Palestinians displaced by Israeli wall up 58% since June

Report: Palestinians displaced by Israeli wall up 58% since June

Date: 24 / 10 / 2008 Time: 11:44

[Ma'anImages] Jerusalem – Ma’an – The Israeli-built West Bank separation wall is displacing Palestinians from their homes at alarmingly increasing rates, according to a report issued Thursday. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) conducted a survey on the impact of the Israeli separation wall, finding that the percentage of displaced households had increased by 58% since June, while closures have doubled. By the end of June 2008, nine governorates were affected directly by the wall: Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarem, Salfit, and Qalqilia, in the north of the West Bank; Jerusalem, Ramallah and Al-Bireh in the mid-region; with Bethlehem and Hebron in the south. Fieldwork took place between June and July 2008 and covered 171 localities. 171 localities were affected during the summer months of 2008, compared with 149 localities by the end of May 2005. The main findings indicated that 14 localities are located behind the wall: 13 localities in the northern West Bank (five in Jenin, seven in Qalqilia, and one in Tulkarem), as well as one in Bethlehem. The results showed that 49,291 dunums of land have been confiscated since the construction began and through June 2008. Most of the confiscated land was in the northern West Bank (22,141 dunums), according to the report. In the mid-region, 13,875 dunums were confiscated, while a similar 13,275 dunums were seized in the south.