Monday , November 4 2024

Resources

The effect of forced transfer on Bedouin women….

http://bimkom.org/wp-content/uploads/The-effect-of-forced-transfer-on-Bedouin-women-Eng_DESIGN1.pdf 

© Bimkom 2017

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Worrying Developments lay the ground for future E1 Construction
Over the past weeks Ir Amim has learned of several worrying developments related to the area of E1:

  • Demolition order s to all the structures in the Bedouin town of Khan Al-Akhmar, located near E1.
  • Construction of the Zeitim Interchange which, when completed, could allow for the opening of the Eastern Ring Road’s northern section, a necessary step before construction in E1 can take place.
  • Bypassing the National Planning Council’s decision to annul the masterplan for the Mt. Scopus National Park (adjacent to E1 from the West) and marking the area as a national park in other masterplans currently being advanced.
  • Planning of a road tunnel that will allow increased traffic between Jerusalem, E1 and Ma’ale Adumim. Settlement expansion in and around Jerusalem depends on developing this and other road infrastructure.
  • Advancing a plan for a promenade in A-Tur which will overlook  the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. The promenade connects settler compounds in A-Tur and is part of a chain of Israeli projects connecting the Old City all the way to E1….
Road plans for connection from south of West Bank to Ramallah – via Jericho, in order to close off Jerusalem from Palestinian access.

Remarks to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East — UN Secretary-General, January 26, 2016

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Bedouin Rights Under Occupation: International Humanitarian Law and Indigenous Rights for Palestinian Bedouin in the West Bank — Norwegian Refugee Council, November 2015

Bedouin Rights Under Occupation FINAL English by Angela Godfrey-Goldstein

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[Report] Palestinian Bedouin communities at risk of forcible transfer in Area C — Jahalin Association – Nabi Samwel, November 2015

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UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question — Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman, August 19, 2015

…Israel’s practice of demolishing homes and structures also continued. This month, 86 structures, including 26 residential structures, were demolished in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing 177 Palestinians, including 89 children. On 17 August 22 structures were demolished in four communities in the planned E-1 area affecting in particular vulnerable Palestinian Bedouins which displaced 78 people, including 49 children. This was the largest number of Palestinians displaced in the West Bank in one day in nearly three years. And yesterday, 27 structures, including eight residential structures were demolished resulting in 42 displaced, including 27 children in the Jordan Valley Area C community of Fasayil al Wusta. The Secretary-General calls on the Israeli authorities to halt demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank, to revoke plans that would result in the forcible transfer of Palestinian communities, and to implement an inclusive planning and zoning regime that will enable Palestinians’ residential and community development needs to be met…

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[Press Release] UN Officials call for an immediate demolitions freeze in the West Bank — August 18. 2015

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[Joint Press Release] UN Officials: Israel must halt plans to transfer Palestinian Bedouins — May 20, 2015

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Forcible Transfer: Essential Legal Principles (A Reference Guide for Practitioners and Policy-Makers) — BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, May 2015

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[Press Release] Israel Officially Declares Intention to Forcibly Transfer Palestinians in ’E1’ — Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council, April 28, 2015

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Public Statement from the Bedouin Transfer Roundtable, Jericho — January 2015

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U.S. State Department Reply to Shan Cretin (American Friends Service Committee) on the subject of Bedouin Relocation  — December 5, 2014

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Jahalin Association Report: Bedouin communities in Area C at risk of forcible transfer — Jahalin Association, December 2014

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E-1 Factsheet — Jahalin Association, October 21, 2014

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Remarks of the UN Secretary-General to the Security Council Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East — United Nations, October 21, 2014

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Bedouin Communities at Risk of Forcible Transfer — UN-OCHA-oPt, September 2014

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Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples — UN Human Rights Council, August 11, 2014

UN HRC Report

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Summary of Wadi abu Hindi-Muntar Jahalin Bedouin Supreme Court Case July 2014

