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At about 2 p.m. on Friday, December 5, 2008, farmers in Immatin, a village in Qalqiliya, noticed a fire had broken out in olive groves several kilometres south of the village. The farmers estimate that the fire spread over an area of 100-150 dunums (1 dunum = 1,000 square meters) before Palestinian firefighters were able to arrive and put it out.
An estimated 150 to 200 trees, manly olive but also a few almond and fig trees, were affected by the fire. While the almond and fig trees were destroyed, most of the olive trees are likely to survive. Farmers checking the damage to their groves surmised that the fire was likely to have been started in two places.
As there was widespread settler violence against Palestinians in the area as well as open calls for a week of “retaliations” after the eviction of extremist settlers from an occupied house in Hebron yesterday, farmers from Immatin believe the fire was set by settlers. They also report that settlers from the Immanu’el settlement and Havad Gilad outpost frequently come to the area on horses, and at about 4 p.m. today five settlers were spotted in the valley beside the groves, moving away from the area towards Immanu’el.
A group of 50 Palestinians from the village of Burqa in the North of Nablus, joined by solidarity activists and members of the press, held their weekly demonstration demanding the return of Palestinian land from the evacuated illegal Homesh settlement on Friday.
The demonstrators marched to farmland surrounding the settlement at 11:00 am Friday morning to replant olive trees on their forcibly neglected land. Over 5000 dunams of land in and surrounding the settlement are inaccessible to the Palestinian populations of the surrounding villages and the demonstrators on Friday were both physically and symbolically reclaiming this important and fertile farmland.
The Homesh settlement was abandoned in 2005 following the terms of the “disengagement” plan, though settlers have attempted to repopulate the land multiple times since and none of the land has been returned to its rightful Palestinian owners. Israeli authorities claim that the area, after the evacuation, is to be considered Area C according to the Oslo agreements, though the logic behind such a claim is clearly lacking. The goal of today’s demonstration was not to reach the settlement itself, though villagers reported having seen Israeli settlers on the abandoned land from the location of the manifestation, confirming worries that settlers were once again attempting to repopulate the land.
Today’s demonstration was instead focusing on the extreme loss of land around the settlement, dunams where Palestinians used to grow olives, apples, apricots and walnuts. After the evacuation many of the Burqa, Sebastiya, Beit Imreen, Talluza, Deir Sharaf and Silat adh Dhahr residents returned to their long neglected lands to replant, though much of their work has already been reversed when settlers have come to uproot and burn the newly planted trees. In addition many of the farmers’ storage areas and wells have been sabotaged or damaged by settlers. In April of this year settlers poured toxic chemicals into the water of the wells.
When assessing the barren farmland one Burqa resident, Abu Sami, lamented; “these settlers have completely changed our landscape”. The settler attacks have also targeted many of the Palestinian shepherds that have attempted to graze their sheep on the land surrounding Homesh, many have reported incidents when they were attacked by settlers and had their sheep shot.
In the years since the evacuation the residents of Burqa and other surrounding villages have received thousands of dollars from organizations like Oxfam Quebec to use, along with their own funds, to build up the land once again, though their attempts have been made futile with persistent abuse and incursion from illegal settlers. Many residents were already forced to leave the area when their livelihood was taken away with the destruction of their farmland and many more will probably be forced to follow if these settler reigns of terror continue. Along with settler violence the residents of Burqa suffer constant Israeli army evictions, invasions and harassment. For all of these reasons the Palestinians of the community have vowed to hold weekly demonstrations to prevent the nightmare of Homesh from plaguing their lives once again, proudly carrying signs proclaiming; “We will fight until we get our rights”.
ISM Hebron: The settlers that had been evicted at approximately 14.00 from the occupied Rajabi house, were allowed to roam the Wadi Hassain (Al Ras neighborhood) area freely. After the chaotic evacuation of around 200 settlers, many groups of settlers embarked on their publicized “price tag” campaign by attacking Palestinian homes in the neighborhood. Near the Rajabi house (‘House of Contention’), four Palestinians were shot, no less than 4 fires were started, and all of the homes were stoned.
Hassni Abu Sayfan was shot in the stomach and rather then allow him to seek immediate medical treatment the Army medics held and examined him. Ultimately the army had to airlift him to a nearby hospital by helicopter because his condition had become critical. Another two from the Sayfan family were shot, after an altercation with settlers that had come down to their homes. Two settlers began threatening several Palestinians with a hand gun, shot one Palestinian in the hand and another in the shoulder as he was trying to take away the gun. Another Palestinian was shot two inches from his heart and was taken to a nearby hospital.
