Resisting Israeli Efforts to Displace Them Palestinians Move Into Caves Palestinians - Land Use HEAD TOPICS

Resisting Israeli Efforts to Displace Them Palestinians Move Into Caves

10/22/2022 11:25:00 PM

Many Palestinians in an area of the West Bank have either moved into caves already or are planning to do so

Palestinians Land Use

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New York Times World

Many Palestinians in an area of the West Bank have either moved into caves already or are planning to do so Israel ’s Supreme Court has ordered the removal of about 1,200 Palestinians from their villages in the occupied West Bank . The United Nations says that could amount to a war crime. Sitting on a boulder and wearing a purple robe and a red and white keffiyeh as a hijab, the cousin looked over at a nook, the smallest of the three areas of the cave.ImageSamar Hazboun for The New York TimesBeyond the demolitions, Israel has engaged in what the United Nations calls “coercive measures” to make life difficult for the Palestinians in the area, confiscating vehicles, restricting access by aid groups, and setting up checkpoints between villages that can make it difficult for children and teachers to reach schools, local leaders and aid groups said. Read more:
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President Joe Biden said Friday that while he has not made a formal decision about running for reelection in 2024, it is his 'intention' to do so. Read more >> ACLU asks Supreme Court to invalidate laws banning anti-Israel boycottsThe American Civil Liberties Union asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to review a lower court’s ruling against boycotting Israel , arguing the restriction impedes on First Amendment rights. Israeli troops kill Palestinian youth, wound three in West BankNineteen-year-old suffered a mortal wound in the neck, while three others were wounded by live gunshots to their limbs during a raid in Jenin refugee camp, says Palestine's Health Ministry. tehseenp AC Milan icon Andriy Shevchenko thanks former club for supporting Ukraine amid war effort CNNUkrainian soccer legend Andriy Shevchenko has thanked AC Milan for its “incredible effort” in offering support to his country. The soccer club has been raising money as well as setting up helplines to support families arriving in Italy. Diwali will be added to NYC schools holiday calendar, Adams saysMayor Eric Adams announced that New York City will make Diwali a school holiday — following months of pressure from South Asian and Indo-Caribbean advocates — while also removing the little celebrated Brooklyn-Queens Day from the school calendar. Because there was nothing else to do Setting Fires to Save the Houston ToadAn environmental film festival spotlights a Central Texas land trust’s effort to bring back endangered species. Conservation Toads Movie Review: Ticket to ParadiseMOVIE REVIEW: Clooney and Roberts join the year of the rom-com with a by-the-numbers effort. Jinba By The New York Times “This needs work,” she said, waving toward the stone walls and suggesting the addition of a row of shelves.Follow Us.More than 120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers in occupied territories of West Bank and East Jerusalem this year.Ukrainian soccer legend Andriy Shevchenko has thanked AC Milan for its “incredible effort” in offering support to his country amid the war effort. Looking up at the low, cobwebbed ceiling, from which an electric light hung, she said, “It needs a vent up there.” Sitting on a boulder and wearing a purple robe and a red and white keffiyeh as a hijab, the cousin looked over at a nook, the smallest of the three areas of the cave. “That’ll be a room for Zainab,” she said, turning to Ms.  The violence happened as Israeli forces staged an arrest raid in the Jenin refugee camp, a spot in the northern West Bank that has been a flash point in recent fighting. Abu Sabha’s 3-year-old granddaughter, who was playing on the dirt floor. “What do you think, Zainab? A room for you?” Ms. “I had this phone call from the Milan Foundation and they tried to immediately help with a nice program together with the Mayor of Milan, to help Ukrainian refugees. Ahmad Abu Sabha remembers what the caves used to look like in her adolescent years when her family last lived in them.  Mohammed Fadi Nuri was shot in the stomach last month by Israeli troops near the city of Ramallah and died on Thursday. In the 1980s, residents moved above ground, first erecting tents and then, in the 2000s, building homes. Image The Abu Sabha family temporarily moved into an unused clinic after its home was demolished. Credit. The military said dozens of illegal settlers ran through the town, throwing rocks at Palestinian cars.. In the women’s category, FC Barcelona star Alexia Putellas and England defender Lucy Bronze are up for contention. . Samar Hazboun for The New York Times “They say we weren’t here before the ’80s, but I was born here in 1964 in another cave,” she said. Police said the settlers fled the scene by car. The Israeli military declared much of Masafer Yatta a restricted firing zone in the early 1980s, saying it had unique characteristics that no other area had, according to a court decision in the army’s favor. Israel has long maintained that the Palestinians in the area were not permanent residents before that designation. Beyond the demolitions, Israel has engaged in what the United Nations calls “coercive measures” to make life difficult for the Palestinians in the area, confiscating vehicles, restricting access by aid groups, and setting up checkpoints between villages that can make it difficult for children and teachers to reach schools, local leaders and aid groups said. "This is a very serious incident that embodies shameful and disgraceful criminal behavior that demands strict and swift justice," he said.” Shevchenko, in tandem with the ‘AC Milan for Peace’ program, helped raise nearly $200,000 (€200,000) by selling specially designed team jerseys which included the icon’s name and number on the back. “Forcible transfer is contrary to the Geneva Conventions, and transfer does not always mean packing people up in trucks and taking them away,” said Noa Sattath, the executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. “A slow mistreatment of the population in order to motivate them to leave is also considered forced transfer.” The Palestinian Authority has said that evicting residents of the area would amount to , a charge often leveled by Palestinians and their advocates in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as land and building laws push them out in favor of Jewish settlers and settlements.  