Ma’ale Adumim Area

16 November 2013, updated 18 May 2014

School in a Bedouin community that is scheduled for demolition, Khan al-Ahmar, near which the Ma’ale Adumim settlement was built. Photo: Anne Paq, activestills.org, 4 September 2011
School in Khan al-Ahmar, a Bedouin community slated for demolition near which the Ma’ale Adumim settlement was built. Photo: Anne Paq, Activestills.org, 4 September 2011

Background

In the early 1950s, Bedouin of the Jahalin tribe were relocated from the Tal Arad (Tel Arad) area of the Negev in southern Israel to the West Bank. The displaced Bedouins contracted leases with Palestinian landowners for land in the area where the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim would later be built, and there they settled. The members of the tribe were nomadic, roaming in this area and in the Jordan Valley to graze the livestock on which their livelihood depended. After the occupation of the West Bank by Israel in 1967, the Israeli military increasingly restricted the Bedouins’ access to many of the grazing grounds. Little by little, they were forced into the vicinity of the Jerusalem‐Jericho road. There, until the 1980s, the Jahalin Bedouins established semi-permanent encampments, as well as at least two permanent structures.

In 1977, an Israeli laborers’ camp established on land appropriated from Palestinian villages in the area was recognized as a civilian community – the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. The settlement’s boundaries, set in 1979, encompassed some 3,500 hectares; during the 1980s and 1990s, they were expanded to include another 1,300 hectares or so that Israel had declared state land. The principal part of this area comprises Area E1, where Israel plans to build additional neighborhoods to connect Ma’ale Adumim to the territory of Jerusalem.

Expulsion of the Jahalin and their life at the alternate site

Top right: The Jahalin village. Bottom left: The entrance to the Abu Dis garbage dump. Photo: Sarit Michaeli, B'Tselem, 3 Nov. 2011

The establishment of Ma’ale Adumim had a markedly deleterious effect on the members of the Jahalin tribe. As far back as the 1980s, during development work for the first neighborhoods in the settlement, Israeli authorities demolished tent encampments and at least two permanent structures in which members of the tribe lived. In 1994, the Civil Administration relocated dozens of Jahalin families from land that had been allocated to a new neighborhood in the developing settlement to a site near the Jerusalem municipal garbage dump, on Abu Dis land that Israel had declared state land.

Two further forcible expulsions of groups of Jahalin were implemented in 1997 and 1998. Further to a petition by one of the groups, an agreement was drafted between its representatives and the head of the Civil Administration, and then affirmed by the High Court of Justice. Consequently, the group moved to a site near the garbage dump (hereinafter, the alternate site), where the Civil Administration leased them plots of land gratis and granted them building permits free of fees. The Civil Administration provided a connection to water for each lot, allocated land at the site for public buildings, and paid the evacuees up to NIS 38,000 per family as “full compensation” for the relocation. This arrangement was subsequently applied to all other families that had been forcibly evacuated. Currently, approximately 190 families live at the alternate site in accordance with the conditions of this arrangement.

Life at the site involves several serious problems for its residents. It is very close to the Abu Dis garbage dump, where approximately one ton of garbage has been trucked daily since July 2011 and more than 1,500 tons a day before that, mostly from Jerusalem. The outermost buildings of the Jahalin are located only about 300 meters from the dump, subjecting them to a terrible stench. In response to a High Court petition filed by the municipality of Maale Adumim regarding the collection of taxes for use of the garbage dump, the State explained that large accumulations of methane gas have collected at the waste site over the years, and the fires that occur there “could cause the collapse of the mountain of waste”, which is liable to “cause severe environmental damage and even endanger lives.” Despite these statements, Israel has made no attempt to locate another site for the village of the Jahalin. The waste collection site is scheduled to be shut down by the end of 2013, but even then, gases will continue to accumulate for some twenty years after refuse is no longer being buried there, and the planned rehabilitation process will take years.

