summer of 2014, Israel expanded the buffer zone to three kilometers from the border, covering 44 percent of the besieged enclave.97 The Village of Khuza’a, District of Khan-Yunis98 On 5 January 2013, Israeli forces entered the Buffer Zone in the southern Gaza Strip. The forces invaded up to 100 meters of land of Khuza’a, east of Khan-Yunis, where they flattened the agricultural land. The damaged land belongs to Ahmad Karani who stated: ”I own land consisting of five dunums (0.05 km2) that I planted with various trees and plants, like citrus and peach. The only income I have is from working this land, but on 5 January 2013 Israeli bulldozers flattened my land causing damage estimated at US $ 35,000. This amount includes damages caused to the house and agricultural machines, in addition to the harvest which I was about to collect. In general, sometimes we are allowed to reach our lands and at other times we are shot at, like other farmers, in order to prevent us from reaching our lands. We are confused and do not know how to deal with the occupation, since the soldiers behave irregularly and we do not receive any guidelines. Sometimes they even allow some farmers to access their lands while they shoot at others.” Egypt, too, has enforced a buffer zone along its borders with the Gaza Strip. In January 2015, this zone was expanded from 500 meters from the border into the Gaza Strip to between 1,500 and 2,000 meters, with a reported 1,200 homes being demolished as a result.99 Restrictions Against Palestinian Citizens of Israel Following the Nakba in 1948 and the creation of the state of Israel, Israel imposed military rule upon Palestinians, which lasted until 1966, and was intended to control the Palestinian population which remained inside Israel, and also to prevent the return of Palestinian refugees.100 In contrast, a civilian government managed the affairs of the Jewish-Israelis. The military rule also included the regulation of the Palestinian labor force according to the needs of the Israeli market (as in the present case of the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip).101 Freedom of expression and freedom of movement 97 OCHA – Occupied Palestinian Territories, Gaza Emergency Situation Report (as of 22 July 2014, 1500 hrs), 23 July 2014, page 1. Available at: http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_ sitrep_23_07_2014.pdf 98 BADIL’s interview with Ahmad Hamid, “The Village of Khuza’a, District of Khan-Yunis”, February 2013 99 Avi Issacharoff, “Egypt to expand Gaza buffer zone to up to 2 kilometers”, The Times of Israel, 6 January 2015. Available at: http://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-to-expand-gaza-buffer-zone-to-upto-2-kilometers/ 100 For a detailed description, see SabriJiryis, “The Arabs in Israel”, Monthly Review Press, New York, USA, Updated edition, 1 June 1977, ISBN-13: 978-0953454069 101 Manar Makhoul, “Seismography of Identity: Literary Reflections of Palestinian Identity Evolution in Israel between 1948 and 2010”, University of Cambridge, 2013 30