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Gallery|Occupied West Bank

Palestinian Bedouin fight for their survival

If Abu Nuwwar is demolished, it is expected to pave the way for the full implementation of Israel’s E1 development plan.

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The majority of the Palestinian Bedouin are refugees who were forcibly displaced from their lands in the Negev in 1951. Some crossed the Green Line and stayed in the South Hebron Hills region of the southern West Bank, while the majority resettled in the 'Jerusalem periphery', which is today included within the E1 plan. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
By Rich Wiles
Published On 15 Jun 2015

Abu Nuwwar village, occupied West Bank – The small Palestinian Bedouin village of Abu Nuwwar is facing a race against time for its very survival. Villagers were initially given a May 31 deadline to agree to Israeli plans to relocate them to a new planned township alongside a large Jerusalem dump, or to face demolition of their houses. An injunction is now being heard in the Israeli Supreme Court. 

The case of Abu Nuwwar is being seen as a landmark in Israel’s E1 development plan inside the West Bank. The E1 plan is intended to create Israeli territorial contiguity between Jerusalem, Maale Adumim and other Jewish settlements inside the West Bank, thus isolating Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

If the state wins the case and Abu Nuwwar is demolished, it is expected to pave the way for the subsequent full implementation of the E1 plan, which will include the demolition of many Palestinian villages and the forcible transfer of thousands of Bedouin.

The political significance of Abu Nuwwar/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED
The Israeli E1 plan intends to displace the Bedouin once more and force them into three planned townships, which are already being developed. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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The political significance of Abu Nuwwar/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED
Israel's settlement construction inside the West Bank and East Jerusalem is in contravention of international law. The E1 plan has faced widespread criticism from the international community, including the US government, although no tangible political action has been taken to prevent it. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
The political significance of Abu Nuwwar/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED
Abu Nuwwar's 700 residents are among more than 10,000 Palestinian Bedouin who will be forcibly displaced if Israel's E1 project is fully implemented. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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Abu Emad, a community spokesperson in Abu Nuwwar, sees the E1 plan as a continuation of Israeli colonisation policies that have been under way since the late 1940s: 'They want to take as much of our land as possible [and leave] as few of us as possible. This isn't new. This is what has been happening to all Palestinians since the Nakba.' [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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An injunction against the demolition of Abu Nuwwar is pending in the Israeli Supreme Court. If the state wins the case, Palestinians believe a legal precedent will be set, causing a 'snowball effect' that will allow the full implementation of Israel's E1 project. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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In a 2014 press statement, UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl stated that the E1 plan would 'give rise to concerns that it amounts to a 'forcible transfer' in contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention'. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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In 1997, several Bedouin communities were displaced to a new site alongside the West Bank's largest landfill. This site, known as al-Jabal, is already being extended as one of the new 'relocation' sites, and is the proposed site for Abu Nuwwar's Bedouin. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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As 'unrecognised villages' in Area C of the West Bank - which remains under full Israeli civil and military control - Bedouin communities in the Jerusalem periphery are denied connection to mainstream power supplies by Israel, despite the huge electricity pylons that tower over them. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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Alongside the highway heading east, the Khan al-Ahmar communities have faced repeated demolitions for many years. The E1 plan will displace these communities to a new site in Nuweima alongside Jericho. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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Abu Hamis is a spokesperson for the Khan al-Ahmar Madrasa community. When asked what he would do if the displacement was implemented, he told Al Al Jazeera: 'Why doesn't anyone ask the settlers of Maale Adumim where they will go? They are the ones living here illegally.' [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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Khan al-Ahmar's Bedouin are members of the Jahalin tribe. Other members of the tribe live in Susiya in the South Hebron Hills. In early May, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected an interim order request to freeze demolition orders in Susiya, and as in the case of villages inside E1, Susiya is now also facing immediate demolition. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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Abu Raid is the muhktar of the 'Mihtawish' community in Khan al-Ahmar. He told Al Jazeera that 'until the Bedouin are given the right of return to their original lands in the Negev, [they will only] discuss plans for the development of Khan al-Ahmar' but refuse all 'relocation' and displacement projects, including E1. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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With grazing access almost non-existent for Bedouin in the West Bank today due to Israeli movement restrictions, Bedouin are now forced to buy most of their animal feed, as well as water. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]
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The vast majority of all Bedouin in the West Bank are themselves already UNRWA-registered refugees. Since their original forced displacement in 1951, many of them have been displaced repeatedly in an ongoing process. The E1 plan is among its latest phases. [Rich Wiles/Al Jazeera]