• Violation: destroying an archeological site for colonial expansion
• Location:  Kfar Ad-Dik- Salfit
• Date:  May, 2016
• Perpetrators: Israeli Occupation Forces
• Victims:  farmers of Deir Ballut and Kfar Ad-Dik villages

Details:

On the 16th of May 2016, the Israeli newspaper of “Haaretz” revealed that the so-called World Zionist Organization’s settlement division, pointed out  that the division has recognized an outpost  called “Leshem” which is relative to  the Israeli colony of Alei Zahav, as a new colony  altogether.

It should be marked that the outpost is established on the archeological site of Deir Sam'an in Ramallah. Noteworthy, the outpost is considered a linking point between the areas of the Armistice Line  and the colonies of Burkan, Ariel, Bruchin, and Tapuah. It is to say that the colonies formed a "belt" shape that extends from the armistice line to the center of the West Bank, creating a full Israeli control on the whole area.

According to Land Research Center field visits to the targeted location, more than 24 residential units were prepared and 40 dunums were ravaged for the favor of developing the infrastructure of Leshem.

 

Photos 1-3: the recognized outpost of Leshem – May 2016

On May 11, 2014, Israel Ministry of Housing and Construction deposited tenders according to the Israeli Plan No.  TPS 132/6, to build  694 housing units in the newly recognized colony.

 

Photos 4-5: the recognized outpost of Leshem – July 2014

 See the image for the plan No. 132/6 (Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem ARIJ)

Deir Sam'an is an archeological site holding several Roman ruins with traces of a Roman city that was there 1500 ago in addition to signs from the Islamic and Farsi eras that ruled the area back in time.

Deir Sam'an is one of 22,000 archeological sites in Palestine that are threatened of erasing due to the Israeli measures

Non-stop thefts:

Since the early days of the occupation of Palestine, the Israeli Occupation Authorities have launched a war against archeological sites in an attempt to erase the Palestinian heritage and culture in order to detach Palestinians from their lands and erase their long history.

The area of Deir Saman was declared a closed military zone that is inaccessible for Palestinians. This encouraged the Israeli Occupation Authorities and colonists to excavate the ruins in search for artifacts.  They went further by transporting some of the ruins and the items they had found to the nearby colony; they even used the old rocks that were used for construction thousands of years ago to construct houses in the colony in an attempt to create a forged historical linkage between the area and the colony.

According to eyewitnesses from the towns of Kfar ad-Dik and Deir Ballut, a number of Israeli trucks were noticed moving antiquities, rocks and stones from the area of Deir Sam'an to the nearby colony of Leshem ; the old rocks were used to construct houses in the colony in an attempt to distort history and change facts on the ground.

It should be marked that the Israeli machineries, lately, embarked on ravaging the periphery of Deir Sam'an, initiating the establishment of Leshem, which is an extension of Eli Zahav colony; the new colony was ratified by the Ministry of Housing- Israel government in 2013; it is supposed to accommodate 150 residential units.

Land Research Center sees Israel continuous expansion on colonies in the West Bank and Jerusalem at the expense of Palestinian and lands a flagrant violation of Human Rights and all international laws and conventions, which prohibit disposition of public properties in occupied countries.

UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967: calls for

• the Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;
• Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." [4]

UN Security Council Resolution 449 of 1979: the Security Council determined:

• "that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East"

UN Security Council Resolution 452 of 1979: states that

• "the policy of Israel in establishing settlements in the occupied Arab territories has no legal validity and constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949"  and "calls upon the Government and people of Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem."

UN Security Council Resolution 465 of 1980:

• It expressed concern at Israeli settlement policy in the Arab territories and recalled resolutions 237 (1967), 252 (1968), 267 (1969), 271(1969) and 298 (1971). It further called upon the State and people of Israel to dismantle such settlements. The resolution calls on all states ‘not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements in the occupied territories’.

 

 

Prepared by
 The Land Research Center
LRC