Where is the Bedouin Intifada?

[Violet_Crumble]

In 2004, Israeli officials were up in arms about an impending Bedouin Intifada. But the Bedouin didn’t rebel and now, despite plans to expel tens of thousands of them from their homes in the West Bank and the Negev, things remain relatively quiet. Why?

Thursday, February 9 2012|Mya Guarnieri

As Israel steps up its expansionist policies both inside and outside the Green Line, the Bedouin community has come under particularly intense pressure.

Inside Israel, the state seeks to Judaize the Negev (Naqab) desert. This “development” includes last year’s Prawer plan, which recommends that Israel relocate between 30,000 and 40,000 Bedouin citizens, ripping them from their villages and sticking them in impoverished townships, to clear the area for Jewish-only settlements.

After the Israeli cabinet passed the Prawer plan in September 2011, Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel likened it to “a declaration of war.”

Al Arakib could be considered an opening battle. The state first demolished the unrecognized village in July 2010—destroying homes and tearing olive trees from the ground to make way for a forest to be planted by the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF). After the Bedouin residents of Al Arakib rebuilt their village, Israeli forces returned and destroyed it again. Since then, Al Arakib has been demolished and rebuilt over 30 times.

Israel’s policies are just as inhumane on the other side of the Green Line, where the so-called “Civil Administration” seeks to remove 27,000 Bedouin from Area C in order to expand illegal Israeli settlements. The Civil Administration’s plans will be carried out over the next three to six years.


http://972mag.com/where-is-the-bedouin-intifada/35017/

[Violet_Crumble]

1. A thread from DU2 about the Bedouin displacement...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x364253#364404

[madrchsod]

2. recommend

[holdencaufield]

3. "seeks to Judaize the Negev"

Imagine those Israelis -- trying to "Judaize" their own country.

[shira]

4. Yeah, it's like it's illegal to have Jews living in certain parts of pre-1967 Israel.

Funny that.

[parkia00]

5. Yeah... sure is funny

You know, who would think such policies would be continually embraced in a modern democratic society where entire villages can be demolished and its residents forcibly removed just because of their ethnicity.

[shira]

6. The article is a joke. Did you catch the part where the writer condemns Israeli...

...expansion both within and beyond the 1967 lines?

Think about what that means for second.

It's legitimate to call into question Israeli expansion into the territories beyond the '67 lines. But within? Israel cannot "expand" within their own borders? Is this writer fucking serious?

FFS, she condemns all-Jewish settlements - these would be settlements within Israel - that will be built in the Negev. So Jews living both within and outside the green line are settlers?



That's also a joke due to the fact that any Israeli can live in the Negev or anywhere else in Israel they choose to live - Jewish or not - by law. Here's that stupidity in the article...

As Israel steps up its expansionist policies both inside and outside the Green Line, the Bedouin community has come under particularly intense pressure.

Inside Israel, the state seeks to Judaize the Negev (Naqab) desert. This “development” includes last year’s Prawer plan, which recommends that Israel relocate between 30,000 and 40,000 Bedouin citizens, ripping them from their villages and sticking them in impoverished townships, to clear the area for Jewish-only settlements.

Who says that only Jews will live there and that this is a racial issue? Do you realize there are many Arabs in the Israeli government? There's nothing stopping other Israeli bedouins or any other Israeli Arabs from moving into those areas with - OMG - the Jews. Housing costs in the Negev will surely be cheaper than up north in Israel where the cost is astronomical. I'd be shocked if the non-Jews of Israel don't take advantage of moving down south where housing costs are better.

Finally, she makes the idiotic argument that anyone in Israel expecting Bedouins to start a bloody Intifada is a racist/colonialist, etc. But she and her other anti-Israel comrades always tell us that bloody terror from Palestinians is natural and to be expected due to Israeli policies. She and her like minded mental midgets can't have it both ways.

[Ruby the Liberal]

7. Have to agree - it struck me as well.

The Bedouin are druize. Nomads. The LAST people on the planet that are going to start some kind of fight over a piece of land. They will rebuild or they will move on, but they are not about to Storm the Bastille.

Actually stopped reading at the mere insinuation, so thanks for the balance.

