Homes in southern Nablus slated for eviction

Homes in southern Nablus slated for eviction

8 March 2009, A’qraba, West Bank, Palestine.
Six homes in the village of A’qraba have received eviction orders. 14 homes in the area received similar orders in 2008.

Among those houses slated for demolition is an electricity station, a mosque, a well and two houses for animals.

The villagers in the area believe that this is an attempt by the Israeli government to remove all Palestinians who are now living in ‘Area C’ (close to the Jordan River) to ‘Area B’, to make room for settlement expansion.

Israel plans to demolish six homes and a mosque in the villages of A’qraba and Kherbet At-Taweel, both south of the West Bank city of Nablus, residents said on Sunday.

Officials representing the Israeli military handed over demolition orders to the residents in question, they added, announcing their intentions in the West Bank villages.

According to Yaser Suleiman, the coordinator for the Nablus-area Agricultural Committee, “the occupation is working to force residents out of the village.”

“Repeated attacks on homes, demolition warnings, and settler attacks have killed four Palestinians over the past few years,” he added, noting that the Palestinians killed by settlers were first abducted before their alleged murders.

Musa Derieyah, an official with the Agricultural Action Committee, said that A’qrabas is surrounded by four illegal settlements, Gatit, Ma’leh Afraim, Itamar and Majdulim, where “90 percent of the lands were confiscated.”

He added that “repeated settler attacks have become unbearable,” as planted explosive charges have killed one Palestinians and injured another child.

Settlers have attacked the residents of the village while they graze sheep near the illegal settlements, while other areas are totally isolated, and Palestinians are not permitted to enter, Deriyeah added.