Demolitions
Negev Coexistence Forum Update Alert: Even the dead face eviction at Al-Arakib
Sheikh Sayach Al-Turi holds the eviction order he received
On 21 May 2014, 8 eviction orders were pasted onstructures in the cemetery at Al-Arakib and one was handed out to Sheikh Sayach Al-Turi, the Sheikh of the village. The eviction is to be effected between 12 June and 12 July - a “flexible eviction”. Some of the orders have been issued against persons who are no longer living and are buried in the cemetery, as well as against people no longer resident in the village. Despite some 63 demolitions of the village since 2010, the cemetery, with several homes and other structures within its confines, including a small improvised mosque and minaret for calling people to prayer, has so far been left untouched by the authorities. However, last March various authorities entered the perimeter and photograph the buildings for the first time. This latest order is a new and very disturbing development with far reaching implications beyond the confines of Al-Arakib itself. It could cause a conflagration throughout the Negev.
The eviction orders the residents of Al-Arakib received
Al-Arakib, a village of some 350people went over a massive demolishion in July 2010, including its crops and water supply. The residents however, in spite of brutal police behavior, arrests and injuries did not give up and have maintained a constant presence, rebuilding their structures each time the village was demolished anew. The Police sew the families and has claimed over 1.8 million shekels from the residents as 'payment' for expenses they had because of the demolition operations.
Since that demolition in 2010 Sheikh Sayach Al-Turi, who has led the resistance to the demolitions has been frequently harassed and was arrested several times for trespass. Sheikh Sayach was charged by the state on this issues in more than 20 court cases, and was handed several times with restraining orders preventing him from returning to the village, as have other members of his family. The firm stand of the people of Al-Arakib is not merely a symbol. It may well be that their resistance has deterred the authorities from pursuing equally draconian measures against the many other Bedouin villages under threat of demolition.
Sheikh Sayach Al-Turi says in response:
"To all the Jews who believe in equality and that it is possible for Arabs and Jews to live together, mobilise in support of truth and justice and stand up for every Bedouin home that this racist government intends to demolish. The State tells the Bedouin: You don't have a place in the Negev, no place in Israel. This is a great loss for the Bedouin and a great loss for the Jews. As long as there is no recognition of Bedouin rights to their lands, there will be no peace in the region, no equality and no justice.”
There are a number of legal issues arising from the latest Order, not the least of which is the fact that the case of Al-Arakib and its land claims is still under consideration by the courts and have not been finally resolved. NCF together with other partners will explore the legal avenues that can be pursued in an attempt to avert this disastrous edict.
Source: Negev Coexistence Forum (NCF)
http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e8e84502ef33a494e8d51c62e&id=18814d515a&e=11eef64cb2
Since that demolition in 2010 Sheikh Sayach Al-Turi, who has led the resistance to the demolitions has been frequently harassed and was arrested several times for trespass. Sheikh Sayach was charged by the state on this issues in more than 20 court cases, and was handed several times with restraining orders preventing him from returning to the village, as have other members of his family. The firm stand of the people of Al-Arakib is not merely a symbol. It may well be that their resistance has deterred the authorities from pursuing equally draconian measures against the many other Bedouin villages under threat of demolition.
Sheikh Sayach Al-Turi says in response:
"To all the Jews who believe in equality and that it is possible for Arabs and Jews to live together, mobilise in support of truth and justice and stand up for every Bedouin home that this racist government intends to demolish. The State tells the Bedouin: You don't have a place in the Negev, no place in Israel. This is a great loss for the Bedouin and a great loss for the Jews. As long as there is no recognition of Bedouin rights to their lands, there will be no peace in the region, no equality and no justice.”
There are a number of legal issues arising from the latest Order, not the least of which is the fact that the case of Al-Arakib and its land claims is still under consideration by the courts and have not been finally resolved. NCF together with other partners will explore the legal avenues that can be pursued in an attempt to avert this disastrous edict.
Source: Negev Coexistence Forum (NCF)
http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e8e84502ef33a494e8d51c62e&id=18814d515a&e=11eef64cb2
Palestinian Village, Bab Alshams, in Area E1, Destroyed by Israel
On January 11, a group of 250 men and women from across Palestine established a new Palestinian village named “Bab Alshams” (Gate of the Sun). Tents were built in what Israel refers to as area E1 and equipment for long-term living was brought. The photos on the header of this web site were taken of the site.
On January 13, the Israeli Special Forces destroyed the village.
Source: http://palsolidarity.org/2013/01/palestinians-establish-a-new-village-bab-alshams-in-area-e1/
On January 13, the Israeli Special Forces destroyed the village.
Source: http://palsolidarity.org/2013/01/palestinians-establish-a-new-village-bab-alshams-in-area-e1/
The group released the following statement:
"We, the sons and daughters of Palestine from all throughout the land, announce the establishment of Bab Alshams Village (Gate of the Sun). We the people, without permits from the occupation, without permission from anyone, sit here today because this is our land and it is our right to inhabit it."
