Village near Jerusalem, prefect example of the Israeli Apartheid

Thursday August 23, 2007 16:24 by Missa Abu Ghazalah - IMEMC NEWS

Sheikh Sa'ad village south east of the city of Jerusalem, became like an eland that is isolated, the Israeli occupation on one hand, and nature on the other hand, the Israeli illegal Wall now separated it from the village of Sur Baher in the south and Jabal Al Mukaber in the north and north-east, while the valleys to the south creates a natural geographic separation between the village and Obeidiyya town.

Currently the village of Sheikh Sa'ad is left with one and only entrance which goes throw its neighboring village of Jabal Al Mukaber. 3000 Palestinian residents, most of whom carry Jerusalem identity cards, inhabit Sheikh Sa'ad village. families are forced to send their children to get education in the city of Jerusalem.
Nearly four years since the Israeli army closed the entrance to Sheikh Saad using dirt, thus closed the only entrance of the village so that residents can no longer drive to get to Jerusalem city which is only moment away. Residents were forced to carry fuel tanks and bring them to the village to fill their cars up.

The army allowed those who has Jerusalem ID cards to do that. There is no road linking the West Bank, to Sheikh Saad village, there was a dirt street linking the village with the West Bank except that the Israeli forces prevented villages from surfacing. The report of the National Coalition for the Defense of Human rights for the residents of Jerusalem which was recently published noted that the village has no high school, and there are only preparatory schools one for r girls and one for boys and a kindergarten.

The report states that more than one hundred families -25% of the population- of Sheikh Saad village-left the town because of the closure imposed on it, and because of the wall that isolates from nearby Jabal Al Mukaber village, finishing the wall around the village mean isolating villagers from the only cemetery they have, their children's school, the villager's work places and their families. If the area is closed entirely others families are expected to be forced to leave.

The suffering Sheikh Saad residents do not end, the Israeli army has demolished two homes in the village this week and gave orders to at least another three to be demolished, the residents say that this policy is no make families leave the village so the army could complete the security zone intended to be built near the Wall.

Translated by: Ghassan Bannoura – IMEMC News Room

jerusalem | the wall | news report ghassanb at imemc dot org