The permanent homes at the alternate site prevent the relocated Jahalin from maintaining their traditional way of life, which relies on seasonal migration and raising livestock. The area allotted to each family at the site is small and unsuitable for keeping livestock. In addition, the military limits the Jahalins’ access to the land allotted them for grazing their flocks, forcing them to depend on purchasing costly fodder for the sheep. This has led many herders to sell off their livestock, and today only about 30% of the residents at the alternate site still earn a living from raising livestock. The others depend for their living on work as laborers, including in the nearby settlements. Another problem arises from that fact that although Israel has declared the alternate site state land, from the perspective of Palestinians, including the Jahalin there, the land belongs to the residents of Abu Dis, so the Jahalin are perceived as trespassers.

The threat of another expulsion

The Bedouins in the Ma’ale Adumim vicinity who were not expelled in the 1990s now number nearly 3,000, about half of them children. They live in tent encampments and sheet-metal shacks in over twenty clusters along the Jerusalem‐Jericho road and near Ma’ale Adumim. Most of the communities are of the Jahalin tribe (approx. 2,700 persons), one 80-person community is of the al-Kaabneh tribe, and one 150-person community is of the a‐Sawahra tribe.

These communities live under difficult conditions. Although they have lived in the area for decades, the Civil Administration refuses to prepare master plans for them, thereby denying them the possibility of legal construction. The Civil Administration issues demolition orders for buildings in Bedouin population centers, and in some cases, the orders are for all buildings in a particular community. The residents try to maintain their traditional shepherding way of life, but they have limited access to grazing land and to markets. In addition, they have few health, welfare and educational services at their disposal and physical infrastructure such as electricity, sewage and roads is entirely absent. Only about half of these communities are connected to the water pipelines.

Encampment of Jahalin Bedouins. (Background: Police station in E1). Photo: 'Ammar 'Awad, Reuters, 6 December 2012.

Two plans, intended to reinforce the settlement bloc in the Ma’ale Adumim area and connect it with Jerusalem, threaten the Bedouins in the area. One is the E1 Plan, which spans some 1,200 hectares of the jurisdictional area of Ma’ale Adumim, and area that is home to eleven of the Bedouin communities; the other is Israel’s plan to erect the Separation Barrier along a route that will leave Ma’ale Adumim and the settlements around it in an enclave of some 6,400 hectares linked to Israeli territory, severing them from the West Bank. Eighteen of the Bedouin communities live in the area of the planned enclave.

In 2005, the Civil Administration prepared a plan to relocate another two hundred or so Jahalin families to the alternate site near the Abu Dis garbage dump, on the “Palestinian” side of the Separation Barrier. The plan was to build the new houses as few as 150 meters from the waste site. The plan was approved by the Civil Administration’s planning authorities, but did not go into effect. In May 2012, Attorney Shlomo Lecker petitioned the High Court of Justice on behalf of Israeli human rights NGO Bimkom and some of the residents slated for displacement. The petitioners sought to have the Civil Administration rescind the evacuation, involve them in any subsequent planning concerning their future, and prevent expulsion pending a ruling on their petition. In its response, the State argued that its plan to transfer members of the tribe to an alternate site is part of the Civil Administration’s overall policy regarding Bedouins in the West Bank and that it is meant “to achieve a permanent solution in accordance with the rule of law and to provide a reasonable standard of living for the rest of the tribe”.

In early 2012 the State advised that the Civil Administration had conducted a risk assessment regarding the relocation of the Jahalin to a site near the garbage dump, and only when the report is complete would a decision be made regarding final approval of the plan. In the meantime, no action would be taken on the ground, and if a decision is made to move forward with the plan, it would be resubmitted for objections and the petitioners would be able to register their objections. Following this announcement, the petition was voided by agreement of the parties, emphasizing that “the authorities in the area reserve the right to continue to act with the aim of planning for the benefit of the Palestinians in general, and the Bedouin sector in particular, in all of Judea and Samaria”. In early May 2013, the Civil Administration had not yet published its decision concerning the plan for relocation to the garbage dump.

In September 2012, the State announced that two alternative sites in the Jericho area – Nu’eimeh North and Armonot Hashmonaim – were being considered for relocation of Bedouins from the area of Khan al-Ahmar near Ma’ale Adumim, adding that the relocation would be carried out through a process that would include representatives of the Jahalin.