[Violet_Crumble]

9. What 'insinuation' did you stop reading at?

I'm curious to know...

[Ruby the Liberal]

10. That the Bedouin were violent people nt

[Violet_Crumble]

11. Who made that insinuation?

Are you talking about this? 'In 2004, Israeli officials were up in arms about an impending Bedouin Intifada. But the Bedouin didn’t rebel and now, despite plans to expel tens of thousands of them from their homes in the West Bank and the Negev, things remain relatively quiet. Why?'

[Ruby the Liberal]

12. Yes - the author.

The insinuation of an "intifada" carries a lot more historical weight than just rebuilding a lean-to in the desert. The intifada (2000-2003) was marked with monthly suicide bombings of civilians and for anyone (Israeli or not) to call a Bedouin homestead challenge an "intifada" is beyond the pale, IMO.

So - I didn't read past that point - so found the followup remarks interesting about people living both within and outside of the green line.

[Violet_Crumble]

13. No, she wasn't the one making the insinuation of violence. She was saying Israeli officials did..

Are you disputing that they didn't do that?

On edit: I think yr mistaken in yr defining of Intifada. It's literal translation is 'uprising' and the First Intifada had no suicide bombings...

[Ruby the Liberal]

14. Why I noted "Israeli or not"

I lived the second Intifada. I know what it was like and still have those memories.

Sorry, but to whomever the source (Israeli or not, government or private), equating Bedouins setting up a camp to an "intifada" is incredibly rude to the druize, not to mention way out of line. Thats like calling it a "second holocaust" because McDonalds restaurant ran out of french fries during lunch rush.

And yeah, I know that wasn't the point of the article, so sorry for the derail.

[shaayecanaan]

18. Druize?

I don't think I've met a Druize bedouin in my life. The Bedouin are Muslims.

[Ruby the Liberal]

22. I have.

Been there, rode the camel.

[shaayecanaan]

23. Did you meet his brother the Jewish bedouin?

I did once. He used to ride around on a magic carpet. He introduced me to all his friends that live in a rainbow in the sky, including the rastafarian bedouin and the bedouin genie that lived in a bottle and could take the shape of a bird.

So you lived in Israel during the second intifada? Thats quite a few years, isnt it?

[Ruby the Liberal]

24. No, it was a camp, and they were wonderful

and yes, I did for a short while, about 10 years ago.

[shaayecanaan]

26. They were all wonderful?

You must be a woman of some considerable appetite. Pray tell, where was this camp of which you speak, so that I too might meet these mythical Druize bedouin?

And do I take it that you didn't "live through the second intifada" as you earlier claimed, but that you simply happened to visit Israel during the second intifada?

[Ruby the Liberal]

27. No, was there for work (visa), and south of Beersheeva.

It was about a 4 hour ride from Jerusalem as I recall.

Got any more snark or are you about done.

[shaayecanaan]

28. Well there you have it folks...

Last edited Sat Feb 11, 2012, 07:04 AM - Edit history (3)

somewhere south of Beersheeba is a travelling camp of perhaps the world's only Druize bedouin, who, according to the best authority right here on this board, are magnificent, ravishing beasts of men - presuming of course that they havent been bulldozed out of their homes by now.

For some reason, I can't quite seem to locate this in my Lonely Planet guidebook, maybe its in need of an update.

[azurnoir]

29. LOl I was thinking much the same n/t

[shaayecanaan]

35. Curved like a scimitar was his manhood...

and his eyes shone like the desert sands in the moonlight, the same desert sands where we made love, that wild love like a wave crashing on the shore, that love of which only Abdul the camel driver was capable. And he swore up and down that he didn't just give it out to any old tourist that he took on a camel ride.

[pelsar]

36. just for fun....

if i recall your the one who proclaimed, amongst other things, that even the "lowly IDF recruit" can see through NVG and differentiate between different types of people at long distances.....(among other ridiculous comments)

and your the one being sarcastic now?.....

whereas ruby has confused the Druze with the Bedouin, I don't believe you have the credibility to be so sarcastic....

