A family in Al Funduq had a demolition order delivered to their home while both were at work yesterday, 16th May. The paper was left on the door. It was the third final order and it left them three days to leave before destruction of their home.
The man, 29 years old is a worker for the Red Crescent Society. The woman, 25 years old, is a school-teacher. They have two children, four years and 8 months old. The house, which had been built for them to move in after their wedding, is 150 square meters and an approximate value of NIS 180,000 or USD $45,350.
The International Women’s Peace Service, Haris, Salfit, Palestine.
Tel:- (09)-2516-644
The house has been under threat of demolition since February 2006, when the first demolition order was delivered. The second demolition order followed in May 2006. Each time, the family has retained an attorney in an attempt to appeal against the demolition. They paid out approximately NIS 12,000 or USD $3020 USD to the lawyers and nothing was achieved. The order which had been left by Israeli soldiers on the door of their house yesterday, the family retained a third lawyer for NIS 7,940 or USD $2000.
Last year, one of the man’s brothers had his home demolished (see IWPS HR Report No. 279) nearby to this house. The reason given then was lack of a permit to build. Reasons given for this year’s slated demolition is also lack of a permit to build. The family has a deed to the property dated from 1964.
UPDATE, May 17From Kobi Snitz: All 5 of us were released thanks to the excellent work by Gaby Lasky who made the prosecution seem especially ignorant today. We were not required to deposit any money and the conditions of release are that we stay 500 m away from Dahariya junction and (the Israelis) to not participate in illegal assembly. The internationals will have to stay in a specified home of a friend (but not be under house arrest). The prosecution still say they will try to deport them but that is a lot less likely now that they are not under arrest anymore.
Thanks to everyone who came to court to support us, collected evidence did legal support and brought food.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 May 2007
Three Israelis and two international solidarity activists were arrested today at a non-violent action in Daharia, removing an Israeli roadblock. The roadblock has been installed since the late 2000. It prevents the 90,000 Palestinians in Dhahariya and neighboring villages from accessing Route 60, the main road into Hebron. This forces them to take a longer alternative route, turning what would be a 20-minute journey into an hour and a half. The nearest hospital to Dharirya is in Hebron, so this roadblock added more than an hour onto the journey time for an ambulance, effectively cutting off the village from emergency medical care.
Photo from previous roadblock removal
All activists are currently spending the night at Kiryat Arba police station. The Israelis are accused of illegal assembly, interference of a police officer in duty and property damage. They will be brought to court in Jerusalem tomorrow at around noon (exact hour TBA).
As for the 2 internationals, it is still unclear what may happen to them. Gaby Lasky, the lawyer defending the activists, said that they may be sent today to the ministry of interior and face deportation or may be brought to court tomorrow in Jerusalem along with the Israelis.
On May 3, protesters dismantled a temporary roadblock in the Hebron Hills, close to the town of Dahariyah. In response to this non-violent action, armed Israeli soldiers violently attacked Israeli protesters. The military police criminal investigations division has launched an investigation into the incident. Video of the attack can be seen HERE
According to a May report released by the World Bank, “Currently, freedom of movement and access for Palestinians within the West Bank is the exception rather than the norm contrary to the commitments undertaken in a number of Agreements between GOI and the PA. In particular, both the Oslo Accords and the Road Map were based on the principle that normal Palestinian economic and social life would be unimpeded by restrictions. In economic terms, the restrictions arising from closure not only increase transaction costs, but create such a high level of uncertainty and inefficiency that the normal conduct of business becomes exceedingly difficult and
stymies the growth and investment which is necessary to fuel economic revival.”
The children of Al Hadidiya live here no more by Daphne Banai, 15 May 2007
A month ago we went to see the people of El Hadidiya. They have been living in the Israeli Occupied Jordan Valley for over 100 years, but have been expelled – to accommodate the needs of the illegal Israeli settlement that popped up around them. For the last 10 years, Palestinians in Hadidiya have been living near the settlement of Ro’i, growing wheat and tending to their sheep. But their Israeli settler neighbors demanded their removal because they fancied their land.
