CPTnet
26 December 2007
AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: Clearing the land

by Jan Benvie

The landscapes of the Southern Hebron Hills remind me of my own Scottish
Highlands. They both share the same poignant, barren beauty. Here the
ragged, rocky hillsides are more sparsely covered, but the sad ruins of
forsaken homes and villages litter both landscapes

The Scottish ruins date from a period of history (over 200 years ago) known
as the "Highland Clearances." In the civil wars of 1715 and 1745, the
Highlanders supported the defeated Jacobites (those who wanted James Stewart
as King) and the victorious government wanted to get rid of these rebellious
citizens. Some land was sold in shady deals, some taken by the government
and given to their supporters. Few Highlanders had legal papers proving
land ownership, so the victors stole the land "legally." The new owners
forcibly evicted between 150 and 250 thousand people. Many Highlanders,
deprived of their homes and livelihoods, lived and died in broken-hearted
poverty in far away towns and foreign lands.

The "Palestinian Clearances," here in the West Bank, began when Israel
occupied the land during the 1967 war. Many Palestinians, like the Scottish
Highlanders, have no papers proving land ownership. Some ownership papers
are in the name of great-great grandfathers, and the Israeli courts do not
accept their legality. The Israeli government has simply taken Palestinian
land for Israeli settlements and roads. As in the Highlands, the victors
have used pseudo-legal means to steal land. An ancient law from the period
of Ottoman rule (1516-1918), allows the state to claim ownership of land
that is uncultivated for three years or more. Israel uses military and other
means, including the separation barrier, to block Palestinians from their
land. The land then "legally" becomes state land; Israeli settlers build
new housing and harass neighbouring Palestinians, forcing more to leave.
Settler violence forced villagers from nearby Saroura, Humra and Khoruba
(the ruins I pass every day) to abandon their homes in 1997.

Israeli governments also use the guise of security to evict Palestinians
from their land. Many Israeli settlements, illegal under international law,
began as trailers/caravans in military bases. The Israeli government has
declared most of the Jordan valley (Palestinian land west of the River
Jordan) a closed military area, evicting the Palestinian residents. In the
1970s, the Israeli military requested an area from south of At-Tuwani to the
Green Line (the armistice line of 1949) as a military firing zone. Soldiers
evicted villagers and demolished homes. Although the Israeli Supreme Court
issued a temporary ruling that the families could return, but those who
returned live in constant fear of eviction.

The Highland Clearances are a historical fact. Attempts at land reform in
the Highlands have returned some land to the few remaining communities, but
such reforms cannot undo the pain and suffering inflicted 200 years ago.
The Palestinian clearances are current and ongoing. We can, and must, work
to undo the injustice happening in Palestine now.

For photos of ruined homes & villages in the Southern Hebron Hills go to:
http://tinyurl.com/2cmrmo