Aqabah
Aqabah (, and also called Al Aqabah, Aqaba, or 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) as the majority of structures were alleged to have been built without permits from the Israeli military administration. 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 less than 200 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. 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 Israeli Civil Administration has so far issued 39 Demolition Orders against the houses and structures of the village, including the medical center, an internationally funded kindergarten, the houses, and the village mosque. A petition to the Israeli Supreme Court asking the court to cancel the demolition orders on the basis of an existing land-use plan was rejected on April 17, 2008. The villagers, led by Mayor Haj Sami Sadeq, have initiated a local and international campaign, in cooperation with several Israeli and American human rights organizations, to save the village. The campaign has included taking Israelis and foreign diplomats to visit Aqabah, lobbying the Quartet and asking for its intervention, and conducting a US speaking tour with the participation of Mayor Sadeq and prominent Israeli architect Shmuel Groag. The goal of the campaign is to encourage the Israeli authorities to authorize the land-use plans and allow the village to stand. History Byzantine period Aqabah is mentioned in the 6th-7th century Mosaic of Reḥob inscription under the name ’Iqabin (איקבין), being a place inhabited mostly by non-Jews and, therefore, agricultural produce obtained from the area could be taken by Jews without the normal restrictions imposed during the Sabbatical years, or the need for tithing. Israeli occupation (1967- ) After the 1967 Six-Day War, for 36 years, Aqabah was the site of an Israeli military camp, and the area was declared as closed military zone, with only 4 pre-1967 stone houses regarded by the occupying power as 'legal'. Another 70 houses built since without Israeli permits, which cannot be obtained in areas defined as military zones, are up for demolition. The IDF conducted live training exercises inside the village, causing the death of 8 villagers and wounding more than 50 residents. Haj Sami Sadeq, Mayor of Aqabah, is one of the victims of those live training exercises, paralyzed for life after being shot by three bullets while working in his fields as a 16 year old. In addition, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Israeli military also expropriated large areas