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Israeli troops destroy property in Nazlat 'Iza

UPDATE 1
Israeli troops accompanied by 10 huge bulldozers, 12 military jeeps and three armoured personnel carriers this morning entered the Palestinian town of Nazlat 'Iza in the northern West Bank and demolished 63 shops.

Two days ago, on the 19th of January, the villagers were informed of the Israeli plan to destroy the structures. The army gave the inhabitants 24 hours notice.

Despite such short notice, Ziyad Salam, the head of the local council, told the Palestine Monitor how, on the morning of the 20th, the inhabitants of the village, "evacuated the buildings and got ready to watch the army destroy the first building. However, with approximately 20 foreign delegates, and with a large press presence, the citizens of the village came out and defended the structures."

He went on to say, "My guess is that the army did not come to destroy the buildings because everyone would see what they were doing and this is the last thing they want. But we know it is inevitable."

And this came true this morning - when about 500 local residents tried once more to defend their property from being attacked and demolished. Accompanied by 20 foreigners, they protested in front of the tanks and other military vehicles. Israeli troops prevented them from approaching the area, and many of the demonstrators sought medical treatment after inhaling tear gas fired by the troops to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the shops.

The properties in Nazlat 'Iza have been destroyed as they are on land that Israel is annexing in the construction of the wall (more is available on this topic in the Special Section on the Palestine Monitor's website).

According to Mr. Salam, this is the "latest in a series of Israel measures against the villagers, who have for the past two years been prevented from working in Israel, then due to the draconian closures were prevented from reaching their agricultural land, and now the last means to eke out an existence have also been destroyed."

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi said, "This latest move comes as no surprise. All these actions are parts of a plan to remove Palestinians from areas in the West Bank and Gaza. Basically we are talking about the beginning of a larger plan of ethnic cleansing."

For more information contact The Palestine Monitor +972 (0)2 298 5372 or +972 (0)59 254 218 http://www.palestinemonitor.org

UPDATE 2

Curfew and closure cripple West Bank residents 21 January 2003

A curfew was imposed on Ramallah today, extending the Israeli-imposed system of closure and curfew currently in place in the West Bank.

"Although the world is more likely to pay attention to a curfew imposed on Ramallah due to its proximity to the major media centre of Jerusalem, we must remember that Palestinian civilians across the West Bank have been suffering from closure and curfew for a protracted period of time," said Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, President of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees.

Some areas of the West Bank have been under curfew for what amounts to 214 days since June 2001; depriving residents of the right to freely move about on their streets, visit family and friends, attend school or obtain medical care.

"Palestinian civilians have been under virtual house arrest on and off for months on end in a policy of collective punishment seemingly designed to increase despair amongst the Palestinian population," said Barghouthi. "Despite these Israeli violations of human rights, the Palestinian people continue to hope that the international community will come to their aid by insisting that Israel cease its violations of international law - now being committed on an hourly basis."

A curfew has been in force in Nablus and surrounding villages since 19 January - prior to this, curfews were randomly imposed on a day-by-day basis, including in villages such as Beit Dajan (east of Nablus), and Burqa and An Naqura (both north of Nablus).

Tulkarem is suffering from its second day of curfew, after months of on and off curfews, like Nablus.

In Hebron, Israel imposed a city-wide curfew on 19 January, although the Old City of Hebron has been under curfew since 15 November. Bethlehem and its surrounding villages has been under a strict curfew since the beginning of the year; the curfew was only lifted yesterday and today for short periods of time.

In Jenin and Qalqilyia, although there is currently no curfew, movement by residents is severely circumscribed by a system of barriers and checkpoints.

For more information contact: The Palestine Monitor +972 (0)2 298 5372 or +972 (0)59 254 218 http://www.palestinemonitor.org