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Aqraba, a fate on hold

Friday, 03 April 2009 00:35 RamallahOnline Content - RoArticle
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Palestine Monitor
2 April 2009
Last March the little town of Aqraba, situated approximately 25km southeast of Nablus and surrounded by several illegal Israeli settlements, was given demolition orders for six homes, their adjoining barns, a mosque and a water well. The Israeli military has informed the owners that they have until the 26th of March to evacuate their homes.
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All those structures are situated on the outskirts of the township, in a valley known as Khirbit Al Taweel, which is located in an Area C, under direct Israeli control and administration. The rest of the village of Aqraba is located in an Area B, under Israeli control but Palestinian administration. Khirbit Al Taweel is famous for it’s excellent grazing areas and many of it’s inhabitants depend on their livestock, mostly sheep, as the main source of livelihood.

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Maher Anas is a farmer and shepherd living in Khirbit Al Taweel, he’s among the people who received an evacuation order and might very soon lose his home and his land, which he inherited from his grandfather decades ago.

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Mazin and Malik, Maher’s nephews, also live in Khirbit Al Taweel and might lose their home.

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Some of the houses the Israeli military plans to destroy.

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The mosque the Israeli military plans to destroy.

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This school, that has been just recently built for the people of Khirbit Al Taweel, will remain unused if the houses are destroyed. Some people in the village say that the school might also be destroyed with the rest of the structures, even if it’s located in an Area B.

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Sammer Anas’ grandfather leaved in Khirbit Al Taweel but, as it’s the case for most of the villagers, the Israeli soldiers have stolen all his land there and Sammer now lives upper in the village, closer to it’s center.

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In response to the demolition orders and to draw attention to the recent rise in home evictions and demolitions orders throughout Palestine the Aqraba municipality, the Agricultural Popular Committees and the Local Council for Popular Resistance organized a festival on popular resistance to Israeli occupation in the local high school on Friday, the 27th of March.

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The festival attracted more than 300 Palestinians and a dozen of international peace activists.

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The mayor of Aqraba and other local authorities were present.

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Nasser al-Ghawi, a resident of Shiekh Jarrah, a neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem facing mass evictions, spoke about the shared struggle Palestinian communities face under Israeli occupation policies.

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Local children sung, performed dabkeh, the traditional dance, and acted in a stage play showing the violence of the Israeli soldiers towards the Palestinians.

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The villagers planted several olive trees, symbols of peace, next to the mosque that Israel wants to destroy.

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Tomorrow's Youth Organization (TYO) is a 501c3 non-profit organization that works in disadvantaged areas of the Middle East, enabling children, youth and parents to realize their potential as healthy, active and responsible family and community members.

Link PALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND
The Palestine Children's Relief Fund was established in 1991 by concerned people in the U.S. to address the medical and humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian youths in the Middle East. It has since expanded to help suffering children from other Middle Eastern nations, based only on their medical needs. The P.C.R.F. helps to locate free medical care for children from the Middle East who are unable to get the necessary and specialized treatment in their homeland.

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We are these human rights observers, aid workers, and journalists. We have years of experience volunteering in Gaza and the West Bank at the invitation of Palestinians. But now, because of the increasing stranglehold of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, many of us find it almost impossible to enter Gaza, and an increasing number have been refused entry to Israel and the West Bank as well. Despite the great need for our work, the Israeli Government will not allow us in to do it.

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