Demolition of houses and confiscation of land in Area C has in many instances been given or is. population has doubled in the last 20 years.

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1 The Wall continues to be built around Settlements, appropriating prime agricultural land and water sources in the process, whilst creating a barrier for Palestinians to readily access their fields. Demolition of houses and confiscation of land in Area C has in many instances been given or is earmarked for Settlement expansion. The Settler population has doubled in the last 20 years. Checkpoints within the West Bank are primarily set up to protect Settlers by severely controlling Palestinians movements, creating an atmosphere of frustration and exasperation. There are over 500 checkpoints, along with flying checkpoints that randomly appear for an indefinite period of time. Roads are being built to connect Settlements and to join them with major highways, at the expense of Palestinian property and crops. Night raids and detentions are most often associated with the accusation that Palestinian youth have thrown stones at Settlers and Settlements On a road to nowhere! every violation that occurs is directly related to Settlers is a comment I heard recently about the situation here in the West Bank. Upon reflection, I must admit, it has a ring of truth to it. Settler security and Settlement expansion in the West Bank appears to be of paramount importance to the Israeli authority, given the amount of expense, personnel and infrastructure devoted to it. To further elaborate upon how dire the situation is here for Palestinians let me turn your attention to the monstrosity that snakes its way around and inside the West Bank, namely the Wall or Separation Barrier. Below are detailed maps of the Wall in the region of the West Bank I m based in. As you can see it deviates quite a lot from the Armistice Green Line. Over 700km long, it is more than twice the length of the Green Line, with 85% of the Wall being built within the West Bank itself. The Wall, or Security Fence as it is referred to by Israel, was started in According to Israel these measures were a response to the violent uprising of the Second Intifada, in which 4,228 Palestinians were killed, along with 1,024 Israelis. Under International Humanitarian Law, Israel has a right to build a wall for protective purposes but only on its own land within the Green Line (the pre-1967 borders). Most of the Wall is built on seized land and is constructed using concrete pillars reaching between 6 8 metres into the air and 3 metres under the ground. In many places the Wall is in fact a tall wire fence that has a sophisticated sensor and surveillance system built into it. The International Court of Justice has ruled that the sections of the Wall that fall within the Green Line are illegal and should be dismantled. See Territory/Administration-of-Occupation/The-Separation-Wall/

2 The Tulkarm Governate The red line is where the Wall is built. The grey dotted line in Qalqiliya is where Israel is proposing to build the Wall. The green dotted line is the Armistice Green Line (enlarge the document to view the green line more clearly). The area in between the red and green lines is known as the seam zone. Palestinians go through checkpoints and agricultural gates dotted along the Wall to access either their fields in the seam zone or employment in Israel, the Settlements or Palestinian villages located in the seam zone. The different shades of purple splotches are Settlements and the blue region is Area C. The Qalqiliya Governate

3 I remember clearly the first day we arrived in our placement and were driven to Nazlat Isa, a small town in the Northwest region of the West Bank. Prior to the Wall being built this town was a thriving centre of commerce, trading with neighbouring villages and with towns within Israel (on the other side of the invisible Green Line). Israelis frequented the markets of this Palestinian town which fostered a congenial atmosphere. Sadly, things changed drastically when the Wall was constructed, basically cutting the village in two. As we drove around the deserted market area it literally felt like a ghost town. Across the road from the abandoned market lay the rubble from a demolished house. Apparently, the owner was at his own wedding when the bulldozers arrived to tear down his walls. Under Israel s Military Law a buffer zone is in place on the Palestinian side between the Wall and private/public land, whilst on the Israeli side the Wall is hidden from view with sloping embankments dotted with trees. For Israel to build the Wall land had to be obtained, and this has meant many donums (1 donum = 1000 square metres) of Palestinian private and public land has been confiscated. Imagine your family home which has been passed down from generation to generation suddenly being taken from you or literally sliced in half which happened to one such house in Nazlat Isa. Can you imagine! Well no need, as there are pictures below showing you the aftermath. Whilst viewing this house we bumped into a man and true to Palestinian hospitality he took us to his mother s house. From the top floor, we could see over the Wall to the other half of the village. He pointed out his sister and brother s houses, no more than a 10-minute walk had the Wall not been there. He is facing a dilemma as he lives and works overseas but his mother is unwell. With the complexity of the permit system and access back and forth through the Wall it is extremely difficult for his siblings to care for their mother. But, what can he do! Demolished house in front of the Wall at Nazlat Isa with the remaining half of the town behind it. Nazlat Isa abandoned market across the street from the demolished house Nazlat Isa house sliced in half beside the Wall A close up of what the bathroom use to look like when it belonged inside the house! The Wall at Bethlehem An agricultural gate and separation fence leading into the seam zone

