Category: Nablus - Page 51 - International Solidarity Movement

Between Qaryut and Jaloud: systematic ethnic cleansing

By Maria Erdely

30 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Derar Ammer’s family has owned the land they live on since 1936. He is in possession of the papers that state that this land and the home his ancestors built on it is rightfully his, which date back to the British mandate. Nevertheless, Derar is not allowed to expand his house, let alone construct a new one on his land. The 13 members of the Ammer family are forced to live in an early 20^th century home lacking built in running water and electricity which instead must be purchased separately every month.

Derar Ammer's backyard, Shilo settlement visible in the background.

The Ammer family home is located about 20 kilometres south-east of Nablus, between the villages of Qaryut and Jaloud. Both these villages have been the target of attacks by settlers from illegal Israeli colonies built in the area. They are surrounded from all sides by the colonies of Shpot Raheel, Shilo, Eli, and Eli Eaval. Shpot Raheel, which was illegally erected in 1993, is less than 200 metres distance from Derar’s house.

“Sometimes the settlers come close and they start throwing stones directly at my house. It becomes more and more difficult to access my land,” says Derar.

Particularly during the time of the olive harvest, life is difficult for the inhabitants of both Qaryut and Jaloud. The village’s residents face Israeli settlers who have repeatedly attempted to burn the trees, and with that, ruin the small source of income for the villagers.

Basher, a young man from Qaryut, spoke with the International Solidarity Movement. He says that throughout the year, settlers and soldiers alike block the road that leads to the fields of the villagers, in order to prevent them from working on their agricultural land.

“A 35-year old man was shot by a settler 3 years ago because he was trying to access his land,” says Basher.

According to the villagers, every Israeli settlement is surrounded by cameras that monitor every move of nearby Palestinians. Dogs kept off leash ‘guard’ the illegal colonies. The Israeli military is present and many of the civilian settlers are heavily armed.

Last week however, a 13-year old boy managed to defy these and lit fire to some of the electric wires and cameras with the intention of allowing his family to work their land. As a response, Israeli soldiers raided Qaryut later in the day, and damaged several houses of the village while searching for the boy.

He has not been found yet. The Israeli military has been present in the village every night since as they continue to search for the child.

Both Jaloud and Qaryut are located in Area C which means that they are under full Israeli civil and military control. The most fertile land has been annexed by the illegal settlements, as well as many water springs and grassing fields for livestock. Several Palestinian houses are due to be demolished by Israel, and neither of the 2 villages are allowed to expand despite their growing numbers. Some families have hired lawyers.

“The settlers and soldiers make it impossible for us to access our lands for such a long period of time, that in the end it gets taken away by [a law of] the Israeli government,” says Basher.

Life is becoming more difficult on a daily basis in both Qaryut and Jaloud. The Occupation Forces, settlers, and soldiers alike are attempting to drive the people out of their rightful homes by denying them basic commodities such as water, electricity, and new or improved housing. The Palestinian villages’ lands continue to shrink, whilst the illegal Israeli settlements expand. It is nothing less than systematic ethnic cleansing that is sneaking up on the Palestinian people of Qaryut and Jaloud.

Maria Erdely is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Urif: Israeli settlers attack village, Palestinian shot in abdomen

By Tete Tele

26 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On May 26, the village of Urif, south of Nablus, was attacked by Israeli settlers from the illegal Yitzhar settlement. Extensive amounts of agricultural land belonging to Urif were burned and settlers threw stones and shot live ammunition at civilians from the village. A Palestinian man was shot with live ammunition in the abdomen and a Franco-British volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement was injured by a tear gas canister.

The attack began around 1p.m. with shooting coming from a hill east to the village, nearby to a Palestinian secondary school. After one and a half hours the settlers appeared on the opposite side of the valley and began again to fire. It was during this attack that a young Palestinian man was shot and seriously injured. Urif residents carried him down the hill towards an ambulance that took him immediately to Rafadiyah hospital in Nablus. Israeli soldiers witnessed the attack from the top of one of hills, yet did not intervene.

Israeli soldiers prevent Palestinians from putting out the fires started by Israeli settlers further up the hill - click here for more photos

Urif’s residents attempted to climb the hill to put out fires that the settlers had started. They were confronted by heavily armed Israeli soldiers who prevented them from reaching the fires. Soldiers fired live ammunition into the air and fired blanks at the crowd of unarmed civilians. They then left the area in two armoured jeeps. Other soldiers who were positioned atop the hill, continued to monitor the Palestinians who managed to climb the hill and were attempting to put out the fires.

