By Mohammad Mohsen Watad – Jisr az-Zarqa

Israeli authorities are deliberately seeking to suffocate the coastal village of Jisr az-Zarqa and isolate it from its Palestinian surroundings. The reality of the village tells the story of Palestine’s history, the cycle of displacement and exile, scenes of the Nakba, and the essence of the conflict with Israel.

The challenges and dangers facing the village reflect the wider Palestinian struggle against settlement expansion, Judaization, siege, and restrictions, amid attempts to erase its presence.

Jisr az-Zarqa, located in the Carmel region south of Haifa, lacks the most basic necessities of life due to policies of neglect, marginalization, and discrimination adopted by Israel, placing it at the bottom of the social and economic ladder.

This reality has pushed hundreds of young couples to leave the village voluntarily due to the lack of available land for construction and harsh living conditions. The majority of residents live under the threat of poverty, with limited employment opportunities and unemployment exceeding 40%. Around 60% of young people in village families are caught in cycles of school dropout and delinquency, leaving them vulnerable to crime.

The presence of Caesarea, home to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and political, economic, and security figures, has reinforced what residents describe as a policy of discrimination, including the construction of an earth barrier separating Jisr az-Zarqa. The village is surrounded by developed Jewish communities enjoying prosperity, welfare, and high social and economic living standards, attracting Jewish residents to the area, which is considered a strategic location and a vital transportation corridor connecting northern and southern Israel.

Confiscation and Settlement

The head of Jisr az-Zarqa Local Council, Sheikh Murad Ammash, described the village’s reality and the challenges it faces, saying:

“At the time of the Nakba, its area of influence reached approximately 12,000 dunams. Today, only 1,600 dunams remain under the ownership of its residents, numbering around 14,000 people, who live on an area of no more than 700 dunams.”

Ammash added that the remaining lands are threatened with confiscation for the establishment of a nature reserve and national park covering 500 dunams. Another 400 dunams extending along the seashore are inaccessible to their owners, as Israeli authorities prevent their use and obstruct the council’s plans to develop the area into resorts and a tourist village.

He stressed:

“Jisr az-Zarqa, surrounded by the triangle of settlement, Judaization, and deprivation, faces restrictions and suffers from poverty, unemployment, and overcrowding, which generate all kinds of social problems. It resembles a refugee camp and stands as a living testimony to the Palestinian Nakba, continuing to tell the story of the Palestinian cause with all its complexities and challenges.”

Sami Al-Ali, head of the Popular Committee in Jisr az-Zarqa, shares with other residents and hundreds of young couples the fears of displacement and voluntary migration, amid social hardships and concerns over the lack of housing and future opportunities for the only remaining Arab coastal village in historic Palestine.

Displacement

Al-Ali believes that Israeli authorities view the village and its residents as an attempt to correct what they consider a “historical mistake” when the population was not displaced during the Nakba.

He notes that Jisr az-Zarqa is the only Palestinian coastal village that Israel left on the shoreline, and that alongside popular and political efforts to break the village’s isolation, residents continue to organize themselves and rely on grassroots struggle to secure their survival and presence.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Al-Ali emphasized that Israel, through what he described as displacement policies, is attempting to correct this “historical mistake” by implementing discriminatory policies, reinforcing deprivation, and withholding budgets to prevent development and expansion.

He added that these policies aim to push residents toward voluntary migration by surrounding and excluding the village from various aspects of life through settlement and Judaization projects, restricting its space, and confiscating the last remaining lands to establish nature reserves and national parks.

Source: Al Jazeera
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