MIFTAH
Friday, 29 March. 2024
 
Your Key to Palestine
The Palestinian Initiatives for The Promotoion of Global Dialogue and Democracy
 
 
 


On July 13, Israeli cartographers started redrawing the route of the West Bank planned Wall to reduce “hardship for Palestinian residents,” after an Israeli court ruling, Israeli officials said.

Later this week, cartographers will present three different routes to the Israeli Defense Ministry for approval; the routes are expected to be closer to Israel than originally planned. The Wall in the West Bank is to run for 425 miles, one-fourth of which has already been built. The changes will be made mainly in the section still in the planning stages.

Israeli officials confirmed that the following changes are based on the “criteria” set by Israel’s Supreme Court in a ruling that was issued last month. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that the construction of the Wall on occupied territory is illegal has had no influence on the Israeli ruling.

According to Israeli officials, the old plan was based purely on security grounds, whereas the new one is to balance between Israeli security needs and Palestinian rights.

The biggest route changes are to be implemented in the northern West Bank, mainly in the city of Qalqiliya, in addition to Jerusalem.

These upcoming changes seem insignificant in comparison to the overall devastating impact of the built Wall which traps over 13,300 Palestinians living in 18 towns and villages, confiscates around 8,000 Acers of land and locks at least 50 Water wells which supply half of these isolated towns with water.

Qalqiliya, located in the northern West Bank, is completely walled in by the Separation Wall and a second barrier wall, effectively ghettoizing 86,000 Palestinians.

Of Qalqiliya’s 15,000 dunums of agricultural land, over 7,000 were confiscated or rendered inaccessible by the Wall, as well as 15 major water wells. A third of the city’s 1,800 businesses were closed due to the economical siege, which resulted in vast unemployment.

Furthermore, over 60% of Qalqiliya’s farmers are access to their lands isolated by the Wall, and the population in general is cut off from neighboring villages as the “gates” into and out of the city are opened only three times a day for brief periods.

Jayyous, a farming town located near Qalqiliya, with a population of 3,100 Palestinians, is yet another victim of this vicious Wall. The town was stripped of some 9,000 dunums of agricultural land, in addition to having its seven water wells confiscated, depriving over 550 families from their sole means of livelihood.

Zayta, located near the Green Line and a home to 3,000 Palestinians, endured the loss of over 875 dunums of agricultural land, 442 dunums of which were confiscated by Israel’s so called “border correction,” again depriving some 500 residents of their means of livelihood.

These numbers, grave as they are, cannot show the families that lie behind each acre of land, demolished house, and uprooted tree but they do highlight a history of deprivation and agony, disregard of basic human rights and neglect by the international community.

By the end of each day, thousands of Palestinians overlook Israeli bulldozers wiping their lands and businesses out of existence and demolishing years of work and aspirations.

The erection of the separation wall, not only in its current path, but in itself goes against any sort of cohabitation as it destroys any chance for coexistence or any future settlement.

Despite Israel’s undeterred continuation with its devastating separation wall, Palestinians make the daily choice of staying on the remnants of their lands, striving to earn their livelihoods and fight this injustice with all their strength.

 
 
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