***image2***Occupation Forces forced upon residents of the village of Dabâa four demolition orders on September 16, calling on the owners of the threatened houses âto objectâ by October 14.
Two hundred and fifty people living in 42 houses reside in Al Dabaâa village, located in the southern Qalqiliya District. The village has faced continuous suffering from the oppressive Occupation policies, including the confiscation of their lands, and the Occupationâs refusal to issue building licenses, making their houses under continuous threat of demolition.
The new demolition orders in Dabaâa are an additional step taken by the Occupation towards the expulsion of the people living in the village. Over one year ago the Apartheid Wall was completed around Dabâa along with the adjacent villages of Wadi Al Rasha, Ras Tira, Arab Al Ramadin and Arab Abu Farda, isolating all of them from the rest of the West Bank by trapping them on the âother side of the Wallâ. In October 2003, all lands âbehindâ the Wallâbetween the Wall and the Green Line–were declared a âseam zoneâ and Palestinians in these areas are now forced to apply for permits to stay in their villages and homes, all the while being isolated from the surrounding area.
Now, demolition orders are marking the next step in the Occupationâs plan to âcleanseâ these neighboring villages with the destruction of their homes. Already numerous demolition orders have been given: Wadi Al Rasha is facing the threat of 7 demolition orders, another 11 demolition orders were given previously to Arab Al Ramadin, and in Ras Tira the Occupation gave village resident Hisham Hashim demolition orders for his water collection pool used to irrigate his farms and trees.
The Apartheid Wall is 100-250 meters away from the houses of Dabâa village. Already a large portion of Dabâa lands was destroyed for the Wallâs footprint, while the whole village is isolated from neighboring villages such as Habla and Ras Atiah with whom they share familial ties. As well, lands of the villages in the area, on both sides of the Wall, are being separated from their owners on the other side. Applying Zionismâs rule of âmore land less peopleâ, the Apartheid Wall has annexed this canton of five villages with 1000 residents, along with 15,000 dunums of lands that belong to them as well as to the near-by villages located on the âother sideâ. It is in this area where the settlement of Alfe Menashe is now expanding.
Since the completion of the Wall these village have been isolated and deprived of all basic services, including water, in addition to being isolated from their families and relatives living in the villages that are on the opposite side of the Wall. Now the Occupation is targeting their houses, leaving them with nothing that will sustain their steadfastness.