Year: 2013 - Page 40 - International Solidarity Movement

Land grab in Qaryut; residents fear illegal settlement expansion

16th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Qaryut, Occupied Palestine

On the 3^rd of July 2013, settlers from the illegal colony of Shilo bulldozed land belonging to Qaryut, destroying around two hundred recently planted olive trees. Citizens of Qaryut are now concerned that new houses for the illegal settlement are being built on this stolen land.

Settler bulldozer on Qaryut land (Photo by ISM) — Settler bulldozer on Qaryut land (Photo by Qaruout Alsmood)

At around 10am, five settlers with a bulldozer entered onto Qaryut land near to their illegal settlement, bulldozing several dunums of land and destroying around two hundred young olive trees planted recently by the landowners. Two jeeps full of heavily armed Israeli soldiers also accompanied the settlers onto the land.

The illegal settlement of Shilo is built on land belonging to Qaryut, and the land surrounding the colony also belongs to Palestinian villagers. Although the people of Qaryut have ownership papers for this land, they say that one of the settlers also has forged papers, stating that it is his land. The Qaryut land next to the settlement is considered by the Israeli authorities Area C, meaning that it is under Israeli control for both civil and security matters; this means that it is not possible for Palestinians to build there, nor to expand their village. On the other hand, the settlers from the illegal settlement of Shilo are regularly granted access to build and expand their colonies onto Palestinian land – this is the case across the West Bank.

In recent years Qaryut has suffered many problems from the various settlements which surround it, including a case of a a thirteen year old boy who was shot at by settlers from Eli colony. He broke his leg as he ran from settlers and was arrested and tortured by soldiers. In other cases, settlers have set fire to Palestinian land, destroying agricultural land, crops and trees.

In spite of Ramadan, weekly settlers’ ‘tour’ invades Hebron once again

16th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

On Saturday the 13^th of July about forty settlers on a settler ‘tour’ once again strolled through the Old City of Al Khalil (Hebron).

Today they were joined by almost as many soldiers from the Israeli army, Israeli Border Police and Israeli police force. The occupation forces kept blocking the streets, forcing local Palestinians working or shopping to use longer alternative routes or wait behind for the full hour the tour lasted.

Almost as many soldiers as illegal settlers disrupted the daily life of the local Palestinians in the streets of Al Khalil/Hebron (Photo by ISM)

Around 1.30 pm the settler tour was preceded by the army invading a private Palestinian home and occupying their rooftop. The ‘tour’ went on through the streets of the Palestinian neighbourhoods while the heavily armed soldiers escorting the illegal settlers and Zionist tourists controlled how close the international observers could get, to the point of threatening to throw tear gas grenades. Meanwhile soldiers prevented Palestinian men, women and children from moving through their own streets and tried to expel children from their own neighborhood. At one point a young boy tried to get through with a cart, coming from one of the shops where he was helping with work, but not even he was allowed to pass by the tour. As the settlers moved through the Palestinian residential areas, the soldiers kept intruding into Palestinian homes to enter their rooftops.

Today the settlers’ tour followed a different route than in previous weeks, following narrow streets within the old city. Four Border Police officers remained at the back of the group, keeping international observers at a long distance from the settler group, effectively preventing much observation of the settlers’ behaviour as they entered the old city. As people started to gather behind the ‘tour’, waiting to enter homes and shops one of these officers took out a camera and started filming the Palestinian children and the international observers. At no point were people allowed to pass the settler group.

The soldiers wouldn't let this young boy trough despite obviously interrupting his working routine (Photo by ISM) — The soldiers wouldn’t let this young boy trough despite obviously interrupting his working routine (Photo by ISM)

This weekly “tour” of Hebron disturbs the daily lives of Palestinians in the busy Souq of Hebron, which has seen an extreme decrease in trade since the Israeli occupation forces closed Shuhada street, which was formerly Hebron’s busiest market. Rather than closing the Souq, where there are several illegal Israeli settlements, Palestinian residents think the Israeli forces are trying to make life there as uncomfortable as possible and thus pressure them to move out of the area.

The weekly demonstration continue in Ni’lin while harassment and night raids increase

13th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Ni’lin, Occupied Palestine

On Friday, 13 July, around 30 people gathered for the Friday demonstration in the outskirts of Ni’lin village. After finishing prayers Palestinians marched towards the Apartheid Wall that has annexed the land of the village, along with internationals. From the beginning of the protest, tear-gas canisters and stun grenades were fired by the Israeli army and after about an hour 30 soldiers broke out from behind the wall intending to arrest the demonstrators who pulled back into the nearby olive grove.

After leading a chase for about 50 meters into the fields that lasted approximately for one and a half hours the soldiers retreated back behind the wall and the protest continued. More teargas canisters were shot by the soldiers beyond the wall and at this point also rubber coated steel bullets were shot towards the demonstrators.

The protest lasted approximately two hours, no arrests were made but one international was injured while running from Israeli soldiers who were arbitrarily shooting teargas and steel bullets and chasing after people.

Protesters say the demonstration this week was shorter than usual because of the Ramadan, however it has been no less intense as soldiers have been crossing the wall intending to make arrests for the last three weeks’ demonstrations. Ni’lin has experienced a wave of harassment since the spring and soldiers have been continuously invading the village arresting people. Many of these arrests occurred during night raids during which soldiers invade Palestinian homes.

Ni’lin village has lost more that 50,000 dunums of its land to the occupation and the apartheid wall that was build in 2008. Since then the people of Ni’lin have been protesting against the wall and the occupation. These protests have been suppressed with extreme violence by the Israeli army, resulting in the killing of five people, including a ten year old boy.

