1 February 2013 Khan Al Ahmar Bedouins and Ma'ale Adumim
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February 2013 Khan Al Ahmar Bedouins and Ma’ale Adumim Settlement Access Rights Khan El Ahmar – Jahalin Bedouin Village: Clans from five tribes of the Negev Bedouin entered the West Bank seeking refugee status with UNRWA following the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. As with all refugee communities, each tribe has its own historical account of the steps which led to its expulsion and its subsequent plight. The Jahalin Tribe is the largest refugee tribe in the West Bank today. The Bedouin of the Jahalin Tribe originate from the Tel Arad district of the Negev desert. Their traditional tribal territory ranges from 50km north east of Bir Sheva to 30km west of the Dead Sea and 30km south of Hebron City. Tribal history relates that from 1949 the Israeli Authorities began a campaign of forced evacuation against the Bedouin in the Tel Arad region. Refusing to collaborate with the IDF, the Jahalin came under increasing pressure from the Israeli forces to leave their lands. Physical and psychological violence increased, resulting in the demolition and burning of homes and the fatal shootings of at least five of the Jahalin by Israeli troops. Following the shootings and ongoing violence, the Jahalin Tribe fled their tribal territories to the edges of the Negev, before moving into Jordan and the West Bank, seeking refugee status with UNRWA in the early 1950s. Ma'ale Adumim is a nearby settlement to the village and is the third largest settlement in the West Bank, which was privately owned Palestinian land. These lands are from the villages of Abu Dis, al- Eizariya, Al-Issawiya, At-Tur and 'Anata and were expropriated for building in Ma'ale Adumim. Bedouin’s Life: Bedouin in Khan El Ahmar village are not allowed to practice any human rights that are internationally recognized that includes the right to education, health, food and shelter not to mention the right to free movement. Eid Abu Hamis, community leader of Khan El Ahmar, mentioned that children in the village do not have a safe and health life as settler children do. About 6 children died and other 6 were injured to the brutal settler’s practices against the Bedouin children. When Bedouin children go to the shepherds, Israeli forces tend to place explosive materials in new glasses or pens or other things that might attract a deprived child to pick up from the floor that could lead to their own death as a way to scare the Bedouin and force them to leave and take over their only left land. When the family needs 1 to issue death certificates from the Israeli authorities, since they are placed in Area C, what they receive instead is a fine of 1000 shekels, about $300, as a punishment of being in that area. Bedouins used to depend on selling their dairy goods in Jerusalem. Nowadays, they are now not allowed to access to Jerusalem because of the permit issue. Therefore, their source of income is becoming even more limited. The remaining alternative for them was to sell some of their sheep herds in order to buy foodstuffs for the other herbs to assure some food materials in hands. Boys in the village would walk almost 20 Kms to Jericho to school, but girls were not allowed to go because it was too dangerous. Five children did die by being hit by a car on the freeway, either on their way to or from school. In 1990, the heads of the village requested from the Israeli government to approve building a school in the village or at least provide transportation means to easy the lives of the children, but their request was simply being rejected. In 1998, the heads requested from the Palestinian Authority to provide a bus for their children’s transportation needs and they approved it on the spot. A German Mercedes bus was purchased and since then the Israeli authorities did not allow its entrance. The heads decided to build a small school in the village using car wheels and mud in cooperation with many local and international organizations since no building with concrete material is allowed in the village. There are approximately 90 children enrolled at the school and about 50% are girls. This is remarkable in itself because since this school opened, the Bedouin girls have access to education. Although these 90 Bedouin children do have access to education at present, it is in jeopardy because of a demolition order hanging over their school. All building is restricted in the West Bank. Even if they did apply for a building permit, they would not be granted one because, according to the Israeli Government, these Bedouin Villages are illegal. Therefore, at any time the situation at the Khan Al Ahmar School might change and the anxiety causes insecurity among the teachers and the villagers. Israeli Violations of Human Rights and International Law: The Israeli government, as the prime duty-bearer, did not respect, protect and fulfill the right to education by making education available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable to the Bedouin children. Israel has violated all statements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights where everyone has the right to education. Israel also violated the Palestinian rights of accessing water. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stated that “ the human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights ”, which is not in the case of the villagers. Settlers in the Ma’ale Adumim or Kfar Adumim place rocks in the water wells in Wadi Fukin or damage the water pipelines that are connected with the village to prevent running water from being available to them to drink and use for the daily use. The Israeli Government does not place any sanctions on those settlers since they are above and below the law. The village does not have electricity sources but still is considered the only village that has a solar energy source. Nonetheless, children have to study before the sunset because they will not be able to see in the dark. This is preventing children from having a normal way of practicing their educational needs compared to the children in the settlements. 2 Under such circumstances, Israel is not providing the Palestinians with their right to housing through adequate housing and shelter as being recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights since they consider the village illegal. Ma'ale Adumim is widely regarded by the international community as illegal under international law according to the Fourth Geneva Convention (article 49), which prohibits an occupying power transferring citizens from its own territory to occupied territory. Israel maintains that international conventions relating to occupied land do not apply to the West Bank because they were not under the legitimate sovereignty of any state in the first place. Expropriation of land for settlement purposes is forbidden, not only under international law but also according to the long-standing, official position of Israeli governments. Expropriation of land for settlement purposes is forbidden, not only under international law but also according to the long- standing, official position of Israeli governments. Most settlements were built on area that was declared state land or on land that was requisitioned - ostensibly temporarily - for military purposes. It appears that in Ma'ale Adumim, the government decided to permanently expropriate the land because it viewed the area as an integral part of Jerusalem that would forever remain under Israeli control. If Israel is to apply home demolitions and arbitrary displacement orders on the Bedouins, they will be violating the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of the person and of his family, including sufficient and adequate food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security. The arbitrary displacement of the Jahalin Bedouin thus violates article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Comparison between the Bedouin Village and Ma’ale Adumim Settlement: The difference is pretty clear of how Palestinians are living in the worst life conditions while the Settlers are enjoying their high living standards on the Palestinian lands, which were confiscated for military purposes and ended up in being the third largest settlement in the West Bank. o Education: In 2011, Ma'ale Adumim had 21 schools and 80 kindergartens. A large portion of Ma'ale Adumim's budget is spent on education. Schools offer after-school programs, class trips, and tutoring where needed. Ma'aleh Adumim has won the Israel Ministry of Education prize for excellence twice. It has also won the national prize for environmental quality in recognition of its emphasis on urban planning, green space, playgrounds and outdoor sculptures. Ma’ale Adumim’s educational system acts under the banner of placing their children’s education at the top priority, starting from kindergarten and up to the completion of studies in the post-primary education. The settlement has the Bnai Zion Shalom library that provides access to a wide and most updated selection of reading 3 and reference books and staff is available for consultation on educational, reference, leisure and recreational matters. In comparison with that, the village has small rooms for children reaching a certain age before they leave to far distanced schools to peruse their education. Their educational environment is nothing compared to the one in the settlement.