Category: Reports

Beit Ummar Farmers Struggle to Work Their Land

by Zadie Susser

We visited the land of Samer Shahdah Abu Asara, a Beit Ummar farmer who owns land directly next to the illegael Israeli settlement of Efrat. In part of his land he used to grow grapes. Another part, 25 dunums in size, has been annexed and enclosed by the settlement. This section of his land is surrounded by an electric fence, which was built about 6 months ago. It has been ten years since he used his land for growing grapes because settlers have erected a barbed wire fence inside and put up a tent that is used for vegetables. The tent has been there for about 4 years. Efrat settlement was built 27 years ago on the land of Abu Brekoot and now spans 3000 dunums. Samer Asara is intending to take his struggle to the Israeli courts to show that he has legal right to the land and the documents to prove it.

Later we visited the land of Mohammed Abu Solebey on the wadi Abu Reesh. He has 200 dunums of land near the Beit Aian settlement and suffers from the settlers there. The settlers bring their sheep to his land to graze and the sheep eat the new growth on his grape vines, fruit and olive trees. The settlers have pushed over many of the grape vines and destroyed them. He has gone to the police and they have written eight different police reports dating from 2004 to this year. On the 3rd of February last year he was severely beaten by a settler and was admitted to the hospital for his injuries.

The impact of the financial crisis on the Palestinian community

by Qusay Hamed, Nablus, Palestine. 13th May 2006

The term “Financial crisis” is an old/new term in the Palestinian dictionary; this occupied territory – that has scanty resources – is economically bounded with Israel.

Nowadays Palestine lives a dramatic financial crisis that is considered one of the worst in the nation’s history.

Palestinians have been punished for their democratic choice, where the Palestinians practiced choosing their representatives to the Palestinian Legislative Council; this choice practically brought Hamas up to the power by majority.

This choice that has been embodied by the democracy became as a pretext to refuse this choice and stop the international community subsidy to the Palestinian Authority.

I personally understand the term “Democracy” as the people’s choice for their representative in a civilized, transparent and highly credited manner.

The main and most important factor of the crisis is the external stipulated subsidy that has been cut by the American government and the European countries, in addition to the huge pressure that they practice in order to not transfer money to the newly elected government.

At the same time, Palestinian Authority has no control over their borders to import or export, That leaves Palestinian people depending on the international aid to keep the Palestinian economy and the infrastructure alive.

Political and security impacts

Security

There is no doubt that the crisis came out as a result of the American, Israeli and European pressure upon the Palestinian authority in general and upon Hamas government particularly, in order to force the government to change its political agenda. The continuation of this crisis means that the Palestinian authority will not be able to maintain it’s authority on the economical, social, health and security institutions; Which could be simply represented by the disability of what has remained from the security force, in securing the essential needs like food, health services etc, whether for it’s members or even the prisoners. In addition to that, the government is not able to pay the police force salaries. Therefore, the police force will not be able to practice its high demanded job, thus disorder, revelry and robbery will spread out and prevail.

Compulsory resignation

The other political impact is that the government becomes forced to resign or to be deposed.

This scenario is approaching for sure as this crisis continues, where the government will be forced out or will have to resign which will bring the region to a complex problematic situation that will inflame the anarchy and will have unacceptable and unpredictable results.

The economical impact of the crisis

The external financial subsidy equals 85 % of the total Palestinian income, a part of that goes to feed 150,000 employees’ families, which is the soul source of life for them. These salaries help to keep the Palestinian economy surviving, which is also considered as the main factor that keeps the Palestinian economy functioning; since these subsidies were frozen, families are not able to secure their essential life necessities. Thus the economic life is frozen also; it’s clearly embodied in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron as the biggest cities in Palestine territories; factories, supermarkets and companies were closed as a result of the economical stagnancy and not being able to bear extra cost. Consequently that means what is called Palestinian economy will collapse at any time.

Humanitarian impact

The health sector can also clearly show the suffering which caused by the current financial crisis, whereby this institution is not able to offer its health services, in addition to the huge lack of medical staff and medicine. Therefore they are not able to give the very basic needs of life, children’s milk and health care services to the people, where also the problems of isolation and lack of mobility make it difficult for people to access essential services.

On the other hand, the education sector is highly affected by this crisis, Transportation is almost impossible because people would rather save money for basic needs of food.

Finally, the continuation of the crisis is mainly harming the lower class, Poor families are barley managing; about 150.000 families are having no money for the past three months and not clear future in the horizon, make it almost impossible for them to survive.
All this require a serious stand from the international community in order to stop the continuous suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of this financial sanction.

