Kibbutz Kfar Etzion’s guest house, in the heart of Gush Etzion, is offering the public the chance to stay there over Rosh Hashana and enjoy “its magical, countryside atmosphere”.
An email sent out by Kfar Etzion’s field school says that guests will enjoy “pleasant and peaceful surroundings, large lawns, wide-ranging lessons from top rabbis, tours of Kfar Etzion, the Song of Songs garden, and mountain air as clear as wine and a spectacular view”.
And indeed, why not take up such a pastoral offer? Particularly given that the guest house is “only 12 minutes from Jerusalem and 15 minutes from Beit Shemesh”.
But what can be done about the fact that stuck within these short distances, as if to annoy, are the Arab communities, towns and villages that surround Gush Etzion? The residents of these
communities are not as lucky as those of Gush Etzion, or any other Israeli citizen, because they cannot travel to Jerusalem, a journey of 12 minutes, or to Beit Shemesh, a 15-minutes’ drive.
Most of these people are not permitted to leave the area, while those fortunate enough to receive the authorization to do so, face a far longer journey because of searches and security examinations at checkposts and crossing points.
Often, permission to travel is turned down for petty bureaucratic reasons, or just plain heartlessness, such as in the case of 18-year-old Radi al-Wachash, who was injured in a road accident in the Bethlehem area on June 29.
The Magen David Adom team asked for permission to take him to Hadassah Hospital, but was stopped at the entrance to the tunnel road and not allowed to proceed because al-Wachash is on a list of people denied entry to Israel on security grounds. The young man died in the ambulance, by the checkpost, as the first-aid personnel attempted to save his life.
Anybody who has stood by a checkpost, even for the smallest amount of time, is aware of the heart-rending scenes of elderly people seeking permission to receive medical treatment, or children looking to join their parents who have the necessary paperwork, or of husbands
wanting to be with their wives while they give birth, and not being allowed to do so.
With all due respect to security considerations, that aim to prevent mega-terror incidents, what possible threat can an 80-year-old woman pose to Israel’s security, and what can a three- or four-year-old child do to undermine the IDF?
When traveling on these roads, which to all intents and purposes are for Israelis only, one cannot help but notice the downcast look on the faces of the residents of these communities surrounding Gush Etzion, squeezed into queues at the crossing points and subject to the mercy of young soldiers and border police officers.
What has become of us that we have become so hard-hearted? Instead of feeling shame on seeing these scenes, Israelis simply continue driving on to their destinations, as if it was pre-ordained that some have no rights, and are destined to suffer discrimination.
On Rosh Hashana, dozens of Israelis will stay at Kfar Etzion’s guest house. They will enjoy the clear air of the hilltops, and take in the breathtaking view of the Judean hills, and listen in comfort to the lectures of leading rabbis. And maybe, just maybe, on their way there
and back, they will feel, as poet Yehuda Amichai once wrote: “From the place where we are right/Flowers will never grow/In the spring./ The place where we are right/Is hard and trampled/Like a yard.
Shortly after 4 pm, local Palestinian residents alerted four international human rights workers to the illegal presence of Israeli settlers working on Palestinian land off the main highway between Susya and Karmel settlements.
Ownership of this land has been an on-going dispute between the legitimate Palestinian land-owners, who have filed complaints against the settlers for illegally planting grape vines and constructing fences trying to lay claim to the land, and the military and police-backed settlers themselves. The issue has been brought before Israeli court with the last date for a decision set for September 25th. The court will then decide who exactly the land will belong to, though the land can only legitimately be declared Palestinian, as they are the original landowners. The settlers have, at every point, made illegal claims to the land with backing, at alternate points, by the Israeli army, police, and slow-moving Israeli justice systems.
Israeli groups, including Ta’ayuush and ACRI, as well as international groups Operation Dove, Christian Peacemaker teams, and the International Solidarity Movement have had multiple interactions and disputes within the past few weeks with Israeli settlers, soldiers, and police over the ownership and legitimacy of this land.
