Jordan Valley Solidarity (JVS)

Jordan Valley Solidarity campaign is a network of Palestinian grassroots community groups from all over the Jordan Valley and international supporters.  Our aims are to protect Palestinian existence and the unique environment of the Jordan Valley by building international support and supporting communities on the ground. This includes monitoring, recording and aiming to prevent the abuse of Palestinian human rights by the Israeli occupation and settlers. The situation in the Jordan Valley is very serious.  The Israeli military occupation since 1967 has been attempting to gradually annex the area (which is 28% of the occupied West Bank). Comments made by Netanyahu in March 2010, and previously by Olmert, have left them in no doubt about their intentions. On the ground they are seeking to control more and more of the Jordan Valley by expanding their illegal Israeli colonies and trying to drive Palestinians from their land through house demolitions, movement restrictions, curfews, arbitrary arrest and detention, land confiscations, denial of access to water, electricity, health and education. In 2003, several community members in the Jordan Valley came together to try to build a community-based campaign to defend the indigenous community’s presence. Today, the campaign continues to grow, and has spread to all of the Palestinian communities in the Valley. As a grassroots campaign we rely enitrely on community members volunteering their time and energy, and support from individuals and organisations that support our aims and activities. They have no budget to speak of, or any sources of funding, except in the rare cases that a person or an institution comes forward willing to fund a project that the campaign has undertaken. Since its inception, the campaign has been open to working with any individual or organization that shares its political analysis of the problem facing the Palestinians of the Jordan Valley and shares the commitment to maintain and strengthen Palestinian presence in the Valley. The Campaign’s activities center around non-violent actions, which strengthen the steadfastness of Palestinians in the Valley. Our work varies, depending on the needs and priorities of the local communities, but in recent years we have: supported villages such as Fasayil and Ka’abne to build community schools helped several different communities to run water pipes to thier local area mobilised local communities around rebuilding structures destroyed by the Israeli occupation built roads so people can more easily access their homes mobilised and educated Jordan Valley communities about the traditional methods of building using homemade hay-and-clay bricks