The Jordan Valley: Urgent appeal for action and support

At 8am on the morning of Thursday 24th January the Israeli Occupational Forces once again demolished homes in Al Maleh, northern Jordan Valley. Two homes and an animal shelter were destroyed, which had been hastily constructed following the levelling of the whole community just seven days earlier. The Israeli army then moved south to the village of Al Jitflik, where three homes and two animal shelters were destroyed in the Abu Al Ajaj community, which has been subject to regular settler attacks and demolitions over recent years. Activists on the ground report that all demolitions on the 24th were carried out using JCB machinery. Soldiers have told people if they make any attempt to rebuild bulldozers will return to knock it down.
Call for Action issued 22nd January 2013

We are appealing for support following demolitions in the village of Hamamat Al-Maleh on 17th January 2013. On the evening of 21st January the people tried to rebuild their homes and tents. However, within one hour the army returned to demand that they stop rebuilding and warned them that further activity would result in the confiscation of all their belongings and livestock.

The local people of Hamamat Al-Maleh request that activists, both international and Palestinian, come to show solidarity if the Israeli military return to confiscate their belongings or further demolish homes.

On 17th January the Israeli military destroyed 55 homes and animal shelters in Al Maleh, northern Jordan Valley. The entire village was declared a Closed Military Zone, and the road to the village was closed. The army confiscated the possessions of those made homeless and 18 red cross tents, which were donated after the demolitions. The residents were left sleeping out in the fields with no shelter. When International activists and journalists tried to access the area via the Tayasir and Al Hamra checkpoints they were refused entry.

On 21st January the Closed Military Zone was lifted and the families were hopeful that they would be able to return to the village. However, when they attempted to do so the army returned and ordered them to stop building.
On 20th January Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity issued the following appeal for support

Please circulate this appeal to your own contacts and networks. We also have a sample press release you can use if you would like a copy please email Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity at  brightonjvs@gmail.com.

Brihgton Jordan Valley Solidarity (JVS) is concerned that this is a tactic to make the residents of Al Maleh leave the area, and one which could spread to other areas in the Jordan Valley.

The demolitions are part of a long campaign against residents of Area C in the Jordan Valley. Palestinian residents of Area C, designated as under control of the Israeli administration during the Oslo Accords, are banned from building permanent structures or infrastructure and even prohibited from renovating their homes.

Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity is calling for international solidarity activists to contact their political representatives to call for the lifting of the Closed Military Zone and for aid agencies to be able to provide assistance to the residents of Al Maleh

TAKE ACTION

We think it is important that we act on this and put pressures on the Israeli military to lift the Closed Military Zone.

Please your contact political representatives to raise it with the army.

Commander of the IDF – West Bank
Major-General Nitzan Alon
GOC Central Command
Military Post 01149
Battalion 877
Israel Defense Forces, Israel
Fax: +972 2 530 5724

Or have your representatives raise the issue with the relevant Israeli Ambassador or politicians in Israel

We also want people to take action in line with the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (see  http://www.bdsmovement.net/) against Volvo, which provided the buses which transported the army to the demolitions and JCB which manufactured the bulldozers used in the demolitions ( http://corporateoccupation.org/jcb-and-volvo-machines-used-in-demolitions-in-al-maleh-and-al-mayta-17113/).

Please circulate this call for action widely.

For more information phone +972543068259 or +972549032648 or email  brightonjvs@gmail.com.
Background information:

At around nine in the morning on January 17th, a demolition order imposed on the village of Hamamat Al-Maleh, which includes the community of Al-Mayta, was carried out by the Israeli army and police. The demolition crew also included an unidentifiable group of balaclava-clad workers. Residents were given forty days notice of the demolition order. In Hamamat Al-Maleh, twenty-five houses were destroyed, including eighteen in al-Mayta, displacing seventeen families. Another 33 structures used for keeping livestock, and therefore the livelihood of these communities, were demolished. 130 people live in al-Mayta, with around 37 families in demolished areas of Al-Maleh.
About Jordan Valley Solidarity

Jordan Valley Solidarity campaign is a network of Palestinian grassroots community groups from all over the Jordan Valley and international supporters. Our aims are to protect Palestinian existence and the unique environment of the Jordan Valley by building international support and supporting communities on the ground.