HEBRON, September 9, 2015
(WAFA) – Israeli army on Wednesday razed Palestinian-owned agricultural land
and seized the irrigation network in
al-Baqa’a area, east of Hebron, according to the land owner.
The owner, Badran Jaber, told
WAFA that an Israeli army force accompanied by heavy machinery broke into
al-Baqa’a, and proceeded to raze his land, which is planted with tomato and
other summer crops. Forces also seized the irrigation network present at the
land.
The owner said that forces further
razed a nearby land belonging to another local, where they damaged the irrigation
network.
Peace Now, an Israeli
human rights group, says over the years, Israel used a number of legal and
bureaucratic procedures in order to appropriate West Bank lands, with the
primary objective of establishing settlements and providing land reserves for
them.
“Using primarily
these five methods: seizure for military purposes; declaration of state lands;
seizure of absentee property; confiscation for public needs; and initial
registration, Israel has managed to take over about 50% of the lands in the
West Bank, barring the local Palestinian public from using them,” the group
argues.
M.N./T.R.
