Author: ISM Media Group

The Last Shabbat of Sukkot

by ISM Hebron, 14th October

At about 00:25, international Human Rights Workers (HRWs) based in Tel Rumeida, Hebron heard the sound of a screaming baby on the street outside their flat. On looking outside, they saw a male adult settler carrying a baby down the street from the Tel Rumeida settlement and sit on a ledge outside Palestinian houses with the baby. The settler seemed to be making no effort to calm the child, which carried on screaming very loudly and which was obviously in some distress. After about 10 mins, a HRW, woken by the screams, approached the settler and asked if something was wrong with the baby and if she could help. The settler answered, “There’s nothing you can do here” and just kept repeating this to every question asked him by the HRW. There were two soliders stationed at the nearby guardpost but as far as the HRWs could see, they never approached the settler or asked him why the baby was crying and why he had brought it down to the Palestinian area. It was after midnight on a relatively cold night and the baby was wearing only a pair of thin cotton pyjamas with exposed hands and feet. The settler was pressing the baby, who was hysterical, to his chest to prevent the child from squirming off of his lap and the baby also appeared to be trying to suckle. However, instead of trying to deal with the screaming baby, the settler was reading the Torah. After about 20 minutes of the baby screaming, two female settlers came up the hill towards the male settler and one of them took the baby. As soon as the female took the baby and put it under her shawl, it stopped screaming, and the settlers moved off to the Tel Rumeida settlement. On being asked by the HRWs what he thought of the settler bringing a screaming baby out into the cold night, one of the soldiers on guard refused to answer. He also refused to answer the question as to whether he would have allowed a Palestinian man with a screaming baby to go and sit outside the Tel Rumeida settlement at 00.30. He also would not answer questions as to whether or not this was a form of child abuse.

At about 12 noon a procession of about 30-50 settlers was seen marching toward the Ibrahimi mosque.

A group of 5 settler boys were seen looking over the wall of the Palestinian Qurtuba school but dispersed when they saw that Human Rights Workers (HRWs) were watching.

Israeli soldiers were stationed by Abraham’s Well throughout the morning. They prevented Palestinians from washing in the well but allowed settlers to congregate there.

Religious visitors to the illegal settlement of Beit Hadassah were heard telling an Israeli soldier that his job was to protect ‘only Jewish people’.

At 13.20 a procession of settlers (estimated at between 100 and 150) made its way from the Beit Hadassah settlement up Shuhada Street towards the Israeli army checkpoint. The procession was mostly made up of male settlers, some carrying Torah rolls, and they were singing loudly while walking. Two HRWs on Shuhada Street were approached by two male settlers, one carrying a bottle of vodka. The male HRW was offered vodka, and told that if he refused to accept this offer, the settler would break his video camera. The HRW refused and the settler with the vodka told the HRWs that he knew they were here to “show the Jews are occupying the Arabs”. He also added that Jesus was an “evil Jew” and that his name should not be mentioned. At one point in the conversation, the settler with the vodka picked up a stone from the street and then removed the lens cap from the video camera, presumably in order to try and break it, but was prevented by the HRWs. The second settler also at this point told his companion that he should not break the camera. These two settlers then moved on with the procession.

At 13.45 a young settler boy, aged about 9, spat at the HRWs feet, but was told off by adult settlers with him.

During this time there were many settlers on the street, and the HRWs noticed a Palestinian girl, aged about 12, peeping out of a door on Shuhada Street. Only after twice looking out of the door but both times seeing settlers on the street and withdrawing into her house did the girl dare leave the house and walk the short distance to the checkpoint, accompanied by a HRW. She was clearly scared of the settlers on the street.

At 14.30 during a procession back to the Beit Hadassah settlement, a male Orthodox Jew deliberately stamped on the foot of a female HRW. This same man had stamped on the foot of a male HRW earlier that day, but this had not been perceived at the time as being deliberate as the man appeared to have a disability and walked with a pronounced limp. However, the man came back to the male HRW and attempted to do it again, saying, “Scored the first time” when he missed the HRW’s feet. Other adult settlers however appeared to tell him off for doing this.

