Occupation forces issued 18 military orders to the people in Kharbet al-Tawheel demanding a halt to all building in the area. This includes residential and agricultural constructions as well as a mosque and a building that houses a generator, necessary for providing electricity to the area. Though this has always been Palestinian land, Occupation forces have informed the families of the village that they would have to present all documents in order to establish their ownership of the land by February 7 2008.
***image2***One of the affected villagers, 64 year old Anis bin Fadl, reports that 10 families who depend on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods will be displaced, decimating the population and threatening the future of Kharbet al-Tawheel One of the families consists of 11 individuals, all of whom live in a home that the Occupation has marked for destruction.
Kharbet al-Tawheel is located east of the city of Nablus and 105 kilometers from the village of Aqraba. Formerly under the Aqraba administration, Kharbet al-Tawheel covers an area of 5000 dunams of both agricultural and pastoral lands. The villagers own an estimated 30,000 sheep and 1,500 heads of cattle. Farmers produce wheat, barely, legumes and a variety of other vegetables. The village is also home to archeological sites, dating from both the Roman and Islamic eras.
Like many living in Palestine, the villagers of Kharbet al-Tawheel have faced the constant threat of Zionist settlement and expansion. In the 1970âs and 80âs, Occupation forces began the confiscation of what would amount to 13,687 dunams of land. This land was used to build up the settlements of Gittit, Maâale Efraim and Itamar. The rightful owners of the land are deprived from benefiting from their land, barred even from approaching it. Furthermore, farmers in the area face constant harassment by both Occupation forces and settlers. Agricultural machinery is arbitrarily confiscated, animals are harmed and shepherds are both attacked and arrested. This is another manifestation of a policy of ethnic cleansing, aiming to replace Palestinians with settlers.