[shaayecanaan]

39. she maintains that she was not confused

and that these were real life Druize Bedouin. Perhaps Abdul was trying to appear more exotic, I don't know. Moreover, I am having fun. After all, this is just harmless ignorance. If this were a discussion like the one I am having with the apologist down below I would already be endeavouring to be much more crotchety and unpleasant.

[pelsar]

42. then have your "fun"....

no harm done

[parkia00]

17. Darn...

All this time I thought the articles about Bedouin villages and farms being bulldozed were true. I fell terrible now.

[shira]

21. You were hoping you could label this action as racist policy, right?

How racist is it when both Jews and non-Jews (Arabs included) start living in those areas?

See, Israel is damned if they do and damned if they don't. The situation for Bedouin in that area is so substandard that Israel's enemies can feel free to criticize Israel whether they do something about the situation or not.

[parkia00]

34. And you don't?

You don't feel that forcing out people from a minority group repeatedly, demolishing their home and settlements; sweeping them from one place to another whenever it is convenient might just be a slight tad, little itty bitty bit drop of racism? Racism seems to be a bad word these days. What is the politically correct term these days?

Now maybe if those darn nomadic type people can get one of those permit thingys so they can build on land where they have been since before the creation of their country they are now in. Or they can always be "nudged" into reservations; you know, for their own good.

[pelsar]

38. they aren't nomadic, haven't been for many many years.....n/t

[shaayecanaan]

19. The settlements will indeed be Jewish only...

Much, if not most of the relevant land is "owned" by the JNF, and the policy of the JNF is not to sell or lease to Arabs, nor does it permit its lessees to sublet to Arabs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jnf#Jewish_ownership_clause

The JNF stipulates that only Jews can buy, mortgage or lease JNF land. Article 23 of the JNF lease states that the lessee must pay compensation to the JNF if this stipulation is violated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueprint_Negev

Blueprint Negev is a Jewish National Fund (JNF) project to develop the Negev region of Israel.
The project aims to increase the Negev's population by 250,000 new residents, improving transportation infrastructure, adding businesses and employment opportunities, preserving water resources and protecting its environment.[1] The project aims to reduce the strain on Israel's coastal strip, which is suffering from overdevelopment and overpopulation. 92% of Israel's population resides on 40% of Israel's land, while only 8% of its population lives in the Negev, which represents 60% of Israel's landmass.

There is some doubt over whether legally the JNF will be able to refuse Arab buyers given recent Israeli supreme court decisions that have said it is unlawful to refuse Arab tenders for the sale of any ILA-administered land. However, it is likely that the JNF will do its best to get around this by marketing land exclusively to Jews, and doing its best to fuck off Arab buyers whenever one of them actually has the temerity to put in an offer for a particular block.

Technically, it is possible for an Arab buyer to approach a subsequent purchaser of settlement land, if not the JNF itself. However, due to the passage of the reception committee law, it is possible for a community to elect not to allow people of a particular character to reside in a particular community, meaning that it is likely that Arabs would be prevented from living in these towns anyway.

"There's nothing stopping other Israeli bedouins or any other Israeli Arabs from moving into those areas with - OMG - the Jews. Housing costs in the Negev will surely be cheaper than up north in Israel where the cost is astronomical. I'd be shocked if the non-Jews of Israel don't take advantage of moving down south where housing costs are better."

This statement is categorically false. There is plenty to stop bedouins or any other non-Jews from being permitted to buy or move into these areas.

[shira]

20. Nonsense. Non-Jews will have a field day in court if they're not allowed to live...

...with Jews in the Negev.

They're also not settlements.

When people start calling housing "settlements" both within and outside Israel, they may as well be saying Jews have zero claim to any land, either within or beyond the '67 lines. That's some pretty hardcore rightwing rhetoric there.

[shaayecanaan]

25. The JNF is bound by its own charter to only sell to Jews

Their policy statement on this issue is:-

"The JNF is not the trustee of the general public in Israel. Its loyalty is given to the Jewish people in the Diaspora and in the state of Israel... The JNF, in relation to being an owner of land, is not a public body that works for the benefit of all citizens of the state. The loyalty of the JNF is given to the Jewish people and only to them is the JNF obligated. The JNF, as the owner of the JNF land, does not have a duty to practice equality towards all citizens of the state."

