Dear Friends,

For 47 years, Palestinians in the West Bank have lived without liberty, under ongoing occupation. The impact of the human rights violations involved in this reality on the daily lives of Palestinians often goes unnoticed, with coverage focusing on cases of killing or substantial demolition.

It is the gradual, creeping impact of the occupation that we present in our new report on the village of Burqah: B’Tselem’s first comprehensive attempt to examine the occupation’s effect on the development of a single Palestinian village.

Accordingly, the report examines aspects of routine daily life in the village: residents’ restricted freedom of movement ever since the military closed off the roads to the village, essentially isolating it and cutting residents off from the city of Ramallah, the nearby major urban center; the grim economic situation in the village, due in part to diminished farming – the traditional mainstay of most village families – after many village lands were taken over for the establishment of Israeli settlements; and a housing shortage caused by the Civil Administration policy not to issue building permits to Palestinians.

Burqah is a case in point, illustrating the reality suffered in many villages in the West Bank, under an occupation that is rapidly approaching its fiftieth year.

Sincerely, 

Naama Baumgarten-Sharon

Author of the report

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