West Bank Village Struggles to Survive: Targeting Palestine's Way Of Life Longstanding
05 February 2013
By Stephen Lendman
Batir is special. Its heritage is longstanding. It's
been that way for centuries. It's one of Palestine's
most beautiful villages.
It's built around natural spring water. It's dotted by
wells and reservoirs. Traditional agriculture is its
way of life. Villagers want it kept that way.
Spring water irrigates Batir's gardens. They made
village produce famous. Preserving it is vital. It's
too important to lose.
In 1948, Batir was on the front line of Israel's War
of Independence. Green Line separation divides its
ancestral lands. Its residents were the only
Palestinians allowed to cultivate them inside its
post-war border.
For decades it struggled to survive. Israeli land
theft and development threaten it.
Israel's Separation Wall is Exhibit A. Constructing it
threatens traditional Batir agriculture. Its route
isn't yet finalized. If built as planned, Batir's way
of life will end.
One farmer spoke for others, saying:
"It is a tragedy for all farmers and all the residents
of Batir village. Most of the residents are farmers
and depend on these green lands."
"They depend on farming the Batir eggplant which is
famous in the Palestinian lands. Also we have other
vegetables such as beans, cauliflower, and pepper."
Israel's Separation Wall "affects us. If only you knew
how much it will destroy our lives and land. We do not
know how we will live afterwards."
"Our life is attached to this land. It is the source
of our honor. We will never give it away no matter
what happens."
Israel's Nature and Parks Authority CEO Shaul
Goldstein agrees. He opposes Israel's plan.
"Israel has the right to defend itself," he said. "We
think we can do it with electronic devices, closed
circuit cameras, and radars, not by a physical
barrier, not a fence, not a wall, nothing."
"We need it open for the public. We need it open for
nature."
Area around Batir provides an ecological corridor.
Destroying it by wall or fence construction would be
tragic, he added.
He stressed two main points. One is the ecological
corridor. It provides animals different climate areas.
Batir landscape is the other. It's too beautiful and
historic to destroy. It's unique and picturesque. It's
on a hillside south of Jerusalem.
Farmland is arranged by traditional terraces. Natural
springs irrigate it.
According to engineer Raed Samara:
"The damage that will happen if the wall is built will
never be solved. There will be environmental damage."
"There will be increase in rats and harmful animals.
The animals who are living in this area will not be
able to move around, such as gazelles."
Since 2005, villagers waged legal battles. They
petitioned Israel's High Court. They did so through
through Israeli environmental organizations, Friends
of the Earth of Middle East, and Israel's Nature and
Parks Authority.
Last October, Israel's High Court ruled. It issued an
injunction. It banned Wall construction. Justice Uzi
Vogelman gave Israeli authorities 14 days to respond.
Villagers proposed an alternate Wall route. Doing so
leaves their land intact. Part of Batir lies inside
the Green Line. Israeli construction so far hasn't
violated it.
Attorney Kais Nasser represents villagers. "According
to (Israel's) plan," he said, (village) lands will
remain behind the fence, which will drastically change
the status quo in the area and lead to the breaking of
an international agreement between the parties."
It existed since 1948/49. Nasser rejects Israeli
claims. Saying Wall construction protects Israeli
security doesn't wash. It's the land, stupid.
Israel wants it. It wants all valued Judea and Samaria
areas. It wants Jewish development only. It wants
Palestinians ethnically cleansed. It's longstanding
policy.
In 2011, UNESCO awarded Batir $15,000. It did so for
"Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes."
Its care for ancient terraces and traditional
irrigation were highlighted.
Palestinian Authority officials want Batir declared a
World Heritage site. Ahead of Israel's High Court
injunction, they petitioned UNESCO to do so. They want
ancient Batir terraces protected.
"We hope that UNESCO which gave Batir the first award
for protecting the environment. We hope this award
will help to stop building the wall and will return
life to Batir," said Samara.
Last October, UNESCO gave Palestine full member
status. It did so despite intense US and Israeli
opposition. PA officials submitted an emergency
petition. It requested swift resolution. It wants
Batir protected. It said in part:
"(T)he nominated property is currently at risk because
of the Separation Barrier currently being constructed
by the Government of Israel. The Batir Village Council
brought this case to the Israeli Supreme Court."
"The court case aims at preventing the construction of
the 'Barrier' in a historically sensitive area such as
the 'jenan' or 'gardens' where a millenary irrigation
system is still in use to water the vegetable gardens
of Batir."
"The Israeli Supreme Court is expected to issue its
decision in the near future, which justifies the
submission of this dossier to be processed on an
emergency basis, in order to protect an area of
'Outstanding Universal Value' and prevent its
irreversible destruction."
"Since 1967, intensive Israeli activities of
settlement expansion are threatening the property and
its surrounding villages."
"The increasing construction of housing units,
infrastructures, roads and other various kinds of
services for the exclusive use of Israeli settlers,
has resulted in the progressive enclavisation of both
the territorial area and the inhabitants of the
nominated property, severely threatening the integrity
of its landscape and the sustainability of its
ecological and environmental equilibrium."
If Israel's Wall is built as planned, it'll separate
villagers from 740 acres of their land. Doing so will
violate 1948/49 armistice agreements. Subsequent oral
ones will end.
Traditional agriculture won't survive. Batir's entire
terrace system may collapse. "It's like a net," said
one farmer. "You can't cut it down in the middle
without it being destroyed."
Perhaps Israel has that in mind. It wouldn't be the
first time. Targeting Palestine's way of life is
longstanding.
Batir is one of its last untouched areas. Villagers
prioritize preserving it. Wall construction destroyed
adjacent Walaja village.
Good Water Neighbors at Friends of the Earth Middle
East's Michal Sagiv said:
"On the Israeli side, (Walaja) terraces ceased to be
used for agriculture and are remnants. Here it's still
a living system." Batir villages want it kept that
way.
On February 17, Haaretz headlined "Palestinians reject
Israel's compromise for West Bank fence: Stop rail
traffic instead of building on our land."
In response to villagers' High Court petition, Israeli
officials "suggested building a fence, rather than a
wall…."
They lied. They said doing so would minimize
environmental damage. They stressed non-existent
security concerns.
Palestinians reject them for good reason. They
understand Israel's real aims. Land theft is
prioritized. So is settlement construction and other
Jewish development.
Doing so requires displacing Palestinians. It's been
ongoing for decades. It shows no signs of stopping.
In rejecting Israel's "compromise," villagers "quoted
landscape conservation experts who said that a fence
would cause as much damage as a wall - both through
direct damage to the terraces on which it would be
built and by interrupting the contiguity of cultivated
land."
They said construction will impede villagers' access
to their land. Israel plans it. Concerns raised are
subterfuge for its real aims.
The struggle to preserve Batir continues. Hope springs
eternal. Israel plans returning 1,200 dunums of Jordan
Valley land.
According to its Lands Administration (ILA), its
Kibbutz Merav mistakenly got it. It's inside the Green
Line.
ILA officials admitted a 30-year old error. Doing so
was perhaps a one-off. What Israel steals it keeps.
Rare exceptions prove the rule.
In January 2012, Israel told kibbutz officials what
happened. The land's not theirs was explained. It's
still being cultivated.
It's private Palestinian land. It's legal owners were
excluded for decades. They still are despite ILA's
ruling.
Making it was historic. It remains to be seen what
follows. Anything positive perhaps bodes well for
Batir. The struggle to preserve it continues.
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.
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments