Between a rock and a hard place
Nabi Samuel is a village isolated by the Separation Barrier. Here’s a bit of background.
Israel began construction of the Barrier in 2002, after a spate of suicide bombings during the Second Intifada, claiming it is a temporary ‘security fence’ and accords with its duty to protect its citizens. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) agrees but adds that measures taken must conform to Israel’s responsibilities under international law.1 Thus the Barrier would be legal if it were built along the internationally recognised Green Line (1949 Armistice Line – 240 km long), but it is not; the projected length is 709kms, of which more than 415kms have already been built. This is because it cuts into occupied territory, often by as much as 7-8 kms, leaving a gap between it and the Green Line, the so-called Seam Zone, entry into which requires a permit.
In some places, farmers are thereby cut off from their lands, having to pass through ‘agricultural gates’ at specific times and having to renew their permits every 6-12 months, providing they can prove ownership of the land. In other places, whole villages are trapped in these enclaves and inhabitants need permits to live in their own homes. Such is the case with Nabi Samuel.
You see the village long before you reach it, perched on a hilltop which provides spectacular views over Jerusalem about 12 kms. to the south. On top of the hill is the mosque, on the site of the tomb of the prophet Samuel, revered by Jews and Moslems alike. And there begins the problem. Before 1967, the village consisted of 2800 people, clustered round the mosque, which also contained the school. Because of its strategic position, there was a Jordanian military presence here and during the Six Day War, the residents fled ‘temporarily’, mostly to Jordan and some to neighbouring villages. Gradually, the latter group returned to their homes, but then in 1971 Israel decided to excavate the site for religious remains and the villagers were forcibly evicted to live where they are now, several hundred metres away, slightly down the hill. The whole area was declared a National Park, so no construction has been allowed since then. Consequently, the village now consists of just 9 ‘blocks’ in which 28 nuclear families (c. 250 people), plus their livestock, co-exist.
Nabi Samuel is in the West Bank Seam Zone, so even though it is on the Jerusalem side of the Separation Barrier, it does not lie within the Jerusalem municipality, (unilaterally declared by Israel). This means that the residents, for the most part, do not have Jerusalem IDs and can therefore never visit the city, which was formerly their economic and social centre. (Certain limited numbers are allowed special permits to pray at Al Aqsa during Ramadan). Yet they are physically cut off also from the West Bank and are allowed to pass through only one checkpoint in the Wall (Al Jib), and then only if their names appear on the residents’ list.2
In fact, everything that comes into the village has to be pre-arranged via the village council, who pass the request to the Palestinian District Commanding Officer (DCO), who in turn passes it to the Israeli DCO and thence to the Border Police at the checkpoint. As you can imagine, the system often breaks down somewhere along the line, resulting in, for example, someone from Nablus not being able to attend a family engagement party or an Eid celebration. More vitally, foodstuffs and animal fodder are sometimes held up, because the precise details of the goods and the arrival time are required. (This is a problem encountered by Abu Jaffar, a shopkeeper who lives in the same area).
A few years ago, there were attempts to widen the ‘road’ to allow 2 vehicles to pass, but this was prohibited and today you can see the footings which were laid and some building materials just abandoned. Although the villagers are allowed to use electricity and water supplied for the Jewish settlers who have come to live near the monument entrance, the sewage is just open to the fields and rubbish collection has to be co-ordinated with a village on the other side of the Barrier. No ambulances are allowed through Al Jib and only one specific taxi, with a specified driver, can be called to enable them to access healthcare in Ramallah.
There is one bus, donated by the Palestinian Authority, which is largely used to transport older children to school in a town on the other side of the Barrier, but within sight of the village. They used to walk there in 20 minutes, but now are not allowed on the Israeli-only road that crosses the enclave. So the bus takes them north through Al Jib, round the far side of the Barrier and back south again – a journey of 50+ minutes, depending on the checkpoint flow.
Small children are educated in one small room in the village. There are ten children aged 6-10, all taught every subject in this same room. The villagers have tried to provide them at least with a shelter from the sun and fencing to keep them off the ‘road’, at their own expense, but each time the Civil Administration has forced them to pull it down. Just recently, they have had a ‘blind eye’ turned to the toilet ‘shed’ but can’t believe their luck will last. Unsurprisingly, young people choose to leave the place as soon as they are able and will, therefore, forfeit their right to live there again.3
One final point about Nabi Samuel. The villagers put up a welcome sign at the entrance to the village a few years ago. The authorities pulled it down, as an illegal construction: truly, this is a village that people want to forget!
Angela Gilmore
Ecumenical Accompanier, Jerusalem
November 2011
- At the request of the UN General Assembly, on 9 July 2004 the ICJ issued an Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences of the construction of the Separation Barrier inside the occupied territories, stating it was illegal under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights law. It ruled that Israel is under an obligation to “cease the works of construction …. including in and around Jerusalem; to dismantle forthwith the structures therein situated; to cancel all legislative and regulatory acts relating to the Wall;….”.
- This infringes the Palestinian right to freedom of movement, a right enshrined in the Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 27) and Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Restrictions are targeted so widely at all Palestinians, regardless of their involvement or not in violence, as to amount to collective punishment.
- This denial of access to health services, education, family life, work and places of worship is in breach of obligations required of any occupying force, under the Hague Regulations and provisions of International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
