TEL AVIV, March 2, 2006 (WAFA)- Israel plans to run a separation wall around five Palestinian villages northwest of Jerusalem , and imprison them in an enclave that will separate them from East Jerusalem and neighbouring Palestinian villages.... In a research issued Thursday, Bimkom - Israeli Planners for Planning Rights, and B'Tselem- the Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories said the five villages in the enclave are Beit Hanina al-Balad (1,400 residents), Bir Nabala (6,100), al-Jib (4,600), al-Judeira (2,100), and Qalandiya (1,200), which have a total population of more than 15,000 persons (hereafter: the Bir Nabala enclave).... The route of the Separation Wall in this area runs next to the three main roads that border the enclave, and will prevent residents of the enclave from using them. Thus, these roads will be "For Israeli Use Only," the research revealed. "The roads are Route 45 North, Route 436 West, and Route 404 (Begin North) East. In the section southwest of the enclave, the route runs along the boundary of the planned Nebi Samuel Metropolitan Park , which will serve residents of Jerusalem and nearby settlements. The planning scheme for the park has already been approved."
To prevent the complete isolation of the enclave, Israel announced that it intended to build two alternate roads that will link the enclave to the rest of the West Bank.... "Even assuming that these two roads are built, construction of the Wall around the Bir Nabala enclave will severely impair the human rights of its residents," the research said.... "Especially great injury will be caused to residents of Beit Hanina al-Balad, which will be divided, leaving one part, referred to as New Beit Hanina, inside Jerusalem 's municipal boundaries." the research continued. "Many families are split, some members living in one part of the community and some living in the other part."
Bir Nabala, the largest village in the enclave, currently has some 350 factories, workshops, and businesses involved in a wide range of commercial activity, will suffer greatly when the village is imprisoned inside the enclave, the research said.... Another major problem facing all the villages in the enclave, which will likely worsen once the Wall is completed, relates to access to farmland.... Residents of al-Jib, for example, own some 500 dunams of almond and olive roves outside the enclave. Although Israel has announced it would build two agricultural gates to ensure access to this land, past experience with agricultural gates has shown that the farmer's dependence on the gates severely limits the farmers' ability to work their land, and that some farmers are not issued permits to allow them to pass through the gates to get to their land, the research concluded.... A.D. (23:23 P) (21:23 GMT)