Background Statement by the Bab Alshams Group
A few months ago the Israeli government announced its intention to build about 4000 settlement housing units in the area Israel refers to as E1. E1 block is an area of about 13 square km that falls on confiscated Palestinian land East of Jerusalem between Ma’ale Adumim settlement, which lies on occupied West Bank Palestinian land, and Jerusalem. We will not remain silent as settlement expansion and confiscation of our land continues. Therefore we hereby establish the village of Bab Alshams to proclaim our faith in direct action and popular resistance. We declare that the village will stand steadfast until the owners of this land will get their right to build on their land.
The village’s name is taken from the novel, “Bab Alshams,” by Lebanese writer Elias Khoury. The book depicts the history of Palestine through a love story between a Palestinian man, Younis, and his wife Nahila. Younis leaves his wife to join the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon while Nahila remains steadfast in what remains of their village in the Galilee. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Younis smuggles through Lebanon and back to the Galilee to meet his wife in the “Bab Alshams” cave, where she gives birth to their children. Younis returns to the resistance in Lebanon as his wife remains in Bab Al Shams.
Bab Alshams is the gate to our freedom and steadfastness. Bab Alshams is our gate to Jerusalem. Bab Alshams is the gate to our to our return.
For decades, Israel has established facts on the ground as the International community remained silent in response to these violations. The time has come now to change the rules of the game, for us to establish facts on the ground – our own land. This action involving women and men from the north to the south is a form of popular resistance. In the coming days we will hold various discussion groups, educational and artistic presentations, as well as film screenings on the lands of this village. The residents of Bab Al Shams invite all the sons and daughters of our people to participate and join the village in supporting our resilience.
The village’s name is taken from the novel, “Bab Alshams,” by Lebanese writer Elias Khoury. The book depicts the history of Palestine through a love story between a Palestinian man, Younis, and his wife Nahila. Younis leaves his wife to join the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon while Nahila remains steadfast in what remains of their village in the Galilee. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Younis smuggles through Lebanon and back to the Galilee to meet his wife in the “Bab Alshams” cave, where she gives birth to their children. Younis returns to the resistance in Lebanon as his wife remains in Bab Al Shams.
Bab Alshams is the gate to our freedom and steadfastness. Bab Alshams is our gate to Jerusalem. Bab Alshams is the gate to our to our return.
For decades, Israel has established facts on the ground as the International community remained silent in response to these violations. The time has come now to change the rules of the game, for us to establish facts on the ground – our own land. This action involving women and men from the north to the south is a form of popular resistance. In the coming days we will hold various discussion groups, educational and artistic presentations, as well as film screenings on the lands of this village. The residents of Bab Al Shams invite all the sons and daughters of our people to participate and join the village in supporting our resilience.
Message from Kairos Palestine
A report was issued by Kairos Palestine condemning the destruction of the village in the early hours of January 13.
Dear all Brothers and Sisters,
On behalf of Kairos Palestine, I would like to share with you a letter of condemnation regarding the destruction of Bab Al Shams (Bab Al Shams is a new Palestinian village composed from tents established in opposition to Israel’s planned expansion of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement). In the early hours of January 13, Israeli special forces surrounded the village, detained all 150 overnight residents, and deposited them at Qalandia checkpoint.
Bab Al Shams was established on January 11, when hundreds of Palestinians and international supporters erected a group of tents where Israel intends to expand the illegal settlement. It thus became the first new Palestinian village since 1967 to be built in the E1 area between East Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) on Palestinian privately owned land.
Kairos Palestine has welcomed the establishment of Bab Al Shams, considering it a creative, non-violent tool that acts both to claim basic Palestinian rights – such as living on one’s own land – and to expose the systematic violations of those rights by the illegal Israeli occupation. The subsequent eviction of its residents is yet another example of such violations, and Kairos Palestine strongly condemns this destructive act.
We urge the entire people of Palestine, as well as the Palestinian Authority, to stand behind such initiatives, the individuals and communities who brought it into existence, and its fundamental right to exist in the first place.
Dear all Brothers and Sisters,
On behalf of Kairos Palestine, I would like to share with you a letter of condemnation regarding the destruction of Bab Al Shams (Bab Al Shams is a new Palestinian village composed from tents established in opposition to Israel’s planned expansion of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement). In the early hours of January 13, Israeli special forces surrounded the village, detained all 150 overnight residents, and deposited them at Qalandia checkpoint.
Bab Al Shams was established on January 11, when hundreds of Palestinians and international supporters erected a group of tents where Israel intends to expand the illegal settlement. It thus became the first new Palestinian village since 1967 to be built in the E1 area between East Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) on Palestinian privately owned land.
Kairos Palestine has welcomed the establishment of Bab Al Shams, considering it a creative, non-violent tool that acts both to claim basic Palestinian rights – such as living on one’s own land – and to expose the systematic violations of those rights by the illegal Israeli occupation. The subsequent eviction of its residents is yet another example of such violations, and Kairos Palestine strongly condemns this destructive act.
We urge the entire people of Palestine, as well as the Palestinian Authority, to stand behind such initiatives, the individuals and communities who brought it into existence, and its fundamental right to exist in the first place.