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Israel annexed West Bank’s largest park and ‘is turning it into a Disneyland’

Israel is developing the Nebi Samuel national park while ignoring its Palestinian villagers, who aren’t allowed to have plumbing or plant trees

This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Sign up here to get Haaretz’s free Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox.

The view from the rooftop of Nebi Samuel’s largest building is incredible. From 884 meters (half a mile) above sea level, the city of Jerusalem appears almost within reach. The southern side of this rooftop in the archaelogical park allows a view of the Strings Bridge at the entrance to the capital.

From another corner, the golden domes of the Ein Karem neighborhood come into view. Looking northward, the cityscape of Ramallah is visible. The western vantage point includes a good portion of the coastal plain and the city of Modi’in. To the east are Palestinian villages, Israeli settlements, red roofs, and vast open spaces.

A metal railing surrounds the roof, adorned with informative plaques detailing villages, natural landscapes, and significant structures, Israeli and Palestinian alike. The neighboring settlements of Givon Ha’hadasha and Givat Ze’ev are in close proximity to the Palestinian town of Beitunia, with the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina not much further. It’s a mystifying geographic puzzle. Even recognizing the places on the plaques is a challenging effort.

Turning my gaze to the immediate surroundings when I visited, a large herd of sheep grazed beyond the park compound fence. The homes of Nebi Samuel are clearly visible beyond part of the fence. Beneath is a Crusader hall with magnificent stone arches. A stone staircase leading to the rooftop observation point stretches along the hall’s eastern wall, beside a still-functioning mosque. Beneath, one level below ground, is a synagogue that was thronged with visitors on the day of my visit. The white curtain of the ark at the synagogue asserts that this is the tomb of the biblical prophet Samuel.

In the 12th century, the Crusaders built a fortress containing a large church, a monastery, and lodging for religious pilgrims. Remains of the deep moat that surrounded it are still visible. The entrance hall has retained its domes and massive walls, and the church building also shows the remains of a 14th-century Mamluk mosque.

New history

In World War I, General Edmund Allenby tried to capture Jerusalem from the north. Nebi Samuel served as a key position in his campaign against the Ottomans. In November 1917, the area saw heavy battles, damaging sites. Jerusalem was only taken a month later.

In Israel’s War of Independence, the Palmach’s Harel Brigade, commanded by Yitzhak Rabin, tried to take the village. Fighters were thrown back with heavy losses, and the location remained under Jordanian control until 1967.

Shortly after Meir’s comments, soldiers gathered the remaining residents into a few stone houses belonging to Palestinians who fled in 1967. All other structures were demolished . According to some claims, the residents were offered monetary compensation to leave the area completely, and declined.

In June of 1972, the Israel Land Administration presented a plan for a settlement at the site that included 1,400 lots, public facilities, commercial centers, and roads. According to Avraham’s article, just three months after the Palestinians’ expulsion, hundreds of Israelis signed up to buy a lot in Nebi Samuel. The list of applicants runs 663 names long. Even Habima, the national theater, asked to buy a lot there.

The place is called a park because it’s in the West Bank and administered by the Civil Administration. National parks can only be declared within Israel, but the rules at this park are identical to those at national parks. The declared site includes not just the hill with the Crusader hall and Samuel’s alleged tomb. These only take up 52 dunams (13 acres). Nebi Samuel National Park stretches over 3,500 dunams (865 acres). Thus was created one of the largest parks in Israel, and the largest in the West Bank.

In comparison, Masada National Park stretches over 2,700 dunams. Ashkelon National Park encompasses some 3,000 dunams. Gan Hashlosha National Park, better known by its Arabic name, Sakhne, only takes up 140 dunams. The total area of the Jerusalem Walls National Park is 1,100 dunams. Herodion National Park is 1,000 dunams. Sebastia National Park, the renovations of which the government approved to the tune of 34 million shekels ($9.1 million) just this week, lies on only 214 dunams. Nebi Samuel’s 3,500 dunams dwarfs these.

The result is a national park in which several hundred people reside. Within Israel’s borders, there is no national park in which people reside. In the West Bank there are two other such examples – one in Herodion, where several Palestinian families live, and in the City of David area, which is in the middle of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

The meaning of life in the middle of a park or national park is difficult – nearly impossible, in fact. Residents can do virtually nothing to improve their lives. They can’t build or develop anything. They can’t plant trees, lay sewage lines, or put up a fence.

The situation in Nebi Samuel is even more complex. Since the separation barrier was built two decades ago, the residents have been completely shut off. The fences of the site separate them from the rest of the West Bank. Despite that, they are Area C residents, and therefore banned even from entering Jerusalem without a special permit.

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