The HRWs were told, en route to the land, that a court order had been passed on September 9th, which specifies that only one particular settler man, Musi Deutsch, is allowed to the work the land for one hour every day in order to maintain the health of the grapes and to water them. Any other persons working or entering the land are illegal, according to Israeli courts.
Upon arrival, HRWs witnessed two teenage settler males and one Thai worker, employed by the settlers, illegally working on the land. The Thai worker was tending the crops and upturning weeds, while the teenage settlers were erecting posts to finish the fence surrounding the cultivated area. The HRWs immediately began filming the settlers as they worked, and entered the land in order to ensure they got pictures of the workers’ faces. The HRWs also made sure to tell the settlers that their working on the land was illegal, and asked them if they were aware of the Israeli court decision recently passed forbidding them from entering the land. The settlers however ignored the internationals questions. One settler teenager was constantly on his phone, very likely calling other settlers, while HRWs alerted the local DCO to the settlers present.
At 4:59pm four Israeli soldiers arrived and told the HRWs to leave the land, but allowed the settlers to remain. The HRWs repeatedly told the soldiers of the recently passed Israeli court decision in order to be sure that the soldiers were aware that every second the settlers were working the land it was illegal for them to be doing so, and that they, the soldiers, were ignoring an Israeli court decision. The soldiers, however, said that they were not the judges of the decision but had to wait for the police.
During this time, roughly around 5:12pm, a car of three settler women, with two settler girls and one young boy arrived at the scene. Two international members of Operation Dove and one from Christian Peacemaker Teams also arrived. Shortly after the settler in question, Musi, also arrived and immediately began to work on the land, securing more fence posts, with the two settler boys. The soldiers did nothing to stop them from working, though by this time they were well aware that the settlers were committing an illegal act. Throughout the entire time, the Thai worker continued working on the land in plain view of the settlers.
In fact, during all this time the soldiers, instead of removing the settlers from the land, were instead harassing the HRWs, asking them to show them their IDs. Meanwhile three other soldiers, who had also just arrived, actually entered the land in question and began taking pictures of the internationals.
Shortly after, at approximately 5:20pm, another group of soldiers arrived with a commander who began showing the settlers the court document forbidding the settlers, except for Musi, from working the area and declaring it a closed military zone. The commander took the time afterwards to explain to the HRWs and other internationals the legality of the document, and also allowed them to take pictures of it.
The commander said repeatedly that Musi was the only person legally allowed to enter the land, and work on it, but when he was reminded of the Thai worker and two boys working on the land, in plain sight he said that he would remove them later, thus contradicting the legitimacy of the court decision. In fact, every second after the commander had presented the document rendered the Israeli army complicit in not upholding a legitimate Israeli court decision.
Although the commander was reminded that it was actually Palestinian land and it was internationally illegal for the settlers to stake any claim to the land and build a fence on and around it, the commander is quoted as saying “as a lawyer, [I say that] he can build a fence in order to maintain the grapes.” He would not admit that planting the grapes, and working the land, was the initial problem as the settlers should not be legally allowed to be there.
The soldier commander then asked the HRWs to move across the road so that he could “do his job” and remove the settlers from the land. The HRWs complied so as not to prolong the settlers’ working of the land, but continued to film.
After about twenty minutes the soldiers had still not removed all the settlers from the land. Instead, they had been talking with Musi the entire time, while the Thai worker was still on the land working. The soldier commander then crossed the road and began to speak with the HRWs telling them that they reason he was not removing the settlers was because of the internationals presence in the area and that the settler, Musi, refused to leave the land until the internationals had left.
The absurdity of this logic struck the internationals, who reminded the commander that the army should be giving orders to the settlers and not the other way around. They also reminded the soldiers that the land was a closed military zone and that they were obligated to remove the settlers.
The soldier commander said that he knew he was the army, and that it was a closed military zone, but that he preferred to remove the settlers peacefully rather than forcefully which is why he would rather comply to settler demands rather than do his job and remove the settlers. The HRWs reminded the soldiers that every second he did not remove the settlers he was breaking the law, and also refused to leave the area.
