As part of the Israeli apartheid policy

Palestinian citizens of Barta’ Al- Sharqiah were surprised by the latest collective demolition orders issued by the israeli occupation authorities against most houses, stores and barracks located along the Wadi separating between Barta’ Al- Sharqiah and Barta’ Al- Gharbiah. A number of other structures at the southern entrance of village were also threatened to be demolished. In case this campaign was implemented, about 10 % of the citizens of Barta’ would be evicted and 90% of the village economic income would be cut.

The eastern section of Barta’ which is 30 km to the west of the city of Jenin is affiliated to Jenin governorate while the western section is located inside israeli proper west of the green line. The partition took place during the war of 1948. Barta’ Al – Sharqiah has an area of 636 dunums and a population of l3800 inhabitants.

Despite the 1948 partition, the two sides of the village continued to maintain social and economic links. Due to lower prices, cheap labor and no tax payment in the eastern side, many investors and businessmen from inside Israel and from West Bank poured to Barta’ Al- Sharqiah, especially during the peace process, changing the village into a prosperous economic place. Many factories, workshops, stores and businesses were set up in the village.

1. The Israeli occupation authorities refused to draw up a planning scheme for the village, pushing its people to build without licenses;

2. In 1990, the Israeli occupation authorities demolished 7 houses in the northern part of the village under the pretext of un- licensing;

3. During the period from 1992 to 1995, the Israeli occupation authorities uprooted 1500 fruitful olive trees for the benefit of the construction of bypass roads;

4. The apartheid wall: The construction of the Israeli apartheid wall project has been going on since six months at the expense of the land of Barta’ Al- Sharqiah, which, in turn, has put the whole village inside the apartheid enclave causing the destruction of more than 100 dunums of agricultural land and the uprooting of more than 800 fruitful olive trees;

5. Demolition orders: as part of the apartheid wall project, the Israeli occupation authorities issued notices of destruction against 82 Palestinian houses, stores, factories, workshops owned by Palestinian investors from different West Bank cities. The demolition orders were issued at three stages: the first one on November 5^th, 2002; the second on Nov. 14^th, 2002 and the third on Nov. 21, 2002.

The Israeli occupation authorities claimed that the demolition orders were issued under the pretext of illegal building. This pretext has been used since the early days of occupation and consider false by Palestinians for the following reasons:

The Israeli occupation authorities refused to prepare a planning scheme for the village, consequently, making all the post 1967 construction illegal;

2. All the targeted structures in Barta’ Al- Sharqiah are built on privately owned Palestinian land with proper ownership documents;

4. The targeted structures do not exist in the way of the apartheid wall, on the contrary, the wall is about 3 km to the east of the threatened structures.

It is obvious that the Israeli apartheid wall plan is not a security one as it is claimed by the occupation authorities. Rather, it is another method of land confiscation with the aim of expelling Palestinian owners and replacing them with Israeli colonists.

For if the aim of the wall was to prevent Palestinian infiltration into Israeli proper, it would have been built in the already existing strip of land separating between west and east Barta’ since the occupation of 1967. But, the construction of the wall east of Barta’ and leaving its inhabitants in constant collision with the green line means that the aim was not a security one. When this act is followed by collective demolition orders against a number of residential, commercial, industrial and service activities it means to jeopardize an active economic center by forcing investors and workers to leave the place and start looking for another opportunities east of the separation wall in West Bank proper. By so doing, the Israeli authorities uncover their policy which aims at dismissing Palestinians who live west of the Wall out of the area as a preliminary step towards total annexation of their land into Israel.

1. The following table provides an estimate of losses by type, number, area and victims in Barta’ Al- Sharqiah:

Type	Number	Area in M2		No. of citizens
Type	Number	Built of cement	Built of zinc	No. of citizens
Residential	8	1670	--	60
Stores	54	1700	750	134
Factories, workshops & services	20	1830	1450	301
Total	82	5200	2200	495

2. The stoppage of the income of about 435 families with a total population of 2500 people;

3. The rest of village citizens will face a humanitarian catastrophe in terms of food, health and work as they will be strangled between the green line and apartheid wall.

Owners of the 82 threatened structures submitted an objection against the demolition orders through lawyer Zaki Kamal, a Palestinian living in Israel. They will be asked to pay the total of 170 000 US $ as followed:

LRC, while putting the aforementioned information at the hands of all officials at the local, Arab and internatioal levels, warns from the following:

1. These Israeli measures are an introduction for the full impelentation of the Sharon’s Transfer policy which must be politically confronted and stopped before it is become a reality;

2. The Israeli acts of building the Apartheid Wall as well as demolition of Palestinian structures are, by no means, related to safeguarding the Israeli security, rather, they increase hatred and encourage victims to attack Israel.

2. To support the struggle of Barta’ citizens by acts of demonstration, and solidarity;

3. To form legal committees from Palestinian, Israeli and foreign lawyers , as well as technical committees from engineers, planners and surveyors to help the affected peope in the village;

4. To establish a fund for supporting and defending affected owners and properties in the village.

As part of the Israeli apartheid policy

Introduction