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Beit Hanoun: Northeast Gaza StripSatellite Image Analysis of Vegetation Loss 2001– 2004

During the last three years, the Israeli Defense Forces conducted extensive

levelling of citrus orchards in Beit Hanoun in the northeastern Gaza Strip. Theirexplanation was that the trees were providing cover for Palestinian militants to

launch homemade rockets into the Israeli town of Siderot. (See summary of events

on page 2).

Citrus trees are a long term agricultural investment and take five years or more to

develop into a mature fruit producing tree. The result of the clearing has been a

significant drop in the productive capacity of Beit Hanoun contributing to rising

unemployment and a further income loss for the northern Gaza Strip economy.

Satellite Image Analysis – 2001 and 2004

Beit Hanoun

• Located in northeasternGaza Strip

• Surrounding village landused to cultivate citrus andother tree crops

• Population 32,5971

A comparison was made of two satellite images covering 108.2 hectares in north Beit Hanoun.2 The first was taken inOctober 2001 and the second in October 2004 (see Satellite map page 3 - 4). The major findings from this analysis are as

below:

land covered by trees dropped from 47.5 hectares to 18.2 hectares – a decrease of 62%

“vegetation” as a percentage of total land cover dropped from 49.9% to 22.4% 3 47.5% of total land in the area is now “bare” compared to 18.7% in October 2001. The number of

uncultivated hectares has risen from 20.3 to 51.5 hectares.

____________________________________1 Palestinian locality or village population figures are taken from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) 2005 projected populations based on a 1997 census.2 Due to clouds and shadows in the 2004 image, only visible sections of were analysed and a mask was used to remove these features ; Measurement for land (1 acre = 4 dunums = 0.4 hectare).3 Total vegetation for this analysis includes: trees and mixed vegetation (cultivated and natural)



Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Jerusalem

-2-

OCHA oPt conducted this analysis. Comments and questions can be directed to [email protected] or +972 (0) 2 582-9962.

Satellite image provided by European Commissions Joint Research Centre and the EU Satellite Centre.

Beit Hanoun: Land Use / Land Cover Changes

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Israeli Urban Palestinian

Urban

Tree Crops Mixed

vegetation

B are land C louds and

shadows

P e r c e n t a g e

2001

2004

Israeli urban (roads and built-up areas)

Palestinian urban (roads and built-up areas)

Tree crops (primarily citrus)

Mixed vegetation (cultivated and natural)

Bare land

Clouds and shadows (a mask was used to remove these features from the analysis).

Beit Hanoun Incursions:

June – 5 August 2004: “Operation Defensive Shield” was launched following the deaths of two Israeli children in

Sderot from rockets launched by Palestinian militants from the northern Gaza Strip.Nineteen Palestinians were killed and 140 injured while 17 houses were destroyed leaving

145 homeless. Five commercial factories were also destroyed, the government girls

secondary school, the municipality building, the Agricultural Union building, and two

municipal water pumping stations were damaged.

15 May – 30 June 2003: IDF troops deployed around eastern and western Beit Hanoun in response to the firing of

rockets by Palestinian militants toward Sderot and the western Negev. Seven Palestinian

were killed and more than 100 were injured during the IDF operation while 26 houses were

destroyed rendering 37 families (223 individuals) homeless. Eleven factories and

workshops located in the Beit Hanoun Industrial Zone were destroyed and 12 more more

were damaged.

23 February 2003: There was an IDF incursion into Beit Hanoun following the injury of an Israeli in Sderot on20 February. Six Palestinians were killed and four houses were demolished.

24 January 2003: An IDF operation sealed off Beit Hanoun; a road bridge was destroyed.

17 January 2003: An IDF operation sealed off Beit Hanoun.

5 March 2002: The first Qassam rocket was fired at Sderot apartment building, injuring two children

(Guardian).

13 February 2002: There was an IDF operation in Beit Hanoun and other localities (Guardian).

15 December 2001: An IDF incursion results in four Palestinian deaths (Guardian).

17 April 2001: There was an attempt to reoccupy Beit Hanoun; however Israeli forces withdrew after two

days following US pressure. The operation followed mortar attacks across the Green Line

(Guardian).



N O R T H E R N B E I T H A N O U N: 2 0 0 1 - 2 0 0 4 S A T E L L I T E I M A G E S

U n i t e d N a t i o n O f f i c e f o r t h e C o o r d i n a t i o n o f H u m a n i t a r i a n A f f a i r s

BEIT HANOUN

ISRAEL

ISRAEL

15 OCTOBER 2004 (IKONOS - USA)

N i s s a n i tN i s s a n i t

E r e zE r e z

BEIT HANOUN

ISRAEL

4 OCTOBER 2001 (IKONOS - USA)

ISRAELGAZA STRIPGAZA STRIP

N i s s a n i tN i s s a n i t

E r e zE r e z

Meters

0 330 660165

Meters

0 330 660165

O C H A



4 OCTOBER 2001

15 OCTOBER 2004

BEIT HANOUN

BEIT HANOUN

ISRAEL

ISRAEL

Nissanit

Erez

Nissanit

Erez

U n i t e d N a t i o n O f f i c e f o r t h e C o o r d i n a t i o n o f H u m a n i t a r i a n A f f a i r s

N O R T H E R N B E I T H A N O U N : L A N D U S E / L A N D C O V E R C H A N G E S

2 0 0 1 - 2 0 0 4

TREE GROVES:

DENSITY

NATURAL VEGETATION /

BARE LAND

Sparce VegetationVery High

Medium

Bare Land

Clouds &Shadows

Main Roads

Israeli Settlement

Palestinian Build-up

BUILD-UP

Cartography: OCHA-oPt, July 2005Satellite images(IKONOS-USA) provided by European CommissionJoint Research Centre and the EU Satellite Centre.Includes material 2004, Space Imaging MiddleEast (LLC), all rights reserved.Forco mments contact <[email protected]> orTel. +972 (02) 582-9962, http://www.ochaopt.org

Meters

Mixedvegetation

0 330 660165

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OCHAoPtBeitHanoun0805 HiRes