A Palestinian family of the Old City of Hebron had the top floor of their home torched by a mob of settlers early Saturday morning.
In addition to the fire the violent settlers also attacked the lower floors of the home, completely ransacking and ruining the Al-‘Uweiwi family’s kitchen. During the attack Nidal Al-‘Uweiwi, his wife and his nine children were all forced to barricade themselves inside a small room of the house so as to not be attacked by the settlers.
Though a fire truck was able to reach the scene some time after the flames began, this was only after the family had been rescued from the home by Palestinian Authority police officers. Two of the officers and all of the family were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
This attack comes with the long string of settler violence that has occurred in and around Hebron since the eviction of settlers from the illegally occupied Rajabi house on Thursday. It is likely that the settlers involved in the attack came from the nearby Abraham Avino settlement, whose occupants can easily access the roof of the Al-‘Uweiwi home despite an adjacent military watch base. The family reported to have seen settlers loitering around on the roof for some time before the attack and recognized one of the settlers as Miriam Levinger, an Israeli settler known for her particularly violent and hateful actions.
The Israeli authorities were informed of the attack, though since arriving at the house on Saturday morning have done little to find the attackers. The eleven members of the family are now left to repair the massive damages on their own.
Palestinian residents of Ni’lin gathered, together with Israeli and international activists, at 11.30am for the weekly demonstration held by the medical clinic close to the land due to be confiscated by Israel. Twelve people were injured during the demonstration.
Before the prayer ceremony was carried out, the Israeli army moved jeeps and many soldiers close to the site of the clinic. Once the prayer ceremony was over, heavy tear-gas kept the demonstrators from entering the fields. Protesters were kept from going further than approximately 30 meters from the village.
The army was very aggressive and shot a lot of teargas and rubber-coated steel-bullets, aiming directly at the non-violent protesters. They also fired at the houses closest to the fields, smashing peoples windows and scaring young children inside. The violence was such that one of the families had to evacuate their house.
Ten people needed medical treatment due to injuries by rubber-coated steel bullets, one of them shot in the head. Two ware treated after being hit by teargas-cannisters fired at them from close range. One of those injured by tear-gas was an international solidarity activist. The demonstration ended at 5pm.
In the West Bank village of Ni’lin, the resistance against the construction of a wall that will confiscate Palestinian land continues. The building of the Apartheid Wall will further assist in the deterioration of the lives of residents. The Wall will not only steal privately-owned land, but will ensure that Ni’lin residents will be more restricted in their movement, having to pass through a checkpoint to reach other villages.
UPDATE: Settlers are attacking Palestinian residents and property around the West Bank in a coordinated outbreak of aggression following the eviction of settlers from the occupied Rajabi house in Hebron. Attacks against Palestinians have been reported from Turmas’ayya, Burin, Huwarra, Beit Iba, Azzoun, al-Funduq, Assira-al-Qabliya and Susiya, as well as the mass settler riots in Hebron.
10:30pm 4th December: Settlers have thrown molotov cocktails at a house in Assira-al-Qabliya, Nablus region, setting the house alight. Widespread damage has been reported by Palestinian firefighters who have now put out the blaze.
In Susiya, the tent of Hajet Sarra Nausaja has been burnt down by settlers who have stormed through the area.
One Palestinian man has been taken to hospital in Qalqilya after his car was attacked by settlers close to al-Funduq. His condition is as yet unknown. Residents of al-Funduq also reported that Israeli soldiers ordered all shops to close and people to remain inside their homes in case the settlers arrived.
6:30pm 4th December – These coordinated attacks appear to be the manifestation of settler warnings of a ‘price-tag’ campaign that were reported in September of this year.
Just outside the village of Turmas’ayya, Israeli soldiers stopped a bus and at least 40 other Palestinian cars from traveling down Road 60 that links Nablus and Ramallah. As the cars were being stopped settlers attacked the cars, throwing rocks and other projectiles. Large-scale damage was reported from the scene.
Those trapped inside the cars report that Israeli soldiers are refusing to intervene and prevent the settler attacks or to allow the Palestinian traffic to pass so as to escape from the settler attacks. Witnesses to this have said that they are very scared and that there has been considerable damage caused towards the bus and cars.
