By Team Nablus

Jamal Kanaan stays steadfast in Beit Dajan

On the 22nd April 2013, 500 trees belonging to Beit Dajan villager Jamal Kanaan were uprooted by the Israeli military; making a total of six times since 2002 that his olive trees have been destroyed by the Israeli authorities.

Around 50 soldiers arrived in the early morning and uprooted the young trees by hand, removing them in jeeps before Jamal could arrive and intervene in the theft of his trees. The olives had been planted just one year ago, following the Israeli army bulldozing his previous trees. Each of the five previous times that Jamal’s trees have been destroyed he has replanted them; even though they often don’t even grow old enough to produce olives.

This year, the military once again gave Jamal no notification that his trees were to be uprooted; the only time that he has had any sort of notice was in 2005 when a letter was left under a stone on his land.

Jamal’s trees are in Area C, meaning that the Israeli occupiers claim full administrative and civil control over the land, even though it is privately owned by Palestinians. On the ground, this designation means that Palestinians have to ask for permission to build, to plant and to use their own land – this permission is rarely granted. The outskirts of most Palestinian villages, including Beit Dajan are This is used as a tactic to restrict the livelihoods of Palestinians and stop expansion of Palestinian villages, whilst grabbing more land for illegal Israeli settlements.

Despite the repeated destruction of his trees, Jamal remains steadfast, saying today “I will not leave my land. My land is like my ID card, my identity. I will always replant my trees on my land. Whatever the occupation does, I will not leave.”

In February 2013, seven demolition orders were delivered to the village of Beit Dajan, ordering the destruction of homes, electricity pylons and homes for sheep – this decision is currently being fought in the Israeli courts and the demolitions have currently been delayed.

Jamal Kanaan’s land in 2012 after the Israeli military had removed his trees – circles indicate where they had been planted. Photo credit Beit Dajan Municipality

6 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Israeli occupation forces demolished a rainwater cistern on the outskirts of Fawwar refugee camp this morning.

The 130 square metre structure was destroyed after soldiers arrived at 9 am and began bulldozing the cistern which was constructed 5 years ago.

The cistern’s owner said that the demolition order was given to him the previous day and he did not take legal action to prevent the action. They also gave a demolition order for 2 more cisterns in the vicinity and the residents of the camp fear their imminent destruction.

10 soldiers, an army jeep and a bulldozer arrived and the area was secured while they destroyed the cistern as locals watched.

What remained left of the demolished cistern

Fawwar lies 10 km soutwest of Hebron. The camp was was established in 1949 and its original inhabitants came from 18 villages in the Gaza, Hebron and Beersheeva areas. The area surrounding the camp lies in Area C which makes up 60% of the West Bank and is under full control of Israeli occupation forces. Demolitions in Area C are commonplace. Residents are often water vulnerable and according to the UN, 46 rainwater cisterns and pools were demolished in 2011.

 

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)

14 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Israeli military bulldozers destroyed four homes in a morning of mayhem in the South Hebron Hills. The demolitions were carried out by plain clothed officers accompanied by 15 Border Police and two bulldozers.

At 8 am Monday 14^th January the house of Shoib Hathaleen in the village of Um Al Kheir was demolished by the Israeli occupation forces bulldozers. Eight people lived in the house, four adults and four children. Shoib has had a stroke and is unable to speak. The family were able to remove their possessions and pile them up next to the rubble of their home. The house had a demolition order put on it three years ago and on this morning the Israeli military turned up unexpectedly to wreak havoc on this refugee family. Their status as refugees means that the Red Cross who visited the family shortly afterwards has to check with the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNWRA) before supplying them with basic aid such as a tent for shelter from the cold.

From Um Al Kheir two Israeli army bulldozers drove to an area called Shakia, near to the village of Hawara, between Um Al Kheir and Al Dereit. This is a rural area and the houses are spread far apart across the hills. The two bulldozers, acccompanied by Israeli army jeeps and plain clothed officers possibly from the District Coordination Office (DCO) driving in white pick up trucks drove around the area leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

At 9:45 am the next house to be demolished belonged to Ziad Makhamri.Ziad lives in this house for four to five months a year in the spring. Ziad owns a hundred sheep and lives in the house when his flock grazes on the lands around the house which he owns, the rest of the year Ziad lives in the village of Birl Ed. The family recieved a phone call to say the Israeli army were demolishing their house. They turned up to see the house lying in ruins. “The family were given no notice and no reason as to the destruction of their house, there was no demolition order on the building,” a family member Jamille Makhamri, a vetenary doctor said. “This is area C, we did not have a permit to build the house but the Israelis don’t ever give permission to build,” he added. Area C is under full Israeli civil and military control and permissions for Palestinians to build on the lands they own is very rarely granted.

At 10:45 am the home of Waleed Saljbor’s family was destroyed. And at 11:10 am the family of Mohammed Ali Issa Atayet, comprising of fifteen people including children, found themselves homeless as the Israeli occupation forces bulldozed their home.

The Israeli military targeting civilian housing in the middle of winter, leaving people to fend of the bitterly cold weather with little more than the clothes they are wearing, can only be described as acts wonton destruction carried out against farmers who work the land, and refugees.

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)

22 June 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Friday, June 22, several hundred Palestinians and solidarity activists gathered in Susya to demonstrate against the demolition orders imposed on them. Earlier this week, Israel issued orders threatening to demolish the entire the southern West Bank village of Susya.

Israeli soldiers push on a human chain of activists in Susya - click to see more photos

At least 5 full buses as well as private cars, taxis, and media, arrived in Susya join the demonstration on Friday morning. Among them were several different human rights and solidarity organizations. One such group included drum-players and clowns giving spontaneous performances.

