itp432
01.07.06, 08:08
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O tym w artykule:
Life on the Other Side of Palestine
Crime in the Valley
By NICK DEARDEN
Fragment:
Beyond the barren Judean Mountain range, east from Jerusalem, lies the Jordan Valley, an area which receives almost no media coverage, despite being home to 52,000 Palestinians and accounting for 30% of West Bank territory.
I am taken there by Stop the Wall campaign, in a battered mini bus with Egyptian music blaring out of the radio and the blazing heat burning our skin through the window. As we drop down from the mountains vast plantations of palm trees, citrus fruits and grape vines stretch as far as the eye can see. Every plantation is also surrounded by electrical fencing, barbed wire and "Danger" signs, because these oases of intensive production have been created on stolen land, grown by over-exploitation of water, farmed and owned by illegal settlers.
The lack of international attention means the land grab in the Valley goes unnoticed, for despite being on the Jordanian side of Palestine, Israel has invested large sums of money making this area a permanent part of their state, and a permanent obstacle to the emergence of Palestine.
One million palm trees have been planted here and one million more are planned in the next five years, while the number of Settlers will double in the next two. Israel has poured $58million into making their presence in the Valley viable since 2004, and at that price it is unlikely to have any intention of giving it up any time soon. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert admitted as much in February when he spoke in a TV interview of annexing the Jordan Valley to Israel, cutting any proposed Palestinian state into further enclaves, and preventing it from having direct contacts with its neighbours.
This scale of production has had enormous implications on water supply. All surrounding areas traditionally depend on the Jordan river for water, but the river's resources have been drained by two enormous reservoirs which pull water from across the Valley. As we drive past we notice that one reservoir was donated by the Women's Zionist Organisation of America, an organisation which faces no threat of sanctions despite funding projects which clearly violate international law. For the Palestinians meanwhile, stealing this water carries a hefty fine.
www.counterpunch.org/dearden06302006.html
