A/HRC/2/5 page 17 electricity, water and sanitary units and is prohibited from building new houses. Moreover, the villagers are subjected to settler violence from nearby Ma’on. Schoolchildren have to be escorted by IDF to school in order to protect them from the settlers. The settlers are also responsible for poisoning the land. VIII. THE JORDAN VALLEY 55. Israel has abandoned earlier plans to build the Wall along the spine of OPT and to formally appropriate the Jordan Valley in the same way as it has done along the western border of OPT. But it has asserted its control over this region, constituting 25 per cent of the West Bank, in much the same way as it has done over the closed zone between the Wall and the Green Line on Palestine’s western border. The intention of Israel to remain permanently in the Jordan Valley is clear from government statements and is further manifested, first, by restrictions imposed on Palestinians and, second, by Israeli control and the increase in the number of settlements in the Jordan Valley. 56. Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley must possess ID cards with a Jordan Valley address. Only such persons may travel within the Jordan Valley without Israeli permits. Other Palestinians, including non-resident landowners and workers, must obtain permits to enter the Jordan Valley and in practice such permits are not valid for overnight stays, thereby necessitating daily commuting and delays at checkpoints connecting the Jordan Valley with the rest of the West Bank. This has led to the isolation of the Jordan Valley. Travel restrictions make it difficult for farmers in the Jordan Valley to access markets in the West Bank as their produce is frequently held up at checkpoints and perishes in the process. Attempts to sell such produce along the roadside have failed as a result of the destruction of agricultural stalls along the road by IDF. 57. Most of the land in the Jordan Valley is controlled by Jewish settlements or used as military zones. Only 4 per cent of the Valley is accessible to 47,000 Palestinians for agricultural and residential use. There are some 8,300 settlers living in the Jordan Valley and their number is growing as a result of the resettlement of settlers from Gaza. Whereas Palestinians are without electricity and water in most villages, settlers are linked to Israel’s electricity and water systems. Moreover the 8,300 settlers living in the Jordan Valley consume more water each year than the 47,000 Palestinians living in the region. IX. HOUSE DEMOLITIONS 58. The demolition of houses is a regular feature of the occupation; and the bulldozer has become a hated symbol of it. Traditionally, the occupying Power has demolished houses for punitive reasons (where a resident of the house has committed a crime against Israel), military necessity, or for failure to obtain a permit to build. In recent times houses have been demolished for additional reasons: first, to make way for the Wall and second, to carry out arrests of wanted persons. It will be recalled that last year the Israeli High Court forbade the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields in arrest operations. Now, if a wanted person is suspected of being in a particular house and refuses to surrender, the house is bulldozed. I myself witnessed the manner in which houses are destroyed in this manner in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.