OccupationalHazard.org 01.13.03

The Occupation - 01/13/03

Reports from Palestine - Ras Atiya

International Solidarity Movement

Late Friday night, January 10, after Ras Atiya villagers and officials had made plans to protect their children and school from potential harm from construction of the highly controversial Israeli "security fence", three Israeli jeeps and a lightweight tank rolled into the village and threatened its residents with retaliation. Residents told internationals from International Solidarity Movement stationed in Ras Atiya that Israeli soldiers said people in Ras Atiya would be killed and the village put under curfew for six months if they continued with their plans to confront Israeli appropriation and destruction of farmland and homes in their area.
On January 8, 2003 nearly 200 people from Ras Atiya and its neighbor, Daba, had stopped a bulldozer and rock crusher working near their villages by peacefully placing themselves before the equipment. At the conclusion of the protests, Israeli soldiers fired a number of tear gas cannisters, injuring a Ras Atiya man.(See previous release dated 1-9-03 from ISM)
The official Israeli rationale for the wall is increasing security for Israel, but Palestinians point out many hard facts to the contrary. PENGON (Palestinian Environmental NGO’s Network ) and official maps show the wall making major incursions past the l967 border into Palestinian territory. 160,000 dunums (40,000 acres) will be confiscated by military order as the eight meter high wall procedes along its full 350 kilometer (220 mile) length, a seizure of 10% more of Palestinian lands.
In the Qalqilia district where Ras Atiya is located lie the richest agricultural lands in the West Bank. Olive, citrus, and nut trees have already been uprooted and field crops and greenhouses systemically destroyed as thousands of dunums are being confiscated. Ras Atiya had suffered these losses, yet more continues.
Sharon’s government will take 30 wells in the Qalqilia district, seizing water resources already unequally allocated by the Israeli government at the 1967 level. A huge aquafer , the Western Groundwater Basin, lies under Palestine, yet Palestine remains water poor due to Israeli restrictions, a seldom mentioned but primary reason for Israel’s keen interest in the West Bank.
The people of Ras Atiya point out another contradiction in the term "security fence". According to Israeli law there has to be 300 meter buffer distance from the border of a road, but in Ras Atiya there will be only three meters between the school of 500 students and the wall/road, likewise for a new house near the school. Israeli soldiers have threatened to reduce the school to rubble if even one stone is thrown by a schoolchild at construction equipment. Villagers also fear underground dynamiting will destabilize the structure of the school, making it unsafe for use.
Despite previous death threats from Israeli soldiers, things were peaceful today as internationals escorted schoolchildren to the school and remained around the periphery during school hours. They watched with several villagers while boys from level 9 and 10 as part of English class sprayed statements of peace like "Let me learn peacefully", "Stop confiscating land" and "Tanks + weapons = no learning" on the low walls facing the construction area.
The villagers displayed the plaque marking the construction of the school in 1996 with funds from the Swiss government and World Bank to the internationals, some of whom are American, and reminded them that the Israeli military is funded in large part by billions of U.S. dollars annually. Ras Atiya mayor, Mohamed Samara Marabe, commented, " I want to bring delegations from Switzerland and America to see how their money is spent.
Villagers from Daba and Azbet Jalud also requested the presence of the internationals from International Solidarity Movement in their villages to observe construction very near their villages. The villagers of Azbet Jalud face the destruction of their village for the second time around. In 1948 the village of Zakur near Narit in Israel was demolished and its residents fled to the present site of Azbet Jalud where they constructed another village, soon to be largely demolished, along with orchards, field crops and greenhouses.

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Reports from Palestine - Ras Atiya
International Solidarity Movement





Late Friday night, January 10, after Ras Atiya villagers and officials had made plans to protect their children and school from potential harm from construction of the highly controversial Israeli "security fence", three Israeli jeeps and a lightweight tank rolled into the village and threatened its residents with retaliation. Residents told internationals from International Solidarity Movement stationed in Ras Atiya that Israeli soldiers said people in Ras Atiya would be killed and the village put under curfew for six months if they continued with their plans to confront Israeli appropriation and destruction of farmland and homes in their area. On January 8, 2003 nearly 200 people from Ras Atiya and its neighbor, Daba, had stopped a bulldozer and rock crusher working near their villages by peacefully placing themselves before the equipment. At the conclusion of the protests, Israeli soldiers fired a number of tear gas cannisters, injuring a Ras Atiya man.(See previous release dated 1-9-03 from ISM) The official Israeli rationale for the wall is increasing security for Israel, but Palestinians point out many hard facts to the contrary. PENGON (Palestinian Environmental NGO’s Network ) and official maps show the wall making major incursions past the l967 border into Palestinian territory. 160,000 dunums (40,000 acres) will be confiscated by military order as the eight meter high wall procedes along its full 350 kilometer (220 mile) length, a seizure of 10% more of Palestinian lands. In the Qalqilia district where Ras Atiya is located lie the richest agricultural lands in the West Bank. Olive, citrus, and nut trees have already been uprooted and field crops and greenhouses systemically destroyed as thousands of dunums are being confiscated. Ras Atiya had suffered these losses, yet more continues. Sharon’s government will take 30 wells in the Qalqilia district, seizing water resources already unequally allocated by the Israeli government at the 1967 level. A huge aquafer , the Western Groundwater Basin, lies under Palestine, yet Palestine remains water poor due to Israeli restrictions, a seldom mentioned but primary reason for Israel’s keen interest in the West Bank. The people of Ras Atiya point out another contradiction in the term "security fence". According to Israeli law there has to be 300 meter buffer distance from the border of a road, but in Ras Atiya there will be only three meters between the school of 500 students and the wall/road, likewise for a new house near the school. Israeli soldiers have threatened to reduce the school to rubble if even one stone is thrown by a schoolchild at construction equipment. Villagers also fear underground dynamiting will destabilize the structure of the school, making it unsafe for use. Despite previous death threats from Israeli soldiers, things were peaceful today as internationals escorted schoolchildren to the school and remained around the periphery during school hours. They watched with several villagers while boys from level 9 and 10 as part of English class sprayed statements of peace like "Let me learn peacefully", "Stop confiscating land" and "Tanks + weapons = no learning" on the low walls facing the construction area. The villagers displayed the plaque marking the construction of the school in 1996 with funds from the Swiss government and World Bank to the internationals, some of whom are American, and reminded them that the Israeli military is funded in large part by billions of U.S. dollars annually. Ras Atiya mayor, Mohamed Samara Marabe, commented, " I want to bring delegations from Switzerland and America to see how their money is spent. Villagers from Daba and Azbet Jalud also requested the presence of the internationals from International Solidarity Movement in their villages to observe construction very near their villages. The villagers of Azbet Jalud face the destruction of their village for the second time around. In 1948 the village of Zakur near Narit in Israel was demolished and its residents fled to the present site of Azbet Jalud where they constructed another village, soon to be largely demolished, along with orchards, field crops and greenhouses.
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