Jayyus - Summary of the visit

At the end of last week we received an announcement that on Thursday 7.9., in the morning hours, military forces arrived in two military jeeps, accompanied by a bulldozer, at a plot of 2.5 dunams belonging to A.O., a farmer, inhabitant of the village of Jayyus.  This plot has, in the last year, been subject to a legal deliberation in court, as the civil administration wishes to expropriate it, probably in order to enlarge the area of the Tzofin Settlement, adjacent to this plot.

Although the legal deliberation is going on and no decision has yet been taken, the army arrived without any prior announcement and with the help of the bulldozer pulled down the entrance gate to the plot, destroyed a large part of the stone wall surrounding it and brutally uprooted about 15 fruit trees – olives, avocado and almonds (attached are photographs of the destroyed plot).

It should be pointed out that the plot is situated in lands which used to be in the seam zone and were returned to the village and to the Bank after the separation fence route had been changed following a High Court of Justice decree in an appeal submitted by the Association for Civil Rights.

The destruction and the attempt to expropriate the plot had a prior history of 30 years:

In 1988 the representative of the military governor of the area arrived at the village and submitted a written announcement saying that the lands of villagers, amounting to 1362 dunams, were state lands. The farmers were given the possibility to file within 45 days an objection addressed to the military regime in Bet-El.

Here it is necessary to point out that the plot is considered as Maliya land – land that is recognized by the Palestinian Authority and its offices as belonging to private farmers, but has not been registered in the Mandatory or Jordanian land registry.

Many plots in the West Bank belonging to specific Palestinian farmers are considered Maliya lands – in Arabic Real Estate, and those specific farmers get permission to process them in the seam zone, although their status has not yet been finally decided on.

There are many different reasons for this status of the plots, such as historical and fiscal ones and the delay of the Jordanian authorities in deciding on them.

A.O., who was the owner of a plot of 62.5 dunams out of the total of this area, submitted an objection, and the matter has been deliberated in the military court at Beit El  in the course of 8 years, and has been concluded in a decree which confirmed A.O.’s legal ownership of his plot.

Most of the other farmers – A.O.’s neighbours, lost their case in court, and on part of the confiscated plots the Settlement of Tzofin expanded at that time already.

But is seems that the matter was not concluded then – as about a year and a half ago (1.3.16), the farmer A.O. received an announcement saying that 2.5 dunams out of those 62.5 dunams were held by him illegaly and that he must evacuate them (a copy is hereby attached).

A.O. immediately turned to the Palestinian Authority and received representation by an Israeli lawyer who works with the Authority, with the aim to petition against the expropriation of the plot.

According to that lawyer, with the help of documents held by A.O. which testify that  this plot was his property, and also the recognition of all the other farmers that this was A.O.’s plot, as well as a renewed survey of the plot, it would be possible to prove in court A.O. s ownership of the land.

The information, according to which the uprooting and destruction which was performed in the plot about a week ago, may were very be intended to prepare, in the midst of the village of Jayyus’ lands,  a new neighbourhood at the Tzofin Settlement, which will probably be named Neve Tzofin, may be well founded.

And indeed, in the plots adjacent to that plot belonging to A.O. many poles bearing  signposts have been erected:

“Danger, a working area, entrance forbidden!”

Which hint on a forthcoming planned building process about to begin soon.

We now try to get from the suitable bodies information concerning the building of the  new neighbourhood and the enlargement of the Tzofin Settlement.