their land is finalizing this reality. The land confiscated is over 400 dunums, two thirds was planted with olive trees and the rest with vegetable crops and herb plantations such as thyme. All of this has been destroyed by the Occupation Forces as they are now building military structures similar to that of a checkpoint or military base, which will further the Occupationâs dominance over every moment of their lives.
***image3***
Seizing Children, Shooting Families off their Land
Last Thursday, January 8th, the Occupation Forces arrested two children from Kufr Jamal whose ages are 14 and 15 years while they were taking their goats and sheep to graze. They boys were accused of throwing stones at Occupation jeeps, the Apartheid Wall and of cutting the wires. The Occupation soldiers dismissed the childrenâs words , blindfolded and arrested them. Where the boys were taken is not known as they were unable to see their locationâthey were released at 7 p.m. the same evening near a military checkpoint in Tulkarem, after being threatened and intimidated to stay away from the Apartheid Wall.
A week prior to this, two families from the nearby village of Jayyus in the district of Qalqiliya, were attacked by Occupation soldiers while toiling their land isolated between the Apartheid Wall and the Green Line south of the village. The Occupation soldiers ordered the two families to leave the lands but the people refused, as they were still working. The soldiers then began shooting sound bombs and tear gas, which made many people sick and the children were also being terrorized. When one of the family members tried to demand that a solider take notice of the children, he replied, âWe will keep shooting until you leave your lands.â
***image2***