The Occupation administration has refused to issue entry permits to Ras Tira to 150 people who carry Ras Tira, ad-Dabâa, and Wadi ar-Rasha identity cards. These Palestinians are effectively barred from accessing their village, lands and homes, all of which are isolated behind the Wall.
Ras Tira, which is located southeast of Qalqilya, is completely caged in, surrounded on three sides by the Wall and on the fourth by the Alfe Menashe settlement. At least five population centres, among them Daba and Wadi al-Rasha, are also completely isolated inside this pocket.
The permit applications were refused at the beginning of this month. The village council had demanded that the Occupation administration issue permits for 150 persons with âRas Tiraâ listed in their identity cards. These people have not been able to connect with their spouses and families living beyond the Wall.
The construction of the Wall in the West Bank has lead to complete isolation of 10 enclaves, affecting around 8,557 residents. Palestinians living in these isolated areas find their lives controlled by Occupation gates that are opened at the whim of the soldiers. Residents are required to deal with complicated Occupation procedures that govern all aspects of their lives. Residents must have the isolated village listed in their ID cards, while children under the age of 15 must always carry proof that they reside in the village. The amount and types of goods that can be brought through the gates is strictly limited. Service vehicles, including humanitarian, aid and medical, are barred from entering. Families are separated; all family members who are not related in the first degree to those who hold ID for the isolated villages must go through a complicated and timely process to obtain a limited entrance permit from the Occupation. The Occupation rarely issues such permits.
These measures are part and parcel of the ethnic cleansing process being carried out by the Occupation in the West Bank. The Occupation government is attempting to force villagers living in Ras Tira and other isolated areas off their lands through a complex of regulations and barriers that serve to make daily life nearly impossible.
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