I don't know how we can take this any further. I think it is apparent to all but the most one-eyed chauvinist that only Jews will be permitted to buy the land in question.

"They're also not settlements."

I think the use of the term settlement is justified here. If the government of the US or Australia were to forcibly evict 40,000 indigenes from their traditional lands and replace them with whites-only townships then I would have no hesitation in describing those townships as settlements. I would also have no hesitation in describing defenders of such policies as racists.

[shira]

30. As always, you're only partially correct...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_National_Fund

The solution to the problem was eventually found in late 2007, when it was proposed to swap land between the state and the JNF.[20] The deal was designed to render redundant the Ariel Bill, deemed by some to be racist, while allowing the JNF to continue leasing its lands only to Jews. After the initial land swap, urban JNF land sold in future to non-Jews would include an automatic swap mechanism: the fund would transfer the land to the ILA, and in exchange would receive the purchase price plus a similar-sized plot in the Negev.

Also, half the Jews of Israel are just as indigenous to the area as the Bedouin. They're not settlers.

[Ken Burch]

32. And that half could easily be accomodated without destroying Bedouin villages.

n/t.

[shaayecanaan]

33. So are you conceding that the settlements are partially racist?

Last edited Sat Feb 11, 2012, 07:18 AM - Edit history (3)

Also, half the Jews of Israel are just as indigenous to the area as the Bedouin. They're not settlers.

Half the Jews of Israel (well, not quite) came from Morocco, which is as far from Palestine as you are from Mexico, and as such hardly "indigenous to the area". Others came from Egypt and Iraq. The amount of Jews who were living in Palestine prior to the start of the Zionist movement was very small.

The solution to the problem was eventually found in late 2007, when it was proposed to swap land between the state and the JNF. The deal was designed to render redundant the Ariel Bill, deemed by some to be racist, while allowing the JNF to continue leasing its lands only to Jews. After the initial land swap, urban JNF land sold in future to non-Jews would include an automatic swap mechanism: the fund would transfer the land to the ILA, and in exchange would receive the purchase price plus a similar-sized plot in the Negev.

It seems that this is essentially a stop gap.

Basically, 93% of Israel is public domain land, administered by the Israeli Lands Administration. The other 7% are generally what are called "surviving titles" - Arabs who managed to avoid having their land confiscated by the Israeli state, as well as other entities that managed to hold onto their lands, such as the Greek and Armenian patriarchates (Israel didnt want to be seen as confiscating land from Christians).

The ILA administers both the land which is directly held by the government (80%) as well as that which is held by the JNF (13%). The JNF is technically a private NGO, but it actually has a number of official legal functions - for example, it is entitled to appoint nearly half the members of the board of the ILA, meaning that the JNF's views tend to be well reflected amongst the ILA leadership.

Public domain land is technically inalienable, meaning that members of the public are limited to purchasing a 48 or 96 year long state lease.

Under the JNF's charter, it is forbidden for any of its lands to be leased to Arabs, or for any of its lessees to sub-let to Arabs. That has remained its policy notwithstanding the Supreme Court decisions that have effectively said that the ILA may not practise apartheid in relation to the granting of leases.

The JNF held a number of lands in the Galilee and the Northern District where there are substantial Arab populations. The ILA has not permitted to construction of a single new Arab city, except for Rahat which was built to house the Bedouin that had been expelled from their traditional lands in the Negev. The increasing Arab population had nowhere to go and this largely prompted Adalah to petition the Court to allow Arabs to submit tenders for leases by the ILA, including for JNF land.

One obvious solution would have been to end the informal system of apartheid, dismantle the JNF and simply allow Arabs to lease land as normal citizens; however that was unacceptable to the JNF. On the other hand, Uri Ariel proposed a bill that would have essentially permitted the ILA to discriminate, which would have enshrined apartheid in Israeli law. The alternatives were to spin off the JNF as a purely private sector body, and allow it to discriminate as much as it wanted, or to swap the lands in the Galilee for something else and pay the JNF a lot of money, which is effectively what happened.

