Palestinians Living in Firing Zones: A
Destructive US/Israeli Relationship
18 August 2012
By Stephen Lendman
Life in Occupied Palestine is hard enough. Imagine how
much worse in firing zones.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
(1) Israel designated about 18% of West Bank land
closed military zones, aka firing zones. It's one
among other ways Israel steals land.
(2) About 5,000 Palestinians in 38 communities are
affected. Most are Bedouins. Land they've lived on for
generations was theirs in peace until 1948. Everything
changed when Israel began stealing it. It's now used
for military and other purposes.
(3) Over 80% of affected communities are in the Jordan
Valley and Dead Sea area. It's called South Hebron
Hills.
(4) Over 90% of these communities are water scarce.
Residents access less than 60 liters per capita daily.
Over half of them get less than 30 liters per day. The
World Health Organization's (WHO) minimum recommended
amount is 100 liters.
(5) Oslo divided the West Bank into three parts. They
include Areas A, B and C. A fourth for Greater
Jerusalem.
Palestinians control Area A for internal security,
public order, and civil affairs.
The PA maintains civil control over Area B. It
includes 450 towns and villages. Israel retains
overriding authority for settler safety and its own
interests throughout the Territories.
It controls Area C entirely. It comprises over 60% of
West Bank land. It includes its valuable water
resources.
Israel considers it sovereign territory. Land theft is
official policy. Israel's been stealing it for
decades. It wants all valued Judea and Samaria areas.
Palestinians are consigned for scrublands unfit to
live on.
Food insecurity in Area C is 24%. For Bedouins, it's
34%. Many live in firing zones. At issue is for how
long. Stealing it destroys generations of normal life.
(6) Two firing zone located schools and one
kindergarten are scheduled for demolition.
(7) Since 2010, about 45% of demolitions of
Palestinian structures occurred in firing zones. Over
820 civilians were displaced.
(8) Ten Israeli settlement outposts are either partly
or entirely in firing zones.
In the 1970s, Israel declared large West Bank areas
closed military areas. Palestinians can't live there
without permission. It's rarely granted. Those there
face dispossession. Demarcating land is one way Israel
steals it. Humanitarian impact doesn't matter.
Firing zones aren't clearly marked. Residents say
little or no military activity occurs there. Affected
Palestinians are among those most in need. Limited
essential services are available.
Regular demolitions target residents. Israeli
settlement outposts aren't threatened. Families living
in or near firing zones are herders. They need
livestock grazing land. They're greatly restricted.
Violators face substantial fines and/or imprisonment.
Villagers also have to pay costs for their own
property confiscations and/or demolitions. They're
punished two or more times over.
Palestinians in firing zones face property losses, IDF
harassment, water scarcity, movement restrictions, and
settler violence.
Israel spurns its occupying power obligations. It
ignores basic needs and welfare. It violates
international law with impunity. It creates hellish
conditions for affected Palestinians.
In recent weeks, Firing Zone 918 made headlines. Eight
villages in the West Bank's southernmost area are
affected. Over 1,500 Palestinians live there. On July
23, Israel ordered them out. Property demolitions are
planned.
On August 7, the IDF began closing roads. A checkpoint
between Jinba and Khirbet Biral'Idd villages was
established. Soldiers began harassing residents and
damaging property.
Life in Occupied Palestine is hard enough. In Firing
Zone 918, it's harder. In 1999, the area was first
designated for military use. Around 700 Palestinians
were displaced.
In 2000, an interim High Court of Justice (HCJ)
injunction halted evacuations. For over a decade,
residents lived in limbo. They face constant threat of
demolition, displacement and dispossession.
Israel claims nomadic Bedouin culture constitutes
nonpermanent residency. Villagers challenge lawless
rulings for their rights. International law backs
them.
School records show they're permanent residents. Land
they live on is theirs. They've been there for
generations or longer. Displacing them has no legal
standing. Israel does it anyway. It wants residents
from eight to 12 villages displaced.
In early August, masked IDF soldiers raided Jinba
village. They raided homes, searched them, damaged
property, and mapped the site. Residents know they're
targeted for dispossession.
Helicopters landed and took off six times. Soldiers
were ferried in. Outside Jinba, a command center tent
was erected.
During the raid, dozens of Yatta village students were
there. Masked, armed soldiers terrified them.
Villagers weren't told what's at stake.
Days earlier, similar operations were conducted in two
other villages. Tuba and Magher al-Abeed residents
were mistreated.