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Vulnerability Profile Project Statistics for E-1 Area — OCHA, July 2014

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[Report] The al-Uqbi Supreme Court Appeal for Araqib and Zkhiliqa Lands – June 2, 2014

בית המשפט העליון ערעור שבט אל עוקבי בנוגע לאדמות עראקיב וזחיליקה – 2 יוני 2014

On Monday, 2 June 2014, the Israeli Supreme Court met to hear an appeal by the al-Uqbi Bedouin Arab tribe against the District Court’s 2012 ruling to deny the tribe’s ownership over its ancestral lands. The bench was headed by chief Justice Eliyakim Rubinstein, alongside Salim Jubran and Esther Hayot.

The session lasted over two hours, and concluded with a suggestion and pressure by the court for the sides to enter a mediation process in order to reach “a fair solution” for the tribe’s land claims. Although there is no ruling, it is the first time the Supreme Court criticizes state policies and asks for a “fair alternative” implying that to date these policies have been unfair. It’s the first time an appeal openly challenges the ‘Dead Negev Doctrine’ (DND) under which large swathes of Bedouin land were appropriated by the state, turning their inhabitants into ‘trespassers’ on their ancestral lands, and forming the basis for systematic denial of human and civil rights.

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[Map] Bedouin Communities at Risk in the E-1/Ma’ale Adumim Settlement AreaOCHA, May 2014

(Click above to enlarge.)

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[Meeting Minutes] “Illegal Palestinian Construction in Area C” – Meeting of the Judea and Samaria Region Subcommittee of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, April 27, 2014

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EU HOMS Report on Jerusalem – European Union Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah, March 18, 2014

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[Infographic] Refugees Displaced by Demolitions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – UNRWA, 2013

UNRWA - Demolitions 2013 Infographic

(Click above to enlarge.)

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[Mini Profile] Forced Displacement of Palestinian Refugees: Demolitions – UNRWA, 2013

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[Report] INFOCUS: Bedouins in the occupied Palestinian Territory – UNDP, September 2013

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Oxfam briefing on Israeli settlements and their impact on Palestinians in the Jordan Valley– August 2012

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UNRWA Factsheet – Jahalin Tribe– July 2012

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UNRWA Factsheet – Threat of Forced Displacement– July 2012

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Video by Maan Development

February 2012

Excellent 4 minute video by Maan Development about the situation of the herders in the Jordan Valley

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2012 Timeline of the Jerusalem Periphery

Early January: ICA restricts access to Wadi Qelt water to a 30 meter stretch for the handful of remaining families allowed access to the water resource. No previous restrictions were in place, and the families have no other access to water. Ghawaliya and Nkheila communities are also affected.

05 January: ICA meets with Al Jabal committee to discuss moving the community of Abu Nwar into al Jabal. The committee informs ICA that Abu Nwar group does not want to relocate.

09 January: Khan al Ahmar School road access closed. Vehicle access to the community is now restricted to a 2.5km dirt track, impassable in bad weather.

10 January: Hadash party visit to Al Jabal.

11 January: 120 PA tents confiscated by ICA from Al Kasaraat distribution point, Abu George Rd.

23 January: Anata demolitions.

24 January: 1 stop building order issued to a family in the Nkheila 1 community.

24 January: 1 stop building order issued to a family outside al Jabal boundary.

01 February: Dangot visit to Khan al Ahmar. Informs the community they will be transferred from their village to a new location (+ no demolition of existing structures until relocation is complete). The community does not want to move.

06 February: Knesset discussion on the rubbish dump and relocation plan. Environmental health study is ordered. Expansion of the al Jabal community will not go ahead until results are known.

13 February:  Approximately twelve families in Wadi Jiml, Eizariya, issued for the first time with stop building orders. The ICA verbally informed the targeted families (approx 60 people) that they would be moved in order to make space for the building of a Palestinian road. This road will facilitate access to Palestinian localities in the Eizariya area and will only be necessary if the E1 plans go ahead.     

