Los Palestinos se enfrentan a restricciones durante Ramadán-Palestinians face restrictions during Ramadan

Español.-
Desde hace siete años, no se le ha permitido a Majda Abdul Qader Sheikh, de 38 años, visitar el hogar de sus padres a sólo unos pocos cientos de metros de su casa.
"He tratado de conseguir un permiso espercial para una visita rápida durante este mes sagrado de Ramadán, pero fue rechazado", manifestó Sheikh, madre de siete niños. "No he tenido problemas con las autoridades israelíes, nos soy considerada una amenaza para la seguridad" agregó
Se trata de la villa agrícola de Qalqiliya, con 2000 residentes en el norte de Cisjordania. Es una de las 50 comunidades palestinas, que comprenden en total 35000 personas, atrapadas en esta zona rodeados por asentamientos israelíes por tres costados.
El muro, declarado ilegal por la Cort Internacional de Justicia ha sido diseñado para incorprar más asentamientos a los territorios ocupados de Cisjordania, así como anexarse más territorios de manera ilegal.
Con la construcción del muro, el distrito de Qalqiliya ha perdido un 70 % de su superficie, donde ya se han asentado 50000 colonos en 14 asentamientos ilegales.
Buena parte del territorio ha sido declarada zona militar cerrada y durante los últimos siete años, 10000 palestinos que viven en zonas que quedaron cerradas han tenido que tramitar permisos para poder continuar en sus propios hogares.
Once familias están atrapadas en las zona militar cerrada.Para poder pasar al resto de la ciudad tienen que atrevesar puestos de control a cargo de soldados israelíes que abren de 5am a 10 pm. Las personas, como es el caso de Shaikh, que desean visitar a sus familia o amigos en la zona cerrada necesitan aplicar formas de visitas especiales. Sólo unos pocos son considerados.
Las comunidades atrapadas a ambos lados del muro, sufren consecuencias económicas. Solamente el 18 % de 30000 granjeros y agricultores, han conseguido permisos de visita.The communities trapped on both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides of the barrier are suffering economically.
"Aunque algunos pocos granjeros obtuvieron permisos, sucede que las entradas y salidas de la zona militar, a veces están abiertas solamente media hora por día, depende de los periodos, hay periodos especiales, como la cosecha de aceitunas", nos cuenta Nidal Jalloud, oficial de relaciones públicas de Qalqiliya. "De todas maneras -agrega- siempre depende del humor de los soldados de Israel que abran o no abran, así es que la mayoría de ls veces los agricultores ni siquiera pueden pasar para llegara atender sus plantaciones. Y muchas ves, es normal, que se comporten de manera abusiva y violenta" dice Jajjaoud.
Los residentes de la villa pelean por el acceso a educación y salud, cuyas sedes están ubicadas fuera de la zona cerrada de seguuridad. Azzun Atma tiene una clínica médica de servicios básicos, que abre dos horas por semana.
"Un granjero que estuvo atrapado debajo de su tractor cuando estaba arando, murió de camino al hospital ya que las perosnas que lo trasladaron fueron retenidas durante 40 minutos en el puesto de control", narra Abdul Karim Atmawi, secretario del consejo de la villa de Azzun Atma.
Menciona además que hay madres a punto de dar a luz que deben salir de sus casas en dirección al hospital semanas antes de la fecha prevista, para evitar complicaciones con las demoras en los puestos de control.
"Ojalá algún día pueda regresar a la casa de mis padres, nos dice Sheikh, y pueda ir a celebrar el Ramadán con ellos."

English.-
AZZUN ATMA, occupied northern West Bank.-
For seven years Majda Abdul Qader Sheikh, 38, has not been allowed to visit the home of her parents, just a few hundred meters from her house.
"I tried to get a special visitor's permit for a quick visit during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan but I was refused," says Sheikh, mother of seven children. "I have had no problems with the Israeli authorities, nor am I considered a security threat," she added.
Sheikh is not trying to leave the West Bank or even travel to another city. Instead she is trying to access another part of the Palestinian village Azzun Atma where she lives with her husband and children.
This agricultural village of 2,000 residents falls in Qalqiliya district in the northern West Bank. It is one of more than 50 Palestinian communities, comprising 35,000 people, trapped in a "seam zone" and surrounded by Israeli settlements on three sides.
The seam zone is located between the green line -- Israel's internationally-recognized armistice line with the occupied West Bank -- and Israel's barrier, supposedly built for "security reasons" in 2003. The barrier, comprising fences, ditches and walls, veers off the green line and cuts deeply into Palestinian territory.
The barrier, deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, has been designed to incorporate many of Israel's settlements in the West Bank as well as the Palestinian land which has been illegally acquired.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the barrier leaves almost 10 percent of the West Bank territory on the Israeli side, but outside the green line. Qalqiliya district alone has lost 70 percent of its land to the barrier and to the 50,000 inhabitants of the 14 illegal settlements around it.
In addition, there are parcels of territory within the seam zone -- adjacent to the green line -- which the Israeli authorities have declared "closed military zones" or "no-man's land." For the past seven years, the 10,000 Palestinians living in these zones have had to apply for permits to continue living in their own homes.
Eleven families from Azzun Atma are trapped in this no-man's land. To access the rest of the village, residents have to pass through a security gate manned by Israeli soldiers which is open daily from 5am to 10pm. Palestinians, such as Sheikh, wishing to visit family or friends in the closed zones have to apply for special visitors' permits. Only a few have been granted.
The communities trapped on both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides of the barrier are suffering economically. "Only 18 percent of the 30,000 farm workers who were earlier employed in the seam zone area have been granted 'visitor' permits today," says OCHA.
Even fewer farmers have obtained permits to enter the closed military zones. "The gates are opened several times a day for half an hour, during specific periods such as the olive harvest," says Nidal Jallaoud, Qalqiliya municipality's public relations' officer.
"This means that farmers are not able to tend their crops throughout the year. But even the gate opening times depend on the mood of the Israeli soldiers. Sometimes they are abusive and violent and turn people away," Jallaoud said.
"Village residents also struggle to access health and educational facilities located outside the seam zone. Azzun Atma has a basic medical clinic which opens for only two hours a week," he added.
"A farmer who was trapped underneath his tractor when it overturned, bled to death on the way to hospital as the villagers carrying him were forced to wait for an hour and 40 minutes at the Israeli checkpoint," says Abdul Karim Atmawi, Azzun Atma's village council secretary.
He added that would-be mothers leave the village weeks before they are due, to avoid complications caused by delays at the checkpoint.
"Maybe one day I will be able to see my family down the road and celebrate Ramadan with them," Sheikh said.