Settler violence has in the past also led to confrontations with soldiers which often sparks condemnations from politicians but rarely leads to a solution to the problem. Image Members of the Abu Sabha family entering their cave in the village of Khirbet Al-Fakheit. Work to renovate the caves has been slow. “We just want to show the world that we are going to carry on, we’re going to keep going but that we can also live,” he said. Credit. Some schools were also closed... Samar Hazboun for The New York Times Two years ago, community leaders decided the caves could be the only option for villagers to stay on in Masafer Yatta. READ MORE:  General strike in occupied West Bank after Palestinian killed by Israel Deadliest year for Palestinians since 2015 More than 120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers during unrest in the occupied territories of West Bank and East Jerusalem this year, making 2022 the deadliest year since 2015. While they would still be under expulsion orders, it would be harder for the Israeli military to remove them. Work to renovate the caves has been slow and expensive for most families. Many caves lack access to electricity or spaces with vents for cooking. READ MORE:. Aid groups have helped, pouring concrete over dirt floors, covering stone walls and dividing caves into rooms. The villagers say Masafer Yatta is Palestinian land, a claim they say is backed by property deeds some residents have that date back to before the state of Israel was established in 1948. Lawyers for the residents submitted aerial imagery to Israeli courts that they said showed continuous settlement of the villages over the past 45 years, including vehicle tracks leading to the caves. But the Israeli Defense Ministry said the pictures did not show that the Palestinians were there permanently before 1980, saying they lived in the area only seasonally. The court agreed. “Over the years, the closure order was violated by Palestinians, who began building illegally in the area,” the Israeli military said in response to questions sent by The New York Times. “The court ruled that the petitioners acted in bad faith and illegally built in the area while an interim order was issued, and rejected any attempted compromise offered to them.” Image Inside one of the caves. Credit... Samar Hazboun for The New York Times The Defense Ministry has said that declaring the area a firing zone is consistent with international law governing military occupation. However, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, Samer Abdel Jaber, said during a visit to Masafer Yatta in May that “as the occupying power, the Israeli authorities’ responsibility is to protect Palestinian civilians. ” He added, “Forcing 13 communities out to make room for military trainings is contradictory to that imperative, and simply inhumane and illegal.” The United States government is watching developments in Masafer Yatta closely, according to the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs, and has raised its concerns about evictions of Palestinians and demolitions of their homes with the Israeli government. Under the Oslo Accords, the 1990s peace agreement that was supposed to lay the path for Palestinian statehood, two-thirds of the West Bank fell under what was supposed to be temporary Israeli control. Israel was meant to gradually withdraw from most of that area and transfer control to the Palestinians. Instead, Israel has maintained its military occupation and allowed the building and expansion of settlements, illegal under international law, in the area it controls while pushing Palestinians out. Palestinians say this represents a creeping annexation of the West Bank. “This is a clear plan to make people flee the area,” said Jaber Ali Dababseh, standing on the concrete foundation on which he built and rebuilt his home five times in the Masafer Yatta village of Khalet al-Dabe. “But we won’t be cowed. ” Image In the Masafer Yatta area of the West Bank, homes, barns, schools and clinics are all at risk of demolition. Credit... Samar Hazboun for The New York Times Around him was a small orchard of almond and apricot trees and olive vines. Mr. Dababseh, who lays tiles for a living and is a father of five, said his family has Ottoman-era deeds proving its ownership of the land. In July, the Israeli military carried out military training with live fire and explosions in the valley below Mr. Dababseh’s orchard. During the drills, a large bullet from a heavy machine gun hit the roof of a home while the family was inside, according to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group. The Israeli association leading the legal battle petitioned the court for an emergency injunction to stop the training. It was rejected. Lawyers say that with all legal avenues exhausted, they hope diplomatic pressure will help. Now even as village residents continue to prepare caves for habitation, they keep a watchful eye on the roads for approaching bulldozers. “If we don’t do the caves, where will we live?” Mr. Dababseh said. “They can demolish a home and they can confiscate a tent. Those sons of bitches have returned us to how our ancestors lived.” Advertisement .