“Life in the shadow of demolition and isolation”
New halt of construction orders in Barta’a Ash Sharqiya village west of Jenin

February 17, 2016

On the 16th of February 2016, Palestinians in Barta’a Ash Sharqiyah village west of Jenin city received halt of construction orders targeting their business in the area under the pretext of unlicensed building, due to their location in the area classified as “Area C” where Israel has Full control over security, planning and construction issues. The demolition orders received by citizens of Barta’a Ash Sharqiyah village state that the existing structures were built/installed in violation of the fourth chapter of the Israeli City, Village, and Building Planning Law no. 79 of 1966 which was amended after the 1967 war by the Israeli Occupation Authorities on the basis of Military order No. 418 to comply with Israel's interests and settlement plans in the occupied Palestinian territory.   According to the orders, the Israeli inspection subcommittee will discuss in its session that will be held on the 6th of March 2016 whether to demolish the existing facilities or restore the area to its previous status. Table 1 below gives a list of owners of the threatened structures in the village of Barta’a Ash Sharqiyah:-

Regional outline plans diminishing the development of Palestinian urban areas in the oPt

After the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory (the West Bank and Gaza); a military rule over these areas became a de facto reality because of this occupation. In 1968, the Israel Army immobilized all the land registration procedures to alienate the Palestinians from their land, and to disqualify them in a legal manner from using it or make any effective changes to the status of their urban areas.

On November 8, 1981, the Israeli government issued its military order number 947 and declared the establishment of a civil administration (ICA) in the OPT. The ICA was given to handle administrative, legislative, and managerial authorities, which proved to be one of the most powerful mechanisms of the Israeli Army in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT).

The Israeli civil administration has created two discriminating systems of law in the OPT; basing the rights of individuals living there (Palestinians and illegal Israeli settlers) on their nationality, thus there was one law for Israeli settlers and another for Palestinians under occupation. The Israeli Civil Administration passed on many planning jurisdictions to the Jewish local authorities, which are the settlements; at the same time, it denied the Palestinians such rights; hence, planning and building Israeli settlements went on uninterrupted, while planning and development of Palestinian communities was infrequent to virtually nil in most of the OPT.

The Israeli civil administration based its decision with regard to development of Palestinian areas on the regional outline plans – approved in the 1940s during the British Mandate time, which prohibit construction in such areas. As a result, the Israeli civil administration forced upon the Palestinians to obtain a building permit from them, especially those Palestinians seeking to build houses outside of the existing community boundary as defined by the approved regional outline plans during the British Mandate time, otherwise, these house are rendered illegally built and are subject to demolishing by the Israeli civil Administration, even if they are built on private land. 

Between the late eighties and mid nighties, the Israeli Civil Administration drafted more than 300 master plans for Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank; for those villages located entirely in the area classified as “C” in the West Bank as well as other villages located in Areas A and B. However, to this date, the Israeli Civil Administration avoids to approve any master plans for Palestinian villages and these villages are still subject to the British mandate regional outline plans. Under these plans construction in the Palestinian villages is very limited and the Israeli Civil Administration always uses these plans for the purpose of monitoring what Israel calls “the unlicensed Palestinian construction” outside the border of these plans in the occupied oPt.

Note that the master plans presented by the Israeli civil administration for the Palestinian villages do not meet the minimum needs and shortages of Palestinian communities[1], in addition to that, the boundaries set for Palestinian villages in these plans were determined according to the existing built-up areas of each village and there were no designation of open lands for future urban development[2].  

In the case of Barta’a Ash Sharqiya village, the regional outline plan drafted for the village showed that the village’s boundary is limited to the urban area and there were no designation of open spaces for its future development. See Map 1

For that reason, the Israeli occupation Authorities have been targeting the village of Barta’a for so many years under the pretext of unlicensed construction, where during the last years, the Israeli occupation Authorities served Palestinians of Barta’a Ash Sharqiyah tens of halt-of-construction orders and demolition orders for their homes and businesses in the area. Find below a chronology of events that took place in Barta’a Ash Sharqiyah village in Jenin Governorate during the past few years:-

• 6 September 2015: The Israeli occupation authorities raided Barta’a village and demolished five kiosks that are made of wood and metal slaps under the claim of “unlicensed construction. Owners of the demolished structures were identified as Sadiq Amarnah, Fahmi Abu Jazar, Ra’fat Amarnah, Mohamamd Kilani and Mahmoud Amarnah.
• 11 March 2015: The Israeli occupation authorities demolished a factory for concrete blocks that is still under construction in al-Khalleh area in the southern part of Barta'a village, under the pretext of unlicensed Building. The factory belongs is owned by citizen Jabir Qabha and his four sons
• 6 August 2014: The Israeli occupation authorities torn down two car repair shops owned by Mohammad Qabha and Raslan Amarneh in the village of Bart’a under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
• 4 July 2014: the Israeli occupation authorities demolished a commercial shop made of metal slabs for  marble business and leveled it to the ground gallery. The shop is owned by Muhammad Qabhaand was demolished under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On the same date, the Israeli occupation authorities served citizen Waleed Qabha a military order to halt the construction at his structure under the pretext of unlicensed  construction. The structure is a car repair shop.