After one hour the settlers started a new fire on another hill near the settlement. The soldiers prevented the Palestinians from climbing the hill to put out the fires, but allowed the settlers a free pass to throw stones at the young Palestinians and internationals below them on the hill.

The Israeli military then began to shoot teargas grenades from both sides of the valley, effectively trapping the Palestinians and internationals from both sides.

The Palestinians moved towards the hill where the the secondary school stands. A group of speeding Israeli army jeeps almost ran over a group of young Palestinian men and the soldiers and some settlers stood waiting for them on this hill. The Israeli military continued to shoot excessive amounts of tear gas. A Franco-British activist was injured in the leg after being struck by a tear gas canister.

Tear gas was fired at the residential area, and many households including women and children were affected.

Urif’s residents were unable to be precise as to the number of Israeli settlers that attacked the village since there were multiple attacks throughout the afternoon. A conservative estimate of 100 settlers was given.

The casualties were high. One Palestinian man is currently still in hospital after being shot by a settler in the kidney. The Franco-British volunteer shot in the leg required medical treatment and is still unable to walk without assistance. Several individuals required treatment for tear gas inhalation, including one in particular who reacted severely to the gas due to their asthma.

Illegal settlers from the Yitzhar colony were also responsible for the attack on Asira al-Qibliyah last week, wherein a Palestinian was shot in the head.

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

Two Palestinians arrested as Israeli settlers forcefully enter their property

By Alex Sweden

28 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Friday, May 25, illegal Israeli settlers drove into the village Lubban ash-Sharqiya where they attempted to forcefully enter a family’s home. When Israeli soldiers and policemen arrived at the scene they joined the settlers, supporting’ them whilst they tried to enter the house.

Men of the Palestinian family, together with International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers and other internationals, stood at the gate of the house to prevent the settlers from entering. The father of the household, Khaled Daraghmeh, and his son were then beaten and arrested.

Lubban ash-Sharqiya is a village located some 30 kilometres south of Nablus, adjacent to Route-60, the primary north-south road that runs through the occupied West Bank. The village is surrounded from all directions by 3 illegal settlements: Eli, Shilo, and Ma’le Levona. The illegality of these Israeli colonies has been confirmed by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Security Council.

On the outskirts of Lubban ash-Sharqiya, near the colony Ma’le Levona, Khaled Daraghmeh lives with his family. Khaled, like many other Palestinian villagers, works as a farmer and is dependent on what the harvest provides him. Living next to Israeli settlements is not an easy fate for Palestinians and Khaled has suffered a lot.

“It began to get really bad about five years ago. That was when the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) demolished my first house.” says Khaled.

After his first house was demolished, Khaled moved to his father’s old house just across the road. The peace he seeked there did not last long. Only a couple months later, settlers attacked and burned down the entire building. Khaled was then forced to move to a third house, an ancient Ottoman building that also belongs to his father. Here the family lived in one part of the house, using the remaining space as a poultry farm.

The settlers have made it clear, however, that they are determined to get rid of Palestinians in the area. Last Saturday, some 50 settlers forcefully entered the house, removed all the furniture, and burned it. They also poisoned the drinking water of the poultry farm, leading to the death of most of the animals inside.

Now Khaled is frightened of life in his own home. He welded the door to the living area and moved into a small, dark room, where he used to keep animals.

“In the past, I was able to repair or rebuild what the settlers destroyed, but now I have used up all my savings,” says Khaled.

The harassment continues to today. As Khaled worked his land, a settler car stopped at the road and began making phone calls. He feared a new attack and called the ISM, seeking their immediate presence. Upon their arrival, the settlers had already left and everything appeared calm. Later, while the group of Palestinians and internationals sat together having lunch, approximately 20 settlers of all ages arrived and started walking towards the Ottoman house.

Palestinians from the area, accompanied by the ISM, approached the settlers and asked them what they were doing here. They replied that the land was ‘community property’ and that they had the right to be there. Khaled, who owns the land and has all the needed documents to prove it, replied by saying that this is his land, and that he wanted them to leave.

While the discussion continued, an Israeli military jeep with 6 soldiers arrived and began to split up the crowd. A policeman told the settlers that they could not enter the house as it belongs to Khaled and his family. The settlers grew upset with the policeman and screamed that he was a coward and afraid of the internationals and their cameras.

A discussion in Hebrew took place between them and meanwhile another police car arrived and 2 other policemen joined the crowd. After a couple of minutes of heated dialogue, the 3 policemen, the 6 soldiers, and the illegal settlers walked towards the house while the settlers screamed, “you see, you see, now we can enter!”

