More demolition orders in Al Aqaba

On Sunday 24th June the occupation authorities issued demolition orders to another four families in Al Aqaba. Three of the families have been given just 3 days to leave.

This village has been a target of the occupation for many years. The roads to the village were destroyed and several homes demolished in April and September 2011).  In the words of 

Calum Toogood in his article for The Electronic Intifada on 17 May 2012:

“Al-Aqaba is a small Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley of the occupied West Bank surrounded by Israeli military checkpoints and training grounds.

“After the 1967 war the area around the agricultural community was declared a closed military training zone by the Israeli army. The use of live ammunition and explosives in the surrounding area of the village has led to the injury and even death of dozens of people from the village. Of those who have been injured is the current mayor, Hajj Sami Sadeq, who has used a wheelchair for the past forty years after being shot by Israeli soldiers at the age of 16.

“The livelihoods of the village and its population are severely restricted in terms of movement and access to basic amenities such as water, which is bought and then taken to the village in a tanker since there is no connection to the water network.”

For a more detailed background of the village see the report of the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem at: http://vprofile.arij.org/tubas/static/localities/profiles/106_Profile.pdf