James Morris

time and remains of palestine – part II

Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem.<br/> West Bank, Area A – full Palestinian civil and security control.

Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem.
West Bank, Area A – full Palestinian civil and security control.

Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem.
West Bank, Area A – full Palestinian civil and security control. Basic services provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Dheisheh camp was established in 1949 within the municipal boundaries of Bethlehem on 0.31 square kilometres. The camp’s original refugees came from 45 villages in the western Jerusalem and western Hebron areas. Like other West Bank camps, Dheisheh was established on land UNRWA leased from the government of Jordan.  It currently has 13,000 registered refugees. While all shelters are connected to public water and electricity infrastructure, 15 per cent of the shelters are not connected to the public sewerage system, instead using latrines connected to percolation pits. A third of people are unemployed, with job opportunities restricted by the inaccessibility of the Israeli labour market. The camp was heavily affected by the second intifada.

Beitar Illit Israeli settlement, seen from the Palestinian village of Wadi Fukin.<br/> West Bank, Area B – restricted area between the Separation Barrier and Israel.

Beitar Illit Israeli settlement, seen from the Palestinian village of Wadi Fukin.
West Bank, Area B – restricted area between the Separation Barrier and Israel.

Wadi Fukin – Palestinian village (foreground).
West Bank, Area B – Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control.

Beitar Illit – Israeli Settlement (behind).
Area C, West Bank, Area C – full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

Restricted area between the Separation Barrier and the green line. Palestinian access is limited to permit holders.

The settlement of Beitar Illit was founded in 1984, partly on land belonging to Wadi Fukin. The population is expected to reach 100,000 by 2020. It has been awarded a gold prize for sustainable urban planning and consistently wins five out of five stars for aesthetics and the environment in the Council for a Beautiful Israel’s annual ‘Beautiful Town in a Beautiful Israel’ contest. Palestinian villagers from Wadi Fukin complain that since Beitar Illit’s foundation 12 natural wells have dried up, and on the Jewish Sabbath the mechanised sewage processing plant is turned off; resulting in raw sewage contaminating village fields and orchards. Beitar Illit is considered illegal under international law, since the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory. Israel disputes this.

Tomb of Rachel and Bilal bin Rabah mosque, Bethlehem.<br/> West Bank, Area C - closed military area.

Tomb of Rachel and Bilal bin Rabah mosque, Bethlehem.
West Bank, Area C - closed military area.

Tomb of Rachel and Bilal bin Rabah mosque, Bethlehem.
West Bank, Area C - closed military area.

The tomb, believed to be the burial place of the biblical Rachel, wife of Jacob, is a Unesco world heritage site and venerated by all Abrahamic faiths. It is considered the third holiest site in Judaism, though also claimed to be a mosque built at the time of the Arab conquest. Encased entirely in concrete, the structure is technically in the Palestinian territories, but enclosed on all sides by the Separation Barrier, with access only from the Israel side. Access is limited to Jewish worshippers and tourists visiting from Israel.

Road gate. Route 35, Hebron Hills.<br/> West Bank, Area C – full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

Road gate. Route 35, Hebron Hills.
West Bank, Area C – full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

Road gate. Route 35, Hebron Hills.
West Bank, Area C – full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

Route 35 is a main road from Israel to the settler communities living in and around Hebron. The road gates are used to prevent Palestinian vehicular access to main highways, limiting their movement to minor roads. An Israeli campaign group has estimated that access to over 312 kilometers of road in the West Bank is restricted or forbidden for cars with Palestinian number plates.

Anata Village<br/> West Bank, Area B and C.

Anata Village
West Bank, Area B and C.

Anata village.

96% West Bank Area C, full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.
4% West Bank Area B, Palestinian civil control, Israeli military control.

With a population of 10,000 the village lies on the East side of the separation wall, within 8 km of central Jerusalem and directly attached to the Shuafat Refugee camp. The wall separates Palestinians from the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev. The village is divided into areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli Civil Municipality of the West Bank. In the Israeli controlled sections residents regularly suffer from house demolitions as building permissions are expensive to apply for and rarely approved. Thousands of dunums of land have been confiscated by the Israeli authorities for different purposes, including the construction of military bases, settlements, outposts, bypass roads and the separation wall.

The administrative division in the village creates unusual complications. A woman from the Jerusalem part of the village is married to a man from the Palestinian part. They live on the Jerusalem side so she can hold on to her residency. As such she has been arrested for harbouring and transporting an illegal alien; though both reside within their native village.