• 25 June 2014: The Israeli occupation Authorities handed 13 families from Barta'a Ash Sharqieh stop-work orders against their residential and agricultural structures under the pretext of unlicensed construction. Owners of the structures were identified as Bassam Amarneh, Naem Zeydan, Muhammad Zeydan, Omar Abu Aseeda, Muhammad Arda, Waleed Ajjaj, Yousef Adeeda, Muhammad Ishtiya, Adeeb Qabha, Rami Ayyoub, Muhammad Qabha, Rami Qabha, Mutaz Qabha and Mutaz Qabha. For more information, read here: The Israeli Policy of Displacement in Action 
• Israel issued stop-work orders against 14 agricultural and residential structures in Bartaa village- Jenin Governorate
• 12 February 2014: The Israeli occupation Authorities handed three families from Barta'a Ash Sharqiya stop-work orders against their residential and agricultural structures under the pretext of unlicensed construction. The military orders were directed against a house and three pens. The structures are owned by Basim Qabha  Ayman Qabha and Ahed Qabha.
• 12 September 2013, the Israeli occupation authorities carried out a large-scale demolition operation that targeted stores and vehicle maintenance workshops in Barta’a Ash Sharqiya under the pretext of unlicensed construction. Owners of the threatened structures were identified as Hamza Qabha, Mohammad Qabha and Samer Ribah.
• 17 January 2013: the Israeli occupation authorities raided the area of Khour ed-Dab'a t north of Barta'a village and served stop work orders to ten Palestinian families in the village targeting 10 homes, of which 5 are still under construction under the pretext of unlicensed construction. Owners of the targeted structures were identified as Muhammad Qabha, Ibrahim Qabha, Ali Mas'ud, Mas'ud Abdallah Mas'uad, Muhammad Midlij, Sahir Qabha, Immad Qabha, Amir Makhluf, Azzam Qabha and Atef 'Amarnih. For more information, clik here: The Israeli occupation notifies 10 families with stop work in Bartaa
• 21 February 2012: The Israeli occupation Authorities targeted 9 Palestinian families in Barta’a Ash Sharqiya village with military orders calling for halt of construction of their 7 animal sheds as well as three retaining walls in the village under the pretext of unlicensed construction. Owners of the structures were identified as Noor Al Din Mohammad Ali Qabha, Jawad Abed Hamdan  Qabha, Tayseer Abdullah Qabha, Subhi Abdel Qader Qabha, Mohammad Othman Qabha, Amenah Mahmoud Qabha, Bilal Mohammad Qabha, Sabri Ibraheem Qabha, Ali Ahmad Qabha and So’oud Khalil Hamed. For more information, click here: 11 Stop Work Orders in the Villages of Barta’a Al Sharqiya and Arraba – Jenin Governorate
• 8 March 2011:  the Israeli Occupation authorities served Palestinian citizens from Barta’a As-Sharqiya village west of Jenin city military orders notifying them that their houses and animal sheds (4 houses and 4 animal sheds) to be demolished under the pretext of lacking building permits. Owners of the targeted structures were identified as Farouq Mohammad Qubha, Mohammad Hasan Qasem Qubha, ‘Abed Hussein Qubha, Shadi Mustapha Khalil Qubha, Muhammad Mustapha Khalil Qubha, Mohammad Tal’at Qubha, Jawad Ahmad Hussein and Muhammad Tewfik Mahmoud Qubha. For more information, click here: New Israeli halt of construction orders in Barta’a Ash Sharqiya village west of Jenin city
• 18 January 2010, the Israeli occupation authorities delivered 9 demolishing orders to Palestinian residents in Barta'a Ash Sharqiya (East Barta'a) west of Jenin city. The 9 orders came under the pretext of lacking proper building authorization from the Israeli occupation Authorities. Following are the names of house owners who were targeted by the demolition orders: Rami Saleh Qabha, Na'el Ibrahim Qabha, Muhammed Al Sheikh Ali, Mohannad Dahoud Qabha, Ayeish Mustafa Qabha, Muhammed Ahmed Qabha, Ala'a Ahmed Qabha, Yahya Yousef Qabha and Ahmed Saleh Qabha. For more information, click here: The Israeli Occupation Authorities target Barta'a Ash Sharqiya residents with new demolition orders

The Israeli Segregation Plan in Barta'a Ash Sharqiya Village:-

The latest Israeli revised map of the Segregation Wall that was published on the Israeli Ministry of Defense's website in April 2007 showed that Barta'a Ash Sharqiya village along with 6 other Palestinian communities, are entrapped in an enclave and isolated from the center of life in Jenin city and the nearby Palestinian villages which, are set outside the enclave. The enclave includes the villages of Al Muntar Al Gharbi, Kh. Ash Shiekh Saed, Kherbit Abdullah Al Younis, Um Ar Riham, 'Arab Al Hamdoun, Kherbit Al Maleh and Barta'a Ash Sharqiya, (Map 1).

The Segregation Wall in Barta'a Ash Sharqiya enclave extends for around 19 km, starting from 'Anin village near the 1949 Green Line (Armistice Line), then it extends to the east towards Arqa village cutting through its lands. It then stretches southeast towards Ya'bad and Barta'a villages where it isolates a considerable area of lands of the two villages and then continues towards Zabda village in the south where it isolates some of its lands within the enclave. Furthermore, the Wall enclave annexes four Israeli Settlements (Rehan, Shaked, Hinanit and Tel Menashe) to Israel’s illegal borders.  

[1] The Narrative of the Newly Proposed Master Plans to 14 Palestinian Communities in area "C"
http://www.old.poica.org/details.php?Article=1420

[2] Restrictions on Palestinian planning and construction in Area C
http://www.btselem.org/planning_and_building/restrictions_on_palestinian_planning_and_building

Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem