Israel’s control over Jordan Valley

1. Israel’s control over Jordan Valley Jordan Valley represents 30% the area of the west bank and is located along the eastern border with Jordan Valley and extends from the green line in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. In Jordan Valley there are abundant lands and water resources, including third underground water reserves in the West Bank, and the people chiefly work as agriculture and grazing that depends on the resources of land and water in order to earn a living. *It is the second most popular tourist attraction in the region with many historical and cultural sites . *The Jordan valley area is considered one of the richest natural water sources in the west bank it contains aboveground water from the Jordan River Basin, flood waters ,and water flowing into the Jordan river from west bank one of the areas most affected by such restrictions is Area C of the West Bank. Ninety-five percent of the Jordan Valley is classified as Area C.

2. Policies and benefits for Israel settlers and Palestinians. • The settlers have 75% discount on drinking water ,electricity, utility, communication and transport. • Several Palestinian communities still have no connection to electricity utility. • The settlers have Free education, health care, irrigation water, and housing. • The palestinian Communities located in area C have no schools or health centers because Israel reuses to issue building permits.

3. Every settler is offered a free house. • Building is allowed only in Jericho and 5 other locations; any building outside these areas is destroyed. • Every family is offered 70 dumdums of land as soon as it settles in the Jordan valley . • Land around the settlements or military bases is confiscated for “security” purposes. • the military can offer land under it’s control to a settlement but can never return it to its Palestinian owner under Israeli law.

4. Settlers can get their produce to the local markets within a few hours and can export to any country through Israeli export companies • Palestinian farmer cannot export their produce freely, nor can they reach the local market easily: it take them several days . • Palestinian are not allowed to build packing house in their fields. • Any amount of drinking water or irrigation water is available for settlers at any time. • Palestinians have never been allowed to dig or build agriculture wells after 1967 ,and they are not allowed to build reservoirs or recondition their buildings.

5. Palestinians cannot build homes or other infrastructure in Area C without first obtaining permits from the Israeli Civil Administration, but these permits are rarely issued. According to the UN, between January 2000 and September 2007, over 94 % of applications for building permits in Area C submitted by Palestinians to Israeli authorities were denied.

6. The plans that Israel prepared for Palestinian communities was much more limited than the plans for settlements in the area. • Ex: The plan of “Al Jiftlik” a village in which 5176 Palestinians lived in 2009,contains only 590dunms,in compression ,the plan approved in 2008maskiyot settlement in which an estimated 200settlers lived, covered 6990 dunms. • Ex 2 :Al Malih Before 2000 the village counted more than 300 households, Just four years later and the numbers were 135 households with around 1000 persons living permanently living in Al-Malih.

7. Today, settlements control up 50% of the Jordan Valley land area and closed military zones and nature reserves take up an additional 44%, leaving only 6% of the land for the Palestinian population. .More than 90% of the Jordan Valley is designated as Area C1 where Israel maintains full military and civil Control The Israeli Civil Administration has authority over building and planning and issues permits for construction in accordance with master zoning and planning schemes.

8. In area C there are 36 settlement • Area C and due to Israel’s policies for Palestinian living in these areas ,living conditions are dire. This is especially the case for Jordan valley Bedouins who live in the third world conditions are dire. Their need to graze cattle and sheep has meant they have historically lived a life away from urban and built up areas. as area c communities are denied for population expansion and most of their water resources and arable land have been confiscated by the Israel occupation force .the Bedouin who live on the land and for whom freedom of movement is integral to their way of life and existence, face severe consequences .the current pattern is one of displacing Bedouin out of their rural predominantly area c lands and forcing them to resettle in sedentary communities.

9. Control of water sources . • Palestinian are only permitted to use 40 %of the water in Basin • Since Israel occupied the Palestinian territories in 1967 it has monopolized, destroyed and exhausted the area’s water resources. Over last four decades Israel had isolated 162 agriculture wells in Jordan valley prohibiting Palestinians from using them • An example of these measure us what recently took place at “al-Auja” spring which was the strongest spring in the area but now the spring has become dry. • Israel controls where wells can be placed how deep they can run and how much water can be pumped from them , Palestinian are left to use dirty water from unconditioned neglected water sources because often times untreated settlement water seeps into Palestinian artesian wells and springs .

10. Conclusion • Israel has created a regime in the Jordan valley and northern Dead sea that denies Palestinian their rights .Israel has closed more than three-quarter of the land .Israel has restricted Palestinian access to water sources and also restricted Palestinian movement and prevents Palestinian from building and developing their communities .it also control of the tourist sites and enables private enterprises to exploit and profit from the minerals in the area .