At about 14.40, a female HRW on Shuhada Street noticed a male settler child opening the entrance door to several Palestinian houses. She shouted at him and went over to him, only for a male adult settler to come over and also open the door. The HRW also shouted at him to go away, and a further HRW tried to close the door, which led to the settler gripping her wrist tightly in an effort to stop her. One HRW then stood in the doorway to prevent the settler entering, while two HRWs alternatively shouted at and reasoned with the settler to leave. The settler became very abusive towards one of the female HRWs, insulting her personally and calling her an anti-Semite and a Nazi. A jeep with several soldiers arrived, and soldiers from the guard post at Beit Hadassah arrived but most just observed the argument or filmed it on their mobile phones instead of intervening. At one point another male settler came up and punched one of the female HRWs in the face. Finally the settler moved off towards the Beit Hadassah settlement.

At 14.50 a HRW was informed that there was a problem at checkpoint 56 (the main entrance in and out of the Israeli controled H2 part of Hebron) and that there was a queue of Palestinians waiting to be allowed through into Tel Rumeida. On approaching one of the soldiers at the checkpoint, the HRW was told that the checkpoint was closed. When she asked why, the soldier answered, “Because I want it closed”. On further questioning, the soldier said that the commander had ordered the checkpoint closed, but that the commander was in the jeep approaching the checkpoint and the HRW could talk to him directly. When the HRW asked the commander in the jeep about the checkpoint, the commander told her that it was now open again. The two soldiers on duty at the checkpoint however were slow in reopening it, and insisted on calling each Palestinian over to have their bags checked, although the search was clearly cursory and of no real security benefit. Also, despite the queue that had built up during the closure, the soldiers insisted that the Palestinians pass through one-by-one, even sending back two young Palestinian children who had passed through the metal detector together.

At 15.35 one of three teenage settler boys walking together down Shuhada Street spat at a male HRW but missed. The same boy then spat in the face of a female HRW further down the street and all three laughed loudly. One of the same three settlers spat on a further male HRW at 16.40 and also gave him and further HRWs on the street obscene hand gestures.

Rachel Corrie: Myths and Facts

by Rachel’s Words

New York, NY, October 14th – With the long awaited opening of the play “My Name is Rachel Corrie” at the Minetta Lane Theater [1], we’d like to dispel some common myths that have often crept into media coverage regarding Rachel’s death so we can focus instead on her life. We hope to avert factual errors and unnecessary controversy so the play can speak for itself. Towards that end, and with the cooperation of Rachel’s family, we have prepared this fact sheet along with clearly referenced sources.

BACKGROUND

Rachel Corrie was a 23 year old college student and human rights activist from Olympia, Washington. On March 16, 2003, she was run over and killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza, while defending a Palestinian home from demolition. A gifted writer, Rachel left behind a series of diaries and emails from an early age which were crafted into a play by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner. While the United States government in its annual human rights report describes Rachel as “a US citizen peace activist” and designates her as a human rights observer, [2] this is often obscured by the fog of misinformation surrounding her.

MYTH: Rachel Corrie was accidentally killed by falling debris.

FACT: According to seven international eyewitnesses, though she was clearly visible, Rachel Corrie was run over by an Israeli military bulldozer [3]. The 2005 US State Department human rights report on Israel and the Occupied Territories states that “on March 16, an Israeli bulldozer clearing land in Rafah in the Gaza Strip crushed and killed Rachel Corrie.” [4]

Photos of the event show the tracks of the bulldozer tires running on either side, and in front and behind the spot where Rachel lay dying in her friends’ arms [5].

MYTH: The bulldozer driver could not see Rachel.

