Israeli occupation displaces people of Ein Samiya in the West Bank
More than 200 Palestinians were forcibly displaced by the Israeli occupation from their homes in the village of Ein Samiya, east of Ramallah, in the West Bank. The escalation of settlers’ terrorist activities and the repeated demolition of their homes forced them to leave the village, which is rich in antiquities and water, and is famous for cultivating grains, thyme and citrus. The activities practiced in this village are similar to the tragedy of the Palestinian Nakba, amidst the silence of the international community that has continued for 75 years regarding the crimes of ethnic cleansing committed by the occupation against the Palestinians.
The National Bureau for Land Defense and Settlement Resistance made it clear that the displacement of the people of Ein Samiya is part of a huge settlement plan, which aimed to displace the people of more than 250 Palestinian villages and towns in the West Bank, especially those located in what is known as the East Jerusalem Gate.
The office pointed out that the Israeli occupation authorities have pursued against these towns a policy of depriving them of basic services such as water, electricity, the right to building, housing, health, education, and others, with the intention of emptying them of the Palestinian presence and establishing a new settlement reality based on the gradual annexation of the West Bank.
Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh affirmed that the occupation authorities’ displacement of the people of Ein Samiya is a crime of ethnic cleansing that falls within a systematic policy to expand the settlements built on the lands of the village, and the rest of the Palestinian villages and towns that suffer from the terrorism of the occupation forces and settlers. He called on the international community to stop the displacement plans that cover 250 villages and towns along the eastern slopes of the West Bank.
In a statement to SANA , Head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Moayad Shaaban, noted that the occupation is waging a fierce war against Palestinian villages and towns, especially those located in the strategic areas of Ramallah, the Jordan Valley, Jericho, Nablus, Salfit, and Masafer Yatta in Hebron, with the aim of besieging Palestinian cities and separating them from each other with settlements and roads. He pointed out that the occupation carried out the crime of forced displacement in the village of Ein Samiya in front of the world, which is watching without taking any action to stop the occupation.
Shaaban pointed out that the displacement of the village of Ein Samiya, which is one of the richest villages with springs of fresh water and wealth, is a full-fledged war crime, as it was preceded by brutal attacks by settlers against the people. He indicated that the occupation aims to besiege the Palestinian presence east of the city of Ramallah, and cut off the geographical contiguity between the Palestinian cities.
Shaaban warned that the people of al-Mughayyir village in Ramallah also face the threat of forced displacement, as the occupation forces have imposed a suffocating siege on the village for three weeks, preventing Palestinians from entering or leaving it.
For his part, Head of the Popular Committee Against Settlement and the Wall, Salah al-Khawaja, confirmed that the displacement of the people of the village of Ein Samiya is part of a systematic plan for the occupation based on the policy of besieging the largest number of Palestinians in the smallest area of land in exchange for intensifying settlement and Judaization operations, with the aim of annexing 61 percent of the area of the West Bank and increasing the number of settlers. The current year has recorded a significant increase in the demolitions of Palestinian homes and facilities because the occupation is racing against time to implement the annexation plans gradually, while the international community is just condemning the annexation, demolitions and displacement without practical measures that oblige the occupation to stop them.
Al-Khawaja expressed the Palestinian people’s steadfastness on their land and their adherence to it in order to thwart the occupation plans based on emptying the areas near the settlements of the Palestinian presence, to expand them continuously, especially in the Jordan Valley, Salfit, Nablus, and the south of Hebron.
Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Mustafa Al-Barghouti, indicated that what happened in the village of Ein Samiya, and is currently happening in the village of Al-Mughair in Ramallah, is a war crime and ethnic cleansing. He confirmed that the crimes of the occupation would not have occurred without the silence of the international community that stands by and watches them without taking any action. But at the same time, the Palestinian people will continue to resist and defend their land and rights, regardless of the sacrifices.
Inas Abdulkareem