Expulsion, Little by Little (Amira Hass) [View All]

Expulsion, little by little

By Amira Hass



The fears and suspicions, as usual, came true - and
very quickly. Hiding behind security rationales
and the seemingly neutral bureaucratic language of
military orders is the gateway for expulsion. Not
massive expulsion, heaven forbid, not on trucks,
and not far. Drop by drop, unseen, not so many
that it would be noticed internationally and shock
public opinion; with the proper measure so the
Israelis can continue saying it's justified for
security reasons, with the appropriate modesty in
the media so the information doesn't reach the
consciousness of even those who are dealing with
the details of a permanent agreement, with their
love of peace, while a wave of anti-Semitism
sweeps the world.




A little more than a week has
gone by since the
Palestinians whose villages
are trapped between the
separation fence and the
State of Israel received new
instructions from the army
and the Civil Administration
for "arranging" their
presence on their own land.

Civil Administration officers hurried to tell
the residents that the permits were ready:
permits for "permanent residents," according to
a new category of Palestinians, invented by the
legal minds in the army for the areas the army
declared a closed military zone (though only
for Palestinians. It's open to Israelis and
Jews). The permits will enable the "permanent
residents" to move "out of the area" and back
to it. The Israel Defense Forces says it wants
those residents who live "next to the fence" to
maintain "as normal a fabric of life as
possible."

The village of Jabara, south of Tul Karm, is
trapped between the Green Line and the fence,
which has been adjusted eastward to include the
expanding settlement of Salit. Out of the 200
adults in the village, six found out they don't
have permits. One served a sentence in an
Israeli jail; another has a different address
on his ID card. The village of Ras a Tira is
trapped in a "salient" created when the fence
was drawn to include the frequently expanding
settlement of Alfei Menashe. Some 60 out of the
few hundreds residents of the village have
found out they don't have permits. Those who
want "to maintain the fabric of normal life,"
therefore, must decide between giving up their
work in a neighboring city, visiting their
family in the village on the other side of the
fence, etc., or leaving home and land.

More: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/352371.html