As I see it, the JNF is hoping that by moving to a place where there are no Arabs (other than the Bedouin who were kicked out and who are too poor to mount Supreme Court appeals) it can market land exclusively to Jews without anyone getting in the way. Of course, an Arab might come down from the North, and decide he likes the idea of living in the Negev enough to warrant a Supreme court appeal and eight years of his life.

Failing which, the Negev settlements will remain Jews-only, just as the State of Israel intended.

[shira]

43. Israel's very liberal supreme court won't allow any continuation of racism against Israeli citizens

From December, 2011:

In Legal Precedent, Israel Court Stops Demolition of Unrecognized Bedouin Village, by Jack Khoury, in Haaretz
http://bedouinjewishjustice.blogspot.com/2011/12/in-legal-precedent-israel-court-stops.html

And funny enough, it appears you and your like minded anti-Israel cohorts (who see racism spelled out in bowls of alphabet soup, especially if it's kosher) are seemingly making the argument that Jewish settlement in the Negev should be forbidden. You're proposing anti-Jewish apartheid. Not only in the territories, but within Israel proper. Now that's racist, isn't it?

[shaayecanaan]

44. Actually, I am the one opposing racism...

I am drawing attention to the fact that Israel is bulldozing Bedouin off their land and attempting to replace them with Jewish-only settlements (its good to see that you now recognise them as settlements too, by the way). That is opposing racism. It doesnt surprise me that you consider my principled opposition to such a policy to be racist. After all, that is exactly what a person of your stripe would say.

If Jews want to live in the Negev, then they can buy land from willing sellers just like everybody else, instead of bulldozing the existing residents and stealing their land. I don't think that's unreasonable.

Thank you for the link. It seems that Adalah, the Arab Centre for Minority Rights, is to be congratulated again for successfully defending Israeli democracy from the fascist overtures of its government. Perhaps you should consider a donation to them. You might consider it some sort of moral penance for all the spurious shit you've managed to spin in the course of this thread.

Meanwhile, in the four years that it has taken for that court case to reach its conclusion, the Israeli government has already bulldozed a number of Bedouin villages. And of course the growth of Jews-only settlements continues unabated. Adalah, a not-large organisation with finite resources, can't appeal against them all.

[shira]

46. I'm not buying that. If you opposed racism...

...you wouldn't make excuses for the PA position that no Jews can live in a future Palestine (W.Bank) or buy land within Palestine (an offense punishable by the death penalty). You wouldn't ignore the filth on PMW videos. Or hold to a belief that all Muslims are Islamists. Or ignore Lebanon's apartheid policy vs. Palestinians. Apparently you have one standard for Israelis and another lower one (so low to be non-existent) for others. That's bigotry.

You certainly wouldn't write ridiculously bigoted statements like these...

If Jews want to live in the Negev, then they can buy land from willing sellers just like everybody else, instead of bulldozing the existing residents and stealing their land.

Who exactly are these Jews who are bulldozing and stealing land? "Settlers"? The Jewish government? The JNF?

WRT your support of Adalah, they're a bigoted organization dedicated to Israel's destruction via full RoR. How do you think Jews would fare in such a state, with Hamas or the PLO (or a combination) ruling? Have you seen those PMW videos? Such a position is pure bigotry.

=========

Now you were proven wrong earlier WRT only Jews being able to buy or lease JNF land. Also "the Jews" are compensating the Bedouin for their land, not just confiscating it outright. And there's absolutely nothing stopping any of Israel's non-Jewish population from living in those new "settlements", whether buying or leasing the land.

[shaayecanaan]

47. A load of bullshit, as usual...

Now you were proven wrong earlier WRT only Jews being able to buy or lease JNF land.

That is a lie.

Arabs are still unable to lease JNF land. However, in order to avoid the repercussions of Adalah's supreme court appeal, the JNF and ILA agreed to transfer land in the Galilee to the State, and in exchange the JNF would receive land in the Negev. That way, the ILA could accommodate Arabs wanting land in the Galilee, and the JNF could continue leasing exclusively to Jews.

Who exactly are these Jews who are bulldozing and stealing land? "Settlers"? The Jewish government? The JNF?

Are you denying that the people responsible for this policy are Jewish? Or are you trying to make a distinction between "Jews" and "Israel" when it suits you, and then conflating those two concepts when it does not?

