A large number of settlement units besiege 300 Palestinians
Avni Hefetz settlement swallows up Khirbet al-Hafasi in Tulkarm Governorate
The occupation deprives the population of basic services and construction.
From the source
Palestinians are denied access to their agricultural lands.
From the source
Avni Hefetz settlement is expanding at the expense of the residents' lands.
From the source
Researcher at the Palestinian Land Research Center, Raed Muqdi.
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At a time when the occupation allows the expansion and expansion of Khirbet al-Hafasi to the southwest of Kafr al-Labad to the southeast of Tulkarm Governorate in the West Bank, and the increase in the number of settlement units, which exceeds 2,400 settlement units, the Palestinian residents in these areas are forbidden to build on their private lands.
On large areas of the lands of the village of Khirbet al-Hafasi and Kafr al-Labad, the Avni Hefetz settlement besieges the freedom of the residents, hinders their lives, and restricts their movement, as this settlement is witnessing an expansion on a daily basis towards the residents’ lands they inherited from their parents and grandparents.
The 300 Palestinians living in Khirbet al-Hafasi suffer from the expansion of the settlement, which previously devoured large areas of their lands, while expanding to gnaw the remaining agricultural lands for them, which is their only source of livelihood, in light of a settlement siege that prevents them from even carrying out their work inside their village and their land.
The field researcher at the Land Research Center in the West Bank, Raed Muqdi, said, in an exclusive interview with Emirates Today: “Khirbet Al-Hafasi is a small village, most of whose lands were confiscated by the occupation under the pretext that it was its lands, and it was annexed to the settlement (Avni Hefetz), which is located on The lands of the ruins, and the neighboring houses of the residents are 20 meters away, while the residents live on an area not exceeding 500 dunams only.”
He explains that what Khirbet al-Hafasi is witnessing, and the ongoing settlement expansion, is part of a Judaization project, which the occupation plans in advance, under the name “Seven Hills”, noting that the occupation, through this project, controls the rest of the lands of the Palestinian population, and displaces more One of the bypass roads, to connect it to the settlement of Avni Hefetz, at the expense of the lands of the indigenous Palestinian population.
According to Mawqadi, Khirbet Al-Hafasi witnesses prominent settlement activity on a daily basis, represented in the construction of settlement bypass roads and random settlement outposts, which impose more sieges on the Khirbet and suffocate its residents, isolating them from their Palestinian surroundings.
The researcher at the Palestinian Lands Research Center points out that the settlers built a bypass road several months ago in the cover of darkness, starting from the random outposts that were established during the past months and years, all the way to the settlement of Avni Hefetz.
He shows that the process of expanding the settlement of Avni Hefetz and the expansion of the area of its units, is carried out through the establishment of a new outpost, in which the settlers put a mobile home, or establish a barn for livestock before it is annexed to the settlement, and deprive the residents of more of their lands.
Muqadi continues, saying: “This is what happened two years ago when settlers established a number of random outposts, and placed 16 caravans in them, on an area of more than 13 dunums, on the southern side of the settlement (Avni Hefetz), within what was described as the buffer zone. surrounding the colony.
forbidden lands
“This settlement expansion portends a severe humanitarian catastrophe for the residents, their lives and security, and confiscates their land, as it reflects negatively on the expansion of existing settlement outposts and units,” says Mawqidi.
The researcher at the Palestinian Lands Research Center points out that this causes the indigenous Palestinian population to be prevented and denied access to their agricultural lands, under the pretext that they are closed military areas, where they are only allowed to enter for several days throughout the year, after obtaining a prior permit from the occupation forces.
Mawqidi continues by saying: “All agricultural projects and activities during the past months in Khirbet Al-Hafasi have stopped turning, and all of them have come under the control of the Avni Hefetz settlement.”
He added, "This prevents any expansion and population activity in Khirbet, as the number of existing Palestinian houses is 30. This also harms the population and demographic growth of the people of Khirbet Al-Hafasi, and as a result, the reverse migration of the population from their land threatened with confiscation, towards the neighboring villages and towns."
trapped life
The small village of Al-Hafasi lacks many basic services in daily life, most notably the lack of transportation routes, which causes great suffering for the residents and students, in addition to its lack of basic infrastructure projects, water and electricity lines, according to Kafr al-Lidd Mayor Ihab Ghazaleh.
Ghazaleh says: "The dangers and damages of settlement expansion do not only include Khirbet al-Hafasi, but extend beyond its borders, towards all the villages and neighborhoods of Kafr al-Labad, which are surrounded by settlement from all its four directions."
He added that "the Avni Hefetz settlement surrounds Khirbet al-Hafasi and the town of Kafr al-Labad from the north, along with the outpost of Hahar, and from the east the settlement of Annab, and the colonial outpost of Karmi Daron."
The mayor of Kafr al-Labad indicates that the outpost of "Hahar" perched on the lands of the residents of Khirbet al-Hafasi, adjacent to the settlement of "Avni Hefetz", is inhabited by hundreds of settlers, and there is also a military site in the settlement for the occupation forces.
• The occupation aims, through the “seven hills” project, to control the remaining lands of the Palestinian population and to build more bypass roads.
• Increasing the number of settlement units prevents Palestinians from building on their private lands.
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