A large Occupation force raided the village of Imreiha, north of Ya’bad and northwest of Jenin. Soldiers prevented the farmers from completing their work on two water reservoirs under the pretext that they were located in area C. Under Oslo, area C is under complete Occupation control and as such Palestinians wishing to build in C areas must obtain a permit. These permits are rarely issued.
***image2***For the past 10 years, the village council of Imreiha has been applying for a water network as well as an electricity network, but their applications have been constantly rejected. The council is facing the fact that the Occupation does not recognize the existence of this village and the right of the Palestinians to live on their land.
The 500 inhabitants of the village suffer from the lack of basic services and have met their most basic water needs through the purchase of costly water tanks. The supply is not sufficient, and the problem is exacerbated by the fact that they rely on livestock that require an increased amount of water.
The village of Imreiha has four Bedouin families: Turman, Hamdona, Abu Rmaileh and Abu Abed. They are all refugees, originally from the village of Sindyaneh, near Haifa. In 1948, the families were expelled from their homes by Zionist gangs. In 1967, Occupation forces targeted the people again. Following assaults, arrests and the confiscation of animals, the families were expelled for a second time and moved to Imreiha.
After the signing of the Oslo agreement, what resulted in the division of Palestinian areas, Imreiha was classified as C. As a result, these families are once in danger of displacement. The Occupation does not recognize the existence of this village nor its inhabitants and therefore forbids the villagers from developing or adding anything to their homes while at the same time preventing the establishment of infrastructure and services in the village.
During the second intifada, Occupation forces closed the only entrance to the village with a metal gate, reinforced military observation towers and a military checkpoint on the pretext of protecting settlements surrounding the village. These settlements include Hermesh, located 2 kilometers to the west, and Mevo Dotan 1 and 2, located 4 kilometers to the east. The Occupation forces also constructed part of the Apartheid Wall in the west, isolating farmers and Bedouin from their agricultural and grazing lands.