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52-762: The Israeli–Palestinian "Joint Water Committee" (JWC) was established in September 1995 as part of the Oslo II Accord . Originally, it was intended to be a temporary organ for a five years interim period. Its role is overseeing the water resources in the West Bank, excluding water from the Jordan River. As of 2014, the JWC is still in effect. A similar Israeli–Jordanian Joint Water Committee also exists since 1994. The JWC has an equal number of representatives from both sides. Pursuant to

104-587: A Salfit sewage treatment plant was initially approved in early 1997 by JWC and IDF, but the construction was ordered to stop in 1998, because on that location it would hinder the intended expansion of the nearby settlement Ariel . In 2001, Israel paid the German donors a fraction of the financial damage as compensation. In 2007, the IDF proposed to convey the waste from the settlements to Israel. A Palestinian treatment plant would “create additional environmental hazards and damage

156-512: A buffer zone of 75 meters along the roads on each side. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are prohibited from using these roads, only Israelis and foreign nationals can use them, the status purpose being security concerns. The Israel-West Bank barrier cuts off 40% of the village's area, with the Israeli side incorporating the settlements and surrounding forests, agricultural lands, open spaces, and

208-675: A member of the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, has criticized Israel for practically veto any Palestinian project in this committee. Oslo II Accord The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip commonly known as Oslo II or Oslo 2 , was a key and complex agreement in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process . Because it was signed in Taba, Egypt , it is sometimes called

260-488: A permanent settlement based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. As soon as possible but not later than 4 May 1996, negotiations on the permanent status would be started, leading to the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and settling all the main issues. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the main object of the Interim Agreement to broaden Palestinian self-government in

312-453: A population of 150, though the population count included only the men. In 1883, the PEF 's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Hizma as a "small stone village, standing high on a prominent hill, the slopes of which are covered with olives. It has a well to the west." In 1896 the population of Hizma was estimated to be about 192 persons. In the 1922 census of Palestine , conducted by

364-572: A small part of the Palestinian residential area. As of 2012, an Israeli checkpoint located west of the village at an opening in the controls the passage to and from Hizma. Palestinians living outside Jerusalem must have a special permit that is reportedly hard to obtain. Israeli citizens (including settlers) and permanent residents (including Palestinians in East Jerusalem) are allowed to pass in and out without any permits. Israeli authorities demolish

416-472: Is called an interim agreement because it was supposed to be the basis for subsequent negotiations and the preliminary of an eventual comprehensive peace agreement. Several additional agreements were concluded following Oslo II, but negotiations did not produce a final peace agreement. The 2002 Road map for peace abandoned the Oslo Accords and envisioned a rather loose scheme of withdrawal. The preamble of

468-449: Is granted, additional permits must then be obtained from the Israeli army before any work can be commenced in Area C of the West Bank. Obtaining such permits entails a lengthy and protracted bureaucratic process. Many applications are rejected, others are subject to long delays. Works, including installing or repairing water mains and supply pipes, can be blocked or interrupted for long periods for

520-520: Is identified with the biblical town of Azmaveth of the Israelite tribe of Benjamin . Archaeological findings confirm a Jewish presence during Roman times, marked by a thriving stoneware industry, and the discovery of a burial cave housing ossuaries inscribed in the Hebrew alphabet . Byzantine period ceramics were also found at the site. Throughout Ottoman , British , and Jordanian rule, Hizma

572-571: The Nahiye of Jerusalem in the Sanjak of the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem . The population was 28 households, all Muslim according to census records. They paid a tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, which included wheat, barley, vineyards and fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and beehives; a total of 2800 akçe . In 1838, Edward Robinson found the village had been deserted for two months, as

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624-529: The British Mandate authorities , Hizma had a population of 515 Muslims, increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 521 Muslims in 91 inhabited houses. In the 1945 statistics the population of Hizma was 750 Muslims, and the total land area was 10,438  dunams of land according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 200 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,338 for cereals, while 45 dunams were built-up (urban) land. In

676-800: The European Union in Washington, D.C. The agreement is built on the foundations of the initial Oslo I Accord , formally called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements , which had been formally signed on 13 September 1993 by Israel and the PLO, with Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat in Washington, D.C. shaking hands, and officially witnessed by the United States and Russia. It supersedes three earlier agreements: The Oslo II Accord

728-615: The High Priest Theophillus". Josephus, the historian, references a high priest of the same name, appointed by Vitellius in the brief period before he was informed of Tiberius ' death, approximately around 37 AD. Ceramics from the Byzantine period have also been found at Hizma. In 1517, the village was incorporated into the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine , and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Hamza , located in