FACT: Eyewitnesses testified that the bulldozer blade created a large mound of earth as it advanced, and that Rachel climbed atop that mound to a level high enough to make eye contact with the bulldozer driver [6]. Earlier that same afternoon, bulldozers had driven dangerously close to international activists on the scene but stopped before harming them [7]. This time, the driver continued forward, pulling Rachel under the blade.

MYTH: The Israeli military conducted a thorough, credible and transparent investigation into Rachel Corrie’s death.

FACT: On March 17, 2003, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon assured President Bush that the Israeli government would undertake a “thorough, credible, and transparent investigation” and would report the results to the United States. On March 19, 2003, Richard Boucher, spokesman for the State Department, noted: “When we have the death of an American citizen, we want to see it fully investigated.” [8]

In response to inquiries from the Corrie family regarding the Israeli Military Police investigation, in a letter dated June 11, 2004, Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff, Lawrence B. Wilkerson, stated, “Your ultimate question, however, is a valid one, i.e., whether or not we view that report to have reflected an investigation that was ‘thorough, credible, and transparent.’ I can answer your question without equivocation. No, we do not consider it so.” [9]

Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s mother, wrote in The Boston Globe in 2004 that, “Despite promises of a transparent investigation, only two American Embassy staff members in Tel Aviv and my husband and I were allowed to ‘view’ the full document. While it refers to evidence gathered by the Israeli military police, no primary evidence is included… For our family, the report raises questions and fails to reconcile differences between Israeli soldiers who say they could not see Rachel and seven international eyewitnesses who say she was clearly visible.” [10]

Independent, third party observers like the Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem have strongly criticized Israeli military investigations of civilian deaths [11]. Human Rights Watch said that most Israeli investigations “have been a sham” [12]. As a result of pressure by the British government, Israeli soldiers have been found responsible for the killings in Rafah of ISM activist Tom Hurndall on April 11, 2003, [13] and British reporter James Miller on May 3, 2003 [14] despite initial Israeli army investigations absolving the Israeli military of any responsibility.

MYTH: Rachel Corrie was killed while preventing the Israeli Army from destroying arms smuggling tunnels used by terrorists.

FACT: Rachel was standing in front of the home of friends – pharmacist Samir Nasrallah, his brother Khaled Nasrallah, and their wives and children. The Israeli government has never even accused Samir or Khaled Nasrallah or their wives or children of links to terrorism. The Israeli army has never even claimed that the Nasrallah home hid a weapons smuggling tunnel.

In the seven months after Rachel’s death the Israeli army demolished all the other homes in the neighborhood, with the exception of the Nasrallahs’ house, not the treatment one would accord a building concealing a weapons smuggling tunnel. The Nasrallahs finally were forced from their isolated home on October 17, 2003. It was demolished shortly thereafter [15].

Khaled Nasrallah and his wife and child came to the US in June 2005 to join Rachel’s parents, Cindy and Craig Corrie, for a speaking tour. Reporting on the tour, the Jewish Journal explained that, “The IDF [sic] did not respond to a question about whether the Nasrallahs had ever been suspected or accused of any illegal activities. However, family members were not judged a threat by U.S. customs officials, who allowed the Nasrallahs to enter this country” [16]. The US consulate conducts a security check with Israeli intelligence before granting Palestinians visas. The Israeli Government permitted the Nasrallahs to travel unescorted to Tel Aviv for the purpose of applying for U.S. visas, a courtesy unlikely to be granted to those posing any threat.

MYTH: The Israeli army has the right and ample justification for destroying thousands of Palestinian homes in Rafah.

FACT: Respected, independent third parties state that Israel’s large-scale home demolitions in Rafah are not justified and violate international law. In October, 2004 Human Rights Watch said that, “Over the past four years, the Israeli military has demolished over 2,500 Palestinian houses in the occupied Gaza Strip. Nearly two-thirds of these homes were in Rafah… Sixteen thousand people – more than ten percent of Rafah’s population – have lost their homes, most of them refugees, many of whom were dispossessed for a second or third time… The pattern of destruction strongly suggests that Israeli forces demolished homes wholesale, regardless of whether they posed a specific threat, in violation of international law.” [17] The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem [18] as well as Amnesty International [19] concur.

Human Rights Watch concludes that, “the IDF [sic] has failed to explain why non-destructive means for detecting and neutralizing tunnels employed in places like the Mexico-United States border and the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) cannot be used along the Rafah border. Moreover, it has at times dealt with tunnels in a puzzlingly ineffective manner that is inconsistent with the supposed gravity of this longstanding threat” [20].

MYTH: Rachel was a naïve young woman who was exploited by the International Solidarity Movement, an extremist group that supports terrorism. Rachel did not understand the context she was in or the dangers she was facing.

FACT: One article that has fostered this myth and others is “The Death of Rachel Corrie” by Joshua Hammer, published in Mother Jones [21]. However, Phan Nguyen proved that Hammer’s article was littered with errors, and that important parts were culled from right-wing websites with little credibility [22].

In her writing [23] and a videotaped interview [24] from Rafah, Rachel Corrie lucidly depicted the daily events in the lives of ordinary Palestinians in Rafah. Rachel’s accounts of destruction in Rafah generally correspond with the descriptions and conclusions of respected third party organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Rachel traveled to Rafah with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using non-violent, direct-action methods and principles [25]. ISM works with Palestinian communities that are undertaking nonviolent direct action. The ISM’s positions on Israel/Palestine correspond with international law [26].

The mandatory two day ISM training in Palestine that Rachel attended included intensive non-violence training, and discussion of the real possibility that the ISM trainees might be seriously wounded or killed [27]. During their training, all ISM volunteers, including Rachel, sign a form saying that “I realize I could be detained, imprisoned, taken hostage, injured or even killed.” An October 17, 2003 Seattle Times article reported, “She knew the risks of going, her friends said… from the beginning, the danger is never undersold, say those who have gone through the ISM training.” [28]. In 2002, nine ISM volunteers performing peaceful activities were seriously injured by Israeli settlers [29] and soldiers [30].

[1] See http://www.mynameisrachelcorrie.com

[2] Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2005, Israel and the Occupied Territories, United States Department of State, March 8, 2006

[3] Seeking Answers from Israel, Cindy Corrie, The Boston Globe, March 18, 2004

[4] Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2005, Israel and the Occupied Territories

[5] See photos posted, for example here.

[6] Israel: Failure to Probe Civilian Casualties Fuels Impunity, Human Rights Watch, June 22, 2005

[7] Eyewitness account of U.S. citizen Gregory Schnabel given March 19, 2003 to attorney Raji Sourani of Palestinian Center for Human Rights

[8] Daily Press Briefing, U.S. Department of State, Richard Boucher, Spokesman, Washington, DC, March 19, 2003

[9] June 11, 2004 letter to the Corries from Lawrence Wilkerson, Chief of Staff , US Department of State, included in record of March 17, 2005 hearing of House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, pg. 45.

[10] Seeking Answers from Israel, Cindy Corrie

[11] Whitewash and Failure to Investigate the Killing of Civilians in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, June 27, 2005

[12] Israel: Failure to Probe Civilian Casualties Fuels Impunity, Human Rights Watch, June 22, 2005

[13] Israel: Failure to Probe Civilian Casualties Fuels Impunity, Human Rights Watch, June 22, 2005

[14] Briton Shot by Israelis was Murdered, says Inquest Jury, Vikram Dodd, The Guardian, April 7, 2006

[15] Two Families’ Dreams Were Not Demolished, Howard Blume, June 24, 2005, The Jewish Journal

[16] Two Families’ Dreams Were Not Demolished

[17] Razing Rafah: Mass Home Demolitions in the Gaza Strip, Human Rights Watch, October 18, 2004

[18] Demolition for Alleged Military Purposes, B’Tselem

[19] Under the rubble: House demolition and destruction of land and property, Amnesty International, May 18, 2004

[20] Razing Rafah: Mass Home Demolitions in the Gaza Strip

[21] The Death of Rachel Corrie, Joshua Hammer, Mother Jones, September/October, 2003

[22] Mother Jones Smears Rachel Corrie, Phan Nguyen, September 20, 2003. See the ISM website for a new version with updated links.

