Violation: seizing a plot.

Location: Khirbet Al-Faresiya / Tubas governorate.

Date: August 4^th 2020.

Perpetrators: illegal Colonists.

Victims: Dababat and Daraghma families.

Description:

Tuesday, August 2020 , the Israeli Occupation forces took over vast areas of pastoral lands west Al-Faresiya community in an area known of Ehmayir located to the east of Wad Al-Malih in Tubas governorate.

Colonists brought a water reservoir with a storage capacity of 2 m³, they also brought olive seedlings and cultivated them on a about 9 dunums of lands , the targeted plot is 300 m away from citizens’ houses in Khirbet Al-Faresiya.

Photo: Water reservoir installed up a hill

The targeted lands belong to families from Dababat and Daraghma clans from Tubas area, the owners hold deeds prove their right to the land, the area used to be planted with wheat and grains, but haven’t been cultivated for years due to water shortage resulting from Israeli measurements regarding water in the Jordan valley , which had a devastating effects on agriculture.

Activist in the Jordan Valley ‘Aref Daraghma told LRC:

“This is a serious indicator on colonists’ policy of emptying high areas and taking over the Jordan Valley. Ehmayir has a strategic location over viewing the Jordan Valley, it is also the only escape for Bedouins and farmers and a fertile land for postures . Taking over this area opens the door for perpetuating Judaization at the Jordan valley. The location is also between two Israeli colonies Sal’it and Mekhola , it is expected that colonists will try to seize the lands between these two settlements to create a geographical connection between them , which will mean the confiscation of vast areas of postures and agricultural lands.”

Khirbet Al Farisiya [1]

Khirbet Al Farisiya is located in Wadi Al Malih in Tubas Governorate at a distance of 20 kilometers east of the city of Tubas. The lands of the Khirbet stretch between Al Tayasir checkpoint and the Jordan River. Its current population is 400 Palestinians while the number exceeded 1,000 before the Israeli occupation of 1967.

The residents of the Khirbet largely depend on farming and herding as main source of income. The main clans in the area are Bisharat, Dababiyyat and Dharaghma from the city of Tubas and the town of Tammun. A number of the residents have their roots in the area of Yatta in Hebron Governorate.

[1] GIS-LRC

This report was prepared as part of Securing Palestinian Land and Housing Rights project activties

The contents of this document are the responsibility of LRC , and do not rerflect positions and views of The European Union