Four Decades after the 1967 War:
Hope for International Support to Demine-Replant Fields of Bethlehem (Husan)

June 3, 2011—Jerusalem—While Facebook and Twitter pages call on Palestinians to demonstrate and attempt to cross border fences on Sunday to mark the 44th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1967 War, West Bank residents of Husan hope that more than four decades of living around an unfenced minefield will come to an end this year, thanks to donations coming from the US and Europe.

A few kilometers west of Bethlehem and southwest of Jerusalem, the Palestinian community of Husan is exposed to a constant threat of landmines that contaminate a residential area in the heart of the village. Children pass through an unfenced and unmarked minefield, across a narrow goat path, on their way to school. The mines, originally laid by the Jordanian army around a pre-1967 border post, were left in place even after the post-1967 borders made them obsolete, and have claimed the lives and limbs of a number of children over the years.“All of us want peace”, said Abdallah Hamamra, who lives beside the minefield, “and landmines do not promote peace.”

In March 2011, the State of Israel, which is in charge of the Husan area, passed an historic law for the establishment of an authority that, for the first time, will be responsible for the clearance of all minefields which serve no security purpose. This new law also allows non-governmental organizations to sponsor mine clearance operations in designated locations, such as Husan. Roots of Peace, an international humanitarian, non-political organization based in the U.S., has launched an initiative to Demine~Replant~Rebuild™ the Husan minefield and other sacred lands respected by all cultures and faiths. The humanitarian mine-clearance will take place in cooperation with local landowners, the Israeli and Palestinian authorities and the United Nations.

In November 2010, 11-year-old Daniel Yuval, a landmine survivor from Israel, addressed a meeting of the States Parties of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in Geneva calling for states to clear minefields in the Middle East and avoid further human tragedies. His speech, given to an audience of over 150 high-ranking diplomats, including Swiss Foreign Minister and Federal Council President Micheline Calmy-Rey, moved the audience and made international headlines.

Last Saturday, inspired by Daniel’s call, the Swiss village of Tannay in the Canton of Vaud and a local group of residents sponsored an Astor Piazzolla Tango Concert, with a breathtaking performance by Quintet La Bandanéon, which also featured Swiss-Egyptian violinist Ahmed Hamdy. Local audience raised several thousand Swiss francs, which, together with pledges from people who were not able to attend, is helping bring the fund raising campaign closer to its CHF 90,000 (or US$100,000) target required to cover the costs of the humanitarian demining project in Husan.

“La Bandanéon” performing in the Swiss village of Tannay to raise funds
for demining the Palestinian village of Husan. Photo by: Dhyan Or

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