780-705: The Israeli Security Forces and the Israeli police , perspectives on the land of the West Bank and Gaza Strip , definition of the Areas A, B and C dividing the West Bank, arrangements for security and public order, prevention of hostile acts, confidence-building measures, and the role of the Palestinian police : The Palestinian police force established under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement will be fully integrated into

832-419: The Israelite tribe of Benjamin (see Ezra 2:24; Neh. 7:28, 12:29 ). Gibson , after surveying the village in 1981, questioned this identification, citing the lack of archaeological remains from the necessary time period. However, another survey conducted two years later by Uri Dinur yielded Iron Age II pottery. Dinur and Feig found sherds from Iron Age II, Persian and Hellenistic period . Based on

884-751: The Protocol on Economic Relations , signed in Paris on April 29, 1994, cooperation programs that will hopefully be developed, the role and functioning of the Joint Israeli-Palestinian Liaison Committee set up as part of the Declaration of Principles ( Oslo Accords 1993 and the setting up of a Monitoring and Steering Committee , liaison and cooperation with Jordan and Egypt, and locating and returning missing persons and soldiers missing in action . Consisting of Articles XXIX–XXXI: Arrangements for safe passage of persons and transportation between

936-522: The Taba Agreement . The Oslo Accords envisioned the establishment of a Palestinian interim self-government in the Palestinian territories. Oslo II created the Areas A, B and C in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority was given some limited powers and responsibilities in the Areas A and B and a prospect of negotiations on a final settlement based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 . The Accord

988-710: The Committee by the PWA, because they were certain that the Israeli side in no way would agree to it as to previous unsuccessful attempts. While the Israeli Authorities control the Palestinian activities and force them to oblige to their orders, the Palestinian Authority has no power or means of monitoring the quantity of water that the Israelis extract, including the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The Israelis also control

1040-620: The Council shall exercise their powers and responsibilities ... with due regard to internationally-accepted norms and principles of human rights and the rule of law ", the various rights, liabilities and obligations with the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the Israeli military government and its civil administration to the Palestinian Council, dealing with financial claims, and the settlement of differences and disputes. Consisting of Articles XXII–XXVIII: Relations between Israel and

1092-677: The Council: ... shall accordingly abstain from incitement, including hostile propaganda, against each other ... that their respective educational systems contribute to the peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples and to peace in the entire region, and will refrain from the introduction of any motifs that could adversely affect the process of reconciliation ... cooperate in combating criminal activity which may affect both sides, including offenses related to trafficking in illegal drugs and psychotropic substances, smuggling, and offenses against property ... The rules for economic relations as set out in

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1144-468: The Israeli and Palestinian Governments. In 2009, Amnesty International criticized the establishment of the JWC for having ″merely institutionalized the intrinsically discriminatory system of Israeli control over Palestinian resources that had already been in existence since Israel’s occupation of the OPT three decades earlier.″ Palestinians must obtain JWC approval for any project involving water extraction from

1196-619: The JWC. According to the PHG, the JWC was able to function properly in the early years of the Interim Agreement, but became extremely dysfunctional soon after the five year interim period and with the start of the Second Intifada. In a comprehensive 2013 study by the British researcher Jan Selby, the functioning of the Joint Water Committee during the period 1995-2008 was analysed. Selby that in

1248-671: The Joint Technical Committee, it was sent to the Israeli Ministry of Defense for its approval. The IDF did not approve the drilling at the allotted locations. In December 2004, the Israeli authorities asked for new locations. Then, the IDF started planning the route of the Separation Wall around Jerusalem . In 2008, the Civil Administration asked for new locations; the wells were rejected because they would lie inside

1300-627: The Mountain Aquifer and for all other water-related projects in Area C (60% of the West Bank). This also affects the Areas A and B, which exist as enclaves within Area C. The Israeli authorities, not only determine the quantity of water that the Palestinians are allowed to extract from the Mountain Aquifer but also control even the small quantities of rainwater that Palestinian villagers collect. By contrast,

1352-477: The Oslo II Accord, all decisions of the JWC have to be reached by consensus, which means that each side has a veto. Anders Jägerskog concluded that the power asymmetry between the parties effectively gives Israel the upper hand in the decisions with regard to the implementation of the agreements. While the Committee reviews the technical aspects of new projects, the political dimensions are subject to decisions of