WRT your support of Adalah, they're a bigoted organization dedicated to Israel's destruction via full RoR.

So you don't think that Israel should have to absorb a single Palestinian refugee, even though they created that problem. On the other hand, you think that Lebanon must absorb every single Palestinian refugee, even though Lebanon had nothing to do with the Palestinian exodus. Failure by Lebanon to accept Palestinian refugees amounts to "apartheid" but in Israel's case it does not. Hypocrisy much?

BTW, as I have said earlier, I think that Palestinian refugees should be permitted to work and reside in Lebanon. Your statement is another lie.

Also "the Jews" are compensating the Bedouin for their land, not just confiscating it outright.

How very nice of them. Apparently, however, that compensation does not amount to very much:-

He estimates that under the Prawer plan the Bedouin would receive just 100,000 dunams (10,000 hectares) of their outstanding claim of 600,000 dunams and monetary compensation will be far less than 50 per cent of the land value.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/bedouin-face-bulldozers-as-israel-reshapes-the-desert-20111104-1n01y.html#ixzz1mJ8LGfTL

and:-

The compensation paid to the Arab-Bedouins who have been living on their ancestral lands for generations is insulting when compared to the compensation paid to Israeli
Jews who were forced to leave their homes after only several years. For example, a Jewish family of settlers that was evacuated from the Gaza Strip in August 2005 received, on average, six times more than an Arab-Bedouin family that left its lands and moved to the towns. According to the Adva Center, the 1,700 Jewish families that were evacuated from the Gaza Strip in August 2005 were paid 4.1 billion NIS while the expected overall compensation for the 3,000 Arab-Bedouin families who filed their land claims is only 1.5 Billion NIS.

http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpDocuments)/FE3A869B4BAF09ACC12574120062B2D9/$file/AlternativeReport+cerd.pdf

And there's absolutely nothing stopping any of Israel's non-Jewish population from living in those new "settlements", whether buying or leasing the land.

Neither Jews nor Arabs can buy this land, as it is likely to remain public domain land, and is therefore inalienable. And as long as it remains JNF land, Arabs won't be able to lease it, either.

[Crunchy Frog]

8. The term being used to mean "ethnically cleanse"

or to rid the area of non-Jews.

Yaaaaaay! Go Israelis!!!

[azurnoir]

15. I guess the definition of Intifada these days is

rebuilding your home well if your a Bedouin that is

[Ruby the Liberal]

16. That was my challenge as I was chatting with VC upthread.

I didn't like the use of that word in this context at all.

[Ken Burch]

31. Well, if the Israeli government wants to make sure there's no Bedouin Intifada

They need to start leaving the Bedouin alone. It's not evil to build yourself a village. Letting them have such places in the Negev doesn't do Israel any harm.

[pelsar]

37. no ken....

The Bedouin don't get to make up their own rules of where they live and how they live. They are citizens of the state and as such must abide by the rules of that state as do the druze, the northern Bediouin, the muslims, the christians, the jews

and yes it is "evil" to make a "settlement" on somebody elses land.....as the Bedouin do

[shaayecanaan]

45. It is their land

I am surprised that you would attempt to defend this, given your impeccable leftist credentials. Or have they won you over at last?

[pelsar]

48. its not bedouin land..its the states land

when the Bedouin build a house on land that is not theirs....and they are all over the negev its as illegal as if I build a house on a park....The Bedouin in the south do not have rights that other israelis don't have....

i had to go through a long and expensive process to get my house and all of the subsequent paper work, the arabs have the same process as do the druze as do the bediouin in the north, i do not see why the bedouin in the south get to park their 2012 Ford truck next to an "illegal house"... and then complain when its bulldozed.....

they haven't been nomads in the negev for generations now.

[Jefferson23]

40. Israel: Cancel plan to forcibly displace Jahalin Bedouin communities Feb. 8, 2012

Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak should cancel military plans to forcibly displace around 2,300 Bedouin residents of the West Bank to an area beside the Jerusalem municipal garbage dump, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing paper.

In Stop the Transfer: Israel about to expel Bedouin from homes to expand settlements, the organization calls on the Israeli military to order an immediate halt to all demolitions in the 20 communities affected by the plan.

