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ISRAELI BULLDOZERS WILL DESTROY the entire village of Al-Daba’ in the
Qalqilya district. The village consists of 250 Palestinians living in 42
houses. Sixty ton American made armored Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers will
make short work of 42 houses, 600-700 dunums of agricultural land, a
mosque, and an elementary school for 132 children.
The military order was issued 30 days ago and required the clearing of
50 meters of land next to the billion dollar wall (financed by the
United States) being built to separate Palestinian land from Israel in
the northern part of the West Bank. The clearing operation has exceeded
its orders and now the destruction will extend 500 meters into the West
Bank and engulf the village of Al-Daba’.
Construction of the 8-meter high, 360-kilometer long wall has been
proceeding inside the 1967 armistice line. When completed, an additional
seven percent of Palestinian land will be confiscated and if the wall is
extended to Hebron, ten percent of land will move to the Israeli side of
the border. When completed, the wall will be fitted with motion sensors,
observation towers every 300 meters, barbed wire, and a two-meter deep
ditch to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel. Many observers
believe that the wall is being built because Israel has failed to halt
Palestinians by other means from crossing to Israel to find work to
support their families. The Israeli wall has been compared to the Cold
War’s Berlin Wall, separating the East and West Berlin, constructed by
the East Germans to prevent escape to freedom. To the contrary, the
Israeli wall creates a concentration camp of the West Bank.
The Al-Daba’ land confiscation is just the latest outrage of land
stealing. Thus far, since 1967, Israel has confiscated 750,000 acres of
the 1.5 million acres of Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza.
Ariel Sharon initiated land confiscation and settlement construction in
1967 as Israel’s Minister of Housing. It is clear that Israel’s
confiscation and control of large portions of the West Bank and Gaza for
sites to construct settlements and its refusal consider negotiations
about the land is a strategy designed to permanently annex the land and
thus prevent a meaningful and fair peace settlement.
Israel’s proposed action with respect to the village of Al-Daba' will
constitute a violation of the Geneva Convention of 1949. Article 4 and
94 relates to denial of children’s education, Article 17 and 49 relates
to forced transfer of populations, Article 39 relates to ability to
work, Article 46 relates to property confiscation, and Article 53
relates to destruction of property. All of these violations represent
indictable war crimes punishable by imprisonment.
Support the people of Al-Daba’ and send messages to demand intervention
to prevent its destruction.
American Consulate, Jerusalem Email:
keenme@state.gov ,
Fax: +972-(0)2-627-7230
European Union, Jerusalem, Email
mailto@delwbg.cec.eu.int , Fax: + 972-(0)2-532 6249
UN Special Coordinator, Gaza, Email
unsco@palnet.com ,
Fax: +972-(0)8-282-0966
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