Jamal Daraghmeh is peppersprayed and loses his shoe in the violent arrest | Katarina Reigo

The Palestinians together with the internationals formed a line at the gate of the house to prevent the approaching group from illegally entering the house. Khaled was wrestled to the ground and beaten by soldiers and police men, even after being handcuffed. When Jamal, Khaled’s 21 year old son, saw his father beaten and attacked, he ran over to try to help. When he reached, the soldiers and policemen attacked Jamal in the same way they did his father.

Khaled’s 17 year old son, Jalad, then tried to help them and was instead attacked by the settlers and pushed away by the soldiers.

As the policemen walked away with the handcuffed men, they struck Jamal in the head a couple of times. The youngest son, Mu’min, 14, was filming the attacks on his brother and father when the policemen tried to kick him in the head. The boot missed him only by a few centimetres. Then policeman pulled the camera out of the teenager’s hands and stole it.

Only moments later, Jamal was pepper sprayed in the face before they forced him into the police vehicle. Khaled was then pushed into the jeep with bleeding hands from the brutal handcuffing.

“This has become normal to us. My father has been arrested 4 times recently and my brothers is beaten up all the time. Mu’min can not even walk to school without the settlers attacking him,” says Jalad.

To survive as a Palestinian living adjacent to these illegal settlements, can, with the assistance of the Israeli Occupation Forces, feel like a losing game. Only last year, 250 to 270 of Khaled’s olive trees were uprooted by settlers. Last week, an entire field of cucumbers was destroyed along with the irr system of the family’s land.

These attacks have pushed the Daraghmeh family into the desperate situation they are now in. After being forced to start over again and again, they have no money left. They can not repair the things that are destroyed, leading to a bad harvest, and less income.

Simultaneously, the Israeli state has offered Khaled 5 million shekels (1 million Euros) for his land. But as many other Palestinians, he is rejecting the money, and the resulting ethnic cleansing, and will continue to live and work on his land even if it means sleeping in a small, dark room with no electricity or running water.

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

Burin: arbitrary arrests continue

By Maria Erdely

22 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Castro Risaq was arrested on the night of the May 1 in Burin, a village just 7 kilometres south west of Nablus. The Israeli military arrived at 1 a.m. demanding Castro. Waking up the family, they barged through the front door. The 38 year old man was arrested and blindfolded without an opportunity to get dressed. His wife and 6 children were forced to watch as the head of the family was taken away without explanation. No charges have been pressed yet. The soldiers who arrested him stated only, “this is our job.”

Castro was told that he would have a hearing within 3 days. This date has since has been postponed to the end of the month.

Castro holds both a Palestinian and British passport. He lived in the United Kingdom for a period of 7 months before he was called back to Palestine to stay with his ill mother. He intended to pass on his UK citizenship to his to eldest daughters, 15 and 18, but did not have the opportunity to do so before being arrested.

Upon Castro’s arrest, his wife, Salam Risaq, contacted the British Embassy. Their response was simply that they are unable to help.

The Risaq family has so far been denied visitation. They will only be allowed to see Castro in court during the promised hearing.

To support his family, Castro worked as a shepherd alongside his brother. Now that the family is left without a primary breadwinner, life is difficult. Castro’s 13 year old son wants to take over his father’s position. Salam only receives support from her brother-in-law and some Burin residents whose family members have also been taken by Israeli authorities.

Salam’s youngest son will soon need a second eye surgery in Jerusalem. His father’s arrest might make this impossible. Raising 6 children by herself for an unknown period of time has put a great deal of pressure on Salam.

Castro Risaq’s youngest son requires a costly eye surgery that may be impossible now due to his father’s imprisonment

Burin has been subject to many arrests on a daily basis for the past years. The village is surrounded from all directions by four illegal Israeli settlements. The Israeli military often patrols through the village at night, raids homes, and arbitrarily arrests members of Palestinian families. There has been a series of harassment and arrest of Burin’s youth, particularly those with a connection to the youth community centre in the village.

According to previous reports, between 200 and 300 Israeli soldiers have been known to raid Burin village. Arriving at night, the military will awaken entire families and destroy the inside belongings of the home. Parents complain that their children have not slept peacefully in years due to the constant threat of an army night raid.

On 21 April 2012, 10 youth were arrested in Burin. 5 of them were expected to take their final exams this year. It is unknown what their fate, or Castro’s, will be.

