64 Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians life. So in September 2007, I appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court asking for renewal of my permit. In 2008 the Court came out with a positive ruling permitting my entrance to my own land. It was for 28 days only, but later on I was given a three-month permit each time. Gate - The gates open three times daily, in the morning from 05:00 to 6:00, then from 13:00 to 14:00, and the third time from 16:00 to 17:00. Even if someone was hurt or injured, he would have to wait until the next opening. - You cannot pass through the gate without being checked, not just when you enter but also when you are leaving. - Lately, the soldiers oblige us to unload the whole cargo, and we are speaking about tons of fruits. - Sometimes, it happens that they don't open the gate - without giving any explanation - and consequently we cannot go to work. - Villagers wanting to go to their land sometimes have to wait hours until soldiers come and open the gate because they are patrolling the area.” Jordan Valley and Dead Sea Based on “Closed Military Zones” and “Nature Reserves” or allocation for Israeli colonies, some 94 percent of the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area have remained off limits for Palestinian use.221 According to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory (OCHA), “[t]he area has been one of the most severely affected by access restrictions imposed since the beginning of the second Intifada. These restrictions have rendered the main roads and the bulk of the natural resources available, almost exclusively, to Israeli settlers and the Israeli military.”222 According to the same report, “[a]pproximately 87 percent of the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area are designated as Area C, of which virtually all is prohibited for Palestinian use. An additional seven percent is formally classified as Area B, but is unavailable for development, as it was designated a nature reserve under the 1998 Wye River Memorandum.”223 221 OCHA, Special Focus: West Bank Movement and Access Update (East Jerusalem, September 2012), 2; available from http://www.alzaytouna.net/english/selections/2012/WB_Movement_Access_10-12. pdf; accessed 23 April 2013. 222 OCHA, Special Focus: West Bank Movement and Access Update, 23. 223 OCHA, Special Focus: West Bank Movement and Access Update, 24.

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents