Residents of al-Nu’man village, east of Beit Sahour near Bethlehem, said that military bulldozers resumed the construction of the last section of the Separation Wall, near the village after it stopped over the last 18 months.
Jamal Dar’awi, head of al-Nu’man village council reported that the Israeli lawyer Shlomo Lenker, who was in charge of defending the residents of the village in their cases filed to the Israeli High Court, agreed with the Israeli General Prosecutor, without the knowledge of the residents, to form a security committee to examine the residencies of the residents; those who prove they lived in the village prior to the 1967 war can remain in the village, and those who can’t will have to leave!
Lenker admitted to Bethlehem governor Zuheir Mansarah, that he formed an agreement with the Israeli prosecution without the approval of the residents, and claimed that he approved the agreement ‘because it serves the interests of the residents and their village’.
Also, Dar’awi added that after the last section is constructed, the village will be completely isolated from Bethlehem, and its surrounding villages; the wall will completely block the geographical unity of the village with the surrounding areas.
The village of al-No’man is located on a hill east of Beit Sahour, and is adjacent to the village of Sur Baher, near Jerusalem and Har Homa “Abu Ghneim’ settlement which was constructed on lands annexed from residents of Beit Sahour, ‘Har Homa’ was annexed to Jerusalem municipality.
Approximately 250 residents are currently living in al-Nu’man village, the residents own 5000 Dunams extended on several sides of the village.
If the last section of wall is constructed, the children will not be able to reach their schools in Beit Shaour, since their small village does not have any schools, especially after the Israeli authorities barred the residents and institutions from constructing and new buildings, or rebuilding and modifying existing buildings.
