Introduction

The history of the Zionist project in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, going on for the past 36 years, is full of legal-security tricks and justifications whose main and only goal is to secure Israeli control over more and more Palestinian lands.

The main turning point in this project took place in 1981 when the Begin government started to declare Palestinian lands as “State Lands” as a first step in seizing most of the uninhabited and uncultivated lands in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Such lands make up to 50 % of the total area of the Occupied Territories and are identical to Area C according to the Oslo terminology; areas which are under full Israeli control. These lands face de-facto annexation today in many aspects as the number of Palestinians living there is small and they are prevented from building new houses to accommodate their growing numbers.

With the erection of the Israeli racist segregation wall, as is currently taking place, Israel is no longer in need to use any more legal loopholes to take control over Palestinian lands. The path of the wall has become, along with the “legal” and “illegal” colonies and the security zone around them, the leading tool in drawing unilateral borders as envisioned by the Israeli government. What is being left for the Palestinians is a mere 50 % of the area of the West Bank which is a major disaster for the Palestinians as such borders come atop the ruins of the peace process which will add more elements of unrest and chaos in the region. This scenario is being implemented in the Governorate of Hebron starting in the vicinity of the colonies of Kharsina ( Ramat Mamre) and Kiryat Arba where more than 1500 dunums are expected to be expropriated for the path of the wall as well as for creating a “security zone” around these two colonies.

Background about Hebron Governorate:

The Governorate of Hebron is considered the largest Governorate in the West Bank in terms of size and population. Its area before the 1948 Nakba (disaster) has been 2076 km² while its current area is about 1060 km². This means that Hebron has lost 51 % of its original size due to the events of Nakba.

The population of the Governorate is now 479206 according to the estimates of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The population density of the Governorate is 452 individuals per km².

Colonies and Outposts in Hebron Governorate:

Israeli colonies occupy 5.3 km² (about 0.5% of the area of Hebron Governorate) as illustrated by the attached map. These colonies are distributed along three nearly parallel lines in addition to the existence of a colonial belt at the southern section of the Governorate. The settlement of Kiryat Arba and its northern neighborhood, Kharsina ( Ramat Mamre), are the largest colonies in the Governorate with a total population of 6400 extremist colonists controlling an area of 604.375 Palestinian dunums. As for the total settler population in the Governorate of Hebron it reached about 12,000.

There are 25 Israeli-declared “legal” colonies in addition to 15 “illegal” colonies and outposts established since 1996 after the now-Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon called upon colonists to occupy hilltops and put caravans atop them before " losing them to Palestinians in negotiations" and in an effort to expand the existing colonies and force new facts on the ground.  

Most of the Israeli colonies in Hebron have been established during the early eighties except for the settlement of Kiryat Arba which was established in 1968. The rest of the settlements were established feverishly after the signing of the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.       

By-Pass Colonists’ Roads:

The by-pass roads criss-crossing the Governorate have been established after the start of the Oslo peace process with a total length of 117.1 kilometers ( See map above). It divides the Governorate to three separate entities as illustrated in the attached map with the possibility of adding a fourth entity if the by-pass road next to Al Samou’ village is linked to Road 60.

Taking into consideration that Palestinian land owners are prevented from using their land located 150 meters along both sides of the by-pass roads, we can conclude that establishing these roads led to Israeli control of 34.4 km² (about 3 % of the total area of Hebron Governorate).

Palestinian communities:

The number of Palestinian communities in the Governorate is 138, the largest of which is the city of Hebron. The total area of these populated areas is about 79.8 km² (about 7.5 % of the total area of the Governorate).

The Wall plan in the Governorate of Hebron:

The erection of the Israeli racist segregation wall in the Governorate of Hebron, if done as planned, will isolate 414.5 thousand dunums of Palestinian land which constitutes 40 % of the Governorates’ lands, including 92.5 thousand dunum in the western part of the governorate and 322 thousand dunum in the eastern part of the governorate. The attached map details the planned path of the wall.

The colony of Kharsina inside the wall established on the land of brothers Musbah & Hamid Abdul Latif I'seila in the south western side of the colony

Photo courtesy of LRC 

According to the map, the Old City of Hebron, in addition to 71 Palestinian communities located south, west and east of the Governorate, will be targeted by the  Israeli isolation and expansion policies. The map also indicates that Israeli penetration into Palestinian lands will vary in length between few kilometers to up to 20 kilometers such as the case in areas located south east of the Governorate where dozens of small gatherings of Palestinians from the towns of Yata, Samou’, Ad Dhahiriya and Ar Ramadin are located. Furthermore, the map points to the incursion of the wall to the heart of the city of Hebron as to devour the Old City with its four Israeli colonies. Be it the case, it is expected that more iron gates, barbed wires and military checkpoints will be erected in the Old City as well as an escalation of pressure on the Palestinian residents as to force them to leave the area to ensure a geographical link between Israeli colonies located in that part of the city and the Ibrahimi Mosque.

One of the main goals of the racist segregation wall in the Governorate of Hebron is to annex and link the largest number of colonies through the establishment of isolated “geographical pockets or fingers”, especially in the west of the Governorate to include the colonies of Telem and Adora and in the southern part of it to assure the linkage between the settlement of Otni'el and other colonialist blocks located to the south of the town of Yata. Furthermore, the path of the wall guarantees the establishment of a geographical pocket which links between the colonialist block south of Yata and the colonies of Kiryat Arba and Kharsina, as well as including the colony of Pene Hever ( Ma'ale Hever) which is located to the south of the Palestinian town of Bani Nu’eim. 

In terms of population, the wall is expected to cause the isolation and separation of about 53,500 Palestinians including the population of seven Bedouin groupings located to the east of the town of Yata, in addition to Ar Ramadin and Al Frureijat Bedouins located to the south of the town of Ad Dhahiriyah.  ( See map and tables). 

Other effects of the wall include the forceful and active eviction and transfer of Palestinians living in its vicinity as well as confiscating their lands and sources of income, leading to an increased unemployment and major damage to the Palestinian national economy, especially that it depends largely on agriculture. Moreover, the wall is designed to ensure Israeli control over Palestinian natural resources, such as water, gas, natural stones and queries, etc.

Effects of the Racist segregation Wall on Palestinian Population in Hebron Governorate:   

A)   Communities that will be isolated behind the Wall:

There are 29 Palestinian communities that will be totally isolated from the rest of the governorate with a total population of 53540. This number forms 10.7 % of the total population of the Governorate.

B)   Palestinian communities that will be Isolated From their Lands:

The number of such communities will reach 43 with a total population of 300640 which constitutes 60 % of the total population of the Governorate.  By this, the total percentage of Palestinian population who will be totally isolated behind the Wall and separated from their land is about 70.  

Map of Palestinian communities and built up areas that will be either isolated behind the Wall or isolated from their land 

Israeli "legal " colonies and “Illegal” outposts that will be annexed into Israel by the Wall in the Governorate of Hebron:

There will be 27 colonies and outposts expected to be annexed into Israeli proper due to the wall. The number of colonists in these colonies is estimated to be 12,000 as the Land Research Center could not find exact information about such population due to Israeli ambiguity and unwillingness to provide the requested information, especially about the colonists of the “illegal” outposts. 

The following table details the “legal” colonies and “illegal” outposts by location, outpost and population expected to be annexed into Israel: