Violation: Seizure of land for military purposes.
Location: The town of Barta’a, southwest of Jenin Governorate.
Date of Violation: 27/09/2024.
Perpetrator: Commander of the Israeli Occupation Forces.
Affected Party: Residents of the town of Barta’a.

Description:

The so-called Commander of the Israeli Occupation Forces in the West Bank issued a new military order to seize 3.2 dunams of land in the town of Barta’a, citing alleged military reasons.

According to the military notice, numbered (24/85/T), the occupation specified the confiscation area within the natural basin No. (20385) and plot (2) of the lands of Barta’a, which is isolated behind the Apartheid Wall.

Based on the attached map, the Israeli occupation plans to construct a metal fence near the settlement of "Rehan," which is built on parts of the town’s lands. This aims to create a new apartheid separation between the town’s lands, which the occupation has already isolated from their Palestinian surroundings.

Bartaa al Sharqiya [1]

The town of Bartaa al Sharqiya is located 3 km northwest of the city of Jenin within the northern triangle area It is bordered to the north by the villages of Ara and Arara inside the Green Line to the west by the villages of Western Bartaa and Umm al Qutuf inside the Green Line to the east by the hamlet of Abdullah al Younis and the village of Umm al Rihan and to the south by the town of Qaffin and the village of Dahr al Abed

Its population is 4792 as of 2017

Its total area is 9988 dunams of which 701 dunams are the built up area of the village

1. Settlements have confiscated 413 dunams of the village lands which are:

1. The bypass roads have confiscated 437 dunams with the following numbers 596 and 611.
2. The Apartheid Wall has confiscated 2 dunams while isolating the entire village behind it with a length of 1769 meters

The lands of the village are classified according to the Oslo Accords as follows:

• Areas classified as B (645) dunams
• Areas classified as C (9343) dunams

Land Confiscation Violates International Laws:

Israel's actions in the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a violation of the rights of the Palestinian people and their lands, as well as a breach of international laws and norms. Below are the key provisions from international laws and treaties that prohibit Israeli settlement in Palestinian territories and protect civil and public rights and properties in occupied lands, along with relevant United Nations resolutions.

Lahay Convention (1907):

• Article 46: The occupying power is prohibited from confiscating private property.
• Article 55: The occupying power acts as an administrator of the lands in the occupied country and must treat the properties as private assets.

Fourth Geneva Convention (1949):

• Article 49: The occupying power is not permitted to transfer its own citizens into the territories it occupies or take any actions that result in demographic changes.
• Article 53: The occupying forces are prohibited from destroying personal, collective, state, or authority-owned property in the occupied territory.
• Article 147: The extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly are considered grave breaches.
• مشروع: حماية الحقوق البيئية الفلسطينية في مناطق "ج" SPERAC IV - GFFO

  Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Land Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the project donor; the Norwegian Refugee Council.

  إخلاء المسؤولية: الآراء ووجهات النظر الواردة في هذا التقرير هي آراء ووجهات نظر مركز أبحاث الأراضي ولا تعكس بالضرورة وجهات نظر أو مواقف الجهة المانحة للمشروع؛ المجلس النرويجي. للاجئين