Israeli army, border police, and police arrived immediately and began to fire sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the peaceful protest. Israeli military attempted to arrest a Palestinian man but he was successfully de-arrested by fellow demonstrators. When demonstrators formed a human chain, soldiers approached and were directly violent with them. The demonstration lasted some 4 hours.

Earlier this week, demolition orders were issued for over 50 structures which add to numerous demolition orders given earlier. The orders cover most of Susya, including not only dwellings but also animal pens, water cisterns, a kindergarten, a medical clinic, and the solar-powered electricity system.

Nina Larsson is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

12 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

After three years of marriage Amani and Hussein Batran wanted a house of their own, somewhere to raise their two children, 4 year old Khalil and 3 year old Layali.   They took out two loans from the bank and construction began. Now, three years later, the house is still unfinished and no new work has been done for over a year. One year ago, shortly after the Batran family moved into their nearly finished house, they received an order from the Israeli military forbidding further construction, followed seven months later by a demolition order.  The reason given is that their house blocks the view of a camera mounted on the illegal segregation wall Israel has constructed inside of the West Bank.

Without windows in Idhna – Click here for more photos

The sight of glass-less windows and wires protruding from half-sanded walls speaks of dreams put on hold, a family living in limbo. The Batrani family has endured the bitter cold of this Palestinian winter with only plastic sheets covering their windows.  The Israeli government considers installing glass  a violation of the order to halt construction.   Violating the order means risking imminent demolition of their home, so the family must make do with  the inadequate plastic sheets.

They know their fate will likely be the same as Ahmed Jeyowi and his family, whether or not they obey the order to halt construction.  Jeyowi’s home was demolished last month when around 50 Israeli soldiers stormed the house at 6 AM whilst Ahmed was drinking tea and preparing to work his land. The soldiers forced Ahmed’s wife and six children from their beds and gave the family no time to salvage their possessions before they demolished their home.

Ahmed has since been forced to send his wife and children to live with other family members whilst he lives on the ruined site which once was his home, now replaced by a tent provided by the Red Cross. Ahmed is left with no heating or lighting, no gas, no toilet, and insufficient bedding.

Idna has suffered considerably since the Israeli occupation, particularly due to the construction of the segregation wall and the theft of some 3,000 dunums of land since the second Intifada. Idhna is surrounded by the Israeli settlements of Adora and Telem to the northeast, a bypass road that runs through the northern parts of the town, and the segregation wall that borders Idna to the north and the west.  There are currently 40 homes in Idna with demolition orders.

Paige is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

30 January 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The village of Kufr ad-Dik in the Salfit region of the West Bank has become the latest in a series of villages to launch weekly protests against mass land theft by Israeli occupying forces.

Residents of Kufr ad-Dik took part in their fifth demonstrationon Friday, 27^th of January. While this demonstration was short due to weather conditions, the previous demonstration on the 20^th of January was much longer. Israeli forces used large amounts of tear gas to repel the protesters before firing more gas directly into the village and using rubber bullets on some remaining demonstrators.

Two ISM activists were the only internationals present at the most recent demonstration, and there were   no Israeli activists. This is in spite of the presence of perhaps dozens of internationals and Israelis at the  nearby demonstration in Nabi Saleh.

Eighty percent of the land of the village has been confiscated by  the Israeli military  in the name of security. The village is surrounded by four different settlements as well as a collection of recently built Israeli factories. Israel currently has plans to build a fifth settlement nearby atop a hill.

Eleven houses are currently under demolition orders, some of them for the past three years.  A total of twenty-one farm buildings have also been served with demolition orders. So far five of them have been demolished. Most recently, on 17^th December, three wells and five rooms belonging to one farmer were destroyed.

The region of Salfit, in which Kufr ad-Dik is situated is extremely important to Israel both because of its possession of significant water resources. Its location comes at at a point where the border separating 1948 lands and Palestinian villages is quite thin. There are currently eighteen illegal Israeli settlements in the Salfit region, but only eleven Palestinian villages.

Neil is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed.)

On January 8th, the DCO delivered stop working orders to 8 infrastructures in the Palestinian village of Umm Al Kheer.

In the morning the Israeli Civil Administration, escorted by an Israeli army jeep, entered the Palestinian village of Umm Al Kheer. After examining different buildings, the officers registered the identity of the owners of eight structures and then issued stop working orders.

Among the identified structures, there is also the fencing of the football field built on December 30th by Palestinians in cooperation with an Israeli group. At that time Israeli authorities gave a verbal permission to the construction.

The deadline to appeal to Israeli High Court is fixed on January 22nd. In case of failure of any appeal, the stop working orders will be followed by demolition orders.

The inhabitants of Umm Al Kheer said that 12 more structures in the village are under demolition orders (eight of which are dwellings) for a total of 20 structures. That means that most of the village risks to be eliminated in the next future.
Two of the families received the stop working order for the houses that they are building to replace the old ones, demolished on the 8th of September 2011 (see Press release at: http://goo.gl/GekGM).

Umm Al Kheer is a Bedouin village in area C (under Israeli civil and military administration) built in 1948.   It’s located close to the Israeli settlement of Karmel established  during the beginning of the ’80s and expanded in the recent years. The village routinely experiences harassment from Israeli settlers and military.

The last events are part of a planned strategy to expel the Bedouin community in order to permit a further expansion of the settlement of Karmel. In October 2008 the Israeli army demolished ten house-tents. The demolitions left 60 people homeless. In July 2009 some toilets were destroyed too. On September 8th 2011 three houses and one toilet were demolished.

Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.

Pictures of the incident: http://goo.gl/fruCV

[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma'on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]