The Israeli Occupation Forces have stolen a tractor from the small Bedouin village of Furush Beit Dajan located in the Jordan Valley. The army has taken the tractor to a nearby settlement and demanded that the owner pays a fine in order to retrieve it. No explanation or reason was provided for the army actions. The tractor is mostly used for agricultural purposes.

The tractor’s owner is Ahmed Abu Jeish. The driver is Ismael Shehdi. Despite countless hardships imposed on these villagers by the Israeli Occupational forces, who are trying to drive the Palestinians out of the area by applying a huge amount of economic pressure on them, they have remained and have used whatever resources possible in order to remain on their land.

Background:

Water

Up until the 1980s, when water ran from ‘Ein Shibli and Wadi Al Fara’ villages in the north, Furush Beit Dajan was famous for its citrus farms.  Then, the Israeli Occupational Forces drilled two huge wells inside the built-up area of the village, in order to provide the nearby Hamra settlement with water. Hamra controls most of the agricultural land to the west of the village up the hill. The remaining agricultural land consists of only a few hundred dunnums and two old water wells which use a diesel engine to pump 60 cubic metres of water per hour. Each cubic meter costs the farmer three shekels. The engines for the wells are old, but villagers are restricted from renovating them, by Israeli law. Therefore, there is a huge shortage of water in this community to be used for agricultural means.

Drinking water, too, is scarce in the village. It must be purchased from Israeli water company, Mekorot, but Mekorot will only sell a fixed amount of water to Bedouin communities. This was decided on in the 1980s and has remained unchanged since, despite a growing population in the village. Reasons cited for this fixed amount is general scarcity of water available in the area. Yet settlers receive far more water than their Palestinian neighbors. Due to lack of water in the village, Farush Beit Darjun has lost its famous citrus trees, which have dried up, forcing farmers to cut down the trees in order to sell their wood.

Electricity

Furush Beit Dajan has no electricity. Electric poles and cables run above the village to the nearby settlements, but villagers have no access to it. At night, the only light in the village is that from the Hamra settlement and nearby military base.

Education and Schooling

There is one elementary school in the village, which cannot be expanded or renovated, due to building restrictions on the community. There is no kindergarten for the young children of the village.