15 February: ICA confirms to UNRWA that the Abu Nwar community will be the first community to be moved. The area is known by ICA as ‘G block’ and received preliminary approval in 1999 for the building of 1,500 new units for Maale Adummim settlement.

27 March: A notice is served on the Israeli High Court of Justice by the Attorney General on behalf of the Israeli Civil Administration and the Minister of Defence regarding the demolition order on the Khan alAhmar School. The notice informs the court that the Attorney General will notify the Court on 16th April 2012regarding the State of Israel’s decision on whether to approve the demolition order and if so, the timeframe in which it will be enforced.

16 April: The Ministry of Defense requests two additional days before updating the court on the State of Israel’s decision.

19 April: The state informs the High Court of Justice of the Minister of Defense’s decision to move the Khan al Ahmar School from its current location to another one. The minister instructed the relevant authorities to try and find an alternative suitable location to the school and to implement the relocation during the upcoming months.

19 April -23 April: ICA officers verbally inform the Khan al Ahmar School community and others in the Khan al Ahmar cluster that they are actively seeking a site for the relocation of the communities, in response to the state’s decision announced to the court on 19th April. The ICA takes full details of family members, employment etc and opens discussions on possible sites for relocation.

01 May: ICA visits most of the remaining communities in the Khan al Ahmar cluster (Ab al Helwe, Abu Fellah and Kurshan) to discuss relocation, as per above. They then return to the school community to continue discussions.  

02 May: ICA and IDF visit A-Zayyem Bedouin community and inform them that a demolition will take place in their community on 03rd May since the injunction order protecting the structures has been lifted.

06 May: ICA issues 8 eviction orders to the Kurshan community in the Khan al Ahmar cluster, following the building of 8 new residential structures by an international NGO to replace sub-standard shelter. The orders give 24 hours notice.

07 May: ICA visits Rd 1 Bedouin communities of Wadi Sneysel and Bir al Maskoob to take statistics and inform the communities that there is the intention to move them to a different (unspecified) location.

08 May: The Court rejects the appeal regarding the 8 eviction orders of the Kurshan community and gives them until 16.00 on 9 May to dismantle their structures, if this does not happen, the ICA  will implement the demolition.

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The E-1 Development Plan

The E-1 Development Plan, part of the Israeli government’s goal for ensuring that Greater Jerusalem is a majority Jewish demographic of some 90%, spells the end of the two-state solution, and once achieved will prevent the Palestinians from having easy access to the Ramallah – East Jerusalem – Bethlehem economic salient, which accounts for 35% [NSU] of the Palestinian economy, largely due to tourism.  This means the heart of Palestine’s economic viability would be undermined.  Contiguity will be negated, once E-1 is further filled in (it already has two major police stations, three major Israeli highways and the Wall on it, with another major road planned), except for transport contiguity of a small tunnel under A-Zaim so that Palestinian cars (but not commercial traffic) in Azaria/East Jerusalem may travel to Ramallah; all others will be forced to travel from, say, Hebron via Jericho on a new road to be built outside the route of the Wall.

 Finally, E-1 development will utilise the only remaining open land currently needed for East Jerusalem’s natural expansion; development will thus “choke” East Jerusalem Palestinians, while cutting off the southern “canton” of the West Bank from the central “canton” by the wedge created by the Ma’ale Adumim bloc and the Wall surrounding it.  This development is echoed in the north of the West Bank by the wedge created by the Ariel bloc and the Israeli settler-only by-pass road, Highway No. 5.  By totally blocking off Bethlehem in the south by the Wall and settlements such as Har Homa, Gilo and Har Gilo, and duplicating this in the north, blocking off Ramallah by the Wall and settlements such as Pisgat Zeev and Neve Yaakov, the E-1 plan repeats this pattern by totally blocking off the Eastern part of Jerusalem from the West Bank, thereby denying Palestinian contiguity throughout the East Jerusalem corridor.