Tel Rumeida, Hebron: Recent Settler Attacks

29th May 2006. Tel Rumeida, Hebron

5:30 pm, Shuhada St, near Bet Haddasah settlement

Four settler children were throwing stones at a Palestinian home. The two youngest were less than four years old and the older two were between 7 and 8 years of age. A Danish Human Rights Worker (HRW) approached the Israeli soldier on duty, and asked him to stop the children. The older two settler children then turned on the Danish HRW, and began throwing stones at him, one of which hit an Australian HRW who was filming the incident.

The entire incident lasted about five minutes, and ended when the soldier on duty called for backup.

7:30 pm, Tel Rumeida St, just outside the ISM apartment

A Spainish HRW was in the street playing football with some Palestinian children. Ten or twelve settler children, around thirteen years of age came up Shuhada st, swearing at the Palestinian children. The HRW and a Palestinian man went to stand in the entrance of a nearby Palestinian store. The children threw stones at them, until the soldier on duty shooed them away. They moved up Tel Rumeida road, to a nearby Palestinian house, taking a table from the front yard and tossing it into the street.

When they moved further up Tel Rumeida strett, the HRW tried to return the table, at which point the settlers threw stones at him again.

Occupation Forces Continue Raids on Budrus Village

Report by Shai E. and Matan. Translated by Rann B.

On Friday the 26th of May 2006, about six jeeps belonging to the border police unit and gunner unit that is currently serving in the Macabim division drove around the village of Budrus firing in every direction. The forces fired tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound bombs. Almost every point in the village received a gas attack and there was nowhere to escape to.

We and an international friend were on the roof of a building visiting some friends.

After a few failed attempts to communicate with the Ramallah area District Coordinating Office (DCO), Matan called Dov Chanin, a Knesset member from the Hadash party. Eventually, a decision was made by the commander of Macabim division to remove the forces from the village.

As the forces were on their way out they shot two tear gas canisters into the house we were in. We sat in a small room with around five children, aged 2-10. The house was dense with tear gas and the children were crying. It was very difficult to breathe.

The father of the family decided to take the children outside. He, his wife, and a family friend went outside with the children.

The soldiers shouted to us “Get out of the house or we will blow it up!”. We went down the stairs – everyone who went was beaten by the commander (a Druze Border Police officer) and thrown against the wall with his or her back to the soldiers. We were forced to our knees and ordered to put our heads down. “You will be humiliated this evening,” they said to us, “came to say a Sabbath blessing in the village? We will say a mourning prayer over you”. Matan was recognized as the guy from Beit Sira who had been shot in the eye with a rubber-coated steel bullet (one soldier even apologized to him a little), and I as a participant of demonstrations in Bil’in. To our non-Israeli friend, they claimed I throw stones in Bil’in.

Our IDs were checked. The international was interrogated in English and at one stage a rifle was aimed at his head, with a canister containing a number of rubber-coated steel bullets that fire simultaneously. I shouted at them that they should point the rifle away and got another beating.

They asked us if our mothers know what we’re doing. I asked them the same and they said “of course!”. I said that she probably isn’t very proud. They asked “who?” and I said “your mother”. I got kicked twice and they shouted at me not to talk about their mothers.

When Matan told them there was an order from the commander of Macabim division that they exit the village, they got very angry and pushed his head against the concrete wall of the house, at a point with barbed wire.

Throughout the entire incident, the soldiers refused to identify themselves. After about half an hour they got into their jeeps and drove off. They left the village at about 9pm.

The trauma suffered by the children of the village is clearly visible on their faces and is evident by their nightly crying. These are innocent children whose streets are flooded every few days with dozens of soldiers who turn their village into a war zone.

The so-called IDF is a terrorist organization.


The IOF Forces on their way out

ICAHD: “Don’t Say ‘We Didn’t Know’ “

From The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions

On 1st April 2006 Nasser, together with around ten other Palestinians tried to enter Israel through the Oranit checkpoint in order to look for work. A army ambush discovered them and opened fire. Nasser was injured in his leg and fell down. Soldiers approached him and began to kick his body all over for a long time. One of the soldiers hit the back of his neck with the butt of his gun. The soldiers found Nasser’s ID card and ripped it to pieces. For about two hours the soldiers did not call for help – other injured friends were taking immediately to hospital in Ramallah. Nasser lost a lot of blood and when he arrived at Beilinson hospital [in Israel], he immediately received a blood transfusion (4 liters [around 9 pints]), including an injection directly to his heart.

After around three weeks in Beilinson, he returned to consciousness. Doctors then told him that they had to amputate his leg.