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Sample Area Background: BEIT UMMAR
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Beit Ummar is an agricultural village of about 12,000 people, located in the
northern part of the Hebron district, between Bethlehem and the Hebron municipality.
Some of the families have Christian ancestry and the old part of the village contains
some Christian ruins. The people of the village seem proud of the part their village
has played in fostering good relations between Muslims and Christians. They point
out that their village was named after the caliph Ummar (spellings vary), in the
first century of the history of Islam. It is said that Ummar was offered hospitality
in the village on a regular basis, and that the name Beit Ummar (house of Ummar)
was derived from that. The caliph Ummar was known for his wisdom and for the good
relations he fostered with Christians. The village people are very open and friendly. CPT has visited at times of celebrations, like engagements and weddings. Women sing and dance to the beat of the tabla (a drum which most women can play). Most of the older women of Beit Ummar do the traditional embroidery work for the dresses they wear. Each village has its own embroidery design and the skill is passed down to the daughters. Many of today's young women are going on to get a university education but they still treasure the traditions of their ancestors. Much of the area around Beit Ummar is covered with grape vines. Even in the populated part of the village, vines grow up the side of the house and form arbors on the rooftop. In the spring and summer family members gather the vine leaves which are stuffed with a rice mixture, rolled and cooked. When the grapes are harvested they are cooked down to a sweet syrup called dibs. Many women still bake their bread in an outdoor oven called a tabun. In accord with the Oslo Agreement (1993), the village lies in both areas B and C, although the Israeli government does not recognize the area C part of Beit Ummar - the agricultural land - as being part of the municipality. The municipality has the authority to grant permits in area B but not in area C. (Area C comprises 70 percent of the West Bank under complete Israeli control. The control of area B -- approximately 21 percent of the West Bank B is shared by Israel and the Palestinian Authority). The municipality does provide water and electricity for families whose homes are in area C, as well as in B. In order to get a permit to build, families in area C must apply to the Israeli Civil Authority. These permits are routinely denied. Such is the case of the Belt Ummar families profiled for the Campaign for Secure Dwellings. As in many other villages of the West Bank, a reorganization took place, effective April 1, 1997. The Israeli Civil Authority (ICA) dismantled the village council. The council had been subject to the authority of the ICA that was in turn governed by the Israeli army. The ICA put in place a municipal structure, with the Palestinian Authority appointing its first mayor. The future position was to be an elected one. The first mayor, Hussein Badr, welcomed CPT to his office on several occasions and even provided us with a translator and transportation in order to visit families in area C, whose houses were subject to demolition. The mayor and the council have no jurisdiction over area C because it is still under full Israeli military occupation. Most of the families facing demolition live along a stretch of road 60, between the Aroub Refugee camp on the north and the turnoff for the Israeli settlement of Karme Tsur on the south. Some of the families live in areas where a new part of road 60 has been proposed. While the home demolition policy affects at least twenty-three households, hundreds more are affected by the parallel issue of land confiscation, especially those families whose land is adjacent to settlements. In the spring of 1998 the settlement of Karme Tsur to the south of Beit Ummar expanded onto Beit Ummar land. At the same time to the north, the Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion also expanded toward Beit Ummar village land, confiscating land from other Beit Ummar families. Back to CSD main page. |
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