According to press reports, in May 2013, the Civil Administration approved for filing a plan for establishing a permanent community on state lands in Area C for the Bedouins of the Nu’eimeh region. Given the location, this is appears to be an implementation of the plan of which the State notified the High Court of Justice regarding the Bedouins near Ma’ale Adumim. According to the reports, the Civil Administration plans to gather into this community Bedouins from various tribes who live in different areas of the West Bank, including the area of Ma’ale Adumim, without consulting them. As of August 2013, the plan has yet to be officially published.

The Khan al-Ahmar community and school

Twelve of the Palestinian communities at risk of expulsion in the West Bank live in the area of Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem, and have a total of about 1,400 residents. These communities are scattered on either side of the Jerusalem-Jericho road, east of the industrial zone of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, and on either side of Route 437, which connects the village of Hizma with the main road. Residents of these communities have very few sources of income left, suffer a serious lack of health, education and welfare services, and live without basic infrastructure such as an electricity network, a sewage system and proper roads. One of these communities is known as the Khan al-Ahmar School community. Its members belong to the Jahalin Bedouin tribe, originally from Tel Arad in the Negev desert, from where they were expelled by the Israeli military in the 1950s. After the initial expulsion, members of the community leased land for residential purposes and for herding in the area where the settlement of Kfar Adumim is now located. They resettled in their current location after they were expelled from there, too. In May 2018 the High Court of Justice ruled that the state may expel them from their homes.