Protesters facing teargas in front of the annexation wall (Photo by ISM)

Tear gas cloud spreading through the fields of Ni’lin (Photo by ISM)

Soldiers invading the fields of Ni'lin, trying to arrest protesters (Photo by ISM) — Soldiers invading the fields of Ni’lin, trying to arrest protesters (Photo by ISM)

Settlers from illegal colony of Itamar destroy 1,500 Palestinian olive trees

12th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Awarta, Occupied Palestine

On the morning of Thursday 11th July, villagers from Awarta found that 1,500 of their olive trees had been cut down over the last month by settlers from the illegal settlement of Itamar. When they attempted to highlight this crime with media coverage, the mayor and several journalists were detained for several hours by the Israeli military.

Tree cut down by a chainsaw in the last month by settlers from Itamar (Photo by Awarta Municipality)

Four villagers of Awarta, including the Mayor, went to visit their occupied farm lands, accompanied by soldiers on the 11th of July. They have been denied access to this land for years, and are required by the Israeli authorities to apply for permission because the land has been annexed by the nearby illegal settlement of Itamar.

A month previously the villagers of Awarta had applied to see their lands because they could hear chainsaw noises and were concerned for their olive trees. However, they were left waiting for eight hours as no soldiers had arrived and they were concerned that they would be arrested if they went to their own land without the military.

The liaison between Palestinians and the Israeli military, the District Coordination Office (DCO), called the mayor of Awarta at 11pm on Wednesday 10th, telling the villagers they would have to meet the soldiers at 5am the next day if they wanted to visit their land. This inconvenient time, especially as it is currently Ramadan, meant that only three farmers and the mayor could attend.

When they reached the occupied farm lands, which are owned by 22 families of Awarta, they found that around 1,500 of their olive trees had been destroyed by residents of the illegal Itamar settlement. From seeing the trees the farmers could tell by the dry stumps that this violent destruction had been going on for over a month, with the most recent trees being cut only in the past few days.

The Mayor returned a few hours after this visit, accompanied by journalists who planned to report on this illegal destruction of Palestinian olive trees. Whilst the Mayor was showing them around, all of them were detained by Israeli soldiers and held for over two hours at the nearby military base in Huwara. Even though the land is legally owned by the village of Awarta the army claimed they had overstayed their visiting permit and their presence there was illegal. For more details of the land annexation of Awarta see previous ISM report here.

Villagers of Awarta also have to deal with regular attacks during settler visits to a local tomb. The tomb site is used by Muslim residents of the village as it is disputed as to who is buried there. The settlers come in the night escorted by soldiers, destroying property as they go; most recently they targeted the school, tearing down the basketball hoops.

The soldiers also raid homes without notice, destroying belongings and frightening inhabitants; the latest, Saturday 6th July, resulted in the arrest of an 18 year old boy, Murad Khaled. His current whereabouts are unknown – he is still under arrest.

Some of the 1,500 trees cut down by settlers from Itamar (Photo by Awarta municipality)

Student apartments burnt during Israeli military invasion of Nablus

12th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Nablus, Occupied Palestine

In the early hours of Wednesday the 10th of July, the Israeli army, arriving from the military camp near the settlement of Qedumim (8km west of Nablus) raided the Nablus neighbourhood of Al Junied, near the new Al Najjar university campus.

Remains of bed in student room, burnt by teargas canisters (Photo by ISM)

The neighbourhood, which includes many student dormitories, was invaded by seven jeeps, who arrived between the hours of 1am and 3.30am, remaining until 5am. Seven jeeps full of soldiers entered the neighbourhood. Multiple tear gas canisters and sound bombs were fired directly inside three student apartments, setting fires which broke windows and burnt the walls, furniture, shoes, prayer mats and beds. Soldiers climbed the stairs of an empty building opposite the apartments and from there fired at close range into the student’s windows, severely burning two bedrooms and a balcony. Luckily nobody was still asleep when the shooting happened because it is clear from what is left of the beds after they were burnt that anybody there would have been seriously injured. However, as the soldiers were shooting blindly into the apartments, they could not have known if someone was still in the rooms where they were firing.

Although there were clashes between the army and youth outside the dormitory, students stated that no stones were thrown from the two rooms that were particularly targeted by the soldiers. The tear gas didn’t just burn the dormitories, but also spread its suffocating effects throughout the area. Many students suffered from the effects of severe gas inhalation, but the army prevented ambulances coming to the area throughout their attack on the students. At 8 pm, 16 hours after the time of the raid, it was still possible to smell teargas in the student apartments. One student was arrested during the clashes – his current whereabouts are unknown.

This situation is not unusual in this neighbourhood; according to residents, the occupation forces generally raid the area at least twice a week. A man who works in the grocery shop near the student apartments explained that the commander of the Israeli army unit which invades the area regularly at the moment is quite new and must be ʺlooking for adventuresʺ.

According to one of the students, the invasions all take the same formː gas, sound bombs, injuries and destruction. The Al Junied neighbourhood is nevertheless a part of the city of Nablus, which according to the Oslo agreements, is in Area A, which means that both security and civil administration should be the role of the Palestinian Authority. As usual the Israeli army ignore these agreements, accompanied by the silence of the Palestinian Authority and the passivity of the Palestinian police.

Al Junied is not an exceptional situation in Nablus. Indeed, every week the Israeli army comes and often raids different parts of the city, ransacking houses, arresting people, firing sound bombs and gas canisters.