Humanitarian Fact Sheet on the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea Area February 2012
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UNITED NATIONS Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs occupied Palestinian territory HUMANITARIAN FACT SHEET ON THE JORDAN VALLEY AND DEAD SEA AREA FEBRUARY 2012 KEY FACTS � The Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area covers around 30% of the West Bank, and is home to nearly 60,000 Palestinians. � 87% of the land is designated as Area C, virtually all of which is prohibited for Palestinian use, earmarked instead for the use of the Israeli military or under the jurisdiction of Israeli settlements. � An additional 7% is formally part of Area B, but is unavailable for development, as it was designated a nature reserve under the 1998 Wye River Memorandum. � Around one quarter of Palestinians in the area reside in Area C, including some 7,900 Bedouin and herders. Some 3,400 people reside partially or fully in closed military zones and face a high risk of forced eviction. � There are 37 Israeli settlements, with a population of 9,500, established across the area, in contravention of international law. � In 2011, the Israeli authorities demolished over 200 Palestinian-owned structures in the area, displacing around 430 people and affecting the livelihoods of another 1,200 Palestinians. � Water consumption dips to 20 litres/capita/day in most herding communities in the area, compared to the WHO recommendation of 100 l/c/d and the average settlement consumption of 300 l/c/d. � Access to the area is limited to six routes, four of which are controlled by Israeli checkpoints, severely restricting the movement of Palestinian-plated vehicles. � If Palestinians gain access to 50,000 dunums (12,500 acres or 3.5% of Area C) of uncultivated land, this could generate a billion dollars of revenue per year (The World Bank). 1. The majority of the Jordan Valley and significant source for revenue and employment. Dead Sea area is off limits to Palestinian Meanwhile, Israeli settlements have been able to residential or community use and develop highly profitable agricultural, mineral, development, due to the inability to touristic and other businesses. obtain building permits from the Israeli Civil Administration, including for homes and basic 4. Thousands of Palestinians in the area are service infrastructure, such as schools, roads or at risk of forced displacement. This is due to water networks, as well as restrictions on access a combination of factors, including demolitions, to grazing and agricultural areas. forced evictions from closed military zones and the inability to meet basic needs due to a range 2. Palestinian access to and from the Jordan of Israeli-imposed restrictions. Valley area is highly constrained by dozens of checkpoints, roadblocks and trenches, further 5. Under international law, Israel, as an fragmenting the West Bank. These restrictions occupying power, has an obligation to have impeded the access of Palestinians to protect the civilian population and to grazing land, services, markets for agricultural administer the territory for their benefit. produce, and undermined family and social ties. This includes respecting their human rights and ensuring that their basic needs are met. The 3. The restrictions on access to demolition of civilian Palestinian homes, transportation routes, to agricultural land as well as the transfer of Israeli settlers and to water resources have hampered into the occupied territory, are strictly the Palestinian agricultural sector. The prohibited and must be brought to a halt. denial of access to the Dead Sea coastline has also prevented the development of a potentially P. O. Box 38712 East Jerusalem 91386 l tel. +972 (0)2 582 9962 l fax +972 (0)2 582 5841 l ochaopt@un.org l www.ochaopt.org Scan it! with QR reader App United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs occupied Palestinian territory JORDAN VALLEY AND DEAD SEA AREA February 2012 ZONING OF LAND IN THE JORDAN VALLEY AND DEAD SEA AREA Jordan Valley and Military areas (including closed areas, Jenin borderDe areaad and S militaryea A bases)rea ¥ Settlements’ municipal boundaries (inc. ¹º» Jordabuiltn up V areas)all andey cultivated and land Jenin Dead Sea Area ¹º» ¥ Tulkarm Tubas Israeli nature reserves ¹º» Nablus Areas under jurisdiction of ¹º» Settlements’ Regional Councils Qalqiliya ¹º» Tulkarm Tubas Palestinian nature reserves (Wye River Memorandum) Salfit ¹º» Nablus Total areas off limits for Palestinian ¹º»¹ development (accounting for overlap)Qalqiliya J" Governorate Capital Non-residents are!P onlyPal esallowedtinian Com mtoun itycross these checkpoints as pedestrians or if Checkpoint ¹º» traveling via registered public transportation. ¹º» Ramallah ¹º» Access for Palestinian-ownedPartial Chec kcommercialpoint Salfit ¹º» vehicles is subject to prior coordination. Green Line Jericho ¹º» Constructed / Under Construction Barrier Planned Barrier ¹º» Main Road East ¹º» Jerusalem No Man's Land Jordan Valley and Dead Sea Area J" Governorate Capital Settlements’ Municipal Boundaries !P Palestinian Communandity Cultivated Land G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G Military Areas G G G G G G G G G Bethlehem y G! G! G! G! G! G! G! G! G! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! a r ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Checkpoint ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ¹º» a ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! » e ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Wye River Nature Reserve ¹º ¹ d ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Ramallah » S n ¹º u Israeli Nature Reserve Partial Checkpoint o d B a l Oslo Areas (A,B) a Green Line Jericheo ¹º»n o i Oslo Area C D t Constructed / Under Construction Barrier a n r e Planned Barrier ¹º» t ¹º» n I Main Road East ¹º» Jerusalem No Man's Land Hebron Jordan Valley and Dead Sea Area Settlements’ Municipal Boundaries and Cultivated Land G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G Military Areas G G G G G G G G G Bethlehem y G! G! G! G! G! G! G! G! G! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! a r ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! a ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! e ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Wye River Nature Reserve ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! d ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! S n u Israeli Nature Reserve o d B a l Oslo Areas (A,B) a e n o i Oslo Area C D t 0 25 50 a 100 n r Km e t ¹º» n I FACT SHEET 2 Hebron February 2012 0 25 50 100 Km.