The soldier commander began to say that only the police could remove the settlers (that was also completely ridiculous) when, luckily, two Israeli policemen arrived, and began looking at the court documents, presented by the army commander, and speaking with the settlers.
The HRWs remained on the other side of the road while the police told the settlers they could not enter the land, or work on it, and also, finally, removed the Thai worker from the land. The time was by then 6:00 pm, two hours after the soldiers had first arrived, and one hour to forty five minutes after the IOF commander had arrived declaring it a closed military zone.
The Israeli policemen then began requesting the internationals passports. One HRW became aware that the Thai worker was still standing on the land, and told the policeman that he was there. The view of the Thai worker was obstructed by a settler van, and policeman would not go around the van to look. It took the HRW actually crossing the road himself and pointing at the Thai worker to make the policeman come and tell the Thai worker to leave the land.
None of the soldier or police complicity with illegal land practices of the settlers, including the theft, cultivation, and continued working of the land in question- Palestinian land- is new or surprising. What is surprising is that the soldiers and police continue to use the useless rationale to support their inadequate enforcement of Israeli court decisions. It truly takes internationals armed with a strong sense of conscience to make the Israeli police and soldiers comply in the slightest with the law when issues relate to Palestinians.
The Israeli court decision, set for September 24th, regarding the legitimacy of the land, and whether it will remain Palestinian land or go to the settlers, is an important decision as it could influence future court decisions in the region.
Gulf News: Probe into Israeli building firm hailed.
Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli authorities have started an investigation into a construction company that filed bankruptcy after it failed to deliver sold houses in a colony built on Palestinian land, Israeli police said yesterday.
“Police are investigating the owner of the company who left the country,” said a police statement, adding that it is planning to issue an arrest warrant against him with the help of the Interpol.
Abdullah Abu Rahmeh, Chairman of the Wall Opposition Committee in Bili’n village in the west of Ramallah considered the bankruptcy of the Israeli company Heftsiba a victory for Palestinians and their long struggle with the wall and colonies in their village.
Abu Rahmeh told Gulf News that a year ago, the Israeli Supreme Court issued an order to cease construction work and not to connect apartments to the Israeli regional water and electricity networks until the petition submitted by the many people of Bili’n village was taken into consideration.
False claims
Human rights organisations, such as the Israeli organisation Batslim, confirmed that these lands are owned by Palestinians and not as claimed by Heftsiba Company. The company has built and sold thousands of residential units on land owned by villagers to religious Jews – despite these apartments not being part of the general plan of Metityahu settlement.
As a result of this decision, the company, that was established in 1960 and specialised in building colonies next to Jerusalem, could not keep its promise to people who bought apartments in colonies like Modi’n, Ptir, Alit, Mitityahyu as well as Abu Ghneim mountain colony which is close to Bethlehem. It was supposed to deliver the premises earlier in August.
The company was unable to complete work on those apartments, which led banks to demand their money from the company. Company debts reached more than $200 million [about Dh734.6m] in addition to $100 million [about Dh367.3m] as bank interest. The company rushed to court to file bankruptcy, in order to claim its money and to transfer the company’s properties to banks.
Statistics reveal that the company built more than 4,000 apartments in Israel; as such, it is considered one of the largest construction companies and its shares of the Israeli construction market are estimated at 20 per cent.
Abu Rahmeh confirmed, with a smile on his face, that this victory will not prevent them from continuing to demonstrate every Friday.
He said: “This is the first step towards victory and destroying the wall and colonies. This also makes us persist in fighting the wall.”
It is well-known that Bili’n village is now considered a symbol for fighting the wall. Abu Rahmeh also added that even foreign peace activists come from abroad just to protest in the village.
Tremendous effect
Moreover, many Israeli peace activists participate in the weekly demonstrations and get shot at by Israeli bullets as happened last week when an Israeli peace activist was shot.
The injured peace activist, coincidentally, is a soldier serving in the West Bank and was shot by
his colleagues. The Heftsiba company case is considered a precedent in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. It has propelled Israeli officials to call for a governmental session in order to study the reason for the company’s downfall and how to prevent a setback in the Israeli colony policy.