In the village of Burin, Nablus region, over 100 settlers have attacked the village, throwing stones at Palestinian houses and damaging property. Settlers have also set fire to Palestinian agricultural land in Burin. Groups of settlers have been throwing rocks at houses with Israeli soldiers seemingly unwilling to prevent them. In one house residents are trapped inside while settlers have repeatedly thrown rocks against their property. International Human Rights Workers in the village have reported that Israeli soldiers in the vilage have been using tear-gas and sound grenades against Palestinians not in their homes, but are refraining from using such force against settlers attacking the village.
Rather than confront the violent settlers, Israeli soldiers have preferred to use force on Palestinian residents in the regions. A resident of Burin was violently detained by Israeli soldiers after settlers had attacked his car and broken his windshield. A similar incident was reported to the International Women’s Peace Service as one resident, while driving home, was confronted by Israeli soldiers who refused to intervene as settlers attacked his car.
International Human Rights Workers have also reported that both Beit Iba and Huwarra checkpoints have been blocked by settlers and that rocks are being thrown at Palestinians attempting to pass through the Israeli checkpoints.
In response to these settler attacks, rather than confront the settlers, have blocked Palestinian traffic from running on Road 60 that links Nablus and Ramallah, the road between Kufr Laqif and Jinsafut and the road between Jit and al-Funduq. With the religious of Eid approaching, it appears that Israeli forces are seeking to prevent Palestinians traveling instead of acting to prevent the settler attacks.
Thursday 27th November, 2008 – Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine
Three Palestinian trawling vessels confiscated by Israeli naval forces were returned today almost immediately following yesterdays announcement that three Human Rights Groups had filed an appeal against Ehud Barak and the commander of the Israeli navy. The vessels were stolen from Gazan waters on 18th November while fishing in Palestinian territorial water.
Filed yesterday by Al-Mazan, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), the appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court was on behalf of the vessels’ owners. The appeal, sent to the Israeli Supreme Court, asked why the boats have not been released and why the fishermen have not been compensated for their loss of income and their loss of use of the boats for the past week.
Rather than answer these questions in court, raising serious contradictions to the Israeli claim that Gaza is no longer occupied, Israel’s navy informed the lawyers that the boats would probably be returned immediately. Less than 24 hours later the boats were returned, though initial reports suggest that they had sustained serious damage and that expensive equipment has been stolen.
“While the return of 1/4 of Gaza’s trawling fleet after they were stolen by the Israeli navy is a relief to Gaza’s fishermen, the fact that it only took the threat of court action in their own legal system for the boats return demonstrates how baseless Israel’s claim of not occupying Gaza is” said Fida Qishta, local human rights activist from Rafah and ISM co-ordinator in the Gaza Strip.
Held in Ashdod, the fishing boats were transferred into Palestinian waters six nautical miles offshore at approximately 16:00 Gaza time and reached the port of Gaza City shortly before 18:00.
There are only 12 boats of this size in the Gaza Strip, so the confiscation represented one quarter of such boats available to the Gazan population.The boats were abducted 7 1/2 miles from the port of Deir al-Balah, well within ‘Zone L’, which, under the Oslo agreement, gives them the right to be fishing within their own 20 nautical mile limit.
The boats’ captains reported damage to their vessels’ – indeed one trawler had to be towed in by a second due to engine damage. Equipment such as GPS devices were also missing. The fishermens’ loss of earnings over the last ten days is still being estimated.
The three human rights observers from the International Solidarity Movement who were accompanying the fishermen at the time of the Israeli assault were held at Maasiyahu detention centre in Ramle, despite never being charged. All have now been illegally deported by the Israeli authorities. Vittorio Arrigoni was deported to Italy on Sunday 23rd November, Andrew Muncie to the UK on Tuesday 25th and Darlene Wallach to the US early on Thursday 27th November.
Ramallah, Occupied West Bank: On November 25, 2008, Al-Mazan, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) have filed a legal appeal against Ehud Barak and the commander of the Israeli Navy. The appeal was launched over Israel’s illegal confiscation of three large fishing boats from Palestinian territorial waters on the 18th November.
This appeal has been sent to the supreme court asking why the boats have not been released and why the fishermen have not been compensated for their loss of income and their loss of use of the boats for the past week.
The boats were abducted 7 1/2 miles from the port of Deir al-Balah, so they were well within Zone L, which, under the Oslo agreement, gives them the right to be fishing within their own 20 nautical mile limit. Israel’s actions raises serious doubts about their claim that Gaza is no longer occupied.
The action against Barak and the Israeli Navy is based, in part, on the The Hague convention, “Family honor and rights, the lives of persons, and private property, as well as religious convictions and practice, must be respected. Private property can not be confiscated.”
