Jabaâ village, in the southwestern Bethlehem district, received a new confiscation order that will contribute to the apartheid system of Walls and Jewish-only roads that is being built on Palestinian land.
The Occupation forces have ordered the confiscation of 110 dunums from the village to build a new checkpoint (terminal) on by-pass road number 367, which connects the Jordan valley, east Bethlehem, and the Gosh Etzion Bloc to the 1948 Areas. This by-pass road will create contiguity between the settlements in the eastern Bethlehem district on the one hand and the 1948 areas on the other hand.
The checkpoint is one of 36 planned terminals â 33 in the West Bank and 2 or 3 in Gaza â that will ensure Israeli control over Palestinian movement in and out of the geographical ghettoes in the West Bank and Gaza. This checkpoint will be built at one end of the section of the Apartheid Wall that isolates all of the western Bethlehem villages (population 20,000) from the rest of the Bethlehem district.
The history of land confiscation in Jabaâ village (population 1200) began soon after the 1948. The confiscation began with 1000 dunums. Later, the occupation confiscated 6000 dunums to build the Gosh Etzion Settlement Bloc, to expand these settlements, and to build Jewish-only by-pass roads. To construct the Apartheid Wall, the occupation has isolated and confiscated another 6000 dunums. Now the occupation is confiscating 110 dunums for the checkpoint terminal. Altogether, since 1948, the occupation has confiscated more than 13000 of the 14000 dunums owned by the village.
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