Latest News, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, November 10th, 2008
Less than a week after an Occupation High Court
decision to change the route of the Apartheid Wall in Jayyous,
Occupation forces began uprooting trees and destroying farmland to make
room for the construction of the Wall. This is part of the 277 dunums
of land that will be razed for the path of the Wall, in addition to the
5,585 dunums that will be permanently confiscated when it is completed.
Some 200 olive trees have already been marked for uprooting.
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| Above: Gates like Jayyous "south gate" in the picture are not contemplated in the new plans for the Wall in the area. |
On November 4th, the Occupation High Court closed the legal charade it
had started in 2004 as one of the attempts to undermine the
International Court of Justice decision on the illegality of the Wall.
In 2005 the Occupation decided to re-route the Wall. However, three
years lapsed, in which time the settlements on Jayyous lands were given
time consolidate their expansion plans. These plans were then taken
into account in the creation of the new path of the Wall. Finally, a
week ago the Occupation court approved the new plans of the military
that were aimed not only at cementing the Occupation’s land grab, but
also to try and extort Palestinian approval. The mayor of the village,
representing Jayyous, was put under clear pressure to accept the path,
but he still refused to give his approval. Jayyous does not surrender
its lands.
With the old and the new path of the Wall, the settlement of Zufim is
slated to swallow much of the annexed land, along with an industrial
zone that the Occupation will build on the agricultural lands of
Jayyous. The construction of infrastructure for the new part of the
settlement called "North Zufim" has already begun. Construction of an
electricity network has started and the creation of housing units is
imminent.
This is the first time that the Occupation has begun to build the Wall
in accordance with a court decision to re-route it. The decision of the
Occupation courts includes the re-routing of the Wall north of Jayyous
by replacing a 2.4 km stretch with a 4.9 km stretch that is 2 km closer
to the Green Line. The Wall in Jayyous still encroaches 4 km inside the
West Bank. By re-routing the Wall, the Occupation is causing more
devastation to the land through the uprooting of additional olive trees
– in addition to the 6,000 that have already been uprooted – and the
destruction of more farmland. Farmers will now permanently be cut off
from their farmland, as the gates through the Wall will be completely
closed. As a result of this land grab, the 85% of the people of Jayyous
who made their living as farmers have largely been made unemployed, and
most of those who were still able to maintain their livelihoods will
now join the jobless ranks.
The court decision, therefore, does nothing to reverse the damage that
has been done to the Jayyous, and in no way does it alleviate the
hardships caused the villagers and farmers. Indeed, the only effective
form of change would be to tear down the wall completely, not to change
its path. This court decision merely serves to give a façade of
legality to the construction of the illegal Wall and its destruction
and dispossession of village land.
Jayyous was the first village that mounted regular, large-scale
protests against the construction of the Wall when it was first being
built, and eventually, these protests spread to villages such as
Ni’lin, Bil’in, and al Masra. By targeting Jayyous, with these actions,
therefore, the Occupation is effectively setting an example for the
rest of the West Bank: those who attempt to resist their colonialist
aims and apartheid infrastructure will pay with increased destruction
and dispossession.