1404-564: The PA has no power or means to monitor, still less to limit, the quantity of water that Israel extracts from the Mountain Aquifer in the West Bank or inside Israel. The World Bank noted: ″The JWC has not fulfilled its role of providing an effective collaborative governance framework for joint resource management and investment... The JWC does not function as a “joint” water resource governance institution because of fundamental asymmetries - of power, of capacity, of information, of interests – that prevent

1456-491: The Palestinian Council. The holding of elections , the structure of the Palestinian Council, and that it should contain 82 representatives, the executive authority of the Council, various other committees, that meetings of the council should be open to the public, and outlining the powers and responsibilities of the Council. Consisting of Articles X–XVI: Phases of the redeployment of the Israel Defense Forces , roles of

1508-487: The Palestinian Police and will be subject to the provisions of this Agreement. Except for the Palestinian Police and the Israeli military forces, no other armed forces shall be established or operate in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Consisting of Articles XVII–XXI: The scope of the Palestinian Council's authority and jurisdiction and the resolution of conflicts, the legislative powers of the Council, that "Israel and

1560-654: The West Bank and the Gaza Strip, coordination between Israel and the Council regarding passage to and from Egypt and Jordan as well as any other agreed international crossings, and then the final clauses dealing with the signing of the agreement, its implementation, that the Gaza–Jericho Agreement (May 1994), the Preparatory Transfer Agreement (August 1994), and the Further Transfer Protocol (August 1995) will be superseded by this agreement,

1612-440: The West Bank by means of an elected self-governing authority [to] allow the Palestinians to conduct their own internal affairs, reduce points of friction between Israelis and Palestinians, and open a new era of cooperation and co-existence based on common interest, dignity and mutual respect. At the same time it protects Israel's vital interests, and in particular its security interests, both with regard to external security as well as

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1664-474: The agreement speaks of peaceful coexistence, mutual dignity, and security, while recognizing the mutual legitimate and political rights of the parties. The aim of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is, among other things, to establish a Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority for the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, for a transitional period not exceeding five years, leading to

1716-676: The development of a consensual approach to resolving water management conflicts.″ An observer of a major international donor, who attended JWC meetings, told that the Committee, in practice, was almost entirely in the hands of the Israeli representatives. He called ″the interaction between the two sides during the meetings ... an exercise in subjugation and humiliation.″ According to the Palestinian Water Authority, Israel has rejected or obstructed scores of Palestinian requests for implementing water projects, or only agreed after long delays. Many proposed projects are not even submitted to

1768-586: The few identified quarrying and production sites. Towards the end of the Roman period , there was an industry in Hizma producing fine stoneware from the local limestone. Products included vases and bowls turned on a lathe , and mugs carved by hand. Examples of stoneware that may have originated here have been found in many places in the Jerusalem region, mostly dating from the first and second centuries CE. A burial cave from

1820-546: The findings, Finkelstein asserts that Hizma can be positively identified with Azmaveth. Stone vessels made of chalkstone (a type of soft limestone) are typical for and unique to Jewish sites from the time between the second half of the first century BCE and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE), frequently found in Judea , Transjordan , Galilee and the Golan , with Hizma being one of

1872-662: The first centuries BCE and CE was found in Hizmeh in 1931. Six ossuaries were present, two of which had inscriptions, which bear the names Hoshea and Mariam in Hebrew and Aramaic using the Jewish script . In 1983, an ancient Jewish ossuary said to be from Hizma appeared in the Jerusalem antiquities market and was acquired by the Department of Antiquities . This ossuary is inscribed in Aramaic, indicating it belonged to "Yehoḥanah, Granddaughter of

1924-437: The form of a Joint Water Committee (JWC) – has been associated with a significant worsening of the Palestinian water supply crisis," concluding that it was being used by Israel as an instrument of control and represented the first evidence "of the PA lending its official consent to parts of Israel’s settlement expansion programme." Approval of projects by the Joint Water Committee does not guarantee its execution. Once an approval

1976-408: The homes of Palestinians built without permits. Strict conditions for Palestinians applying for permits must be fulfilled and the permits are usually denied. The village has on occasion been sealed off with road blocks in response to reported stone-throwing and rioting, characterized by many rights groups as a form of collective punishment . In 2010, more than half of the workforce was working in

2028-591: The landscape” , thus the army proposed to treat the Palestinian sewage also in Israel. The Palestinian Water Authority rejected this, as it would have to pay for the treatment and loose the recycled water. Ariel, however, continued to discharge its untreated wastewater in the vicinity. Nancy Murray,the former Director of Education at the ACLU of Massachusetts, the co-founder of the Gaza Mental Health Foundation and

