ISM Reports: Where Will the Wall Be Built in Budrus?

Yesterday the people of Budrus, a rural village of 1200 people in the
western part of the Ramallah district, discovered a notice in their olive
grove tacked to an olive tree from the Israeli soldiers. The note
announced
that the military would arrive today at 10 am to tell farmers which lands
would be confiscated in Budrus in order to build the wall. This morning
farmers and village elders went to meet the soldiers, who arrived in two
jeeps with the District Coordination Office (DCO) officials. The Israeli
DCO officials provided them with a map and informed them that they would
confiscate 38 dunums (four dunums equal one acre). This land contains
approximately 100 of the community's olive trees. The Israeli government
also stated the wall will follow the Green Line in Budrus (the 1967 border
between Israel and the West Bank).

Discrepancies between the Israeli government and the people of Budrus
exist
over where the Green Line actually lies. Iyad Morrar, a community
leader in
Budrus and the leader of the Popular Committee to Resist the Wall in
Western
Ramallah, stated, "We still do not know what will happen with our
lands. The
Israeli government can decide where they want to draw the Green Line
and we
will have no input in this decision. We know where our land and our trees
are but they will steal this from us."

The original plan presented by the Israeli government was scheduled to
take
1000 dunums and destroy approximately 3000 olive trees. "Thirty-eight
dunums is a step in the right direction but it is not enough," said
Morrar.
He believes since Budrus and eight other villages in the area will be
completely encircled by the wall this announcement does not constitute a
victory. At the February 23 demonstration in Budrus against the wall,
there
were conflicting reports about whether the wall would enclose the nine
villages or not. It appears now that the villages will be completely
surrounded by the wall with only one or two entrances, essentially turning
the area into a prison.

Tayseer from Qira village between Salfit and Qalqilia commented, "In
Jayyous
and Mas'ha, the military came several times and provided different
maps each
time. First, they would move the line of the wall forward and then back,
then forward again. We cannot trust anything that the Israeli
soldiers tell
us."

For months, the people of Budrus have been waiting to find out exactly
where
the wall will be constructed and they still are not certain even after
viewing the maps because the Israeli government could change their plans
again as they have already done here and in other areas. In addition, the
interpretation of the demarcation of the Green Line is in the hands of the
Israeli government.

If the nine villages are surrounded, access to jobs, education and
healthcare
will be impeded. There are no universities, no major medical
facilities and
few employment opportunities in these small villages. Many people in the
area have relatives that live in other areas in the West Bank. With the
wall and the continued occupation, visiting family members will become
increasingly difficult.

One farmer from Budrus, who already had 50 of his olive trees
demolished by
Israeli bulldozers, was informed today that he will not be able to replant
olive trees in that area. The land where his trees stood now has the
cement
foundation for the wall that will be built in Budrus. He received no
compensation from the Israeli government for the loss of his land or
trees.

Budrus has demonstrated at the construction site of the wall since the
first
bulldozers arrived in November 2003. "We will continue our struggle and we
will continue to demonstrate in Budrus and also in other villages in the
area to help them resist the wall," Morrar affirmed.

For more information, please contact:

S'ra (ISM Activist): +972.67.862.226

ISM Media Office: +972.22.77.46.02

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