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Abud

Abud On the 2nd of October 2005, the inhabitants of the village of Abud were informed that the construction of the Wall would be started on their lands.

Abud is a small village of around 2,500 people located to the West of Ramallah. Half the population is Christian and the other half is Muslim. The territory of Abud covers about 1,500 acres, of which only 100 acres is set aside for house construction.

Two settlements have already been implemented on Abud’ territory: Beit Arye (built in 1980, covers 80 acres) et Ofarim (built in 1982, covers 70 acres).

The building of the Wall, added to existing Jewish colonies, will cover 350 acres, which amounts to 23 % of the village’s lands. The design of the Wall as planned does not take into account olive groves or the historical heritage of Aboud. The Santa Barbara church, dating to the second century, which stands on the Wall’s footing, might be destroyed. Everywhere in the village, where the construction of the Wall is progressing, extraordinary megalithic constructions some 2,000 to 3,000 years old are being found. Tombs, troglodyte architecture, prehistoric wells dug into the stone and dedicated to collect the oil from pressed olives, as well as very interesting 3rd century mosaics: the whole of the archaeological site is threatened with destruction if no intervention is made.

The village is also renowned for it’s underground sources, which distribute water to 20% of the West Bank.

Iraq Burin

Iraq Burin was founded nearly 200 years ago when the Qadous family left the village of Burin to build new lives atop a nearby peak (an Iraq in Palestinian Arabic).

The village is hardly a kilometer from the West Bank city Nablus. However the distance can seem almost insurmountable when there are road closures due to Israeli checkpoints. This can leave Iraq Burin entirely cut off from the urban center on which it depends for municipal services such as hospitals, schools and universities.

On the hill across from Iraq Burin stands Bracha, an Israeli settlement fortified with watchtowers and barbed-wire just over two kilometers from the villagers. According to a 2010 report by the UNESCO Chair at An-Najah University, “Settlers from the Bracha settlement often provoke the residents of Iraq Burin by entering onto Iraq Burin lands carrying arms, praying on the land… and throwing stones at villagers. Simultaneously, the Israeli army started accompanying the settlers on their way to the village… acting violently against Palestinians who are present.”

Bracha’s population exceeds 2000 residents, and continues to grow, despite the Oslo agreements calling for an end to settlement expansion and the Israeli government’s guarantee of a building freeze. Bracha is but one of hundreds of Israeli settlements and outposts scattered throughout the Occupied West Bank, housing over 500,000 settlers. Although violent confrontations between Israelis and villagers are a relatively new development that escalated in March 2010, with the murder of two teenagers from Iraq Burin, the village’s popular resistance dates back to the general strikes of the 1930s, when Palestinians protested against the British Occupation.

In November 2009, Iraq Burin’s population began staging weekly demonstrations to protest Israel’s continual confiscation of their land. On Saturday, 20 March 2010, the Israeli military entered the village after the weekly demonstration and killed Mohammed Qadous, 16, and Usaid Qadous, 19, with live ammunition.

Visit Iraq Burin’s website for more information: http://iraqburin.wordpress.com

Photo: Ahmad Khalaf. Gallery on Flickr

Ni'lin

Nil'in Ni’lin is an agricultural village with 5,000 inhabitants located to the West of the Ramallah district.

Until 1948, Ni’lin villagers owned 58,000 dunums (580 hectares) of land, which stretched as far as Ramle and Lod, cities that now lie inside Israel. After the Nakba of 1948, 40,000 dunums of this land was annexed to the newly created Israeli state.

After the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the illegal settlements of Kiryat Sefer, Mattityahu and Maccabim were built on village lands. In addition, new roads were created for the ever-expanding settlements of Nili and Na’ale. Together, these settlements and their associated infrastructure ate up another 8,000 dunums of Ni’lin’s land.

Moreover, an Israeli military base and scores of military checkpoints were also set up in the area.

These confiscations left Ni’lin with just 10,000 of its original 58,000 dunums of land. Yet construction of the Wall (started in May 2008) on the western side of the village, and a military base on the southern side will strip Ni’lin of a further 2,500 dunums of land.

In addition to this, the closure of the main entrance to the village to replace it with a tunnel running under the segregated settler-only road will involve the confiscation of a further 200 dunums. This will effectively turn Ni’lin into a prison, where the Israeli military will have the power to open and close the tunnel to the village indiscriminately and at whim.

Finally, this will leave the village with just 7,300 dunums, including the land on which the houses are built.

Since July 2008, Ni’lin is mourning its dead. Yousef Ahmad Younis Amera (17) and Ahmed Husam Yusef Mousa (10) were assassinated by the armed forces of occupation. Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22), was shot in the back and killed on December 28th while taking part in a demonstration in solidarity with Gaza. Mohammed Kasim Khawaje (20), who was shot in the head during that same demonstration, died on December 31st. On Friday, 5 June 2009, Yousef Akil Srour (36) was shot in the chest with 0.22 caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.

Ahmed Husam Yusef Mousa

Yousef Ahmad Younis Amera

Arafat Rateb Khawaje

Mohammed Kasim Khawaje

Yousef Akil Srour

Bil'in, a village of Palestine

Other villages

Abud

Iraq Burin

Ni'lin