Palestinian village to be destroyed for sixth time

Tuesday November 13, 2007 08:21 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The village of Ka’abna, in the Jordan Valley, was on Monday issued with its sixth demolition order in the past five years by Israeli authorities.

Ka’abna is home to eighty people, who have been displaced numerous times by Israeli authorities since being expelled from their original homes eighteen years ago.

Now, the Israeli military has declared the land a ‘closed military zone’, and is ordering the refugees to move once again.

30 homes and animal enclosures will be destroyed if the demolition takes place, and the lives and education of 50 children will be severely disrupted yet again.

The villagers of Ka’abna were displaced from their land 18 years ago by one of the many illegal Israeli settlements that now occupy the Jordan Valley.

The homes in the village, which have been rebuilt five times in as many years, consist of waist-high concrete walls, topped with fencing wire, plastic sheets and old cotton bags used for the upper walls and roofing.

The village has never had access to water or electricity, and villagers pay a sum of 100 shekels every 4-5 days to transport water to their homes by tractor.

The Israeli military often imposes a curfew on the village for no apparent reason, forcing residents to pass through a checkpoint in order to obtain water.

“People can't live like this. We have no water or electricity. We just want to eat and raise our children," the village spokesman stated.

Although the Israeli High Court ordered a delay on the demolition, and a review after sixty days, villagers are concerned that the Israeli authorities will begin demolition regardless of the court order.

jordan valley | refugees/immigration | news report saed at imemc dot org