In despair the Hadidiya family turned to the Israeli Supreme Court looking for justice, for protection, from the colonizers’ judicial system. What a joke ! Claiming they were nomads (they are not – they try to settle and own the land !) – the court said it would not matter where they settle, and rejected their claim…
They turned their hoping eyes to us, and we had nothing to to offer them. What could we do? What could we say? That we’ll help?
Today we came again to see what’s happening with those gentle people and found ruins, destruction and lots of medications (for a broken heart?)
An old bike, some coins that are not in use any more, men’s shoes coupled up tidily – as if waiting for a couple of bare feet to make their way in, a dovecote – all the doves flying around it, a child’s toy.
The place still smells of life, carried on the sounds of death.
Everywhere I looked I could see the eyes of these little children piercing me. Will they come haunting us forever? And how does one live with the pain, with the shame?
Israel’s Separation Policy and Forced Eviction of Palestinians from the Center of Hebron Joint report with The Association for Civil Rights in Israel> from B’Tselem, May Report 2007
Summary:
Over the years, Israel established a number of settlement points in and around the Old City of Hebron, which had traditionally served as the commercial center for the entire southern West Bank . Israeli law-enforcement authorities and security forces have made the entire Palestinian population pay the price for protecting Israeli settlement in the city. To this end, the authorities impose a regime intentionally and openly based on the “separation principle”, as a result of which Israel created legal and physical segregation between the Israeli settlers and the Palestinian majority.
This policy led to the economic collapse of the center of Hebron and drove many Palestinians out of the area. The findings of a survey conducted in preparation of this report show that at least 1,014 Palestinian housing units in the center of Hebron have been vacated by their occupants. This number represents 41.9 percent of the housing units in the relevant area. Sixty-five percent (659) of the empty apartments became vacant during the course of the second intifada. Regarding Palestinian commercial establishments, 1,829 are no longer open for business. This number represents 76.6 percent of all the commercial establishments in the surveyed area. Of the closed businesses, 62.4 percent (1,141) were closed during the second intifada. At least 440 of them closed pursuant to military orders.
The main elements of Israel ‘s separation policy are the severe and extensive restrictions on Palestinian movement and the authorities’ systematic failure to enforce law and order on violent settlers attacking Palestinians. The city’s Palestinian residents also suffer as a direct result of the actions of Israel ‘s security forces.
The Fruit Market, 1990s. Photo: Na’if Hasalmon, al-Watan Center
The Fruit Market, 1990s
The Fruit Market, 2007. Photos: Na’if Hasalmon, al-Watan Center, Keren Manor, ActiveStills.
Restriction on Palestinian movement and the closing of businesses
During the first three years of the intifada, the army imposed a curfew on the Palestinians in the city center of Hebron for more than 377 days total, including a consecutive period of 182 days, with short breaks to obtain provisions.
In addition, the army created a contiguous strip of land in the City Center along which the movement of Palestinian vehicles is forbidden. The middle of the strip contains many sections of road that the army forbids even Palestinian pedestrians to use. The strip blocks the main north-south traffic artery in the city, and therefore affects the entire city. View Map.
The extensive prohibitions have led to the closing of hundreds of shops, in addition to those that were closed under army order.
A-Sahala area, near the Camel Market. Above: in the 1990s. Below: in 2007.
Photos: Na’if Hasalmon, al-Watan Center, Keren Manor, ActiveStills.
Failure to protect Palestinians from settler violence
Over the years, settlers in the city have routinely abused the city’s Palestinian residents, sometimes using extreme violence. Throughout the second intifada, settlers have committed physical assaults, including beatings, at times with clubs, stone throwing, and hurling of refuse, sand, water, chlorine, and empty bottles. Settlers have destroyed shops and doors, committed thefts, and chopped down fruit trees. Settlers have also been involved in gunfire, attempts to run people over, poisoning of a water well, breaking into homes, spilling of hot liquid on the face of a Palestinian, and the killing of a young Palestinian girl.
