by PAJU (Palestinian and Jewish Unity) # 494, July 30 , 2010
The Israeli army destroys the Palestinian village of Farasiya in the Jordan Valley
The ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Israel continues unabated.
On July 19th the Israeli army destroyed the West Bank village of Farasiya that had earlier been cleared out when its water supply was cut off. About 55 structures including tents, shacks, clay ovens, sheep pens and bathrooms used by 120 farmers, hired workers and their families were demolished. The Israeli Civil Administration said they declared the area a live fire zone and posted eviction orders for 10 families in tents on June 27th.
The villagers made a living by sheep farming and working the land. Some of them have been living in Farasiya for decades.
Since 1967, Israel has prevented Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley from growing, whether by cutting off their water supply, declaring large areas as live fire zones or banning all construction.
The families had recently been forced to leave the village when the Israeli authorities cut it off from its water sources, said Fathi Hadirat, the coordinator of the popular committees in the valley. The villagers were also forbidden to use water from wells dug in the area by the Israeli National Water Company Mekorot. The Israeli wells have been illegally dug on occupied land and are in blatant violation of international law.
Hadirat said that a few years ago the Israeli Civil Administration destroyed the pipe the villages had laid from a nearby stream used for drinking water and irrigation. Since then they have been watering their sheep and fields with water unfit for human consumption, pumped from a salt water source. They received drinking water in tanks. About four months ago the Israeli army confiscated their pumps.
Hadirat also reported that 10 families from Bardala, a village north of Farasiya, were recently given demolition notices by the Israeli army.
Adapted from “IDF destroys West Bank village after declaring it military zone”, written by Israeli journalist Amira Hass, published in the leading Israeli journal Ha’aretz on July 21, 2010.
See: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-destroys-west-bank-village-after-declaring-it-military-zone-1.303098
Distributed by PAJU (Palestinian and Jewish Unity)