GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — On Dec. 28, for the first time in 46 years, Israel opened the security gate separating al-Qa'oun valley in the northern Jordan Valley from the Palestinian village of Bardala, allowing Palestinian farmers to cultivate their land there in implementation of an Israeli judicial decision.
The last time the residents of the village of Bardala entered their land in the Jordan Valley was in 1974. They were subsequently prevented from entering the area following a decision of the Israeli army, which considered it a “closed military zone.”