***image2***Israeli Occupation bulldozers restarted, at the end of last month, destroying the lands of the village of Iskaka for the Apartheid Wall continuing to destroy and uproot tress in Al-Harayik area of Iskaka village lands. The Wall in the area will isolate the village lands, annexing them to Ariel settlement, built partly on Iskaka lands in addition to the lands of several villages in Salfit district.
Construction for the Wall began eight months ago, and temporarily stopped with a decision from the Occupation court following strong resistance in the area, along with the nearing, at the time, of the ICJ decision on the legality of the Wall.
It was during that time that the Occupation forces claimed that the building of the Wall, which goes 22 kms deep inside the West Bank in the Salfit District and annexes the Ariel and Shomron settlement bloc, had stopped. In an attempt to mislead, the Occupation Forces claimed that the Wall would be replaced by a âsecurity zoneâ around Ariel; but this so-called âsecurity zoneâ is now being built on the very same Wall path, and therefore isolating the same amount of lands. Between 1000-1500 dunums of Al-Harayik land is now uprooted by those same demolition orders issued in June 2004 for the supposedly halted Wallâs path.
The area being destroyed for the Wallâs footprint is cultivated with, olives and seeds. During the last eight months, people have been tending to their lands and reclaiming what was destroyed of these lands to protect them from being confiscated. A quarter of these cultivated lands are threatened to be destroyed.
On Friday, January 26, more than 2000 people, from villagers, confiscated land owners, political, social and national figures and organizations from Ramallah and Nablus organized a big demonstration protesting the destruction of the lands for the Apartheid Wall. Occupation Forces tried to stop people from reaching their lands with barbed wire however, the people succeeded to continue their demonstration.
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