Residents of the village of Jisr az-Zarqa, south of Haifa, are facing a new threat to the remaining privately owned Arab Palestinian lands in the Al-Mawaris neighborhood, as plans have been proposed to allocate parts of the area for nature protection purposes. This has raised concerns over possible land confiscation in a village already suffering from overcrowding and a shortage of land available for construction.

Jisr az-Zarqa is located on the Mediterranean coast, approximately 30 kilometers from the city of Haifa.

The local council, the Popular Committee, and residents of the village submitted objections to the Israeli plan, which would allocate parts of their lands for the benefit of nature authorities and related organizations.

Sheikh Murad Ammash, head of the Jisr az-Zarqa Local Council, explained that the plan concerns the last remaining lands located along the coast of the Zarqa River, extending from the northwest of Jisr az-Zarqa toward the southwest. These lands are privately owned by the residents of the village and are known as “Al-Mawaris.” They are agricultural lands that have historically been used for farming and are not currently suitable for construction.

Ammash said that the local council had been negotiating for four years to change the classification of these lands from agricultural areas into residential areas in order to address the village’s housing shortage.

He added that the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority requested an expansion of the protected area around the valley. According to Ammash, the local council agreed on the condition that the construction area in the plan would be expanded while reducing the area allocated to the Nature and Parks Authority.

Sami Alali, head of the Popular Committee, said that the Mawaris lands are historic agricultural lands on which dozens of families depended for their livelihoods. He explained that the residents and the local council had been demanding for years that these lands be converted into residential areas. However, they were surprised by the rapid submission of the current plan and discovered that the proposed confiscation for public purposes was extensive.

Alali added that the current version of the plan allows the authorities to take control of privately owned lands belonging to the residents of Jisr az-Zarqa, describing them as the last remaining lands owned by the village residents and stating that no private land reserves remain for future development.

He explained that, under the pretext of environmental protection, authorities are seeking to establish a buffer zone between the bypass road near the neighborhood and the Zarqa River. From the eastern side, the neighborhood is bordered by an ancient water canal that once supplied water to Caesarea. According to Alali, the Israeli authorities and environmental bodies are seeking a large-scale appropriation of land for public purposes at the expense of the residents.

He stated that a significant portion of the confiscated area would serve the wider population in Israel rather than only the residents of Jisr az-Zarqa, noting that the planned appropriation exceeds 50% of the area, with part of it allocated for the bypass road.

Alali concluded that in a densely populated village facing restrictions and lacking sufficient construction land, it would be more logical for the area designated for housing to be larger than the area allocated for public projects and Israeli nature reserves.

He also noted that more than two decades ago, parts of the Mawaris lands had already been taken for the benefit of the nature reserve and the Zarqa River area, and that the current plan seeks a much larger appropriation exceeding the commonly accepted maximum percentage of 40% of land allocated for public purposes.

The Mawaris lands are historically Palestinian-owned lands belonging to the residents of Jisr az-Zarqa. The community relied on cultivating these lands for generations. To the east of the planned area lies an ancient Roman-era water canal.

Source: Al-Araby Al-Jadeed