In the last two weeks, Palestinians marked the 30th anniversary of Land Day, commemorating the 6 martyrs killed defending their lands in 1976. Rallies and protests captivated towns and villagers across the West Bank, as Palestinians vowed steadfastness to the liberation of their lands. Meanwhile, the Occupation stepped up the isolation of the Jordan Valley and the Judaization of Jerusalem continued unabated. Vital parts of the ghettoization project are coming to completion.
The isolation of the Jordan Valley:
On Friday 31st of March, Occupation Forces completely sealed-in Palestinian communities in the northern Jordan Valley. No one has been allowed to enter or exit the area resulting in the rotting of agricultural products and a total shut down in the cultural, social and economic activities of Palestinians living there. After days of complete imprisonment, only people older than 30 have been allowed to leave the area. [MORE]
Occupation Forces have constructed deep trenches across the western limits of the Valley to shut Palestinians out from reaching their farms and pastures. Over 5 km extending from between Tubas and Beit Dajan, with a trench and two gates now bar access to Palestinian farmland. [MORE]
On Monday 20th of March, in Bardala, Occupation Forces handed a military order announcing the demolition of the agricultural water reservoir that allows Mu’ayad Hreash to cultivate 30 dunums of his land. The Wall has been built just 200 meters from the reservoir. [MORE]
Judaizing Jerusalem:
***image2***On Tuesday, 4th of April, the last part of the fortified checkpoint of Qalandiya was been completed. The final structure of the Orwellian checkpoint is now finalized. Ar-Ram, Jaba and Hizma have been carved out from Jerusalem. The checkpoint now divides the traffic of cars and people between those who want to go to the ghettos of Jerusalem that are cut off from the rest of the city by the Wall, and the remains of the Palestinian capital that the Occupation wants to judaize.
On Monday, 3rd of April, the Occupation murdered Muhammad Sharid Hassan, a teenager from Qalandiya refugee camp. Occupation Forces stationed at the nearby checkpoint regularly enter the camp, provoking the youngsters to throw stones in defence of their community.
In Silwan area, 5 families have been driven out of their homes on Wednesday the 29th of March. 80 guards called hired by the Jewish National Fund evicted 31 people from their homes to continue the expulsion of the Palestinian population from the area. [MORE]
In al-Walaja, two houses have been demolished on Wednesday the 22nd of March, as Occupation bulldozers attacked the village for several hours. Owners and inhabitants of two properties were forced out of their houses at gunpoint as bulldozers moved in to decimate their homes. Clashes broke out as Palestinians defended their community. [MORE]
West of Bethlehem, Occupation forces distributed confiscation orders on the 19th of March for land belonging to 6 villages. Walaja, Battir, Husan, al-Qabu, Wadi Fukin and Surif form a ghetto sealed by two Walls. The land confiscation allows the Occupation to start construction of a wall at the west side of the villages while the wall on the east is almost completed. [MORE]
The district of Ramallah:
Occupation Forces have launched a new strategy of control in Budrus, undertaking night raids into the village and forcing people at gunpoint to fingerprint checks. Soldiers forced 25 people to undergo this process over the first weekend of April in a desperate attempt to intimidate the villagers of Budrus, known for their united and strong resistance to the Apartheid Wall. [MORE]
Between Bilâin and Safa, Eyad Tahar was found dead on Monday the 3rd of April, drowned in a flood near the Apartheid Wall. The rains have flooded the valley, with the Wallâs construction directly responsible for preventing recent rainfall from draining. Taharâs body was recovered from the razor wires of the Wall, while his brother Raad was rushed to hospital after being found unconscious in the pool of water. [MORE]
Popular Resistance:
On the 24th of March, around 400 villagers in Beit Sira gathered once again to challenge the attacks of the Occupation bulldozers which are razing the villageâs lands for the Apartheid Wall. The protest sparked clashes with Occupation Forces as Palestinians refused to accept their ghettoization and the destruction of their communities. [MORE]
Popular resistance escalated all over the West Bank on the 30th memorial of Land Day â the day 6 Palestinians in the Galilee were massacred defending their lands from confiscation. The popular committees against the Apartheid Wall, together with numerous other organizations, organized a dozen demonstrations. [MORE]
In Beit Sira, some 1000 protestors from the village – and the wider Ramallah district -gathered in a powerful march towards the lands being devastated by the Occupationâs bulldozers for the Apartheid Wall.
In Aqaba, in the northern Jordan Valley, around 1000 people attended a popular gathering.
In Rafat (Salfit district), hundreds of villagers were joined by protestors from surrounding villages, and they marched united from the school to the hill west of the village. As a result of the clashes that broke out as the Occupation pumped tear gas, rubber bullets and sound bombs into the crowd, Abd as-Salam Ayyash was hospitalized after being hit by a tear gas canister.
In Jayyous (Qalqiliya district), women and youth were at the forefront of a demonstration that tore down the fencing and razor wire structures.
In Aboud (Ramallah district), Palestinians gathered once again on the lands confiscated by the Wall, west of the village.
In Hebron, several days of activities culminated in a popular gathering lasting the whole afternoon.
In Jericho, over 100 people gathered in a popular event that celebrated Palestinian resistance with speeches, national songs and dances.
In Bethlehem, some 100 people marched through the city that will lose almost all agricultural areas to the settlements and the Wall.
In Zabda, the people from Jenin district gathered to march to the ghetto gate of the Apartheid Wall that isolates their lands.
In Qalqiliya, Palestinians gathered in a demonstration that culminated in a symbolic event during which hundreds of seedlings were distributed to the farmers.