Bruqin, Haris, Kifl Harith, Wed 11.1.12, Morning
Translator Suzanne O.
Haris
9:45 a.m. There are a lot of children running about on the road. Nadim explained that today is the start of the school holidays. The children have, apparently, finished their examinations.
We continued to drive in the direction of Kif'l Harith, on the way we saw the ruins of a house. We were unable to find out when and how the house was destroyed.
Kif'l Harith
10:15 a.m. There is no one around – deserted. Towards the end we saw 5 women walking on their way to somewhere – all dressed in black.
Bruqin
10:30 a.m. The entrance from Road 5 was open. On the way we saw the burnt mosque again as well as the car which had been set alight and which was still there, burnt out – so that they on no account forget the 'price tag' which they paid. There is heavy rain and the town is completely deserted.
Kafr ad Dik
10:50 a.m. We got to the women's club. This time the club was full of plants. Some of the women gave out plants and some of them dealt with the money, apparently from the sale of the plants. In this situation it was difficult to start the activities. It took a while to set up the room designated for yoga (the plants had to be removed and the floor had to be cleaned because of the mud). When the room was ready Hagar started the yoga class which continued for about an hour and a half. This time 3 little girls aged from 8 – 10 took part in the class as they had no school. Tova continued with the beading class. It is important to note that many women spend time at the club doing nothing – watching those doing beading or just chatting…
At about 1:00 p.m. we left for home and drove via Burqa.
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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Haris
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Haris
The village has 4,500 people and they have 5,000 dunams of land. The entrance to the village is blocked and opened arbitrarily, without informing the residents.The village has a seasonal checkpoint that blocks the road to the agricultural land and this checkpoint opens once a year! 2,500-3,000 dunams were stolen from the village in order to build the settlements of Revava and Netafim, which are located west of Haris.
The center of the village is Area B and around Area C. The population grows but the occupation does not permit new construction in Area C.
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Kifl Harith
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Kifl Harith
This is a Palestinian located north-west of the settler-colony town of Ariel, 18 kilometers south of the city of Nablus. It numbers 3, 206 inhabitants, as of 2007. 42% of the village lands lie in Area B, and 58% in Area C. In 1978, some hundreds of dunams of the village’s farmland was sequestered in order to found the settler-colony of Ariel – in total 5,184 dunams from the Palestinian communities of Salfit, Iscaqa, Marda, and Kifl Harith. Dozens of square kilometers were also confiscated for paving road no. 5 as well as road 505 and their buffer zones, and the Israeli electricity company’s power station. Over the years the village has suffered harassment by sometimes-armed settler-colonists, even casualties. In 1968 the army’s rabbinate ruled the maqam site Nabi Yanoun (sanctified grave of the Prophet Yanoun) is in fact the tomb of Joshua, Son of Nun. Another structure in the village, named Nabi Tul Kifl by the Palestinians, has been identified by the Israeli authorities as to the tomb of Caleb, Son of Yefuneh. These sites are located in the heart of the village, near the mosque, and at times of Jewish religious festivities and pilgrimages, the center of the village is illuminated by projectors and thousands of Jews arrive, protected by hundreds of Israeli soldiers. During such a period, a night curfew is imposed on the village and the villagers are forced to stay shut inside their homes.
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