Posts tagged Area C

An injured Palestinian man screams in pain after an Israeli army driver drove a trailer hooked to a tractor over his legs, as he tried to block him when Israeli forces stopped Palestinians from rebuilding a house in al-Dirat village, south of Yatta in the West Bank, January 25, 2012. Israeli forces seized equipment and a trailer from Palestinian construction workers as the site falls in the occupied area C in which Israel prevents Palestinians from building on their own land.

Area C, which is entirely Palestinian land and under full Israeli control, comprises 60 per cent of the West Bank and has twice as many Israeli settlers as Palestinians. Israeli authorities have allocated only 1 per cent of Area C for Palestinian development, while the number of Israeli settlements — illegal under international law — continue to expand. The Palestinian population in the area continue to diminish due to house demolitions, lack of access to water, building permits, and the occupation itself. (Getty Images)

Palestinian Bedouins, now homeless, sift through their family’s belongings after their shacks and tents were destroyed by Israeli army bulldozers in the village of Fasayel, where 10 tents were destroyed today alone, in the Jordan Valley, located in the so-called Area C, a closed military zone where Israel exercises full control of on June 14, 2011. (Getty Images) An article from The Guardian (2008) reads: Illegal Area C covers 60% of the West Bank, home to around 70,000 Palestinians. It is also the area in which most Jewish settlements, all illegal under international law, are built. Compelling statistical evidence shows that while it is extremely hard for Palestinians to obtain building permits, settlements continue to grow rapidly. Research by the Israeli group Peace Now found that 94% of Palestinian permit applications for Area C building were refused between 2000 and September 2007. Only 91 permits were granted to Palestinians, but 18,472 housing units were built in Jewish settlements. As a result of demolition orders 1,663 Palestinian buildings were demolished, against only 199 in the settlements. “The denial of permits for Palestinians on such a large scale raises the fear that there is a specific policy by the authorities to encourage a ‘silent transfer’ of the Palestinian population from area C,” Peace Now said. This year there has been a marked increase in demolitions. There were 138 demolitions between January and March, most in area C, compared with 29 in the last three months of 2007, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This year 400 Palestinians have been displaced as a result. At a time of a renewed peace process to create an independent Palestinian state, the reality in the West Bank is that Jewish settlements are growing and demolitions of Palestinian homes are on the increase.

Palestinian Bedouins, now homeless, sift through their family’s belongings after their shacks and tents were destroyed by Israeli army bulldozers in the village of Fasayel, where 10 tents were destroyed today alone, in the Jordan Valley, located in the so-called Area C, a closed military zone where Israel exercises full control of on June 14, 2011. (Getty Images)

An article from The Guardian (2008) reads:

Illegal

Area C covers 60% of the West Bank, home to around 70,000 Palestinians. It is also the area in which most Jewish settlements, all illegal under international law, are built. Compelling statistical evidence shows that while it is extremely hard for Palestinians to obtain building permits, settlements continue to grow rapidly.

Research by the Israeli group Peace Now found that 94% of Palestinian permit applications for Area C building were refused between 2000 and September 2007. Only 91 permits were granted to Palestinians, but 18,472 housing units were built in Jewish settlements. As a result of demolition orders 1,663 Palestinian buildings were demolished, against only 199 in the settlements. “The denial of permits for Palestinians on such a large scale raises the fear that there is a specific policy by the authorities to encourage a ‘silent transfer’ of the Palestinian population from area C,” Peace Now said.

This year there has been a marked increase in demolitions. There were 138 demolitions between January and March, most in area C, compared with 29 in the last three months of 2007, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This year 400 Palestinians have been displaced as a result. At a time of a renewed peace process to create an independent Palestinian state, the reality in the West Bank is that Jewish settlements are growing and demolitions of Palestinian homes are on the increase.