Suggested items

Natural pool, Wadi Qana. Photo: B’Tselem, 27 March 2014

Settlements

Wadi Qana – From Palestinian agricultural valley to settlements’ tourism park

Orange-picking at Wadi Qana. Photo: Iyad Mansur Wadi Qana is one of the tributaries of the Yarkon River. The central section of the wadi, to the east of Qalqiliyah, is in Area C and includes several springs. The land in the wadi in this area is owned by Palestinians, mainly by residents of the nearby village of Deir Istiya who use the land for farming and grazing. Over the course of many generations, and up to the 1990s, village families used to live in the wadi, relying on the springs for drinking water and for irrigating vegetable patches and citrus trees. To this day, residents of Deir Istiya and other neighboring villages go for a dip in the stream and relax on its banks. Between 1978 and 1986, several settlements were established on the hills overlooking both banks of the wadi: Immanuel and Karnei Shomron to the north; Yaqir and Nofim to the south. Later, the settlement of Karnei Shomron expanded to several nearby hills as well. Between 1998 and 2000, the settlement outposts of Alonei Shilo, El Matan, and Yair Farm were established by these settlements. The settlements and outposts discharged their wastewater into the wadi, spoiling the springs and harming the farmers’ water sources. Settlement of Karnei Shomron on slopes of Wadi Qana. Photo: Iyad Mansur In the 1990s, due to the pollution of their drinking water, the fifty Palestinian families who lived in the wadi at the time were obliged to leave it and move to Deir Istiya. The wadi’s springs were also harmed by water drillings undertaken by Israel since the 1970s. The drilling reduced the volume of water the springs discharged which, in turn, reduced the flow of the stream. The pollution and the reduced volume of water made it difficult to maintain irrigation-based farming in the area. Many of the farmers abandoned crops requiring irrigation and began planting trees in the wadi: mostly olive trees since these require very little irrigation, as well as a small number of deciduous fruit trees. In 1983, the Nature Reserves and National Parks Unit of the Civil Administration established the Nahal Qana Reserve, declaring a nature reserve on an area of roughly 1,400 hectares along the valley floor of Wadi Qana and its surrounding slopes. Until a few years ago, the declaration of the Nahal Qana Reserve did not affect the Palestinian landowners, who continued to use the spring water, farm their land in the wadi, and use the area for leisure. Despite the declaration of the nature reserve, the settlements continued to release wastewater into the wadi until 2006, when the recognized settlements were connected to sewage infrastructures and the level of pollution was reduced. However, wastewater from the outposts of Alonei Shilo and El Matan is still being released directly into the reserve, while recurring blockages in the sewage system of the settlements of Nofim and Yaqir also result in occasional pollution of the stream’s water. Wastewater from settlements flow through Wadi Qana . Photo: Bilal Mansur The planned course of the Separation Barrier in the area separates Wadi Qana from the landowners in Deir Istiya, leaving the wadi on the “Israeli” side of the barrier in an enclave of sorts. This situation is similar to that of numerous other enclaves created by the course of the barrier, which are the result of an attempt to link the settlements to Israeli territory and annex additional areas that will be off limits to Palestinians. As in the case of other planned enclaves that will extend deep into Palestinian territory, the Separation Barrier in Wadi Qana has yet to be constructed. Plans to develop Wadi Qana as a tourism site In 2006, the Kana Stream Restoration Authority was established with the goal of restoring the wadi and developing tourism in the area. The authority is made up of four member entities: the settlement of Karnei Shomron, Israel’s Ministry for Environmental Protection, Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA), and the Civil Administration. Members of the settlement’s council told the media that one of the goals of the restoration plan was to boost Jewish presence in the area, in response to “Palestinian elements [who are] attempting to take control of the stream.” Map of the area, with Wadi Qana marked in green Also in 2006, Karnei Shomron Council began holding an annual spring walk. During the 2010 walk, Herzl Ben Ari, at the time head of Karnei Shomron Council, stated that the walk was “part of our overall plan to turn Kana Stream into the front yard of Karnei Shomron”. During these walks, the military does not allow Palestinians – including the landowners – to enter Wadi Qana. In 2010, the Kana Stream Restoration Authority launched the Park Kana Project, which is being carried out in cooperation with other settlement councils in the area, representatives of the INPA and the Jewish National Fund, at an estimated cost of between eight and ten million shekels [approx. USD 2-2.5 million]. Over the past few years, implementation of the project has begun. The plan includes the establishment of scenic lookout points in the settlements above the wadi; the construction of a bicycle path running from the outpost of Alonei Shilo to the heart of the reserve – implemented in October 2013 with budgetary support from Israel’s Ministry of Tourism; the construction of a promenade that will encircle the area; as well as signs, information, and the construction of marked INPA paths. Citrus orchard, Wadi Qana. Photo: Iyad Mansur The project was formulated into a master plan, and in November 2013 the Karnei Shomron Council submitted the Kana Stream Master Plan to the planning bureau of the Samaria Regional Council. The plan seeks to transform Wadi Qana into a tourist activity resource, yielding profits for the settlements in the area and attracting new residents. The plan includes the construction of roads connecting the settlements one to another and linking the settlements to the wadi; the construction of scenic routes, bicycle paths, and footpaths connecting the wadi to the settlements above; and the establishment of lookout points, car parks, and picnic sites in the area. Forcing Palestinians out of Wadi Qana Like other Palestinian villages, Deir Istiya is plagued by high rates of unemployment. Due to low wagesm even residents who are employed struggle to support their families. Most of the village’s land is situated in Area C, and Israel prevents use of the land for industrial or commercial purposes. Farmland in the area, including in Wadi Qana, constitutes one of the few sources of livelihood available to the residents. The displacement