{"id":3879,"date":"2017-12-25T19:10:47","date_gmt":"2017-12-25T19:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/?p=3879"},"modified":"2018-01-02T19:16:01","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T19:16:01","slug":"in-jabal-al-baba-the-trees-are-protected-but-the-people-arent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/?p=3879","title":{"rendered":"In Jabal al-Baba, the trees are protected but the people aren’t"},"content":{"rendered":"
By\u00a0Orly Noy<\/a>\u00a0

The truth is that while we wait uneasily for the next great catastrophe, it is already unfolding all around us, and on a daily basis. Not far from the boundaries of the \u201cundivided\u201d capital, Palestinian communities in Area C, which makes up 60 percent of the West Bank,\u00a0are threatened with eviction and demolition<\/a>\u2014part of Israel\u2019s policy of demographic engineering in the area to preserve its \u201cJewish and democratic\u201d character.<\/p>\n

Entire communities, from\u00a0Susya\u00a0<\/a>in the South Hebron Hills to\u00a0Khan al-Amer<\/a>\u00a0near Ma\u2019ale Adumim, are threatened with expulsion. The fact that the transfer of a native population in occupied territory is a war crime has not stopped Israel from pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing in the area. War crimes don\u2019t phase us anymore. When the Israeli army isn\u2019t actively expelling Palestinian communities, it stands on the sidelines and gives settlers\u00a0carte blanche<\/em>\u00a0to abuse and terrorize Palestinians shepherds.<\/p>\n

The hope, perhaps, is that the Palestinians will eventually grow frustrated and acquiesce to leaving the territory voluntarily. Israel does not want Palestinians in Area C; it does not hesitate to use whatever means necessary to make that clear to them.<\/p>\n

\n

Now, it is the Bedouin community of Jaba al-Baba\u2019s turn<\/a>. Like many other communities belonging to the Jahalin tribe, they were also uprooted from the area of Tel Arad, an area of the Negev close to the West Bank. They then leased land from Palestinian landowners in the area where the settlement of Maale Adumim is currently located\u2014private Palestinian land that belongs to the nearby villages and was seized by the settlement.<\/p>\n

The community of Jaba al-Baba is located in\u00a0a part of the West Bank called E1<\/a>, between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem. Planned Israeli development in the area is intended to link the settlement to the capital city. For several years, this plan has been a red line for the American government, which blocked it on the grounds that, if realized, the E1 development would bisect the West Bank, separating Palestinian East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and therefore eliminating the possibility of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. E1 has been called \u201cthe last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution.\u201d With a new occupant in the White House, the plan is likely to move forward.<\/p>\n

In the 1990s, Israel moved two other Bedouin communities from the area to a different area adjacent to the Abu Dis\u00a0garbage dump<\/a>. Israel, put bluntly, is taking the Bedouin and throwing them in the trash. The residents of Jabal al-Baba now face a similar fate: after a series of demolished buildings and confiscated supplies, on November 16, the community received a military order to evacuate their homes within eight days, as the first step in the demolition of the village. They were not told where to go.<\/p>\n

The order, called a \u201cdemarcation order,\u201d was signed by the commander of IDF forces in the West Bank, General Roni Noma. This kind of order was first articulated in 2003, originally to apply to illegal Jewish outposts. Recently, the army has begun to use the order to expel entire Palestinian communities. The \u201cdemarcation order\u201d allows for a quicker expulsion because it is more widely applicable and demands less bureaucratic and legal work; it does not require that each structure in a community be checked individually. A month ago, on October 16, the army demolished three caravans that housed four families, leaving homeless 27 people, including 18 children.<\/p>\n

The road to Jabal al-Baba goes through Al-Azariya, northeast of Jerusalem. As we approach the community, the urban space decreases in size until we arrive at an unruly hill, on top of which the residents\u2019 tents and tin shacks are scattered. As we wait for our host, Atallah Mazarrah, we witness an almost surreal scene: three men climbing up a tree on the top of the hill and decorating it in colorful Christmas lights. This Bedouin community celebrates Christmas? It turns out that this part of the hill, marked out by a fence, was given as a gift to the Pope by the King of Jordan. Hence its name: Jabal al-Baba, \u201cPope Mountain.\u201d The trees in the fenced-off area are protected under Vatican auspices; the people outside of it are left vulnerable to Israeli caprice.<\/p>\n

