Israeli Bulldozers Prepare for Military Take-Over of a Palestinian Family Recreation Park in Beit Sahour, East Jerusalem

Israel bulldozes area around Beit Sahour family park

Published yesterday (updated) 10/02/2010 18:25

Bethlehem – Ma'an –

Israeli bulldozers prepared for the military take-over of a family recreation park in the town of Beit Sahour on Wednesday afternoon, preventing local journalists from accessing the area.

The park compound, in the map pictured, was a Jordanian army base taken over by Israel during the 1967 war and abandoned in 2006. Grants from governments including the United States helped turn the area into a family picnic area including a modest climbing wall and playground for local residents.

In recent years Israeli settler groups had threatened to take over the space, and Israeli media outlets reported in January that the military intended to re-occupy the area.

Following the announcement, Beit Sahour residents - who own the land on and around which the Jordanian base was built - pledged to work the land and re-establish their presence there. Formerly adjacent to an Israeli military base, the land had fallen into disuse and was often declared a closed zone.

On lookers said a number of Israeli soldiers were patrolling the park area in the afternoon, while a military bulldozer cleared land. Residents and journalists were all told they could not approach the land, as it was a closed military zone.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was investigating the reports.

Beit Sahour Residents Protest Work Carried Out at Osh Grab

Wednesday February 10, 2010 18:16 by Circare Parrhesia - IMEMC News

Members of the town of Beit Sahour, along with members of the international community, protested at the site of former military base Osh Grab, on Wednesday, against work carried out at the site by the State of Israel. Israel claims that it wishes to build a new watchtower on the site.

The workers, accompanied by the Israeli military arrived at the site at 3:30 p.m. with two armored bulldozers and began excavating the site. Members of the local community came to the site at 5 p.m. to demonstrate, but were informed by the military that the base had been declared a closed military zone.

The document supporting this decision was written in Hebrew, only, and could not be confirmed by the locals in attendance.

At approximately 6 p.m. the military declared that work had been finished for the day, and both parties dispersed.

The residents of Beit Sahour are concerned that the military out post is an excuse and that construction of a new settlement block will begin. The settlers have been calling for the construction of a new settlement, to be named Shdema, since 2008 and have been holding rallies, including the those to cultivate the land, as a symbol of their desire to occupy the area.

In 2006, the Israeli military abandoned the base that was already established on the site. The municipality of Beit Sahour assumed control of the land and renovated the area, creating a public park.

Speaking to IMEMC, Dr. Mazin Qumsia, a resident of Beit Sahour, stated,

“They claim that it’s about a watchtower that they want to construct, but the map of the watchtower is a different map to this area; it has nothing to do with this bulldozing. My fear is that they are either going to get back the military base completely, or that they are going to have a settlement.”