Holy Land: Jewish and Christian groups rally to save village facing obliteration


image: Rabbis for Human Rights

Christian and Jewish campaigners, together with representatives from EU countries have travelled to the ancient Palestinian village of Susiya, which is under threat of demolition.

Christian Peacemakers Teams report: In the rocky, dry hills south of Hebron, the village of Susiya--where human presence dates back thousands of years--may soon be wiped off the map, if Israel has its way.

On 5 May 2015, High Court judge Noam Sohlberg, who lives in the Alon Shvut settlement, denied the request by Susiya's residents for an interim injunction on all demolition orders until the final decision by the Supreme Court. His ruling means that the Israeli authorities might demolish more than 100 houses, the kindergarten, the school and the clinic from this village at any moment, displacing more than 300 Palestinians from their residences.

Susiya's rich history condemned its inhabitants. Israeli authorities decided to evict them based on its heritage value for Jews. In 1986, it forcibly displaced 60 families without compensation after declaring their village an archeological site. The villagers who struggled to stay tried to make do with the remaining plots of the 6,000 dunums of Susiya's land, even though a nearby Israeli settlement with the same name had partially taken those over as well. Settlers established a synagogue outpost where Susiya once stood, along with an archeological park. Despite having some of its land legally under their possession, the Palestinian residents of Susiya found it practically impossible to rebuild their homes on their own land, due to severe restrictions of Israeli military laws in the West Bank regarding any Palestinian development, especially in areas close to settlements.

In 2001, the Israeli military completely destroyed the village and forcibly displaced the residents again. They didn't give up, and rebuilt it again. Other demolitions happened and new demolition orders kept on coming for the new buildings, but the villagers stood fast. With the assistance of lawyers from Rabbis for Human Rights, they decided to submit a Master Plan to the Israeli authorities. The Civil Administration rejected the plan and the residents of Susiya appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, which will consider it on August 3, 2015. However, a decision from the Supreme Court judge who happens to be a settler, Noam Sohlberg, might seal the fate of Susiya even before the judgment.

The villagers are persevering and are acting together with other Palestinian, international and Israeli peacemakers to save Susiya from destruction. A Facebook page www.facebook.com/StandWithSusiya?fref=ts and a blog: https://susiyaforever.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/act-now-to-save-susiya/ have been created to update and gather support for this cause.

Rabbis for Human Rights has more information and videos here: http://rhr.org.il/eng/save-susya/

EU delegates from all 28 EU member states made a solidarity visit to Susiya on Monday and attended a ceremony in the village.

EU representative in Jerusalem, John Gatt-Rutter, said: "our presence here today indicates how seriously we in the EU view the intention to demolish this village and its structure and evict its residents. But Susiya isn't an isolated case. It's hard not to draw parallels with what's happening elsewhere in the West Bank and with Bedouin communities."

Source: CPT/EU/RHR