\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n

The Christmas tree in Jabal-al Baba. (Orly Noy)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The community is comprised of 57 families, or around 300 people, half of whom are children. All are threatened with expulsion and demolition\u2014individually and collectively. \u201cThe day after Trump\u2019s speech,\u201d Attallah tells me, \u201cpeople from the army\u2019s civil administration showed up. They went into every tent and every house, checked, and counted the people. It also seemed like they checked to see if we\u2019re building something new, putting up a new tent or something. They didn\u2019t speak with us, didn\u2019t say anything.\u201d Attallah has five children, the oldest of whom is 14. His house is set to be demolished. Of course.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalf of the people here are children. They walk to school in Al-Azariyah, two kilometers on a difficult road. In the winter, it\u2019s hard for many children to walk there so they stay at home. We wanted to make them a school here, but we were denied permission. Eventually, we made a kindergarten for the young children. They [the army] came and demolished it on the first day of school, in front of the children\u2019s eyes.\u201d The army confiscated the caravan intended for use as the kindergarten, as well as what was inside: 10 desks, 30 chairs, two storage closets, and a blackboard, all worth tens of thousands of shekels. They left the general\u2019s order, instructing the community to evacuate within a week, on the ground where the kindergarten once stood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t tell us where we\u2019re supposed to go,\u201d Atallah says, \u201cbut judging from the experience of other communities we know that they\u2019ll just put us on land owned by other Palestinians. They will destroy our entire way of life and also get us in all sorts of trouble with the landowners.\u201d I ask if the Palestinian Authority has a role to play. \u201cThe PA is only good for television,\u201d he replies. \u201cThe European Union is better, but Israel confiscated and destroyed what the EU built here too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Rain<\/p>\n

\n

Rain clouds above Jabal al Baba. In the background, the Palestinian city of Al-Azarya (Keren Manor\/Activestills)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In the early afternoon, the men are out with their flocks and the women are less than thrilled to speak with strangers. We stop to talk with Odeh, Attallah\u2019s brother, and his wife Fatimah, next to the cabin that is their home. The parents of 10 children, they also watched their home be demolished two years ago. \u201cWe were born here, married here, and had children here. Where do they want us to go?\u201d Fatimah asks. \u201cWhen they destroyed our home, it was very hard for the children. We managed to take a few small things from the house. They\u2019re always afraid that the soldiers will return.\u201d What did you do after your house was destroyed? \u201cWe put up a tent next to someone else\u2019s home. We\u2019re all like family here, helping each other out until we can build a new house,\u201d Odeh says. \u201cThey demolish more homes in winter because they know it will be harder to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to work for the Jews a lot,\u201d Odeh continues. \u201cIn the supermarket, in construction, in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, in Maale Adumim. But now it\u2019s hard, they don\u2019t give many permits. Most of us are shepherds. We just want to live. We have permission from the landowners to live here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As night falls, we return to the Christmas tree. The decorating has finished, and the tree is dressed in colorful lights. \u201cWhen we light it at night, you can see it from the road,\u201d Attallah says proudly. \u201cMaybe we need to write some kind of message on it, some sentence to the world. We have no power against Israel, but the world has power.\u201d<\/p>\n

What would you want to write on it? I ask. Attallah thinks for a few moments and replies. \u201cEnd the occupation. End it. Enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Orly Noy\u00a0|Published December 25, 2017 The Bedouin community of Jabal al-Baba faces expulsion\u00a0from their homes. The army eviction order says nothing about where they are supposed to go. U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel generated among many Israelis and Palestinians the fear that something terrible\u2014a kind of political earthquake …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3880,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3879"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3883,"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879\/revisions\/3883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jahalin.org\/archive\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}