In February 2021, a six-month project funded by Oxfam and coordinated by the Popular Resistance Committee and the Jordan Valley Solidarity campaign was launched. This project aims at providing knowledge on legal matters as well as concrete advice to the youth of area C in order to help them make use of the law and legal means to protect the land of the Palestinians.

At the beginning of February, a first workshop was organized. Seventeen participants, some members and supporters of the Jordan Valley Solidarity Movement and some from South Hebron Hill, joined the meeting organized in the community center of Bardala.

Coordinators from Oxfam and from the Popular Resistance Committee were present to describe the project to the participants. The project is twofold: first, four workshops revolving around legal topics will be organized in the coming months. Besides, fifteen young people will have the opportunity to attend a three-months training provided by the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC). During this training, they will work in small groups, under the guidance of professionals of the JLAC, on documenting and preparing cases that will then be defended in front of the Israeli Courts by lawyers. They will work on cases that they are themselves, or their relatives or community, confronted with.

The two speakers then delved into the legal material and explained to the participants how owners should proceed to legally register their land, what legal means can be mobilized to stop house demolitions and land confiscations and how to protect the rights of civilians by resorting to the law.

The participants were provided with a contact list of professionals to whom they can turn to for advice regarding the registration of land of relatives or neighbors. They can also reach out to these experts in case the land of their family or neighbor would be targeted by the occupation forces or by settlers.

The second workshop took place on 20th February in Bardala; it was attended by 28 young participants. The meeting was lead by a lawyer from the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC). He explained to the participants how Israel uses the law to issue demolition orders and carry out demolitions – for instance by claiming that no building permit was issued – or to confiscate goods or lands under the pretext of ‘security reasons’ or ‘military use’. The lawyer shared some examples of cases that his organization has been dealing with. Most importantly, he also explained to the youth how the law can be used concretely to prevent or delay house demolition that they or their community would be threatened with.

To ensure its sustainability, one of goals of the project is to establish a Youth Council that will become an active partner of Oxfam, JVS and the Popular Resistance Committee. The council will be involved in the decision making process: they will for instance give their opinion on which cases to prioritise, how to handle them, etc.