Khirbet Bet Zakariya - “Ganz considers cancelling building permits he granted Palestinians”
The news that brought us back to Khirbet Beit Zakariya this time was the following:
“A few days ago, Defense Minister Ganz visited Gush Etzion and met with representatives of the Israeli residents to understand from them why he’s being asked to cancel the construction permits for Palestinians and toured the area of Khirbet Zakariya. At the end of the visit Ganz informed the residents that he understands the issue is complex and sensitive.” He “is considering canceling the construction permits he recently granted Palestinians for Khirbet Bet Zakariya in Gush Etzion.” Ze’ev Kamm reported this information Sunday morning, 19.9.21, on Reshet B’s “Haboker Hazeh” radio program.
No one contacted Abu Ibrahim, the head of Khirbet Zakariya’s municipal council, nor was he informed of Ganz’s visit and that Ganz is considering canceling the Master Plan provided to Abu Ibrahim by the Civil Administration. As far as the Defense Minister is concerned, the only “residents” are the Gush’s Jewish settlers. We heard how insulting that was from Abu Ibrahim, how Ganz ignored him when we met him in his living room, which also serves the Khirbet Bet Zakariya municipal council.
What would canceling the Master Plan mean for Palestinians?
This: Continuing demolition of buildings, with the excuse that no (approved) Master Plan exists. Without a Master Plan:
1. Construction is prohibited and buildings systematically demolished by the Civil Administration everywhere in Khirbet Bet Zakariya (350 residents), Khalat Balut (80 residents), Wadi Shahat (130 residents), Khalat Afna (80 residents) and Khirbet Shafa (100 residents), and the Christian farm belonging to the Saras family.
2. A sign identifying the village can’t be erected at the entrance.
3. A safe entry road can’t be paved to the village.
4. A clinic can’t be built.
5. The minaret under construction for the Nabi Zakariya mosque can’t be completed – the only mosque in Gush Etzion, whose construction was halted 36 years ago by the order of the Civil Administration, and all appeals were rejected.
Expropriation and erasure of Palestinian heritage
Before 1967 the neighborhoods of Khirbet Bet Zakariya were spread loosely over broad areas of Gush Etzion. The farmers lived on their land and built their homes among the vineyards, the fig groves and vegetable crops. They would assemble for prayers at the Nabi Zakariya mosque in Khirbet Bet Zakariya, beneath the broad shade of the “Nabi Zakariya oak”, the ancient, sacred oak planted on two dunums of waqf land (according to Abu Ibrahim). They enjoyed the natural surroundings. From there they could continue to another holy site surrounded by oaks: Nabi Daniyel – or to springs on the lands of Khirbet Bet Zakariya and Bet Umar. Today the sites are part of the KKL’s Etzion Forest, entrance to which is the road to the violent settlement of Bat Ayin.
Jewish settlers have completely taken over the “Nabi Zakariya oak“ and over Nabi Daniyel. Nabi Daniyel has become a gathering place for settlers from the Sde Boaz outpost, and the Nabi Zakariya Oak has become an educational site for teaching about the Jewish history of Gush Etzion. Add the prohibition on constructing a minaret for “Nabi Zakariya,” the only mosque in Gush Etzion, and everything is ready for the invitation to the Defense Minister to reject at the last minute the local residents’ final hope – approval of the construction Master Plam.
From 1948 to 1967 the huge “Nebi Zakariya Oak” symbolized the yearnings of Jews evacuated from Gush Etzion in 1948; it was known in Israel as “the solitary tree.”
Etzion area / Gush Etzion
See all reports for this place-
Etzion Area / Gush Etzion is a group of Jewish settlements south of Jerusalem, between Bethlehem and Hebron. Attempts at Jewish settlement in the area began in 1927. 4 kibbutzim were established between 1943–1947 but were destroyed during the Battle of Gush Etzion during the War of Independence in 1948.
After the 1967 Six Day War, Jewish settlement in Gush Etzion was renewed, and since then another 14 settlements and 10 outposts have been established. According to the info-icon of the Civil Administration, Gush Etzion is now 7 times larger than its historic area, and the Jewish lands purchased before the evacuation in 1948 constitute less than 15% of the large settlement bloc of the Gush Etzion Council today, which Israel demands to annex in the permanent agreement with the Palestinians.
The Palestinian localities in the area are concentrated in enclaves, the largest of which is in the east - the Bethlehem area, which includes Beit Jala, al-Khader, Beit Sahur and more. To the west are settlements such as Husan, Nahalin, Al Jaba'a and Batir and small and ancient agricultural villages such as Shushahala, Khalat Sakaria and more. These are scattered on the last agricultural land left by the Palestinians in the area. In the 2000s, many illegal outposts sprang up, taking over private Palestinian land under the auspices of the administration and the army, trying in an extremely violent way to evict farmers from their land and homes and thus expand the settlements. Watch the video about the harsh reality in the Shushalah and Makam Nabi Daniel area.
During the 1990s, the new Road 60, most of which is forbidden to Palestinian traffic, was paved, and a separation wall was built next to it. Access to many of the Palestinian villages and agricultural lands in the area was blocked, and a buffer was created between the villages themselves as well as between them and the lands they owned. The layout of the settlements and the network of roads and checkpoints in the entire Etzion area indicate the intention to create a territorial and transportation continuum between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem.
Machsom Watch members have been active in the for many years. We talk to the Palestinians at intersections, DCOs, villages and Makamim (ancient Palestinian heritage sites) and try to publicize the looting, apartheid and violence they are experiencing. You can read about their activities in the attached reports.
in 2021, after many years of negotiations, the Civil Administration issued a new plan for the central village of Khirbet Bet Zakariya, including construction permits. The adjacent settlers protestated and asked the minister of defence to cancel the permits. Our members are in contact with the village and are trying to involve other organiztions and use public opinion and to stop this cancelation.
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