The Eviction of
Jahalin Bedouin Continues
The Case of the
Jahalin as-Sara'ia
Report Compiled by the Lobby for Palestinian
Women's Rights in Jerusalem on the Occasion of the International Day of
Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 29 November 1997 .
The approximately 65
families of the Sara'ia Bedouin are part of the Jahalin Bedouin tribe.
The tribe originates from the Tel as-Sab'a area, located on territory declared
Israeli state territory in 1948. In 1950, the tribe was evicted across
the border with Jordan to the West Bank, then under Jordanian rule. The
evicted members of the tribe were issued refugee status and registered
with UNRWA. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Jahalin tribe settled in the arid
Judean desert east of Jerusalem and west of the Dead See. The Sara'ia Bedouin
families have lived for years in Vad al-Hindi, a desert valley located
in the vicinity of the two Israelis settlements of Ma'aleh Adumim and Qedar.
Due to their remoteness, they were spared by the Israeli authorities during
the first infamous eviction campaign which had targeted Jahalin as-Salamat
Bedouin living further up the mountains, at the entrance to the Ma'aleh
Adumim settlement. In the meantime, irrespective the local and international
protest and the continued legal efforts, the latter have been
evicted and concentrated in shacks and containers
next to Jerusalem's municipal garbage dump. Now, the as-Sara'ia Bedouin
are the new target of the Israeli
policy aimed at cleansing the West Bank from
its Bedouin population and at pushing them into "reservations"
in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority .
On 28 September 1997, armed "Israeli"
forces raided the Bedouin encampment and destroyed the new elementary school
constructed by the Palestinian Authority for the school year of 1997-8
. The school had been a significant improvement for the 39 school children
enrolled in grade 1 - 6; they were saved the 10 km desert hike to their
previous school in the Palestinian village of as-Sawahre. The "Israeli"
raid turned their new school into rubble, also the permanent wooden homes
of the families and the encampment's water supply system were destroyed
. Two school tents provided by UNRWA and several tiny tents provided by
the IDRC to replace the destroyed family homes do not repair the damage
done, especially not now, during the winter season . The Sara'ia Bedouin
are pessimistic. Their ability to resist the "Israeli" pressure
is undermined by remoteness and neglect . They have no access to even basic
medical services, and their traditional means of subsistence are being
destroyed by new "Israeli" orders which restrict the grazing
grounds of their animals . No longer able to feed their livestock, they
have been forced to purchase animal feed at the expensive price of US $200/ton
. They worry that their days at the site are running out .
An agreement with the "Israeli"
authorities permitting their temporary presence in Vad al-Hindi cannot
calm the fear that the Sara'ia Bedouin will soon join the Jahalin Bedouin
on the stinking garbage dump.
Stop the Eviction of Palestine's
Bedouin Population !
Support the Sara'ia Jahalin!
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