The Monthly Humanitarian Monitor, July 2011

July Overview

This month, forced displacement continues to be of increasing humanitarian concern, with news of the Israeli Civil Administration’s (ICA) intention to relocate some twenty Bedouin communities, placing over 2,300 people, primarily refugees, at risk. This is of particular concern because the affected communities, which had lived in the area for generations, are being moved to accommodate the expansion of the Ma’ale Adummim bloc of settlements. For the Bedouin communities, this has resulted in recurrent demolitions and ongoing demolition orders on homes, animal shelters and basic infrastructure, including schools. As a result, their natural growth has been hindered and their essential services neglected, as the surrounding settlements develop and expand, with plans for their future incorporation onto the ’Jerusalem’ side of the Barrier. The site proposed for their relocation, Al Ezzariya, already accommodates over 300 Bedouins families who were relocated in the 1990’s to make way for the expansion of Ma’ale Adumim settlement. Under these circumstances,the forced displacement of protected persons is prohibited under International Humanitarian Law. Additionally, it is feared that the planned relocation will further endanger the Bedouin’s way of life, in a manner that is inconsistent with the provisions of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.