For who belongs this land?

“We face two kinds of problems; the local people and the occupation.”

“The locals don’t like to see us here; they want us to leave this land. The people in Upper Fasayil resist us the most. The Israeli military officers want to move us to upper Fasayil; they are willing to allocate a little plot of land for each family. But the Mayor refused every offer.”

“Where should we go?”

“Every time we go they follow us. Every time they tell us to leave. We need to move to an area under the control of the Palestinian Authority. We could go and live in upper Fasayil, but the plot of land they have offered us would not be enough. When my son wants to get married, the land will not be enough, I have to think about my children….I said that to the officer and he became very angry. He started to ask questions: ‘From where you bring the water tank and tractor? From where do you bring the electricity? Who support you here? Why are you still here?”

Abu Naher has a question of his own: “Why are you forcing us to move?”

In the last year the family has received four demolitions, every time with a different reason.

“The first time it was archeological, they said it was an archeological site. The second time they said that dates were to be planted here. Then they were to build a zoo for all the animals that was the reason for the third demolition. And the fourth time they said it was land belonging to the settlement.”

“We were offered to get a kindergarten and a health clinic, but nobody wanted to let them build on their land. I said we should make a plan together, but all of the people refused. So finally I said they could use my tent. You see everyone here have taken 2-3 dunams of land for themselves, and they do not care for one another. It is each man for himself. Really if I succeed to stay here it is not just for me, and if I lose, then we will all lose.”

Yesterday Tony Blair was in Al Fasyail and met with the Mayor of upper Fasayil. He did not however met with Abu Naher, despite him being the most renowned case amongst the international organizations working in the area, the one symbolizing the future for the people between upper and lower Fasayil. The land in between upper and lower Fasayil, where Abu Naher is living has been proclaimed state land and the question is what does this mean? Or in the words of Abu Naher:

“for who belongs this land?”

For another perspective, read my colleague Simon Ming's blog.