Further land theft in Fasayal
The Jordan Valley is located in area C of the West Bank leaving it under Israeli control. The Valley runs along the West Bank border with Jordan and is one of the richest agricultural areas with its proximity to the Jordan river. Since its seizure by Israeli forces in 1967, Israel has built 37 agricultural settlements in the Valley on Palestinian land. Prior to 1967 there were 300,000 Palestinians living in the area, however gradually this number has declined to around 64,000 as people have been forced to leave their land, either physically or economically.
This displacement has been made possible by the Israeli colonization of the land and resources. 57% of the Jordan Valley has been declared a closed military zone. When an area is declared a closed military zone, the army has full jurisdiction over it and Palestinians are forced to leave the land. Declaring it a closed military zone ensures Israeli control over the area and absolves them of any responsibility for any Palestinians that remain on the land. Often this land is then given to settlers or used for its resources.
Fasayal village is close to the Jordanian border. After 1967 the Israeli government and IDF built fences allalong the Jordanian border and made the area a closed military zone. In May 2014 they confiscated 300,000m2 of land between the border and village. Here they created pools to collect and filter sewage water for the agricultural settlements. To do this they brought ten trucks and bulldozers. Thren, in late July, they began to plant trees. The Israeli government plans to give the land to young settlers from Tomer settlement – an equivalent of 50,000m2 each.
Just north of Fasayal, in Yafit settlement, construction has already started on water pipes for the settlement.
The Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley do not have access to the water resources, which has meant that many can no longer maintain the land they still have. This has led to many migrating from the Valley to urban areas in order to earn a living.
