Posted on 05/22/2012 3:48:08 PM PDT by Eleutheria5
Israel is being urged to reroute its controversial West Bank barrier away from the lands of an ancient Palestinian village with a unique agricultural system. The BBC's Wyre Davies visited Battir, whose inhabitants fear their traditional way of life will disappear.
In this part of the world, the supply and control of water is a major logistical and political issue. Yet the quaint village of Battir must be one of the luckiest and most blessed communities around - because Battir has water in abundance.
For more than 2,000 years, seven natural springs have given life to the village and its fields. Children still play, almost incongruously, in an old Roman bath built centuries ago at the spot, in the middle of the village, where one of the springs emerges.
Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote
The land is everything to us... Without our land we are nothing”
Akram Badir Head of Batir village council The simple irrigation system used today is as it was in ancient times. Water is shared between Battir's eight main extended families. A simple system of manually diverting water via sluice gates means that fruit and vegetables from the small plots on the lower slopes are renowned for their freshness and quality.
Built on the side of a steep hill just to the south of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, Battir also boasts land arranged as traditional terrace agriculture. But this is a system and a landscape that is under threat from Israel's controversial barrier.
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(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battir
http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Battir_839/index.html
Sixty years ago in Battir http://electronicintifada.net/content/sixty-years-ago-battir/7482
So, folks, do some homework. I must sleep.
“Ancient Palestinian village”?
So who lived there 2000 years ago?
The Beeb has been full of krap about Israel for years. They canN (and will) go to hell. Let them give away their own country instead. (Oops, aren’t they already located somewhere in the communist city of Londonstan ?). See how much fun life is when the Beeb’s biases are put into practice?
The Beeb has been full of krap about Israel for years. They canN (and will) go to hell. Let them give away their own country instead. (Oops, aren’t they already located somewhere in the communist city of Londonstan ?). See how much fun life is when the Beeb’s biases are put into practice? Hey, BBC: try fixing your own turf before trying to undermine or sell out someone else’s!
The Beeb has been full of krap about Israel for years. They canN (and will) go to hell. Let them give away their own country instead. (Oops, aren’t they already located somewhere in the communist city of Londonstan ?). See how much fun life is when the Beeb’s biases are put into practice? Hey, BBC: try fixing your own house before trying to undermine or sell everyone else’s!
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Thanks Eleutheria5.For more than 2,000 years, seven natural springs have given life to the village and its fields. Children still play, almost incongruously, in an old Roman bath built centuries ago at the spot, in the middle of the village, where one of the springs emerges.Almost incongruously? Completely incongruously! This isn't any more historically Arab than any other land-grab the Arabs have made. |
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Thanks Eleutheria5.
So, then, what are the facts about this village. That it was there since 1948 is at least not refutable. Where’s the rest of the real picture?
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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