Soldiers are generally positioned on every street corner in and near the settlement points, but in most cases they do nothing to protect Palestinians from the settlers’ attacks. The police also fail to properly enforce the law, and rarely bring the assailants to justice. By failing to respond appropriately to settler violence in Hebron , the authorities in effect sanction the settlers’ violent acts. These acts, in addition to being severe, have also contributed to the “quiet transfer” of thousands of Palestinians from the City Center .
Harm to Palestinian residents by soldiers and police officers
The increased presence of soldiers and police in the Hebron city center brings with it violence, excessive and unjustified use of force, and abuse of the powers granted them by law. Violence, arbitrary house searches, seizure of houses, harassment, detaining passersby, and humiliating treatment have become part of daily reality for Palestinians and have led many of them to move to safer places. In some cases, not even the defense establishment tries to defend the security forces’ conduct; however, apparently, not enough has been done to uproot these practices.
* * *
Israel ‘s policy severely impacts thousands of Palestinians by violating the right to life, liberty, personal safety, freedom of movement, health, and property, among other rights. This policy breaches Israel ‘s obligations under international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and Israeli administrative and constitutional law. Given the drastic effects of the policy on the fabric of Palestinian life in the area and the resultant “quiet transfer” of thousands of Palestinians, the policy constitutes a breach of the prohibition on forced transfer enshrined in the Fourth Geneva Convention and is therefore a war crime, for which the persons responsible bear personal liability.
The Israeli settlement points in Hebron , which were established in breach of Israel ‘s obligations under international law, cause severe and continuous breaches of international legal provisions intended to protect the human rights of persons under belligerent occupation. Israel contends that it is impossible to ensure the safety of the settlers without separating Palestinians and Israelis in the city, and without infringing the basic rights of the Palestinian residents, which has resulted in Palestinians leaving the City Center .
The State of Israel has the legal and moral obligation to evacuate the Israelis who settled in Hebron , and bring them back to Israel .
Until the settlers are evacuated, the Israeli authorities must ensure their safety while minimizing the violation of the human rights of Palestinians. To accomplish this, the government of Israel must allow Palestinians to move about in the City Center and return to their homes, rejuvenate the City Center as a commercial area, enforce law and order on violent settlers, investigate every case of violation of the law by the security forces, and prevent settlers from taking control of additional buildings and areas in the city.
Bulldozers waiting to uproot Palestinian trees in the morning in Artas village by the ISM Media Crew, 15 May 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15 May 2007
Artas Village, BETHLEHEM– At 10am tomorrow, Wednesday May 16, Israeli Occupation Forces will demolish a field of olive trees in the Palestinian village of Artas, according to residents of the village.
Hussam, from Artas, says, “The bulldozers are already waiting in the field in Artas to destroy our precious trees. It is a huge field of tress that the army will demolish. All of this in order to clear the way for a new sewage system for the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrat. Soldiers came today and said they will destroy the trees tomorrow morning.”
Uprooting of trees in Bethlehem near the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrat, March 2007, Photo from Bethlehem Bloggers
The Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements has called on international and Israeli solidarity activists to support them and join in non-violent, direct action to stop the bulldozers from uprooting their trees.
The Israeli government has uprooted hundreds of thousands of trees. Many of these trees have been destroyed because they happened to fall in the path of Israel’s Apartheid Wall, or because they were “too close” to Israeli settlements, as is the case in Artas village.
Palestinians are expecting illegal Israeli settlers from Efrat and Israeli soldiers to intervene and halt the Popular Committee’s projected action.
For activists and press, there will be two meeting points for tomorrow’s action:
1. Palestinians will be joined by solidarity activists at 9:30am at the Palestinian Medical Relief Services offices in Bethlehem near the Deheishe Refugee Camp.
2. Those interested in joining the action may also meet at 9:15am at Bab Alzqaq in Bethlehem, (the last servees stop if coming from Ramallah).
For more information, please contact:
Samer, 0522-531-172
Hussam, 0599-674-996
ISM Media Office, 0599-943-157, 0542-103-657
