Bruqin, Deir Ballut, Kufr alDik, Qira
Qira, settlements along road 446, Kafr ad Dik, Bruqin
10:15 – We reached Qira to meet a group of women who, in addition to coming together for social reasons, regularly participate in physical exercise with Sally-Anne and do handicraft with Michal.
Some of the women were already waiting for us and others arrived one by one during the meeting. The women really came alive in their session with Sally-Anne but due to the late hour we didn't do any further activities. We had time, however, to plan for our next meeting when we will continue to learn new crochet patterns.
12:00 We drove on road 446 towards Deir-Ballut while watching the settlements along the way.
12:15 Leshem, the new neighborhood in Alei Zahav is blooming (see attached pictures) and at present, further expansion of the settlement is being prepared. The distance between Deir-Ballut and the ground work being carried out above the village is very short. (See pictures of agriculture in Deir-Ballut). On the other side, south-east of the road in the direction of Kafr ad Dik, one can see the ground work and the construction work in Peduel and Beit-Arie. It looks as if the two settlements have merged into one big village.
12:45 It was quiet in Kafr ad Dik
Bruqin
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Bruqin is a village of about 4,000 residents in Salfit County. 600 dunams of the village's land were expropriated in 1984 for the establishment of the Barkan industrial zone. Small sewage treatment plant This area is regularly flooded. The sewage flows into Baruchin and pollutes the streets of the village. In 1999, the Bruchin settlement was established. The barrier of separation and harassment Settlers keep the villagers away from 30% of their lands (about 4,000 dunams). About half of the village lands are in Area C, on which Israel prevents construction.
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Deir Ballut
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An internal checkpoint on Road 446 at the entrance to the village of Deir Ballut and near the settlements there, Alei Zahav and Peduel. Partially staffed, vehicles are inspected at random.
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Kufr a-Dik
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Kufr a-Dik This is a Palestinian village in the Salfit district of the West Bank, located 8 kilometers east of the Green Line. The village population numbers 4,494 (as of 2007). 14.5% of the village were included in Area B (supposedly under Palestinian civil control) and 86% categorized as Area C – meaning both civil and military Israeli control, which severely affects the state of the village and its inhabitants. Over the years Israel has robbed 1,448 dunams from the village’s farmlands for the sake of building the settler-colonies of Penuel, Alei Zahav, Yoezer, Har Alei Zahav, and the industrial zone next to Penuel. Lands were also sequestered for the paving of Road 446 whose length stretches over 4 kilometers and includes a buffer zone 75-meters wide on both its sides. Following the paving of the road, the village has suffered not only landgrab but home demolitions and the destruction of water wells as well. Rates of unemployment in both the private and the public sectors reach 60%. In the years 2010-2013 creative activity was held by members of MachsomWatch and women of the village. For further information: http://vprofile.arij.org/salfit/pdfs/vprofile/Kafr%20ad%20Dik_tp_en.pdf
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Qira
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Qira
This village is located in the Salfit district of the northern West Bank, 19 kilometers south-west of Nablus. The village population numbered 1,387 as of 2016. 97.6% of the village lands are categorized as Area B, whereas the 2.3% remaining are in Area C. The Separation Fence erected around the settler-colony city of Ariel separates Qira from its local town Salfit, and necessitates a detour of about 20 kilometers.
In 2010-2015, the women’s center in the village held meetings and workshops shared by the village women and children with members of MachsomWatch.
For further information: http://vprofile.arij.org/salfit/pdfs/vprofile/Qira_vp_en.pdf
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