Peace Now information page on E-1

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B’Tselem Annual Report — 2011

2011

The 2011 B’Tselem report includes a chapter about the plan to move tens of thousands in Area C; the chapter is entitled “Stifling Growth”. Also their short video about the planned relocation: “Bedouin near Maale Adumim settlement face expulsion”.

B’Tselem report here

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May 2011

Good film about the Jahalin’s history, by Stop the Wall

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UNHCR briefing on Israel’s denial of the Bedouin

 

November 2011

“In the next few months, the Israeli parliament is expected
to legislate on a plan to demolish homes and displace
30,000 Arab Bedouin from the Negev desert of southern
Israel.

On 11 September 2011, the Israeli cabinet decided
to go ahead with the controversial ‘Prawer plan’, which
aims at providing a full resolution to continuing issues
between the state and Bedouin over land ownership,
recognition of villages, and provision of basic infrastructure
and facilities. […] ”

Full briefing here:

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4ed61bdc2.html

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Off the Map- Report on land and housing violations in Israel’s unrecognized Bedouin villages

March 2008

“Tens of thousands of Palestinian Arab Bedouin, the indigenous inhabitants of the Negev region, live in informal shanty towns, or “unrecognized villages,” in the south of Israel. Discriminatory land and planning policies have made it virtually impossible for Bedouin to build legally where they live, and also exclude them from the state’s development plans for the region. The state implements forced evictions, home demolitions, and other punitive measures disproportionately against Bedouin as compared with actions taken regarding structures owned by Jewish Israelis that do not conform to planning law.” […]

Full 123 page report here:

http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iopt0308webwcover.pdf

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E1 Development Plan and Environs- 1998

For download of easily enlargeable pdf image, click here:

http://www.fmep.org/maps/west-bank/e1-development-plan-and-environs-jan-1998/e1_development_plan.pdf/view

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Humanitarian Fact Sheet on the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea Area — UN, February 2012

February 2012

  • The Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area covers around 30% of the West Bank, and is home to nearly 60,000Palestinians.
  • 87% of the land is designated as Area C, virtually all of which is prohibited for Palestinian use, earmarkedinstead for the use of the Israeli military or under the jurisdiction of Israeli settlements.
  • An additional 7% is formally part of Area B, but is unavailable for development, as it was designated a naturereserve under the 1998 Wye River Memorandum.
  • Around one quarter of Palestinians in the area reside in Area C, including some 7,900 Bedouin and herders.Some 3,400 people reside partially or fully in closed military zones and face a high risk of forced eviction.
  • There are 37 Israeli settlements, with a population of 9,500, established across the area, in contraventionof international law.
  • In 2011, the Israeli authorities demolished over 200 Palestinian-owned structures in the area, displacingaround 430 people and affecting the livelihoods of another 1,200 Palestinians.
  • Water consumption dips to 20 litres/capita/day in most herding communities in the area, compared to theWHO recommendation of 100 l/c/d and the average settlement consumption of 300 l/c/d.
  • Access to the area is limited to six routes, four of which are controlled by Israeli checkpoints, severelyrestricting the movement of Palestinian-plated vehicles.
  • If Palestinians gain access to 50,000 dunums (12,500 acres or 3.5% of Area C) of uncultivated land, thiscould generate a billion dollars of revenue per year (The World Bank)

Full fact sheet here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/81270973/Ocha-Opt-Jordan-Valley-FactSheet-February-2012-English

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Amnesty Briefing on Jahalin Bedouin forced relocation

February 2012

http://www.scribd.com/doc/80963609/Amnesty-Briefing-Paper-on-Jahalin-Bedouin-forced-relocation

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B’Tselem 2.5 minute video about Jahalin

