72 Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians National Parks The designation of ‘National Parks’ is stipulated in Military Order No. 89255 and subsequently amended by Military Order No. 373. According to recent figures there are approximately 18 designated National Parks in the occupied Palestinian territory.256 Military Order 373 sets forth no criteria regarding what land characteristics warrant designation as National Parks. Power is vested in the ‘Local Commander’ to designate such parks and in the ‘Competent Authority’ to control these areas. Additionally, the Order places power in the ‘authority’ to build roads and establish structures as they see fit and further, to set and impose park fees on anyone entering the area. As with Nature Reserves, these fees also apply to Palestinians who own land in those areas.257 Khirbat Susiya Case Khirbat Susiya, South Hebron Hills, is a village of 45 families comprising around 400 people258 who subsist on shepherding and olive cultivation. Khirbat Susiya was declared a “national park” in 1986 by virtue of a nearby-located archaeological site which archaeologists have claimed is the remains of an ancient synagogue.259 Consequently, the Palestinian residents of the village were forcibly displaced to land a few hundred meters southeast of their original village.260 Of particular concern is the fact that an Israeli colony, ‘Susya’, was established near the original village, on Palestinian land declared ‘State Land’ some three years prior, despite the area’s forecasted designation as a “national park”. The ‘National Park’ was subsequently declared part of that Israeli colony.261 Furthermore, the displaced villagers were refused entry to this ‘National Park’ despite its location on their own lands. In 2001, villagers petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court who granted an interim injunction allowing residents to return to their lands, but prohibiting 255 Order Concerning Parks (West Bank Area) 1967, n.d. 256 Beit Sourik Village Council V. The Government of Israel. 257 B’Tselem, South Hebron Hills: Khirbet Susiya (January 1, 2013); available from http://www.btselem. org/south_hebron_hills/susiya; accessed 24 April 2013. 258 OCHA, Susya: At Imminent Risk Of Forced Displacement (March 2012); available from http://www. ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_susiya_factSheet_march_2012_english.pdf; accessed 24 April 2013. 259 B’Tselem, South Hebron Hills: Khirbet Susiya. 260 OCHA, Susya: At Imminent Risk Of Forced Displacement. 261 Yonatan Mizrahi, Israel’s ‘National Heritage Sites’ Project in the West Bank: Archaeological Importance and Political Significance (June 2012); available from http://www.alt-arch.org/docs/ national%20heritage%20sites%20beyond%20the%20green%20line.pdf; accessed 24 April 2013.