The residents of the West Bank village are awaiting whether Israel’s hard-line defense minister gives them a chance not to be uprooted.
Haaretz Editorial Aug 14, 2016
On Sunday Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is due to announce his decision on whether to let the Civil Administration continue negotiating with the residents of the West Bank village of Sussia over their fate. The talks began a year ago after the High Court of Justice received a petition from the Palestinian village favoring the alternatives it had submitted for the master plan at its current location. The Civil Administration proposed uprooting the village and relocating it to a site next to the town of Yatta near Hebron.
The fight, being waged with the assistance of Israeli groups such as Rabbis for Human Rights, Ta’ayush, B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence, aims to head off the village’s destruction and relocation. It has stirred international interest, so one can understand the Civil Administration’s willingness for out-of-court talks.
Over the past year, the parties have met four times. Villagers have mentioned that they moved to their privately-owned agricultural land only in 1986 after the army expelled them from their original ancient village, which was declared an archaeological site. In 1991, the army expelled them again, and they relocated to another part of their land, living in tents and caves. When they returned and were expelled a third time, in 2001, they petitioned the High Court of Justice.
The court permitted their return but didn’t order the authorities to let them build houses or give them access to electricity, water and roads. They therefore have been living in makeshift structures without running water and with a solar-power system that doesn’t meet all their needs. The Civil Administration therefore deems every structure in the village illegal and subject to demolition,
with the group Regavim and the Jewish settlement of Susya eager to have the demolition orders carried out.
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