of Palestinian farmers from Wadi Qana began with the pollution caused by wastewater from the settlements built above the stream. Since the restoration of the stream, displacement continues through the development of the area as an Israeli tourism site. Following this development, the INPA and the Civil Administration have begun imposing severe restrictions on Palestinian farming in the area, claiming that it damages nature in the reserve. In 2010, INPA inspectors raked and destroyed irrigation channels dug by the residents to divert water from the stream to their plots of land. Since 2011, the INPA has kept farmers from planting trees on their land in the wadi by confiscating saplings and uprooting trees. To date, around 1,000 trees have been uprooted and orders served for the uprooting of thousands more trees. In 2012, a number of Palestinian landowners filed a petition with the High Court of Justice against the Civil Administration and the INPA who had issued orders for the uprooting of some 1,500 olive trees. The authorities claimed that the orders were issued against newly planted trees that form part of a “clear trend to farm natural areas” in the reserve, thereby damaging the natural flora, the topography, and the character of the habitat. After negotiations, the representatives of the petitioners and the state agreed that the parties would work together to mark the trees designated for uprooting. In May 2013, the Court granted this agreement the status of a court ruling. While reading their decision, the justices noted that the trees uprooted would have to have been planted during the two years prior to the issuing of the orders, i.e. after April 2010. Nevertheless, the landowners say that in the ensuing months, INPA inspectors also marked trees planted prior to this date. Natural pool, Wadi Qana. Photo: B’Tselem, 27 March 2014 Authorities ignore damage to the nature reserve caused by settlers In contrast to the stringent enforcement measures imposed on Palestinian farmers, Israeli authorities turn a blind eye to illegal activities by settlers in the nature reserve, such as massive construction, building roads, and discharging wastewater into the wadi. In its response to the High Court of Justice petition against the uprooting of trees, the INPA argued that it “looks into any damage within the area of the nature reserve, regardless of the identity of its perpetrator, and recommends the cessation of the [activity causing] damage and the terminating the phenomenon whenever it occurs.” In practice, however, the INPA ignores, or at the very least responds extremely slowly, regarding the following offenses: Approximately 100 homes in the settlements of Yaqir, Nofim, and Karnei Shomron were constructed within the area of the reserve. In 2014, master plans were submitted which provided for the expansion of the settlement of Yakir and the retroactive approval of the outpost of El Matan. These plans include rezoning as residential areas currently defined as a nature reserve. The access road to the outpost of Alonei Shilo was built within the area of the nature reserve. In August 2014, a new road was constructed in the reserve, running from Alonei Shilo to Immanuel. The roadwork was undertaken without a permit and caused damage to the reserve. Work was halted following complaints from Palestinian residents of the neighboring villages. Over six month later, the INPA is still investigating. As noted, wastewater from the settlements above Wadi Qana was released into the stream for about 20 years without hindrance. Even now, the stream continues to be polluted by wastewater from the outposts and when the sewage system serving the settlements malfunctions. Olive grove, Wadi Qana. Photo: Iyad Mansur The natural environment of Wadi Qana is indeed unique and impressive and is worthy of protection. However, traditional Palestinian agriculture in the area forms an integral part of this nature. The conduct of the Israeli authorities – reducing the volume of water in the stream by water drilling in the area; enabling pollution of the stream with wastewater from the settlements – forced Palestinian farmers to alter their agricultural use of the wadi from irrigated crops to olive trees. A genuine effort to restore the wadi must include restoration of the stream’s flow and the cessation of any release of wastewater, enabling the farmers to revert to their former practice of making a living off irrigated crops in the wadi. Even if it is right to declare a nature reserve in the area, such a reserve must first and foremost serve the Palestinian public to whom it belongs. In practice, however, the declaration of a nature reserve in Wadi Qana, as elsewhere in Area C, is mainly intended to exclude Palestinians from their land. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of Area C land – 14% of Area C – have been declared nature reserves or national parks. In all these areas, Israeli authorities keep Palestinians from building and developing and restrict their use of the land, just as they do elsewhere by declaring firing zones and state land. The displacement of the Palestinian farmers from their land in Wadi Qana violates their right to property and to a livelihood. They are being forced out on the pretext of safeguarding local nature, yet no one keeps the settlements from grossly trampling this very same nature. The plans to transform the wadi into a park studded with scenic routes, footpaths, and visitors expose the true purpose underpinning the actions of the INPA and the Civil Administration: strengthening Israeli control of the wadi and appropriating it for the settlements.

23 April 2015

Agriculture

Acting the Landlord

60% of the West Bank is designated Area C, under exclusive Israeli control. It is home to 180,000 Palestinians and includes most West Bank land reserves. Israel, citing “state lands” or “firing zones”, largely prohibits Palestinian construction. Israel’s planning policy ignores local needs: refuses to recognize villages or draft plans; blocks development and infrastructure hook-ups; and demolishes homes. Thousands are in danger of expulsion for living in firing zones or “illegal” communities. Israel has appropriated most water sources and restricts Palestinian access to them.

4 June 2013

Agriculture

The Hidden Agenda

The report reveals that as far back as the 1970s, Israel planned to annex Ma’ale Adummim. To do this, it expropriated over the years tens of thousands of dunams of Palestinian land and expelled hundreds of Beduin who were living there. Implementation of plans to expand the settlement will destroy north-south territorial contiguity in the West Bank and impede realization of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

1 December 2009