4 The Wall at Qalqiliya The Wall separating Qalqiliya from a Settlement on the right-hand side The Wall at Qalqiliya Fenced in sewage drains at Qalqiliya The Wall behind the city of Tulkarm with Israel in the background (note how lush and green Israel is) The Wall and watch tower backing onto private land in Tulkarm A demolished highway cut off by the Wall, is now a road to nowhere, dotted with abandoned shops and desolated bus shelters! Another example of the fragmentation the Wall has delivered is to look at the town of Qalqiliya. Israelis use to shop in Qalqiliya and the town was widely known as the town of peace and then the Wall was built. As you can see from the above map, this town is virtually surrounded on all sides by the Wall. During the Wall s construction from the summer of 2002 Dec 2003 the town was placed on a curfew. Town folk were given a few hours each day to travel in and out. This curfew affected people s opportunity for employment, access to hospitals and medical treatments were limited, farmers lost produce and school children lost on average 1/3 of school days for that year. One pregnant woman died giving birth in an ambulance at a checkpoint into Qalqiliya from the village of Azzun. Normally this would ve been a ten-minute ride but due to the checkpoints the ambulance was held up. The situation on the ground now is still precarious. There is one major road into the centre of town which is Area A (meaning the Palestinian Authority is supposed to have full control over civil and security issues). A number of days ago, we noticed that overnight the Israeli authorities had dug deep lines into the road, making driving painstakingly slow. The following day as we drove along the road, Palestinians had arrived with a tip truck full of bitumen to repair the road. Only 50% of farmers are given a permit to access their land in the seam zone, and these permits vary in length of time from 1 day to 2 years, making planning difficult. Farming is all about timing and constant tending to the land. How on earth are farmers supposed to know when and what to plant and how many people to employ if they can t be guaranteed of unrestricted access to their land!

5 The Qalqiliya Municipality are not allowed to clean the sewage pipes and as a result they get blocked which causes large flooding. Sewage pipes have been used as access points into the Seam Zone so the Israeli authority has covered over the drains, metering out collective punishment in the process. All Qalqiliya s citizens are registered as refugees, despite never moving from their homeland or location. They are given this status as a result of losing the majority of their land behind the Green Line during the 1948 Nakbar. Prior to 1948 their area covered 27, 000 km2, now it is 4, 000 km2. The United Nations now provide schools, hospitals and other services that are provided to refugees. On several occasions, we have been in an elevated location where you could view the Mediterranean Sea which is only 14km away. It was quite sombre hearing the locals recall the days when they could enjoy the water with their relatives and friends. Now they are locked out by the Wall with only a rooftop view and their memories of how the sand felt between their toes. Our driver recalls an experience of taking his father back to Jaffa beach in Israel, which had been his hometown before the Nakba. After persisting, his father finally relented and agreed to go for a one day trip to Jaffa once permits could be obtained. Our driver took his father to the beach but to his surprise and consternation his father sat on a chair with his back to the water. His son enquired why he would come all this way after so long and not enjoy the view. His father said words to this affect, "seeing the water again for only 1 day will be too unbearable. I will miss it all the more". I'm never going to take for granted again how fortunate I am with the beautiful, accessible beaches in my homeland. By allowing the Wall to remain, Israel is violating the following International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights Laws (HRL): Access to Land / Livelihood - Article 27, 55 Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV) - Article 13 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) - Article 12 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) - Article 6, 10, 11, 12, 13 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) Settlement Expansion - Article 49 (GCIV) - Resolution 446 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Prohibition of Confiscation - Article 46 Hague Regulations (HR) Family honour and rights, the lives of persons, and private property, as well as religious convictions and practice, must be respected. Private property cannot be confiscated. Right to own property - Article 17 (UDHR) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property. Prohibition of collective - Article 33 (GCIV) No protected person may be punished for an offence he punishment or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited. Pillage is prohibited. Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited. If Israel originally intended for the barrier to be a security measure, then I have to question why it hasn t been built along the Green Line from the 1948 Armistice. Doing so would ve quelled outside condemnation. When you follow where the Wall has been built and the planned extended route you can see quite clearly how it captures the Settlements, unifying the area Settlers can move freely within. The more likely motive for the Wall is to further entrench Israeli settlers onto Palestinian land making a two State solution almost impossible to imagine as Palestinians are forced into isolated enclaves. So there you have it, an illegal Wall is continuing to be built, illegally taking people s land to protect illegal settlements.