January 17 2012

Link: Bedouin community near settlement faces expulsion

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The Forced Transfer of Bedouins Communities — Diakonia Report (Sweden), November 2011

November 2011

“The proposed relocation plan of 2,300 Arab Jahalin Bedouins from the Jerusalem periphery to a site next to the Abu Dis Municipal garbage dump, due to commence in January 2012,  is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. Furthermore, it is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions – an unquestionable war crime and possibly a crime against humanity. This policy is also in violation of clear prohibitions under human rights law, including the right to private and family life, and infringes upon the right to an adequate standard of living. In addition, it may also amount to inhumane treatment. Due to these violations of the international legal framework, the plan should be halted immediately and any steps taken to go through with this plan must be investigated by domestic authorities, and, failing this, the international community.”

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Full report here:

http://www.diakonia.se/documents/public/IHL/IHLanalysis/Diakonia_Forced_Transfer_of_Bedouin_Communities_Legal_Brief.pdf

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Bedouin Relocation: Threat of Displacement in the Jerusalem Periphery — UN Fast Fact Sheet, September 2011

  • Around 2,300 Bedouin reside in 20 communities in the hills to the east of Jerusalem. More than 80% of them are refugees. over two-thirds are children.
  •  The communities have all lost access to land due to settlement expansion, most have demolition orders pending against their homes, none have access to the electricity network and only half are connected to the water network.
  •  Despite receiving humanitarian assistance, 55% of Bedouin/herding communities in area c of the West Bank are food insecure.
  •  Over 200 families were re-located from the area in the 1990s, some by force. of these, more than 85% report they had to abandon their traditional livelihoods.
  •  More than 500,000 israeli civilians live in israeli settlements in the West Bank, including in east Jerusalem, built in contravention of international law.
  •  As of 1 September 2011, at least 755 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced in 2011 due to demolitions and 127 due to settler violence – some 40% of these were Bedouin.

Full fact sheet here:

http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_bedouin_FactSheet_October_2011_english.pdf

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Demolition Fact Sheet — UNRWA, September 2011

  •  Demolitions include demolition orders, stop-building orders, property confiscations, settler harassment and multiple warnings of imminent eviction by the Israeli Civil Administration. Homes, schools, water cisterns and electrical infrastructure are just a few examples of buildings recently torn down.
  •  Israeli demolition orders are targeting vulnerable Bedouin and herding communities in particular. UNRWA has identified 20 Bedouin communities in the Maale Adumim settlement area in the outskirts of Jerusalem of which security is of immediate concern.
  •  The UN estimates that there are more than 3,000 standing demolition orders in Area C alone. 18 of these orders are schools.
  •  In many cases, demolition orders have been issued to entire communities.

Full fact sheet here:

http://www.unrwausa.org/document.doc?id=1

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Urgent Appeal on Jahalin Bedouin — July 6, 2007

“The E1 plan and the route of the Wall around the E1-Ma’aleh Adumim settlement block, if implemented, will encompass 52km and over 50,000 Jewish settlers, de facto annexing this part of the occupied West Bank to Israel’s ‘Greater Jerusalem’.
This will require the removal of the Jahalin Bedouin, who live a traditional semi-nomadic life in the area, to permanent clusters planned by Israel outside of the route of the Wall. To this end, the Bedouin are facing arbitrary displacementand a threat to their traditional way of life.The affected Jahalin Bedouin community includes up to 2,700 persons and is scattered among 31localities on the hills and roads in the desert around the Jewish settlement of Ma’ale Adumim andnear the villages of Anata, Abu Dis, and Al’ Zaryya (see annex 1). The Bedouin are a vulnerablegroup because they are an indigenous people, refugees (many are both refugees and have beeninternally displaced as well), and they have no adequate housing nor secure land tenure. Thecommunity is largely made up of women and children. The marginal status of this community isreflected in the lack of concrete data on this population…”
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Full appeal here:
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