International Solidarity Movement Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.
By Ali Waked Ynet
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(VIDEO) Volunteer from Denmark who tried to protect two Palestinian children assaulted by Jewish woman; renovation works on Palestinian house disrupted by settlers
VIDEO – “The settler spat at me, called me a Nazi and other things I couldn’t understand. She wouldn’t let me move. She pushed me and then a young boy also started pushing me.”
This report was received by Ynet from an international activist, Anna Maria, a 57-year-old from Denmark, who tried to protect two Palestinian children who were being bullied by eight children from the Jewish settlement in Hebron.
The activist who went out to break up the fight said that IDF soldiers separated the children, but then an older settler came out and attacked the activists. Maria phoned an Israeli friend who called the police.
She said that Border Guard police officers arrived on the scene, but instead of restoring the order, they arrested her for attacking the settler, who had filed a complaint against Maria.
She was taken in for questioning where she claimed the opposite, that the settler had attacked her and also had pictures to prove it.
The police took her statement and released her within a few hours. The settler will also be summoned to give a statement.
Confrontation in Hebron
In another incident, equipment was stolen from the Sharbaati house in Hebron. The equipment was being used to renovate the residence after it had been previously damaged by settlers.
The High Court of Justice ordered IDF to guard the repair works, but the settlers continue to harass the family and workers and cause more damage.
Ynet has managed to obtain a recording of an IDF soldier who was stationed in Hebron, recounting the ongoing harassment, violence and theft perpetrated by the settlers. The authorities remain indifferent.
‘Settlers keep throwing stones’
Family members said that the settlers are doing anything and everything to prevent them from rebuilding their house. “They have stolen equipment before so we have no doubt that they also took the equipment last night,” Mufid Sharbaati, the landlord, told Ynet.
Signs have even been hung in the vicinity with warnings not to continue the renovations, written in Hebrew. They also wrote, in broken Arabic: “Whoever continues building this house, will anger God and will be swallowed up in the ground.”
Sharbaati told Ynet that the trouble has been going on for 30 years. It climaxed in July 2002 when hundreds of settlers tried to lynch the family. “Instead of helping us, the army told us to shut the house down after that,” he claimed.
In December 2004 the court told the army to enable the family to repair their home, that had been demolished by then but persecution continued, the family got no assistance and they had to stop renovating.
In January 2007 the court ordered the IDF once again to guard the works and several weeks ago the workers returned to the work site.
“We’ve been working since then, but the settlers keep throwing stones, bottles and fire crackers, they destroy the work and steal equipment. Not a day has gone by in the last few weeks without at least one such incident,” said Sharbaati.
The Judaea and Samaria police district has reported that they have started an investigation.