Amnesty International said that verbal promises made by Israeli military officials last week not to implement pending demolition orders in Khan al-Ahmar, one of the Bedouin communities targeted for displacement in the Jerusalem district of the occupied West Bank, are insufficient.

“Thousands of Bedouin living in some of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank are facing the destruction of their homes and livelihoods under this Israeli military plan. Many are registered refugees and some have been displaced multiple times since 1948,” said Ann Harrison, Deputy Director for Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“The Israeli authorities must guarantee the right to adequate housing for residents in all 20 communities, along with Palestinians throughout the occupied West Bank. This means protecting them from forced evictions and conducting genuine consultations with all of the communities.”

In July 2011, Israel Civil Administration officials first told UN agencies of a plan to evict some 2,300 residents of 20 Bedouin communities in the Jerusalem district to a site approximately 300 metres from the Jerusalem municipal garbage dump.

The communities are all currently located near illegal settlements in the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc, many of them in areas targeted for settlement expansion.

The Israeli military considers most structures in these communities – located in Area C of the occupied West Bank, where Israel retains authority over planning and zoning – to be built illegally without the required permits. However, construction permits are almost impossible to obtain for Palestinian communities in Area C. Most of the structures in these communities have demolition orders against them, including homes, kitchens, external toilets, animal shelters, and two primary schools.

The Israeli military authorities have not consulted representatives of the Bedouin communities about the displacement plan. Community representatives have told Amnesty International that they reject the plan because it would be impossible for them to maintain their traditional way of life if they were moved to a restricted area near the garbage dump.

Israel forcibly moved Bedouin families to the same area in the late 1990s, placing homes as close as 150 metres to the garbage dump. Bedouin who live there have told Amnesty International that the site was unsuitable to their way of life, that they had had to sell off their livestock due to a lack of grazing areas, and that they suffered high rates of unemployment. Some have returned to the areas from which they had been displaced.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection, the dump receives up to 1100 tons of garbage per day, most of it from Jerusalem. The ministry has stated that the dump site creates air pollution, ground pollution, and possible water contamination, is improperly fenced-off, and poses a “danger of an explosion and fires” due to untreated methane gas produced by the decomposition of garbage.

Although disposal of waste at the site is due to cease later this year, no rehabilitation plan has been agreed, which means that the environmental hazards will likely remain for years.

Israeli officials have emphasized that the displacement plan envisions connecting relocated Bedouin communities to the electricity and water networks. They have not explained why Israel can provide such services to illegal settlements and unrecognized settler outposts in the West Bank, but not to longstanding Bedouin communities.

The 20 Bedouin communities have created a “protection committee” to coordinate their response to the displacement plan. The committee’s stated preference would be to return to their lands in Israel’s Negev desert from which they were displaced by the Israeli authorities in the 1950s, in accordance with their internationally recognized right to return.

The Bedouin communities say that their second option would be for Israeli authorities to recognize their rights to remain in their current homes, connect them to water, electricity and road networks, and lift arbitrary restrictions on their movement. Due to these restrictions, many Bedouin must buy animal fodder for sheep and goats that they were formerly able to graze, forcing them to sell their livestock.

As the final option, the Bedouin would be willing to negotiate the possibility of relocating again, if the Civil Administration treated them as equal negotiating partners.

Major-General Eitan Dangot, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, visited the Khan al-Ahmar community last week, and reportedly promised residents that that their homes and community school would not be demolished, and that they would not be transferred to the site next to the garbage dump. He said that the community would be moved to a different site in the occupied West Bank.

But Amnesty International said that was not enough.

“Israeli military officials are putting a gloss on their plans by portraying them as a way of providing Bedouin with basic amenities such as water and electricity, but in fact such forcible relocation of Bedouin would merely perpetuate years of dispossession and discrimination and could constitute a war crime,” said Ann Harrison.

“Informal promises are not enough for these communities. The Israeli Minister of Defence must issue a formal cancellation of this policy.”

http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/israel-cancel-plan-to-forcibly-displace-jahalin-bedouin-communities

[azurnoir]

41. the community should be moved oto a different site in he WB

outside of area C perhaps?