“If there had been no occupation, beautiful Palestinian city“fantasizes the activist Ayman Griab. But instead of streets, buildings and fountains, there is a barren land on which houses made of sticks and plastic sheets have been erected. Palestinian communities Jordan ValleyFormerly the guardian of a fertile and impressive nature, he is now condemned to live in a flimsy prison. Threatened by increasing violence radical settlers Those surrounded by settlements and illegal outposts no longer abandon their lands. Their flocks graze among their tents, and Bedouins Those born in this once green land now return home empty-handed. The wounds on the face of Griab, a native of the Palestinian village of Tubas mentioned in the Bible, trace centuries of resistance. Its skin, which is the same color as the soil, is twinned with the soil.
Take a breather in these Bedouin communities spread across the Jordan Valley fear. Since the war began on October 7, the disputed lands have become a new theater of war for the State of Israel. There are settlers weaponry And shelter for soldiers and police. Palestinians have their own bodies and voices. Although not all. Many seen had to leave their lands. Months and years of harassment, threats and humiliation by radical settlers forced them to leave. Charred wood, empty cradles, and still-hanging clothes are the only remaining evidence of decades of existence on this land. all generations They pastured their flocks. On either side of an immaculate road built for the occupying population lie peeling ruins that smell of urine.
100,000 of 10,000 settlers are Palestinian
The already complicated life of the Bedouins has been going on for weeks. Alia Mlihat It has hardened. This 29-year-old girl from her village says, “We can no longer cross the road where we used to go to graze.” Marajatsouth of the Jordan Valley, where some 300 people It consists of 30 families. “Recently, settlers have started to invade the neighborhood at night and have also tried to take some of our animals,” he explains to this newspaper on the edge of the road, which they no longer dare to cross. “For the last few weeks, I’m afraid to sleep freely, because we do not know who can enter our homes at night,” he confesses, returning to events that have already left their mark on him. “Since the war began, more and more people have been thinking about this possibility. to leave their homes If things get worse,” says a descendant of refugees from the Negev of 1948.
After the Six Day War 1967 and the subsequent military occupation of the West Bank and Jordan Valley, which was seen as a physical barrier preventing neighboring countries from reaching Tel Aviv. The first settlements were established by the Labor Party. calm down Between workers and residents. But inside 2016, new colonies were built where some of the most radical settlers lived. There has been no peace in the country since then 160,000 hectares forming the Jordan Valley and north of the Dead Sea, and 30% of the total occupied West Bank. Approximately 100,000 Palestinians in the valley are forced to resist 10,000 settlers who, with the help of the State and the creation of fenced nature reserves, are taking away their land.
30 years of Oslo
“This is not a problem that started on October 7,” he condemned Aref DaraghmehIsraeli organization’s field researcher in the region B’Tselem. “The entire Jordan Valley is closed off to the Palestinians and the public cannot reach the Palestinians. job positions“, he explains to Prensa Ibérica to El Periódico de Cataluña. Oslo AccordsCelebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year, almost 90% of this region Area CWest Bank region under full Israeli control. The remaining 10% of the area is home to Palestinian communities, referred to as Area A or B, but as it is surrounded by Area C territory, the communities are isolated from each other. “The Palestinian Authority cannot help us; they went to Oslo” without knowing anything in these lands,” this activist complains.
Ali Abu Mehzi It is as old as the lands it defends. In Arabic with a strong rural accent, he describes decades of resistance. Al FarsiyyaIt has accelerated in recent weeks in the north of the valley. “They tear down, I build, They tear down and I build“He repeats the image of this old man clinging to the ground in front of the bulldozer. “The settlers are throwing stones at my sheep while we’re grazing because They want to drive us from our lands and we will place a police station but we have centennial papers confirming that these lands belong to us,” he explains to this newspaper in a passionate speech about injustice. Alongside him, the new generations, represented by 40-year-old Ayman Griab, continue their struggle. “In these last few days, Palestinian youth “This activist from Tubas is experiencing the punishment inflicted by the settlers, the army and the police,” he says.
Insulated and dry
There are already wide plains completely empty. The fields, which were full of green a few years ago, are now completely dry. constant humiliation and the latent threat of violence kept the Palestinians and their flocks away from these lands. Some isolated communities among them illegal settlementsThey were cut off from the outside world due to increased checkpoints on their precarious roads and road closures imposed by settlers. Large brown areas declared shooting ranges or under military control, warning herders of the possibility of being shot while grazing. Mlihat recalls one of the most repeated threats: “what will we do with you We do it in Gaza.
“You will end up the same as the residents of the Strip,” recalls this young woman, who has been unemployed for four years. The faces that had entered his home in recent weeks were already familiar to him. acquaintances. “Since the war began, settlers began to buy more weapons and uniforms. soldiers are members of these settlements“For most of these Palestinian families, only remnants of community life remain. Their numbers have been increasing since the war began. In this wastelandAncient communities, brothers with the land, continue their existence thanks to stubborn resistance. Ayman Griab is one with the land. “I hope I can welcome you next time you come In same place but it has a beautiful Palestinian city,” he concludes among the shops and sheep.