Zionist occupation forces are carrying out a systematic campaign of demolitions of dozens of Palestinian houses under a variety of pretexts the flimsiest of them being construction without a permit.

WEST BANK (PIC)– Trees clothing the hills with a perpetual cover of green; people moving from one town to another without difficulty or impediments; children who only enjoy playing in the courtyards of their homes; that was a lifestyle the forefathers lived but to talk about it now has become a type of fantasy when compared with the current reality of Zionist land seizures and checkpoints.

Between these two realities the Zionist occupation forces are carrying out a systematic campaign of demolitions of dozens of Palestinian houses under a variety of pretexts the flimsiest of them being construction without a permit.

Abu Jalal is an elderly Palestinian. Time has etched deep lines on his face reflections of the events he has witnessed since his infancy on this land.

He says “Olive and almond trees grew here and we used to eat sleep and play beneath those trees.”

He points to the mountain upon which his gaze is fixed and continues speaking “Look at that mountain. Do you see anything on it? It has turned barren and black. Can you imagine that it was once covered with trees? It was still green until a few years ago when the Zionists uprooted the trees and burned them to make it part of one of their settlements.”

Curbing Life
A traveler on the roads that connect the cities of the West Bank can scarcely avoid being amazed and overwhelmed by the chain of Zionist settlements stretching across mountains hills and plains on lands that were illegally seized from their Palestinian owners in order to curb freedom and impede life in the rest of the villages and towns those of the Palestinians.

The psychological distress doesn’t stop there. After a few minutes you find yourself one of hundreds lined up at an Israeli checkpoint which may be either fixed or mobile. Three or four Israeli soldiers control who will enter and leave by that checkpoint. Meanwhile children women and the elderly wait in the sweltering heat for a signal from the soldier that they may proceed.

Hajjah Umm Imad (aged 45) lives in Hebron. She cannot find the words to express the suffering she endured due to the delays imposed by a multitude of checkpoints she had to cross on the road from Hebron to Ramallah when she traveled to a hospital in Ramallah for medical treatment.

She tries to describe the suffering by adding: “Taking the Mu’arrajat Wadi Nar Road is already difficult by car but the presence of an Israeli “container” checkpoint at the end of the ascent is something for which a full account is due.”

Umm Imad mentions another incident from last winter when the Zionist soldiers detained them for six straight hours in the biting cold for no reason.

Abu Misbah from the city of Qalqiliyah shares the same sentiments. He adds “The Zionist checkpoints are for the Palestinians a constant nightmare that pursues them day and night.

Imagine a life whose details are constructed from the experience of the checkpoints. Not a day goes by that you don’t encounter stories of suffering and humiliation; some of them you live through yourself while others are experienced by your relatives and neighbors.”

Abu Misbah expresses surprise at statements that the checkpoint experience is being made easier. He says “The Zionist occupation is playing a cat-and-mouse game with us as far as the checkpoints go. Today they announce that things are going to be made easier; then an hour later the opposite occurs. We don’t know who to believe on that and when we will be able to believe it.”

Suffering by the Numbers
The Institute for Applied Studies in Jerusalem (Areej) released a report in January of 2009 stating that the number of Zionist land seizures had reached 200 land seizures as well as 220 other settlement outposts.

The reports stated that about 498 thousand people are living in these illegal settlements which occupy a total of about 188 thousand dunums while the lands occupied by the Israeli armed forces is around 47 thousand dunums. There are 669 checkpoints distributed throughout the West Bank.

The report explained that the number of property seizures and illegal settlements in the district of Jerusalem is 53 with about 200 thousand persons occupying them illegally. The seized properties occupy four thousand dunums. And there are at least 46 military checkpoints either fixed or mobile.

In the district of Bethlehem there are 33 seized pieces of land a population of about 82 thousand illegal settlers and 47 military checkpoints.

In the district of Hebron there are 72 seized pieces of land about 58 thousand illegal settlers and a total of 233 military checkpoints.

The situation is different in the district of Ramallah; there are 83 seized pieces of land about 78 thousand illegal settlers and a total of 101 military checkpoints. 

The number of Jewish settlements established in the Jericho district is 29; a population of about 51 thousand illegal settlers and a total of ten military checkpoints.

Turning to the Salfit the report indicated that the number of settlements in the district has reached 37; there is a population of about 30 thousand illegal settlers and a total of 38 military checkpoints.

While the number of settlements in the distrrict of Qalqilya is 22 with a population of about 27 thousand illegal settlers and a total of 42 military checkpoints distributed throughout it.

In Nablus district there are 47 illegal settlements home to 94 thousand illegal settlers and a total of 64 military checkpoints.

As for the district of Tulkarem the report pointed out that there are around nine settlements with a population of about two thousand illegal settlers and 41 checkpoints.

There are 12 illegal settlements in the district of Tubas populated by about two thousand settlers and five checkpoints.

Finally the number of settlements in Jenin district as per the data cited by the report is 14 with a population of about 17 thousand illegal settlers and 42 checkpoints.