PA Seeks UNESCO Protection For Threatened Village
The Palestinian Authority has turned to UNESCO to save an ancient West Bank village threatened by Israel's separation barrier, Lena Odgaard reports.
Battir, a small Palestinian village unique for its ancient stone terraces, springs and irrigation systems, is under threat as Israel plans to expand the separation barrier through the landscape.
The village is located on the so-called Green Line from the armistice agreement after the war in 1948, and over half of the Battiri people’s fields are located on the Israeli side. The villagers argue that the barrier will damage the area and cut them off from their fields and sources of income. Now the Palestinian Authority is preparing an application to UNESCO, hoping to get the area added to its World Heritage list and thereby save the historical landscape.
“Battir was a Roman city. Before that, the Canaanites used to settle here,” said Hassan Muamer from the Battir Eco-Museum, talking to Al-Monitor in Battir, surrounded by lettuce and squash plants and avocado trees.
For centuries the inhabitants of the small village of Battir, located less than five miles from Jerusalem, have tended their fields built on the stone terraces hugging the hillside below the village. Ancient irrigation systems lead fresh water from springs to the lush green hills. And in the village, ruins dating back to before the Roman era bear witness of the long history of Battir.