The Matari home was attacked by settlers and a fire was started in nearby bushes, burning a corner of the house. The water tanks and satellites on the roof as well as 18 windows were destroyed by stones thrown from Kiryat Arba. The family had to move all of their belongings away from the side of the house that faces the settlement. At the Sayfan homes nearby, 2 water tanks and 2 satellites had been pulled off the roof by settlers. The home was also damaged from stones throw from Kiryat Arba. At the Jabar home, slightly downhill from the “House of Contention,” a burning stack of hay was thrown at the home, but put out by the family before any major damage was caused. A member of the Jabari family also reported that a settler had thrown a military weapon that soldiers later retrieved.
As well as attacking Palestinian homes near the “House of Contention” (close to Kiryat Arba settlement) settlers were attacking in the Old City, Tel Rumeida (Shohada street), Kharsina settlement and the Quarantina area.
Between 20 to 30 settler youth burned 4 cars along the Quarantina street at 15.00, and proceeded towards a mosque, Jabar Al Arahne, to break many windows. Then the Army arrived and walked alongside the settlers, throwing tear gas and sound bombs towards Palestinian homes. They turned back at 15.45 then returned to smash several cars with stones. They came by the Al Rayam mosque and burned 2 cars nearby and 2 cars by a military tower.
At the Da’ana house near the Kharsina settlement, settlers had lit 3 trees in the olive groves around 16.30 after crossing an area illegal to Israelis. About 20 settlers came back at 22.30 and threw stones at the home.
The “price tag” campaign is a commitment to choreographed extremely violent responses if any act offends settlements or settlers.The evacuation of illegal settler occupiers in the “House of Contention” is a justification to enact the open and publicized campaign. The Supreme Court decision on November 16th to evict the settlers had been met with promises of violence against Palestinians and is currently being fulfilled throughout the West Bank. Despite settlers using aggressive tactics to injure Palestinians and destroy property, Palestinians are being restricted to their homes by the Army while settlers are moving freely about Hebron.
On Thursday 4th December 2008 Um Kamel accompanied by Israeli, Palestinian and International activists returned to her original home of her parents in the Talbyieh area in West Jerusalem, where they symbolically set up a tent and demanded the right of return for all Palestinian refugees.
Around thirty activists and supporters of Um-Kamel Al-Kurd marched through the Talbyieh area of West Jerusalem and constructed a tent on a roundabout. Um-Kamil and her supporters issued their demand for the right of return of all refugees with banners and placards that they displayed to passing traffic. The demonstration lasted for an hour under scrutiny from the police and although several motorists shouted insults at the group the demonstration was peaceful and ended after an hour when the activists dismantled the tent and left the area.
The Al-Kurd family were survivors of the Nakba of 1948 where they, along with 750 000 others were made refugees from their homes of which Palestinians had been living for generations. The Al-Kurd family had been living in housing created for Refugees by the Jordanian government and UNWRA in 1956 in Sheikh Jarrah, before on the 9th of November 2008 they were evicted by Israeli police after a seven year dispute with settlers who had occupied half of their house. Israel supported the settlers’ action although it was illegal under UN resolutions 242 and 338 that call for Israel to withdraw from the territories occupied including East Jerusalem in the 1967 War. Since Um-Kamil was evicted from her home in the refugee housing her supporters demand that she should be allowed to return to her original home.
All Palestinian refugees have the right to return under UN resolution 194 that Israel has refused to comply with for 60 years. The actions taken by the Israeli government in settlement expansion and house demolitions in Jerusalem show that their illegal annexation of Jerusalem does not extend the same rights that Israelis have to the citizens in the occupied territories.
Hebron, 4th November – A Palestinian man is in critical condition after being shot in the stomach as settlers continue to riot through Hebron.
At least seventeen Palestinians have been taken to hospital injured as settlers set fire to several Palestinian homes. Four were injured as settlers opened fire into Palestinian houses.
Hosni Abu Saither has been taken to Aila Government Hospital after he was shot in the stomach during an attack by Israeli settlers who rioted following the eviction. He is currently in a critical condition.
Settlers have also broken into and are occupying a Palestinian property in Hebron’s Old City.
Mobs of settlers stormed through Hebron following the eviction of the Rajabi house today, causing many injuries and widespread damage. Several Palestinian homes were torched, as well as around 20 cars.
International solidarity activists are maintaining a presence in Hebron, staying with Palestinian families that live in the immediate vicinity of the occupied house and who have been the focus for the settler attacks. The internationals report that Israeli soldiers have made Hebron a Closed Military Zone, but are unwilling to confront the violent settlers.
Settlers reported to the media that they have called on supporters to engage in a week long campaign following their eviction. “We will choose the time and place to retaliate,” they were quoted as saying in Ynet.
The mass settler violence has also sparked a series of coordinated attacks across the West Bank as settlers engage in what has been described as a ‘price-tag‘ campaign.