The Central Market. The Old City, Hebron.<br/> West bank.  H2 - full Israeli control over security - special security zone for central Hebron.

The Central Market. The Old City, Hebron.
West bank. H2 - full Israeli control over security - special security zone for central Hebron.

The Central Market. The Old City, Hebron.
West bank. H2 - full Israeli control over security - special security zone for central Hebron.

Following the 1995 Oslo Agreement and subsequent 1997 Hebron Agreement, Hebron is currently split into two sectors, H1 controlled by the Palestinian Authority and H2 controlled by Israel. In H2 30,000 Palestinians along with around 700 Israelis remain under Israeli military dominance. As of 2009, a total of 86 Jewish families lived in Hebron. Palestinians cannot approach areas where settlers live without special permits from the IDF. The Jewish settlement is widely considered to be illegal by the international community, although the Israeli government disputes this. The Palestinian population in H2 has greatly declined due to the impact of Israeli security measures which include extended curfews, strict restrictions on movement,the closure of Palestinian commercial activities near settler areas and settler harassment. Palestinians are barred from using Shuhada Street, a principal commercial thoroughfare. B'Tselem states that there have been "grave violations" of Palestinian human rights in Hebron. According to Human Rights Watch, Palestinian areas of Hebron are frequently subject to indiscriminate firing by the IDF. One former IDF soldier, with experience in policing Hebron, has testified to Breaking the Silence, that on the briefing wall of his unit a sign describing their mission aim was hung that read: "To disrupt the routine of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood." The netting above the street is designed to prevent missiles and rubbish thrown by Israeli settlers from hitting Palestinian passers by.

Internal check point, al-Taybeh.<br/> West Bank, Area C – full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

Internal check point, al-Taybeh.
West Bank, Area C – full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

Internal check point, al-Taybeh.
West Bank, Area C – full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

Located on Route 457, at the intersection of the access road to the Palestinian Christian village of al-Taybeh and the Israeli settlements of Rimmonim and Ma'ale Adummim, the watchtower is permanently staffed, the check point is operated as and when required by the military authorities.

Settler house, Sheikh Jarrah. <br/> Occupied East Jerusalem.

Settler house, Sheikh Jarrah.
Occupied East Jerusalem.

Settler house, Sheikh Jarrah.
Occupied East Jerusalem.

The house of an Israeli settler in a Palestinian neighbourhood. Commonly classified as religious extremists, the settlers aim is to re-establish a Jewish presence in East Jerusalem. Though their presence is considered illegal and highly provocative by peace campaigners and human rights groups, they are largely protected by Israeli law.

Separation Barrier – Route 60, South of Jerusalem.<br/> West Bank, Area B – Palestinian civil control, Israeli military control.

Separation Barrier – Route 60, South of Jerusalem.
West Bank, Area B – Palestinian civil control, Israeli military control.

Separation Barrier – Route 60, South of Jerusalem.
West Bank, Area B – Palestinian civil control, Israeli military control.

Route 60,, referred to by some as ‘the path of our biblical patriarchs’, is primarily reserved at this point for Israeli settlers. Palestinian access is limited to permit holders. The Separation Barrier flanks both sides, cutting through Palestinian agricultural land. The wall's design is intended to prevent stone throwing at settler vehicles.

Umm al-Khayr Bedouin village and Israeli settlement of Carmel. South Hebron Hills<br/>West Bank - Closed military zone - full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

Umm al-Khayr Bedouin village and Israeli settlement of Carmel. South Hebron Hills
West Bank - Closed military zone - full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

Umm al-Khayr Beduoin village and Israeli settlement of Carmel. South Hebron Hills
West Bank - Closed military area - full Israeli control over security, planning and construction.

As members of the Hadaleen tribe, the Beduoin were expelled from the Negev region after the 1948 war, by the new Israeli state. They bought the land they have since lived on from the nearby town of Yata, in the then Jordanian controlled West Bank. Israel does not recognise this land ownership. In 1979 the area was subjected to a military seizure order and declared Israeli ‘state land’. A Nahal paramilitary outpost was established on the hill top nearby. In 1981 the outpost was ‘civilianised’ as the Moshav of Carmel, named after the biblical location of Carmel which is believed to have been close. It currently has around 70 Jewish families living there. Under article 38 of the Towns, Villages and Buildings Planning Law every building in the Beduoin village is subject to a stop work or demolition order. The order specifically includes tents, outdoor toilets and a wood burning oven. The village has no link to the power or fresh water facilities supplied to the settlement. Buildings are regularly bulldozed by the state authorities and the inhabitants harassed by the neighbouring settlers.

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