International Solidarity Movement July 25, 2012
To the embassies, consulates, and international, Arab, and Islamic representative offices;
To domestic and international humanitarian and human rights organizations;
To all domestic and international media outlets that have visited the steadfast village of Aqaba, and to those that have not visited;
To Israeli humanitarian and human rights organizations;
Al-Salam (Peace) Street remains closed before your eyes and to the residents of Al-Aqaba village since 18 April 2012.
Al-Aqaba is a Palestinian village in the northeastern West Bank, which is being targeted for demolition by the Israeli “Civil” Administration (the IDF agency responsible for controlling the West Bank). Surrounded by two Israeli military bases and a ‘virtual wall’ of checkpoints. Al-Aqaba’s connections to neighboring communities, markets and the Jordan Valley have been gradually severed: since 1967, al-Aqaba’s population has decreased by 85%, dropping from around 2,000 to 300 today. While many al-Aqaba residents no longer live in the village itself, they still hope to return to their land, and still send their children to the local school. The village is located in Area (C) of the West Bank on the edge of the Jordan Valley, the village is under complete Israeli military control and civil jurisdiction.
The people of Al-Aqaba village call upon you to intervene to open Al-Salam Street, which was destroyed and then closed by the Israeli military on 18 April 2012. Israel knows that the people of this small village call for peace despite the injuries and the harassment inflicted upon them and despite the fact that they are deprived of vital services, particularly drinking water; they are denied the right to build; are isolated and blockaded; and they are frequently served with demolition orders for their homes, their roads, their agricultural land, and the entrances to their village.
We place this sacred trust in each and every one of your hands, without exception, to immediately intervene to open Al-Salam Street in Al-Aqaba, in order to help the isolated residents, particularly the farmers, the students, and the sick.
We reiterate our call for a resolution to the problem of Al-Salam Street.
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