Maria Erdely is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Settler Attack: Palestinian man shot in head in Asira al-Qibliya

By Maria Erdely

20 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Asira al-Qibliya, a village located south-west of Nablus, was attacked by illegal Israeli settlers yesterday. The attack lasted all afternoon leaving 7 Palestinians injured, of which 5 required hospitalization. Settlers fired live ammunition at the Palestinians, and one man was in critical condition after being shot in the head.

Israeli settlers arrived at Asira in the afternoon and before any Palestinians or Israeli soldiers came they began the attack by setting fire to the land. The people of Asira arrived and responded by throwing stones towards the settlers, attempting to force them off the land they were destroying. 3 of the 60 settlers were carrying weapons with live ammunition. They began to fire at the Palestinians and 20 year old Nemer Fathir Asaira was shot in the head.

Palestinians carry an injured man who was shot during an attack by illegal Israeli settlers | AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh

Paramedics were prohibited from entering the street so a private car had to evacuate Nemer to an ambulance. 4 more Palestinians were seriously injured by stones that were thrown by the Israeli settlers, including an elderly woman, who was hit in the head, Ahmed Jaber Saleh, whose nose and cheekbone were shattered, and his brother whose leg was broken.

All victims of the attack were taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus. A lot of minor traumas were treated at the scene of the attack, amongst them 13 year old Mohammed Dawood Salah, whose upper arm was hit by a stone.

Shortly after the attack began, the illegal settlers were joined by the Israeli Army. Approximately 30 soldiers arrived at the scene. They watched without intervening as the attack by settlers intensified and increasingly more Palestinians were injured.

Some of the Israeli soldiers began filming the crowd of Palestinians who were throwing stones. An elder from Asira commented that they do this because, “they want to feed a certain stereotype to the Western media.” Filming is also used to intimidate and threaten a future arrest.

The settlers retreated in the late afternoon leaving only soldiers behind, who continued to intimidate and attack the villagers by using tear gas and sound bombs. The fires that had been started by the settlers earlier in the day continued into the late afternoon. The Israeli Army preventedthe Palestinian firemen from putting out the flames that were destroying the land.

Following the attack, the Israeli army proceeded to enter the village from its two main roads. The number of soldiers seemed to outnumber that of the Palestinians, of whom many were minors. Many inhabitants of the village feared that the situation would escalate even further. In the evening, the Israeli military retreated, but not without leaving behind several tear gas grenades and sound bombs.

Whilst confronting the soldiers, the residents of Asira chanted, “our land, our streets.”

A middle aged Palestinian man who chose not be named, stated that, “the settlers usually shoot and go. They come prepared to kill.”

Awaiting treatment in hospital

One day after the attack, Nemer Fathir Asaira, the young man shot in the face, remains in hospital. He was released from Intensive Care Unite, but doctors have yet to determine if he requires surgery.

According to Nemer’s father, his family and friends have been by his side day and night and they will continue to be so until he is released from hospital.

33 year old Ahmed Jaber Saleh, whose nose and cheekbone were broken by a stone, was visited by his mother, wife and son today. His brother, whose leg was broken by a stone, had already been released from the hospital. Ahmed and Nemer both remain in anticipation of a decision by the hospital of their treatment plans.

Settlements: a culture of impunity to the law

Approximately 700 Israelis live in the illegal Israeli settlement adjacent to Asira al-Qibliya. This colony, like 250 others throughout the West Bank, is considered illegal under international law as a violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. This illegality has been confirmed by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Security Council.

The recent attack was only one of many in the history of the village. In 2011, similar attacks occurred on a weekly basis. This year, the settlers have attempted attacks on Asira up to 3 times each month. The Israeli settlers participating in these aggressions are not always inhabitants of the area. Nevertheless, they show their unity by wearing similar coloured cloth, on the most recent occasion white t-shirts. This may be an indication of long-term planning behind the attack.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 90% of complaints regarding settler violence filed by Palestinians with the Israeli police in recent years have been closed without indictment. OCHA reports that, “ the root cause of the settler violence phenomenon is Israel’s decades-long policy of illegally facilitating the settling of its citizens inside occupied Palestinian territory. This activity has resulted in the progressive takeover of Palestinian land, resources and transportation routes and has created two separate systems of rights and privileges, favoring Israeli citizens at the expense of the over 2.5 million Palestinian residents of the West Bank.”

The residents of Asira al-Qibliya are unable to lead a secure life under the constant threat of harassment, intimidation, and attack by the Israeli Occupation Forces and illegal settlers alike.

Maria Erdely is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).