In response to Jinba's raid, Association for Civil
Rights in Israel (ACRI) lawyer, Tamar Feldman, said
Israel's 2000 High Court decision let them continue
village life unobstructed. In early August, that
changed.
Attorney Shlomo Lecker called raiding Jinba a
"heavy-handed violation of the injunction issued by
Supreme Court President Aharon Barak in 2000." Israel
violates international law, its own, and High Court
rulings repeatedly.
At the time, an IDF spokesman said details on its
operations aren't provided.
One resident spoke for others, saying: "Farming is in
our soul and in our blood. If they take this away, we
will be destroyed." It's happening to hundreds of
Palestinians in eight to 12 villages.
On August 20, Haaretz columnist Amira Hass headlined
"A proper Zionist live fire zone," saying:
Israel's army and Civil Administration have been "impos(ing)
their authority as the supreme sovereign…." Closed
military zone orders deny Palestinians their legal
rights.
Hundreds of shepherds and farmers grazed livestock and
cultivated land long before Israel existed. Israel
wants generations of tradition ended. Indigenous
inhabitants face displacement and dispossession.
Mahmoud Jabarin lives in Live Fire Zone 918. Soldiers
stole his tractor. Jinba goats disappeared. A day
later they were found alive and well. Tractor driver
Hamza Jabarin was detained. He's being lawlessly held.
In mid-August, Civil Administration personnel
impounded two vehicles near Mufaqara village. They
claimed fire zone orders were violated. In May, other
confiscations occurred. A vehicle taking teachers to
school was affected.
Palestinians expect repeated incidents. Lawful
residents are losing homes, other property, and land.
Events on the ground comprise "a continuum of space
and time."
What's at stake outweighs individual abuses. In
affected areas, laws are enacted. Master plans follow.
Military orders are issued. Palestinian rights are
sacrificed for Jewish ones.
"The continuum of time is also erasing the pre-1967
border." What happened in the Galilee earlier (Live
Fire Zone 9) is planned. Seven new Jewish communities
will replace Bedouin ones. It's been ongoing for
decades.
Palestine is being stolen durum by durum for Jews.
Headlines don't explain. When firing zones aren't used
as pretexts, other scams are created out of whole
cloth.
Land Israel wants is declared unauthorized and
illegal. Longtime residents are displaced. Homes and
property are demolished. What once was no longer
exists. It began in 1948. It never ended.
A Ramallah bypass (Route 60) road sign explains much.
Givat Asaf outpost overlooks the junction of three
Palestinian villages. Their traditional route has been
blocked for years. Jews only get easy passage. The
road heads to Beit El settlement. The sign says:
"We're home. Here in Beit El 3,800 years ago, the Land
of Israel was promised to the Jewish people by the
Creator of the Universe. By force of this promise, we
sit today in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Shiloh and Hebron."
Extremist Jews most of all believe this rubbish. Deeds
and other documents justify nothing. Palestinian
rights don't matter because they're Arabs. They're to
be used and abused, not respected.
Hass said the sign in question was erected five years
ago. "(W)ouldn't it have been proper (now to say)
3,805 years ago, the Creator of the Universe ordered
us to prevent the residents of (three Palestinian
villages) from sowing their wheat and tending to their
olive trees?"
Right over might wouldn't have stolen their land in
the first place with more ahead planned.
A Final Comment
On August 24, a largely one-sided New York Times
debate asked "Has Support for Israel Hurt US
Credibility?" Seven opinions followed. None explained
what's most important. Rule of law issues were
avoided.
Criticism wasn't strong enough. Condemnation of wrongs
can't be compromised or softened. Touching the right
nerves has to draw blood every time. A little isn't
enough. Pour it out until it's bled dry. Fighting a
beast requires slaying it. Times debaters fell short.
Two explained what everyone needs to know. They
stopped short of full disclosure. The others weren't
worth the pages they were printed on. Some were
embarrassing.
Contributors avoided major issues. They lied for
Israel, hung Arabs out to dry, and championed a
destructive US/Israeli relationship. They should have
condemned it forthrightly.
Perhaps they know little about longstanding Israeli
lawlessness or won't say. Their readers won't find out
without learning on their own. Coverup and denial lets
abusive practices continue.
What's worse than potential nuclear war if Israel
and/or America attack Iran? Contributors didn't
explain.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached
at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is
titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html Visit his
blog site at
sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge
discussions with distinguished guests on the
Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio
Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
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