Figures: Originally, many of the Bedouins of Susya lived in caves.
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Susya
The Bedouin community of Susya has
lived on location for decades, if not a century or more. Initially -
mostly in caves, but later also in huts and tents. The local
micro-agriculture is based on a small olive orchard and wheat,
growing in the lower areas benefiting from the rain water flow .
Otherwise, two wells, not much different than those used thousands of
years ago, water some fruit trees. Traditionally, the Bedouins also
roamed the desert with herds of goats or sheep, but today that
practice has vanished. The men typically work outside the
village.
Part of the land of the Bedouin Susya was taken several
decades ago by the Israeli authorites for the building of an
archaeological park on the site of the Talmudic period Jewish Susya.
In addition, an Israeli settlement, also named Susya, was built
bearby. Therefore, there are three Susyas today standing over less
than 2 miles.
Regardless of the extensive Israeli development in the area, the Bedouin village remains disconnected from the electrical grid and from the water supply system, both of which pass yards away from the village.
A government policy of ethnic cleansing?
The demolition of the Bedouin Susya was scheduled for this past week. However, following a decision by the European Union Foreign Ministers, defining the action "Transfer" - a war crime, the Israeli government backed out. In contrast, the Israeli Supreme Court, as usual, found the action perfectly legal.
The principle is simple: Israeli settlements are granted building permits, and if built illegally on public or even on private lands, are retroactively "legalized". [i] On the other hand, Palestinians in general, and Bedouins in particular, are denied building permits, and therefore, are forced to build illegally, then facing demolition.
In large areas of Palestine, the Israeli occupation forces have never established any zoning or building plans for the Arab towns and villages in the first place, so that no building permits can be granted at all. Rabbis for Human Rights tried to file a building plan for the Bedouin Susya, but it was rejected, on unusual and unreasonable excuses, such as that the residents would be better off in other places, or that the community (about 300) is too small to justify a building plan. Much smaller Jewish settlements are provided with legal building plans. [ii] Rabbis for Human Rights' legal battles on this matter in the Israeli courts all failed. It is the typical charade, where the Israeli courts serve as a fig leaf for the occupation policies, providing them with the color of law.
The Bedouins are particularly targeted, both in Palestine and in Israel. Their tiny, impoverished communities, which are scattered over large desert areas, are perceived as a hurdle in establishing such areas as Jewish. During an official Knesset committee hearing last year, a senior IDF officer described the Bedouin communities as "weeds" that need to be eradicated. [iii]
In a Knesset hearing last week, in response to query regarding the Susya demolition plans, the Deputy Defense Minister claimed that the Bedouin Susya had never existed, and was only part of a leftist scheme. However, as quickly pointed out by Communist MK Dov Hanin, the Bedouin village of Susya was clearly documented in an early 1980s survey and report written by a senior, right-wing Justice Ministry official, Pli'a Albek, who was considered one of the key proponents of Jewish settlements in Palestine. [iv]
Rapidly changing international scene of the Eurasian Century
The backtracking this week by the Israeli government regarding the demolition of Susya is a notable event, and part of rapidly evolving new international circumstances, relative to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Earlier this week, the EU officially expressed "extreme concern" over the Israeli plans to demolish Susya. [v] And earlier this month, 28 EU member states with Jerusalem consulates sent representatives to the village. [vi]
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