Clouds of uncertainty hang over Palestinian village waiting to see if the Israeli army will call off its demolition of the community's solar panels

http://news.yahoo.com/west-bank-solar-panels-risk-demolition-183006966.html

Palestinian woman Nihad Moor and her children stand at their home lit by electricity provided by a solar panel in the southern West Bank village of Imneizil. The Israeli army, which controls civilian affairs in the area, issued a demolition order for the panels and an adjacent control structure (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana)

West Bank solar panels risk demolition

By Jonah Mandel

Clouds of uncertainty hung over this tiny Palestinian village on Wednesday, as locals waited to see if the Israeli army would call off its demolition of the community's solar panels.

It was two years ago that Spanish NGO SEBA joined forces with Nablus's Al-Najah University and installed two solar panels in the community, at the southernmost tip of the West Bank, replacing the gasoline generators that the village had been using as its only source of power.

Since then, the 34 families living in Imneizil have sped into the 21st century, stocking their homes with appliances and rigging up light bulbs inside their tents and small makeshift homes.

The panels also provide power for the local water pump, as the village is not connected to a water pipeline.

But last month, the army, which controls civilian affairs in Area C where the village is located, issued a demolition order for the panels and a nearby control structure, saying they were built without a permit.

Israeli NGOs and the UN's Habitat agency have urged the army to freeze the order, which they say came as a surprise to the village.

The Spanish government is also working through diplomatic channels to prevent the closure of the 365,000-euro ($495,000) project, most of which was funded by SEBA.

"We are suspended between heaven and earth; the solar panels were a glimmer of hope for us," said village head Ali Mohammad Ihrizat.

"We have been here since 1948, and have nowhere else to go."

According to Ihrizat, they saw no point in asking the army for permission to erect the panels as Israel does not recognise the village, and none of its structures have ever received a construction permit.

A Spaniard running the project for SEBA told AFP they had requested a permit after setting up the panels, but had never received a response from the military department responsible for granting them....READ MORE

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