2080-695: The need and timing of permanent status negotiations, and that: The PLO undertakes that, within two months of the date of the inauguration of the Council, the Palestinian National Council will convene and formally approve the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian Covenant, as undertaken in the letters signed by the Chairman of the PLO and addressed to the Prime Minister of Israel, dated September 9, 1993 and May 4, 1994. Discussion about

2132-412: The other prior agreements that came before it. Most significantly the agreement recognizes the establishment of a "Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority," that is an elected Council, called "the Council" or "the Palestinian Council". Consisting of Articles I–IX: The role and powers of a governing Palestinian "council" and committee dealing with civil affairs and the transfer of power from Israel to

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2184-463: The personal security of its citizens in the West Bank. The Interim Agreement comprises over 300 pages containing 5 "chapters" with 31 "articles", plus 7 "annexes" and 9 attached "maps". The agreement has a "preamble" acknowledging its roots in earlier diplomatic efforts of UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) and UN Security Council Resolution 338 (1973) the Madrid Conference of 1991 and

2236-478: The planned wall. The residents fully depend on water sold by the Israeli national water company Mekorot . A new well in Rujeib was approved by JWC as well as IDF and under construction since 2003. After Hamas won the municipal elections, the funding was temporarily stopped. When eventually the well was near completion in 2008, the IDF ordered the work to stop and move it 25 metres to an impossible site. Construction of

2288-526: The quantities of rain water collected by the Palestinian Villagers. According to the PWA, the Israeli Army more often destroys the small Palestinian water tankers and the surface rainwater collection wells. The NGO Palestinian Hydrology Group (PHG) has criticized Israel for practically veto any Palestinian project, while implementing by military force all Israeli projects, without the approval of

2340-549: The release of Palestinian prisoners, agreement about the attached annexes and maps, and commencement of Israel's redeployment. Hizmah Hizma ( Arabic : حزما ) is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate , seven kilometers from Jerusalem's Old City . The town, mostly located in Area C of the West Bank , borders four Israeli settlements, Neve Yaakov and Pisgat Ze'ev (both officially considered part of Jerusalem ), Geva Binyamin and Almon . Hizma

2392-543: The stated reason of "security considerations". Amnesty International investigated the execution of a project for drilling wells in the Hizmah area (north-east of Jerusalem). With the appropriation of much of the land of Hizmah in favour of Israeli settlements , the village lost access to its springs and other water resources. An approval for two wells was requested in 2000 and approved by the JWC in April 2001. After further approval by

2444-400: The village's total area were expropriated by Israel in order to establish three Israeli settlements which are considered illegal by the international community: After the 1995 accords , about 9% of the village area was classified as Area B , while the remaining 91% became Area C . There is a bypass road connecting the settlements with the neighboring Israeli settlements. There is also

2496-495: The villagers had "fled across the Jordan " to escape conscription . He further noted it as a Muslim village, located in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem. In 1863 Victor Guérin found the village to have 200 inhabitants. He further noted that some of the houses, particularly the lower part, seemed to be built from ancient materials, and some cisterns also looked ancient. An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed 51 houses and

2548-403: The wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements , Hizma came under Jordania rule . In 1961, the population of Hizme was 1,134. Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Hizma has been under Israeli occupation . The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 1,109, 5 of whom were refugees from the previous war. In the 1970-1980s 19% of

2600-407: The years studied, the Palestinian Water Authority had approved all Israeli applications for new water supply facilities for West Bank settlements, while Israel had vetoed every application from Palestine for new wells using the Western Basin of the Mountain Aquifer and had delayed approval of other applications for as many as eight years, concluding that the "Israeli-Palestinian water ‘cooperation’ – in

2652-399: Was a small village inhabited by Muslims . Since 1967, Hizma has been occupied by Israel. The village is cut off from Jerusalem by the Israeli West Bank barrier in the west and from the West Bank by settlements in the east. As of 2017, Hizma had a population of about 7,118 residents. In the 1920s, Albright suggested that Hizma was identical with the biblical town of (Beth) Azmaveth of

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2704-416: Was officially signed on 28 September 1995. The Oslo II Accord was first signed in Taba (in the Sinai Peninsula , Egypt ) by Israel and the PLO on 24 September 1995 and then four days later on 28 September 1995 by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and witnessed by US President Bill Clinton as well as by representatives of Russia , Egypt , Jordan, Norway , and

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