[23] Rachel’s War, The Guardian, May 18, 2003

[24] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3JI-axaRF4&mode=related&search=

[25] See “About ISM” on the ISM website.

[26] See “About ISM” and “Frequently Asked Questions” on the ISM website.

[27] For information on ISM’s training see: https://www.palsolidarity.org/main/join/training/

[28] Israeli bulldozer kills activist from Olympia ; Student had a life — and death — beyond belief, Florangela Davila, The Seattle Times, March 17, 2003

[29] 68 year old American Mary Hughes-Thompson’s Account of their beating by settlers

[30] Palestinians Getting Human Shields, Juan Gonzalez, 2 April 2002, New York Daily News

AP: Israeli army “accused of attacking journalists”

Associated Press

The Tel Aviv-based Foreign Press Association on Thursday accused the IDF of “unprovoked violence against journalists” after two Palestinian journalists were beaten up and one of them detained in the West Bank.

“In both cases there is no evidence that either colleague was doing anything other than pursuing their journalistic duties,” the FPA said in a statement.

Emad Borat, a freelance cameraman for Reuters news agency and other groups, has remained in custody since he was detained while filming soldiers entering the Palestinian village of Bil’in on Oct. 6, said Shai Carmeli-Pollak, an [Israeli] film maker.

Bilin, located near the boundary with Israel, is the scene of weekly protests against the West Bank security barrier. Pollak said Borat was beaten up inside a military jeep after his detention and needed six stitches for a gash on his face.

A military judge has ordered Borat to be released, but he remains in custody while prosecutors appeal the order. The IDF has accused Borat of throwing stones at border police while filming, Pollak said.

Borat was the main photographer for Pollak’s documentary, “Bilin My Love,” which won best documentary at the recent Jerusalem Film Festival.

The FPA complaint also cited the case of Jaafar Ashtiyeh, a photographer for Agence France Presse. Ashtiyeh, 38, said an Israeli soldier chased and kicked him after he tried to take photographs of an Israeli checkpoint next to the West Bank city of Nablus.

The FPA, which represents foreign journalists in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said both cases raised “serious concerns about the treatment of journalists by members of the Israeli armed services.”

The IDF did not return calls seeking comment.

Tel Rumeida Diary: The Israeli Idea of “Quiet”

by Mary, October 14th

A young soldier told me that he didn’t care what anyone thought of him. He did not want peace, just quiet. He wanted quiet! And quiet he has, I suppose. He has no need to arrest anyone or shoot anyone. And that is the best a young conscript can hope for! Unfortunately his quiet is not good for everyone.

What the Israeli army calls “quiet” here means pandering to Israeli settlers, mostly by ignoring attacks on Palestinians and internationals and Israeli human rights workers (HRWs) by Israeli settler boys, who are too young to be arrested. On the evening of Friday September 29th, Baruch Marzel’s son and two other boys were hanging about outside our house and one of them threw muck at me. It was all over the back of clothes and in my hair. Soldiers were there but did nothing. The police came and said I could make a complaint but they could do nothing. The boys were too young! If it had been Palestinian children, they would not be considered too young. There are more than 700 Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. Next day Baruch asked what I thought about the children. I replied that I didn’t know what he meant. Then he said “Shabbat Shalom”. It definitely wasn’t an apology but it was better than the usual “Nazi” or “Anti-semetic”. So I replied “Shabbat Shalom”.

There have been constant attacks on the families living near the Tel Rumeida settlement.
The El Azzeh families had rocks thrown at their house for three hours the other evening. This happens a lot. There is a new young family in a house that had been empty. They have two toddler children and the rock throwing is a great worry for them. So there are now four families alongside the settlement. All have children. In the last month, Tel Rumeida settler children have cut the water pipe to these houses three times. The work was supervised by a woman, who came from the Gaza colonies a year ago. She has been trespassing on and trying to steal El Azzeh land ever since.

In July 2005, there was an Israeli court order that the El Azzeh families were allowed to use part of their land as a pathway, parallel to the street so that they could lead their house (for three years previously, these families were not allowed out of their houses, 2 hrs every two weeks curfew). Which the settlers have taken over. In December 2005, the Israeli army put razor wire across the entrance to the path. Until June 2006, the children were allowed to pass that way. If they couldn’t open the wire, most soldiers would help them. The children were constantly harassed by the settler woman from the late Gaza colonies. She would tell the soldiers that the children were not allowed pass. And, if that was not effective, she would physically block their way – standing over them and abusing them. Human rights workers were always there to help the children when the children came from and went to school. However, during the summer, while I was in Australia, Tel Rumeida settlers and some soldiers put a lot of razor wire at the end of the track near the El Azzeh houses. Now the families cannot pass at all. The only other way, is a very rough track through other people’s back yards. The ground is rocky and there are many rough steps as well as a ladder to climb. Two weeks ago, 6 year old Ahmad fell on rocky ground and injured his head, which is still covered in sticking plaster. The track has been tidied at the road end near us. It looks quiet and even peaceful! But this is misleading.

The Abu Aeshah family live directly opposite the Tel Rumeida settlement. On September 30th at 5.00pm, Abu Samir, Samir, Rafa and Mohammad Abu Aeshah were returning to their house opposite the Tel Rumeida settlement. Two settler boys came out and threw rocks at them. An Israeli army officer had told me that his soldiers are positioned to help in case of a settler attack against this family. This does not appear to be the case. No soldiers came. It was less than a week since the Abu Aeshah family was attacked in this way. The officer’s assurance does not seem to be worth much. Earlier on the same day, two HRWs were at the crossroads looking towards the Tel Rumeida settlement. Three settler boys, aged about ten, were throwing rocks towards a Palestinian house nearby. The HRWs called to the soldiers at the crossroad to come. One of the soldiers yelled at the boys until they stopped. Later, the same boys came out of the settlement with other girls and boys. They moved down the road towards the crossroad. Three boys went into the entryway of the Palestinian house and threw rocks at the front door. Others threw rocks down the road towards the soldiers who were responding to the HRWs call. Both soldiers sent the settler children back to the settlement. This is quiet?

All Palestinian government workers have not been paid since the end of February. Finally, after 7 months of working without pay, they are on strike. The money exists to pay them. Israel is collecting tax for Palestine but will not hand it over. They say that this is because the Palestinians elected Hamas, which the USA and Israel say is terrorist organization. But it was a democratic election with over a thousand registered international observers, who found it to be exemplary. So much for the USA wanting democracy in the Middle East! The Palestinians were tired of corrupt government, which gave the people nothing and obtained not even basic humanitarian rights from Israel. If Israel wanted a different government, some concessions – such as releasing 700 children, many of whom have not been charged with an offense, from Israeli prisons – would have made enough difference to swing the election. So now, there is no school, no nurses, doctors or workers in hospitals (except for emergencies), no garbage collectors etc. Even though the government in Hebron is not controlled by Hamas, the restrictions are here too. Israel holds the tax money of these people and collective punishment is the order of the day. One of the most shocking things for me is that my Australian government says that this is somehow helping Israel protect itself. Probably the reverse is true. It is not healthy for any nation to behave so callously, while demanding that their youth (Israeli army conscripts) be the ones to defend their cruel stance.

October 7th-14th (Succot week)

It is the Jewish holiday of Succot. Settlers have strung banners on Palestinian houses and flags and banners in the street. No permission was asked of Palestinians, but all is quiet. But the lack of consideration by and arrogance of the settlers and the acquiescence of the Israeli army is sickening. There were no problems on Shabbat (Saturday). On Sunday, the checkpoint for those leaving Tel Rumeida (checkpoint 56) was closed at 1.30pm. No notice was given. Soldiers forced the closure of shops in H1 (which is supposed to be controlled by the Palestinian Authority, under the Hebron accords) and invaded further into the Palestinian controlled area. Then the checkpoint was intermittently opened and closed until 3.30pm. Israeli settlers arrived at about 3.10pm and purposefully blocked the way of Palestinians using the checkpoint. At 3.30pm the checkpoint was closed – until 7pm, we were told. The settlers escorted by soldiers and police were allowed through the checkpoint and taken into a Palestinian house in H1. The aim was to visit the “Cave of Otniel Ben-Knaz”. This constituted not only trespass in a Palestinian home but an invasion by Israeli settlers and soldiers into H1.

Palestinians were beginning to gather at the checkpoint. It is Ramadan, which means fasting in daylight hours for Muslims. Palestinians need to finish their shoping before about 4.30pm and break their fast at about 5.45pm. The police and army officers present at the checkpoint made telephone calls. The settlers and soldiers returned. Several stones were thrown at the H1 side of the checkpoint. Not so quiet! Soldiers went rushing back again with guns ready. There was some tear gas. Then all was quiet again. The checkpoint was open again by 4.15pm.

On Monday the 9th, we were inundated with over a thousand tourists – religious Israeli Jews. They were walking all over the area, but thankfully there were no problems. A Palestinian told me that they were from Tel Aviv and other places in Israel. They were not settlers. On Tuesday and Wednesday, there was many bus loads of tourists. The buses park right in front of Palestinian doorways even though Palestinians and internationals are sitting there. This seems extremely rude as there are other places to park. Soldiers order the Palestinians to go inside their houses to make room for tourists to get off the bus. This international refuses to move! Most of the tourists themselves are no trouble. There are a few groups of young men, dressed the garb of religious Jews (black hat or kippur and trousers with a white shirt) who often act unpleasantly. On Tuesday, a group of about 12 crowded round me as I sat on a wall outside a Palestinian house. Two of them trod on my feet several times and tried to say that I was tripping them.

This is the “quiet” of the Israeli army. The settlers, no matter how badly they behave or how unreasonable their demands, are always put first. The Palestinians, no matter how conciliatory they are, always come last.

Israeli Colonists Steal Palestinian olives in Tel Rumeida

by ISM Hebron, October 13th

For the duration of the week the streets of Tel Rumeida, close to the illegal Jewish-only colonies of Tel Rumeida and Beit Hadassah have been adorned with Israeli flags, slogans and orange ribbons (signifying support for the settler movement).

On Monday over a thousand Israeli tourists descended on Tel Rumeida for the Succot holiday while Palestinian religious freedom was restricted at the Ibrahimi mosque. Soldiers escorted settlers in a march into Hebron’s Old City – an illegal invasion. Palestinian civilians were cleared out of the way with tear gas and sound grenades.

Twice this week, internationals have witnessed Israeli colonists from the Tel Rumeida settlement picking olives belonging to Palestinians located below the settlement caravans. The Palestinians are afraid to harvest the olives because of their proximity to the caravans of Tel Rumeida settlement, whose residents are carry out constant violence and harassment against Palestinian civilians. One family living below the settlement continues to have the path to the main road blocked by barbed wire despite an Israeli Supreme Court ruling.

On Wednesday, on two separate occasions, international human rights workers were attacked and abused by settler children close to Beit Hadassah settlement. Several Palestinian families have olive groves in Tel Rumeida and have in recent years had problems harvesting their olives. They have started picking already but the main harvest period is after Eid when they are anxious to be able to pick.