The West Bank Barrier

Profile: Al-Jab'a Village

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2006

Al-Jab’a village is located south-west of Bethlehem city. It borders the Gush Etzion settlement block and is surrounded by the Israeli settlements of Neveh Geva’ot, Bat Ayin and Kfar Etzion. The planned route of the Barrier will lead along the north-eastern side of the village. Since the beginning of the intifada, severe restrictions on movement have been placed on all residents. The gate that blocked off the main road 354 leading out of the village to Surif was removed a month before the PLC elections in January and placed back shortly after.

Al-Jab’a is home to 932 residents, of whom 16 families (approximately 150 persons) are registered UNRWA refugees. Some 7% of the villagers left the area in the course of the Intifada to build an existence elsewhere. The villagers hold a West Bank ID card and the village is traditionally considered one of the villages affiliated to Bethlehem governorate. With the implementation of the planned route of the Barrier, Al-Jab’a will be cut off from Bethlehem governorate. If the plan to build a tunnel under bypass road 367 connecting the village with Surif goes ahead, this road will likely become totally inaccessible for Palestinians. This means that the Jab’a residents will face severe difficulties reaching Bethlehem governorate to go to work, schools and university; visit healthcare centers and the hospital; or reach major markets.

Before 1967 the village comprised 13,000 dunums out of which 8,000 dunums were confiscated by military orders in the years thereafter. On 2,000 dunums a court case is still ongoing. Early October the landowners appealed to Bet Il court against the confiscation. The built-up area comprises 500 dunums. Two confiscation orders have been issued last year on the remaining 3000 dunums. Order No. 132/05/t was given out on 17 July 2005 for 68 dunums of agricultural land to be confiscated to build the Barrier on the south-east side of the village. Order No. 158/05/t was handed out to the people on 19 September 2005. This order proclaims the confiscation of another 110 dunums of agricultural land (43 of which belongs to Al-Jab’a and 64 to neighbouring Surif), for the purpose of transforming Al-Jab’a checkpoint into a terminal by 31 December 2007. The site of the new border crossing is about two kilometers to the east of the Green Line and one kilometer to the west of Al-Jab’a. The border crossing will allegedly serve as a commercial crossing point. Regardless of the fact that the court case on this order is still pending, construction works have commenced at the beginning of this year. Hundreds of dunums of olive and vine trees have been seized or isolated. This month 70 dunums of land on the northern side of the village have been claimed as being state land; a stone wall and a well have been destroyed and 700-800 small trees have been cut down by the IDF. The villagers however, affirm that all land is so-called Tabu land of which the ownership papers from the Ottoman period are still on hand.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC

Unemployment is high in this village. It now stands at 45% compared to approximately 2% before the Intifada according to members of the village council. Of the remaining 55 %, about 20 % is employed by the PA, 30 % in Israel and 5% in the settlement. The last two groups mainly work in Israel and the settlements illegally, since permits are difficult to obtain. Approximately 90% of the applications for permits to work in Israel or the settlements are being refused. Before the Intifada, 80% of the villagers worked in Israel and the settlements. Now, some people are required to buy their groceries at the local shop on credit. Agriculture, primarily the olive harvest, is now a main source of income. Last year, however, settlers from the Gush Etzion bloc seized all the olives.

Electricity is provided by the Bethlehem municipality and originated in Israel. The network is very weak. Water is provided through the PA. People have difficulties paying for their bills due to lack of income.

Access/ Permits/Gate issues

PERMITS

Palestinians are only allowed to use bypass road 367 if they are in possession of a special travel permit, as the road is classified as a ‘partially prohibited road’.

HEALTH

Primary Health Care

• There is a Primary Health Care clinic in the village with a daily nurse and a doctor present on Thursdays. Another clinic funded by WorldVision offers the services of two doctors and two nurses from Monday to Wednesday.

Bethlehem Hospital

• For secondary and tertiary health care and emergencies people are referred to the Husseini Hospital in Bethlehem.

EDUCATION

• This year the co-ed school in the village became separate for grades 7-11. The girls go to five classrooms outside the school compound, which are rented by WorldVision. No bathrooms are available for the female pupils. Five classrooms have been leased with bathrooms and a computer lab for the boys by a German humanitarian organization. Students attend high school in nearby Surif and for further education they mainly go to the Universities of Bethlehem and Hebron. Teachers and health personnel are mostly from surrounding villages and face no daily access problems, but the travel time and costs have increased as the passage to Surif is closed by a gate and the usual way to Nahallin has been blocked.