On 16 April, Occupation forces distributed military orders requiring the demolition of 15 commercial and residential structures in Nazlat âIsa, north of Tulkarm. These structures, which are in varying stages of construction and situated 60 meters from the Apartheid Wall, are threatened on the pretext that they lack the proper building permits. The villagers, who are in possession of legitimate ownership documents, are denied their right to build by the Occupation administration.
The Nazlat âIsa master plan, like many in West Bank, is dated and no longer adequate for addressing the natural growth of the community. While village land is 4,000 dunums, the development master plan comprises only 800 dunums. The vast remainder of village land falls under the Oslo classification C, meaning full Occupation control. The Occupation administration exploits this condition as a pretext for the ongoing stranglehold of Nazlat âIsa.
Nazlat âIsa has been gradually attacked by the Occupation since 1948. Prior to the Nakba, Nazlat âIsa was integrated into a larger Palestinian community that included Baqa as well as Nazla al-Wusta and Nazla Gharbiya. Following 1948, during which Nazlat âIsa was occupied for three months, the village lost thousands of dunums, annexed inside the borders of the Zionist state. Nazlat âIsa was severed from Baqa, which also fell to the west of the border.
***image2***The construction of the Wall destroyed the economic life and isolated the village further. 824 dunums were isolated along with hundreds of olive trees. 238 commercial buildings, which comprised one of the central markets in the West Bank, were also destroyed. While the Wall was later moved west, the Occupation refused to compensate the village for the destroyed land and property. Further, inhabitants the area are prohibited from using the land on which the Wall formerly stood. More demolitions occurred in 2003.
The April demolition threats are part of larger, creeping project of displacement, aimed at forcing the people of Nazlat âIsa from their land.