An
Unwanted Neighborhood
Background: Settlements and the Green Line
south of Qalqilya
The settlement of Alfe Menashe was founded in 1983. As with all settlements it is in direct
violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 which states, "The
Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian
population into the territory it occupies," and the Hague Convention of
1907. [1] The population of Alfe Menashe has grown to about 5,500. The growth has come not only at the expense
of international law, but at a heavy price paid by the Palestinian villages of
Ras Tira, Abu Farda, Daba and others. The confiscation started with 125 dunams from
Daba in 1983. [2] Each of these villages has lost lands to Alfe Menashe, and to
the "Security Fence" built around it.
The construction of the "Security Fence" has cost over 4,000
dunams to the
Alfe Menashe is due to have three "neighborhoods" built in the
coming future. Land clearing for
building purposes on one, Nof HaSharon has already begun. [4]
Making Nirit into a Settlement against its will
Nirit is an Israeli town just on the Israeli side of the 1949 Armistice
Lines (the Green Line). The population
is largely secular and liberal, and against the settlements in the
To the communities affected on both sides of the border though, there
are matters of principle (for the people of Nirit) and matters of survival (for
the Palestinian villages strangled by the Wall and settlements). For example the villagers in Daba have been
separated from 1,200 dunams of their land. [8] Without unlimited access to
their own land, the agricultural backbone of the village is under threat. Without dependable sources of income, and
with the threat of settlement expansion confiscating some lands and making
other parts inaccessible, the Palestinians of Daba and other villages in
similar circumstances will not be able to survive economically. [9] With
uniform opinion on Nof HaSharon from the Israelis and Palestinians that would
be most affected by it, one might think the situation easily solved. Alas the Israeli High Court ruled against the
people of Nirit in a decision handed down on
Notes:
[1]. Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons
in Time of War.
[2]. Alfe Menashe population as of December, 2003 from Peace Now, available at http://www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=57&docid=191&pos=2&total=147&letter=0&list=12&listpos=2&all=false . See attached map for the Palestinian villages adjacent to the settlement. See also, "Bad Fences make Bad Neighbors – Focus on Daba", NAD-PLO, March 2004.
[3]. PENGON/Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, "New Demolition
Orders for Tunnels in Habla Perpetuate Racist Expulsion",
[4]. The Independent; "The Israeli town where no settlers
are welcome", Donald Macintyre,
[5]. Land Grab:
[6]. Agence France Presse, "Bulldozers bite into
[7]. The Jerusalem Post, "Israeli community petitions
against unwanted
[8] "Bad Fences make Bad Neighbors – Focus on Daba", NAD-PLO, March 2004.
[9] Not all it Seems: Preventing Palestinians Access to their Lands West of the Separation Barrier in the Tulkarm-Qalqilya Area; B'Tselem, June 2004.
[10] The
Action: What you can
do
One way to help change policy is to contact
government representatives. Many of them do not seem to be overly concerned
about, or perhaps they're just ignorant of, Israeli crimes in the
Those interested in assisting Nirit in the
struggle to not be a settlement can contact Amira Bahat at
n_nirit@yahoo.com. Those interested
in doing further work against the Wall, including with the villages near Alfe
Menashe, are encouraged to contact/support the Palestinian Environmental NGO
Network through their http://www.stopthewall.org site. There are sister campaigns against the Wall
as well. Visit http://www.stopthewall.us
or War on Want's http://www.nowall.org.uk for more information.
--Phone, fax, or email your representatives directly. If you are a U.S.
Resident or citizen, find your representative's contact information at
www.senate.gov and www.house.gov. If you have the ability, one fax is generally
worth about ten emails.
--To help us gauge the response, please send a cc of your messages
to lucia@icahd.org.
--To email Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, write pm_eng@pmo.gov.il or fax him
at: 972-2-670-5361
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear…,
The settlement of Alfe Menashe was founded in 1983. As with all settlements it is in direct
violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 which states, "The
Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian
population
into the territory it occupies," and the Hague Convention of 1907. The population of Alfe Menashe has grown to
about 5,500. The growth has come not
only at the expense of international law, but at a heavy price paid by the
Palestinian villages of Ras Tira, Abu Farda, Daba and others. Each of these villages has lost lands to Alfe
Menashe, and to the "Security Fence" built around it. The construction of the "Security
Fence" has cost over 4,000 dunams to the
Nirit is an Israeli town just on the Israeli side of the 1949 Armistice Lines (the Green Line). The population so against the settlements that they've, launched petitions, held demonstrations and gone to the Israeli High Court to prevent becoming part of one. Although the zoning and taxation plans for Nof HaSharon classify it as a neighborhood of Alfe Menashe, the infrastructure of Nof HaSharon connects it across the Green Line to Nirit. To the communities affected on both sides of the border though, there are matters of principle (for the people of Nirit) and matters of survival (for the Palestinian villages strangled by the Wall and settlements).
With uniform opinion on Nof HaSharon from the Israelis and Palestinians
that would be most affected by it, one might think the situation easily
solved. Alas the Israeli High Court
ruled against the people of Nirit in a decision handed down on
regards, ….
This site made manifest by dadaIMC software