By AHMAD JARADAT
On the way from Jerusalem to Hebron lies the Palestinian village of Beit Ommar, home to 8,000 people. The village is located west of the main road, which is the historic link between Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the north and the Hebron District to the south. Like other area villages, it is well known for agriculture, and most of the residents depend on their land for income. The Israelis have confiscated much of the village land for the illegal Israeli settlements, especially for the Kfar Etzion illegal settlement bloc to the north of the village and Karmei Tsur to the south.
Because it is located very close to the main road, the Israeli army built a military outpost and checkpoint at the village main entrance after the first Intifada. Because of the presence of the Israeli soldiers and their checkpoint, it seems like the village entrance actually goes into Israel instead of into a West Bank village.
On February 25, the Israeli military commander in the Bethlehem District issued an order to build a fortified fence east of Beit Ommar, between it and the main road. The order claimed that the fence was needed for "security" and called for it to be 290 meters long. The Municipality and the owners of the land filed an objection with the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank.
If the army goes forward with the fence, the village will become a prison. The fence will block the east side of the village. To the south, the village is already blocked by the Karmei Tsur settlement. To the north, it is blocked by the Kfar Etzion settlement. To the west is the Green Line that leads to Israel. All movement in and out of the village will be through the east checkpoint, which is controlled by the Israeli army. The army will be able to shut down the checkpoint at will, trapping villagers inside and preventing people or goods from entering. The fence will cut the village residents off from their agricultural lands, making access to these lands completely at the whim of the Israeli army. One can imagine the serious physical and psychological effects on the village’s residents.
The policy of building such fences is not new. During the first Intifada, the Israelis built fences to separate some of villages and camps that were near main roads. This included the al-'Arroub camp north of Hebron, the Dheisheh camp in the Bethlehem district and other places in the northern West Bank.
On a daily basis, the Israeli army harasses the people of Beit Ommar. Soldiers stop residents who are going out or coming back to their homes. They frequently invade homes at night and take people. The West Bank is under military rule, so there is no due process for those "arrested" by the army. Those taken away are often held without charges and if they are brought to trial under military court, they are presumed guilty. The army also holds thousands of Palestinians, including children, under "administrative detention" without charge and without any specified release time.
A week ago, the army imposed a curfew on the village for two days and occupied more than ten houses. They threw sound bombs in the small village streets and at the houses, making sleep very difficult. They also arrested approximately 30 people, some of them children.
Source
Posted by JNOUBIYEH at 1:42 PM
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