The residents of the village of Yabad to south of Jenin to the north of the West Bank were surprised on Saturday 6 May 2017 by the Israeli occupation authorities’ military order to confiscate about 10000 dunums of the village’s lands as part of an ongoing plan to target the village.
The (IOA) handed over a decision to the Yabad inhabitants which states confiscating land from the village at a total of 9858 dunums of land along the adjacent street to the south of the village in a clear violation of private property of citizens.
The IOA informed the citizens in an arbitrary manner that their land was confiscated noting that vast fields of these lands are planted with olives.
Ahmed Abu Bakr told the PIC “We were surprised by the IOA decision which officially declared the confiscation of our land that we have been denied access to for years in the Sahl area.” The IOA published a list of names of citizens whose lands were confiscated.
He added “This is an act of piracy with what the word entails to satisfy the settlers of the nearby settlement of Mevo Dotan.”
Taking over land for security purposes
The decision issued by the Israeli occupation army states that it aims at “seizing the land for security purposes” based on “special security conditions in the region and the need to take action (vis-à-vis such conditions).”
Hassan Abu Shamla who lives in Yabad opined that the prevailing security conditions in the region is only an excuse to take over as much land as possible to serve the expansion policy of the Israeli occupation.
He wondered “Who creates instability in the region those who have lived in the area for hundreds of years or the new-coming settlers at the nearby settlement of Mevo Dotan which is taking over more lands and causing constant tension in the region?”
The Israeli occupation authorities issued a list which includes 59 of the affected people as a result of this order in the town of Yabad. They were all shocked by the decision becoming without a land overnight which they planted and tended for years.
Aballah Hamarsheh told the PIC reporter that these lands were not abandoned nor neglected and they were taken care of by their owners and were full of olive and fruit trees: the best lands in town.
He added “The IOA wants to establish a geographical connection with the settlement of Mevo Dotan at the expense of our land” noting that fencing these lands and confiscating them means separating the town of Yabad from the settlement.
A series of restrictions
The decision to confiscate the land came in line with larger series of restrictions imposed on the people of Yabad during the last two years.
The IOA ended the work of charcoal-producers in the town claiming that the resulting emissions annoy the settlers of Mevo Dotan settlement noting that Yabad is the main center for charcoal-production in Palestine.
The town is also subjected to continuous raids and arrests and is systematically harassed by barriers and collective punishment measures which increases the suffering of its inhabitants.
