Shaked settlement invades and expands into Palestinian territory
14:50-17:15
We passed Barta’a – Reihan Checkpoint. Workers were already going down the sleeve
on their way to the West Bank.
Hermesh Checkpoint has not served as a checkpoint for some time and its equipment has become junk lying in the field.
Traffic at Yaabed – Dotan was flowing without delay. Three soldiers from Nachal approached us and we asked them why the area was turning into a garbage dump like Tura Shaked Checkpoint. We began to clean up the area together. They thought that we were from the Ministry of Ecology now that it is in the hands of the leftists…
We returned to Reihan – Barta’a checkpoint. There were ten cars waiting at the vehicle checkpoint and the securi8ty guard explained that this was typical at rush hour.
On our way to Tura – Shaked Checkpoint we decided to take a look at the industrial zone near the settlement of Reihan. The new road was paved with fresh asphalt and bordered with curbstones. The new building that was to serve as a storeroom for groceries was not yet operating. We continued on and discovered a new factory for manufacturing and renovating mobile homes. Some of them had been brought from Hebron. The factory belongs to a settler from the settlement of Shaked. The worker who received us was A., who was 48 years old from the “lone house” near Tura Checkpoint. He immediately asked about Noa who had been active in attempting to connect his house to the electrical network. He asked where she was and sent her regards, saying he would not forget her. He and the settler who owns the factory are good friends and he likes his job. Later we saw him at Tura Checkpoint on his way home.
Nothing was new at Tura Shaked Checkpoint. It was still littered with garbage and traffic was moving slowly.
However, between the checkpoint and Dahar al Malek and the settlement of Shaked changes had taken place. We went closer to see (see photos) and heard more details from A., our acquaintance who works as a driver in the seamline zone and knows what is going on there. The area between Dahar al Malek and Shaked . There used to be an olive grove but the land has been turned over to the JNF to expand the settlement of Shaked. After a furious struggle the boundary of the village of Dahar al Malek was established after it had been determined that it would be set directly at the walls of its houses. It now includes the road that surrounds it, including a house that was built in 1948 on the other side of the road. At first they had considered moving the small school that was built there, but in the end they decided to leave it in place. We also learned that the road to the “lone house” had been paved with the help of the District Coordination and Liaison Office and the JNF. We had heard at first that the Palestinian Authority had also helped with the project. It was now clear why a part of the road had been paved through the olive grove. The settlement of Shaked is expanding at the expense of Dahar Al Malek and the lone house will become an enclave like many other places in the seamline zone. A. explained that most of the residents of the village work in the settlement or in the “Shahak” industrial zone and therefore don’t usually complain about what is being done on their private land. . We will continue to follow the process of disownment that is taking place here.
After we left A. we saw a soldier chasing after A. from the Lone House and hurried to see what was going on, but , he later said that everything was all right - he knew who he was and turned back.