Portraits of al-Aqaba, a village surrounded by the Israeli army
Calum Toogood in The Electronic Intifada 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 aswater, which is bought and then taken to the village in a tanker since there is no connection to the water network.
In September 2011 the road to the east of the village leading towards the eastern checkpoint was destroyed by the Israeli military. The army also demolished a house which had been home to twelve persons. Numerous homes have been demolished since the beginning of the occupation and further demolition orders have been issued. This has not stopped the community from building in an attempt to reverse the decrease in population from 700 residents since 1967 to 300 today.
The following photos are from my recent stay in al-Aqaba village.
For more photos see the original article at:
