Not so long ago, our fathers used to measure their lands by their large steps or by long rope, but now a days the scale of our measure is the centimeter - said one farmer in the village.

These words summarizes the present situation in al-Shyoukh village (6 km eastern north of Hebron), and show the details of the hard life with Israeli settlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In al-Shyoukh village (6 thousand person) people live in there prison in a unique way, after several confiscation campaigns to a large areas of lands - the size of lands of this village is 22,091 dunums according to the lands registration department in 1945.

Nobody (if wish to visit this village) can distinguish between al-Shyoukh village and Sei'r village nearby, which is larger and with more population capacity, only a narrow path through the buildings in this village makes the border between the two villages. Al- Shyoukh seems like a part of Sei'r.

It's a very hard and long history of building a new home in this village because of Israeli conditions on construction. People remember the hard details of this story by demolishing of buildings, and as usual the reason was construction without license, or was not in the suitable area....etc.

According to al-Shyoukh residents, especially the owners of the confiscated lands and the demolished houses, people were forced to construct new houses over their old ones because after confiscating these large areas of lands, there were no remaining areas to build on neither in the south nor in the east. Also, from the north it is very difficult to build because of the intensive houses on the valley and the mountains up.

In the residents memory about land confiscations story, a calendar is organized for the special occasions, that are connected to the land confiscation, but when it comes to specific dates or measurements, you can't get an exact number.

In the collective memory of the people in this village, the confiscation campaigns organized according to the place, which is a very attached place to all farmers, it is a relation of love between lands and farmers.

The Beginning of settlement

A settlement called Asfer

In 1978, as the residents in al-Shyoukh village say, the Israeli authority confiscated hundreds of dunums from al-Za'afaranah village for military purposes; a year later Israeli army gave up this land to settlers, who changed this place to Asfer settlement.

Only a small valley (2 km) separate between these settlement and al-Shyoukh village. A young man from al-Za'faranah said that Asfar settlement was constructed on 200 dunums, as a small number of houses, but later they confiscated many pieces of lands near the settlement to occupy more that 400 dunums.

Abed Ahamad Hassan, Muslem Badawe Muslem, Ismail abu Ead al-Aua'ida, and Abd al-Kareem Mashni inheritors are some of the owners of lands on which Asfer was created on.

Asfer settlers are trying to confiscate more lands and adjoin them to their settlement. For example, they prohibited Abd al-Kader abu Shanab and his family from picking up and gathering fruits from trees, that are growing up on their own land, and arrested them in the military order center in Bethlehem where they gave them the confiscation order. Later the settlers took another 100 dunums from al-Warasnah family.

Land owners from abu Shanab and al-Warasnah family claimed several times to the Israeli Civil Administration, but no answer was given to them, so they have been forces to turn to the Israeli courts where they still looking in the case.

Asfer settlement forms a beginning of a settlement epoch, which will swallow more and more lands from the village lands.

Kinan al-Nayas

Industrial area for settlers

In May 1981, settlers and surveyors put borders around 400 dunums of land from Kinan al-Nayas, which belongs to abu Harb Ya'coub al-Awaidat, and abu Abid families. People in al-Shuyoukh village remember a battle between them and the settlers who have been forced to leave the area.

Owners of these lands who follow this case "Kinan al-Nayas from the beginning, mentioned that they have been told that this area is very important and necessary to many Israeli settlements as (Kiriat Arba', Kiriat Khamseh and Asfer).

The distance between kiriat Arba' (at the eastern part of Hebron) and Kinan al-Nayas is about 4 km.

After informing the land owners about their lands confiscations for the construction of the industrial area, which belongs to the Israeli settlements, village residents tried to prevent such a project; Israeli soldiers shot them.

During twelve years, the industrial area became larger and larger, and so the fathers; and grandfathers' land became a prohibited area for the sons.

Askar - A closed military area

Among all the large number of cases, which are still in the memory of al-Shyoukh residents, they recall the largest confiscation campaign by Israeli authorities, which included (1000 dunums) belong to 15 families. This last thousand dunums of land, lays on Khalet Askar, Kinan al-Hardon, Khalet al-Rajm and Bir al-Daliah. No real reason has been given by the Israeli authority about this confiscation, but some answers like closed area or state land or closed military area....etc.

A citizen from al-Aiaidah family, who owns many dunums in this closed area say: in 1989 the Israeli bulldozers rooted up all their olive trees from four dunums in Khalet Askar.

In 1991, said the man, they pulled out olive trees and grapes in the same place, but at this time they took these plants to the Asfer settlement.

The third time was in 1992, settlers shared Israeli soldiers and Israeli border guards in pulling out hundreds of olive trees and grapes in Khalet al-Rujum (some trees were 12 years old); the result at the battle was the lost of 1500 olive trees. One time said the man the Israeli authority admitted of pulling out just 650 trees, and the reason was that these trees are in a state land.

Residence in al-Shyoukh village mentioned that Israeli authority imposed financial fine on shepherds and confiscated big amount of their sheeps, when found in the closed area. Among these shepherds are Ibrahim al-Aiaidah (45 years old), Ahmad Abdel Jawad Tafish (70 years old), and Jabarah Hamad al-Mashni (65 years old).

Beside these lands, there was another settlement campaign, which included 320 dunums in al-Kuwar village, 15 km far from al-Shyoukh. Al-Rawasna family bought this land in 1928 from Arab al- Rashaidah

Bulldozer Harvesting

includes houses - also!!

Aziz Aiaida recalls until these days, the moments when Israeli army brought bulldozer to demolish his house in June 1992, he said: I asked the Israeli captain to give me a written order about demolishing the house; the captain refused, but said that the demolishing order was according to "security body". Aziz Aiaida was forced to live in his brother's house, in one room with his wife and three children. His house was one of nine houses been built in an area where a street no. 38 should be built to connect several settlements with each other.

Besides Aiaidah's house, Israeli authorities demolished several houses in al Kafan belong to Ahed Hussein Aiaidah (2 rooms), Mohammed Jadallah Halaika (2 rooms), Faiz Ibraheim al-A'weedat, and another 12 houses are threatened to be demolished.

According to the village history, the first demolishing act was in 1968 after one year of Israeli occupation to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel demolished two houses belonged to Abed al-Jabar Tafish and Issa Muhammad al-Samar al-A'weedat, who were killed in a battle called "O'mm Karmul", which is remembered by all the village residence.

In 1989, said one of the demolished houses' owner, Israeli authorities demolished three houses belonged to Zein al-Deen Rabah and his brother Sa'ed and Musa Abd al-Majeed Saleem... in al-Semak area, which is vclose to their village and became a closed area.

The houses of Khader Issa al-Samar and Jabarah Hammad al-Mashni, were also demolished in Khalat Askar, which became a settlements industrial area.

Al-Aiaida's house - before demolishing

Some people, who their houses have been demolished, received new warnings for demolishing their new houses, that have been built after loosing their old houses.

House demolishing in al-Shyoukh village and other areas has been causing many problems to many families, who are forced to live in the same houses with their relatives, and under hard living conditions.

About al-Shyoukh... Confiscation Campaigns

General Information

Al-Shyoukh residents estimated that what have been left from their land is just the third from 22 dunums. This is because of the several land confiscations (Asfar, Kinan al-Naias, Khalet Askar, and Khalet al-Rajm) formed a preventive wall from the east and south the village, and separated the lands that lie in these places, and reach the Dead sea.

* Land confiscation effected the agricultural product very bad, and their is a reduction in the number of sheeps the residents owned in the eighties, 3338 have left now; some shepherds have immigrated to other areas.

* In 1992, the population reached 6200 person, about 300 of them work in marble factories.

* Al-Shyoukh village suffers from the lack of many services such as electricity, telephone cables and water.

The following table shows the number of houses that the Israeli authority has demolished:

 Owner Name            # of persons   # of rooms      area           

Khader al-Awedat       5              2+ kitchen      al-Sammak      

Ahed al-Aiaidah        7              2+ kitchen      al-Kafan       

Azez al-Aiaidah        5              3+ kitchen      al-Kafan       

Faiez Rabah            7              3+ kitchen      al-Kafan       

Mohammad al-Halaiqa    8              2                              

Musa al-Halaiqa                                       al-Sammak      

Zein al-Deen Rabah     12             3+ kitchen      al-Sammak      

Sae'd al-A'wedat       8              3+ kitchen      al-Sammak      

Ali al-Warsna                                                        

Jabara al-Mashni       12             2 story house   Khalet Askar