Category: Reports

By Joe Skillet

On Saturday, July 15, 2006, human rights workers in Tel Rumeida, Hebron, discovered that Israeli soldiers had been using the Human Rights Workers’ (HRWs) four water tanks as waste bins. Though it is unsure how long the soldiers have been doing this, what is sure is that the garbage found is of IOF origin.

It is shocking what the HRWs found inside their tanks. Because there are numerous flats in the building, the land-owner was called to point out exactly which water tanks belonged to the HRWs’ apartment. Most of the roof and many of the tanks are covered with Israeli military netting, due to the fact that the roof was at one point labeled a “closed military zone”. The soldiers still regularly ascend the stairs to the roof and there are currently two military cameras recording the area mounted on the building. Some of the netting had to be cut in order to reach the four tanks belonging to the HRWs apartment.

One of the tanks was badly damaged, with a large hole in the side and half of the top unattached from the body of the tank, making the tank irreparable. Three of the tanks are easily accessible. Inside these three tanks is where the HRWs found an abundant amount of trash, intentionally placed there by the Israeli soldiers. Some of the trash includes: forks, spoons, knives, army netting, unexploded bullets, paper, plastic, glass, bricks, broken pipes, pudding containers, an extremely outdated, unopened yogurt package, and plastic trays on which soldiers’ meals are served.

Swimming in all of the tanks were what looked like thousands of little, grayish, transparent organisms. These organisms were the first clue that there was something wrong with the water supply. Recently, some of the HRWs had noticed these tiny wormlike creatures coming through the kitchen faucet.

The HRWs currently have no clean water supply to the apartment because of the bacterial – and potentially harmful – consequences of using or ingesting it. Palestinian friends and neighbors have agreed to let the HRWs fill water bottles and buckets from their own water tanks and faucets, and to use their showering facilities. Most of the water has been emptied from the tanks, but many of the organisms still remain. The tanks must be thoroughly disinfected before they can be used again.

There is a large concern that the soldiers will again contaminate the HRWs’ water supply. Currently, there are no locks for the lids of the tanks. The idea of trashing Palestinian water tanks is apparently not new. One Palestinian told the HRWs that the soldiers have contaminated his family’s water supply with their garbage many times. So, he checks his water tanks everyday. There have been other reports of soldiers urinating in water tanks.

There is a consensus among the housemates to get new water tanks with locks, or to at least replace the damaged tank. In the meantime, the HRWs will continue to borrow water from their friends, and hope that any illness from drinking the contaminated water has been prevented.

large rock thrown at human rights workers

By Joe Skillet

Israeli settlers in the Tel Rumeida section of Al-Khalil (Hebron) celebrated the shabbat yesterday by attacking several Palestinian children and international supporters.

During the attacks, one 15 year old Palestinian was kicked, one 13 year old was punched in the face, and a 7 year old was kicked. This assault occured when the three Palestinian boys were sitting peacefully, chatting with two international human rights workers (HRW), then two passing settler boys, aged about 13 and 11, stopped in front of the group and glowered. After the attack the settler boys ran away.

HRWs provided first aid to Moussa and summoned observers from the international monitoring group TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron), who photographed the boys and wrote up the incident. The HRWs also called the police, who came and took a statement at the scene from the boys.

After the HRWs had left an older settler kicked a seven-year-old Palestinian boy, Hamdan, several times in the back and buttocks. His mother called the police, who again took a report on the incident.

Several hours later two human rights workers were attacked by settlers on Shuhadda Street. The HRWs had been practicing on the street for their weekly circus performance when they were kicked and stoned by a group of settler men.

At 4:30 PM, one of the five settler men, between the ages of 20 and 25, conjured up a mouthful of phlegm and spit it at one of the HRWs as they passed on the street. The HRW’s escorted a Palestinian boy, approximately 10 years old, to his home passed the settlers. The soldier at the post, too, entered the street. The settlers followed behind and, after the boy entered his home safely, one of the settlers kicked a HRW behind his left knee, almost knocking him to the ground.

The other HRW shouted, “Don’t you hit him!” and began to run towards the door. At this point, the same settler kicked the HRW again in the same spot on his back leg as the other settlers hovered around.

The same settler who initiated the violence then picked up a large rock, and threw it at the other HRW. She was hit on her right thigh, causing much pain.

The soldier from the post yelled at the settlers to stop. The two additional HRWs showed up and the police were called. The settlers continued to throw stones, hitting one of the additional HRWs in the leg.

A police car happened to be driving by at this point. The settlers retreated into Beit Hadassah settlement, not to be seen again. The soldier admitted to the policeman that he saw a rock hit the HRW, but denied seeing the settler kick the other twice.

After arriving at the police station to file a report, the HRW with the rock/leg injury began to feel more pain radiating from the injury and began to limp. The policemen were insistent that the HRWs wait there until the Israeli solider-paramedic arrived to assess the situation.

After 25 minutes or so, the medic arrived. He took the blood pressure of the rock-injured HRW and the other HRW took her pulse. He then said he was finished. The HRW still required medical attention from a doctor. Merely taking her vital signs was, as projected, not enough.

After another 15-20 minutes, a police car arrived and drove the HRWs back to their home in H2. Because her pain was increasing, the injured HRW went directly to the hospital and the other HRW went home to tend to his injury. The police report has been put on hold.

After nine days of imprisonment, on July 12, 2006 Musa Abu Mariya, a peace activist from Beit Ummar, was released from prison after a “military court for petitions in Judea and Sumaria regions” ruled that he should be released.

Musa was arrested on July 4th when he and international volunteers were walking on Palestinian land that was being bulldozed to build a wall around the settlement of Karme Tzur. He committed no crime other than a commitment to non-violent resistance against the wall and settlement expansion.

Although he was released and the prosecution provided no evidence, the judge banned him from protests on Palestinian land near the wall being built and allowed the prosecution to continue to interrogate him. The judge agreed to release him on bail of 3000 shekels with conditions. He must go to the police station in Gush Etzion each week for more questioning. He must live more than 3km from the construction site of the wall and not be closer than 1km from the wall, preventing him from going to other demonstrations.

He was charged with “participating in an illegal demonstration against the separation fence in which he broke the order of a closed military zone and brought other people with him to that demonstration who broke that order. And he attacked IDF soldiers when they tried to arrest him.”

The judge acquitted him of all these charges because a video tape provided by his defense that shows “that Musa did not use any kind of violence with IDF soldiers” and “the prosecution does not have any proof that he violated any laws”.

Musa was interrogated by the Israeli security, Shin Bet, for three days in the Gush Etzion prison, then transferred to Orfer prison near Ramallah for the remaining 5 days. Eight days is the maximum legal number of days that Palestinians can be held in prison without being charged or without due process. On the eighth day he was allowed to see his lawyer, Gabi Laski, for the first time, and on the nineth day he was released.