Army to expel 27 residents from a village near Tubas

The Israeli army intends to evacuate 27 residents of three families from the village of Al-Aqaba, near Tubas, after notices of eviction were issued against them.

The families have to evacuate with 72 hours, or they will be forced out and lose these livestock and properties.

The residents are from the families of Wahhdan and Dabak.

The residents fear that the eviction of the three families will mark the start of further evictions against the residents of the village, in order to separate the Palestinian areas from the Jordanian borders.

Sami Sadeq, 50, head of the village council told the Aranbs48 news website, that the village of Al-Aqaba was announced as a closed military zone in 1967 depriving the residents from the basis services and needs.

The residents were not allowed to build which forced the majority of them to leave it and live in some of the surrounding villages and cities, such as Nablus, Tubas, Tiaseer, and part of the residents immigrated to Jordan.

Sadeq was inured after sustaining three bullets fired by the army in July 28, 1967 when he was only 16 years old, through the years 50 casualties were reported, between deaths and injuries.

Sadeq was paralyzed as a result of his injury and depends on a wheelchair then.

“military bulldozers and tanks repeatedly invaded the village, homes were shelled, farmlands were uprooted, the army erected three training camps on lands annexed from the village, and declared it a closed military zone, families evacuated as a result of the bad conditions, now only 300 residents are living here”, Sadeq stated.

The residents are not allowed to construct homes since there area is surrounding by military training camps; dozens of residents were injured while the army was training in the military basis.

Several children were injured after playing with explosives which detonated sometime after impact, or bullets fired by the army while training.

The military camps which are surrounding the village are barring it from its natural growth needs, which is a main factor behind the immigrations of the residents.

In 2000, the residents appealed to the Israeli High Court of Justice and managed to obtain an order of eviction of a military camp erected near the village.

“Apparently the army wanted to take revenge, and repeatedly attacked the village and the residents”, Sadeq said.

The military base was removed in 2003, three years after the high court issued its ruling; the residents managed to build a mosque, kindergarten, primary school and a small clinic; the constructions were made by aid from foreign and locale organizations.

Sadeq continuously contacts Arab members of the Knesset and humanitarian organizations in order to interfere in an attempt to stop the military violations which are forcing the residents out.

“They want us out of the village because we have borders with Jordan, they do not want this geographical unity, we filed complaints to the US Embassy after the soldiers leveled two homes, and they said that they asked Israeli not to level homes in the village, but this time they want to demolish everything, they want to force us out of our homes and lands, and confiscate our properties, they just want to cancel our village from the map”, Sadeq added.

 

The Israeli Peace Bloc “Gush Shalom”, sent a letter to the Israeli Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz, and demanded him to void the eviction orders.

“This is a direct and clear violation against helpless residents”, Gush Shalom said in its letter.