Last update - 00:00 14/11/2007
Residents of unrecognized Wadi Ara village repave razed road
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
The residents of the unrecognized village of Dar al-Hanun in Wadi Ara on Wednesday started to repave the access road to the village after local authorities had it demolished overnight.
"Our course of action is to repave the road," Mustafa Abu Hilal, a neighborhood resident, told Haaretz.
Hundreds of police officers stood guard as Interior Ministry employees, backed by bulldozers, carried out the demolition at approximately 4 A.M. Wednesday morning. The road was ordered destroyed because the area is deemed agricultural, not residential.
The narrow strip of asphalt was paved several years ago by residents and activists from the peace organization Ta'ayush. The demolition was ordered by the Haifa Magistrate's Court last May.
One of the homes of the Abu Hilal family, who built their houses in the neighborhood more than 80 years ago, is also slated for demolition.
Tension has been markedly high in Wadi Ara communities, as demolition orders are on the increase. A welding workshop in Arara built in the 1960s was demolished recently while its owner was in jail ? for the fourth time ? for his refusal to demolish it himself.
The village was founded 80 years ago by the Abu Hilal family on a hill near the Wadi Ara route, on land owned by the family. In 1949, when the land was transferred to Israeli sovereignty, the authorities did not recognize the village, and the residents were asked to move to nearby villages.
Currently, 10 families reside in the neighborhood and refuse to leave.
Related articles: