Al-New’ma and Abu Izheman Plans will END Palestinian Existence in Area C
The Union of Agricultural Work Committees warns from the Occupational civil administrations’ launch to its plan to build close areas that form one village near Al-New’ma village in Jericho. The plan is called Al-Nowe’ma and Abu Izheman; it aims to displace the Bedouin communities between Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley in prelude to the implementation of the East 1 (E1) occupational plan.
UAWC stated that the plan’s implementation has already started. E1 aims at displacing 12500 Bedouins and isolating them in Al-New’ma and Izheman in Jericho, this act is to empty the area from the Palestinians to expand one of the largest Israeli settlements in the West Bank “Maali Adumim” and connect it to Jerusalem which will isolate the north of the west bank from its south. According to the Israeli plan, half million dunums of land will be emptied and will be used for Israeli settlements’ expansion, military training, and natural reserves hence it will be impossible for the Bedouins to return to their original areas. Moreover, E1 plan aims at isolating the north of the West Bank from its south.
UAWC’s acting general director Fuad Abu Seif emphasized that the E1 plan is a violation to article 49 from the Geneva Convention that clearly states that ” Inpidual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.” UAWC condemns this violation for it displaces Palestinians who were already displaced in 1948 and undermines the life t of one of the Palestinian society’s segment.
According to Applied Research Institute Jerusalem’s report, the Al-New’ma and Izheman plans will be on 1460 dunums of land on which 12500 Bedouins will live.
The implementation of the occupational E1 plan is a continuation of the displacement violations done by the Occupation mainly against Palestinian in area C. It holds a drastic future for the Palestinians. The E1 plan ends future hopes in accomplishing land sovereignty and thus food sovereignty for the plan disrupts the territorial contiguity of the Palestinian territory and limits the available land for natural geographic expansion.
In the same context, the administrator of Bedouins file in the Ministry of Local Government Ismail Abu Khrebesh explained that “the Israeli occupation announced their plan to displace the Bedouin communities who were already displaced in 1948. Most of the communities are from the families of Al-Rashaydeh, Al-Ka’abneh and Al-Jahaleen. The plan is claimed to be proposed to enhance the living conditions of the Bedouins although the main reason is to empty the area. The only way to enhance the living conditions of the Bedouins is to allow them to return to their original areas.”
Abu Khrebesh elaborated that the Israeli vision to emptying the Bedouin areas is to pide it to settlements, military training areas, and natural reserves. It is important to note that 46 Bedouin communities will be displaced. Each Bedouin will own 450m2 of land where they are allowed to build a two- floor building, one floor is for livestock and the other for humans. The space will not be enough which will force the Bedouins to sell their livestock and work in the Israeli settlements.
The elder of Al-Rashaydeh family in Al-New’ma in the Jordan Valley Mohammad Treef stated that the elders of the targeted communities have raised their objections through lawyers. Treef elaborated that Al-New’ma is a small area and cannot bear the large number of inhabitants especially if they are herders. He also pointed that there are cultural difference between Bedouins of each area which might cause conflicts between them. Treef asked the Palestinian Authority to provide all possible support for the people’s resilience.
The elder of several Bedouin communities Izhiman Mlehat explained that the plan will have tragic outcomes for the Palestinian Bedouins, “the plan will transfer the Bedouins from a grave to a darker grave.” “We refuse this plan, and are legally following up in the courts to freeze its implementation,” he added.