Occupied West Bank: the fight of the village of Beita against the confiscation of its land
Audio 01:20
Palestinians flee tear gas fired by Israeli forces in the village of Beita.
August 13, 2021. AFP - JAAFAR ASHTIYEH
Text by: RFI Follow
5 mins
While in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on Monday August 16, 4 young Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire, another Palestinian village sees continuous clashes and permanent violence: Beita.
It is a village near Nablus, where the inhabitants have been fighting for more than four months against the confiscation of their land.
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With our special correspondent in Beita
,
Alice Froussard
It all started at the beginning of May, when Israeli Jewish families settled with mobile homes on the lands of three Palestinian villages (Qabalan, Yatma and Beita) creating Eviatar, an outpost, that is to say a settlement which has not yet been approved by the Israeli government.
Evacuated in early July, the site has since been occupied by Israeli soldiers and transformed into a military zone. Until the Israeli government authorizes the return or not of the settlers. For the Palestinians, it is the same thing, their lands are expropriated and they say they are determined to "resist" in their own way.
In this Palestinian village, in the north of the West Bank, almost every evening, and every Friday, the day of the most intense demonstrations, tires burning on the hills, fireworks, stones, chants, lasers pointed at Israeli soldiers.
It is "
the nocturnal destabilization
" explains a protester from Beita, who wants to remain anonymous.
“
The settlers, they're still trying to take our land.
There, they tighten the noose around the inhabitants of three Palestinian villages.
We know what colonization means, we see what is happening in the neighboring villages: the settlers who have established settlements there destroy the lives of the Palestinian inhabitants.
So we, the inhabitants of the village of Beita, refuse to have the same scene repeated here!
"
Illegal settlements
For four months, Beita has become the Palestinian village of popular resistance.
The evacuation of Eviatar in early July, this outpost where Israeli families lived, did not change anything, says Ayman Hamayel, a resident of the village.
“
The occupation, whether it is that of the Israeli army or the settlers, for us is the same thing.
There is no difference between the two.
"
Opposite, the Israeli army responded with tear gas, stun grenades and live ammunition.
Since the beginning of May, seven Palestinians have died in these clashes.
The number of injured is only increasing, and the arrests do not stop.
A disproportionate response, say residents, who say they feel lonely despite a few visits from diplomats in recent weeks.
According to international law, all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal.
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See also:
West Bank: four Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Jenin
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