A number of experts warned that this will have a tremendous effect on the collapse of the construction sector, which has already suffered from a deep recession since the beginning of this year, General Deputy Manager of the Investment and Financial Market Company, Timer Port, told Gulf news.
The stock market administration in Tel Aviv, stopped the circulation of Heftsiba’s stocks threatening that it will stop the circulation in all companies that deal with it if these companies do not publish a special report on its financial data before the middle of this month.
It is well-known that Bili’n village is now considered a symbol for fighting the wall … even foreign peace activists come from abroad to
protest.
This summer, the International Solidarity Movement, Art Under Apartheid, Tel Rumeida Project and Glasgow Palestine Human Rights teamed up to take over 100 Palestinian children from Hebron to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the beach in Jaffa.
This was no easy task.
West Bank Palestinian residents over the age of 16 are not allowed into Israel but those under 16 are allowed. In fact, there is no legal way to prevent them from entering because they do not have ID cards yet. But most of these kids will never get to visit Jerusalem or go to the sea because their parents are not allowed in to take them.
Although we knew it was permitted to take these kids across the checkpoints (we checked with the the Association for Civil Rights in Israel) into Israel, we decided to check in with the District Coordination Office (DCO) of the Israeli military just to let them know we would be doing this and that we didn’t want any problems. They told us we needed a permit (this is not true). We asked for a permit and were refused. So of course we decided to do it anyway.
Fourty-five kids in one trip was going to be plenty to handle so we decided to do two trips. We bought food and water for 45 kids, arranged for them to have lunch at a restaurant in Jerusalem, got copies of their birth certificates (proof of their age and proof they are allowed to be in Israel) arranged for a bus to take them, and we met the kids at 7am in downtown Hebron.
We knew that if soldiers at any of the checkpoints knew there were West Bank Palestinian kids on the bus, they would stop us, cause a problem, and more than likely tell us we had to go back, even though it is allowed for the kids to go in. We didn’t want a repeat of the last field trip nightmare so we choose to use Israeli checkpoint racism to our advantage.
It has been my experience that if soldiers at a checkpoint see white or Jewish-looking people in the front seat of a car, they will not stop the car and check the passenger’s IDs to verify that they have the correct ID to enter Israel. This has happened to me countless times. If anyone who looks Palestinian is sitting in the front seat, they are automatically stopped, even if they are Jewish but have dark skin.
Settler cars zoom through those checkpoints with no delays. Palestinians are always stopped and searched.
Now, I will prove to you how the apartheid wall is completely useless for keeping suicide bombers out of Israel.
We stuck four white people in the front seat of that bus, and we drove through the checkpoint without so much as a second glance from the soldiers. All the kids cheered.
Now see how easy it is to sneak Palestinians (legally or illegally) into Israel? The inherent racist legal system allows it. As long as you are white, you can go though many checkpoints in a car unhindered and unquestioned. Because it’s so easy, if a Palestinian really wants to enter Israel badly enough, he or she will find a way.
The kids were elated to go to the mosque and to play in the water. Most of them had never seen the sea before.
I didn’t see any of them playing with Israeli kids at the beach but I think it was good for them to at least be around Israelis kids who weren’t hostile or violent towards them. The Palestinian adults who ran the Tel Rumeida summer camp this summer made a point to explain to the kids the difference between Israelis living in Hebron and Israelis living in Tel Aviv. Fortunately we have a lot of Israeli activists coming to volunteer in Tel Rumeida so the kids are already learning the difference.
On the evening of Friday August 24th humanitarian workers from groups including the ISM, CPT and B’tselem accompanied the Jabaari family to their farm located between the exclusively Jewish Kiryat Arba and Givat Harsina settlements, near the old city of Hebron.
For a number of months now, a tent erected by local settlers on part of the Palestinian family’s farm has been used as a synagogue. The Jabaari family claims that the tent and a pathway joining the settlements are illegal, and have shown deeds for the land to police in order to prove that they are the rightful owners. Despite this the police have not attempted to deconstruct either of the aforementioned structures, nor have they requested that the settlers leave the land.
Settler-built “Synagogue” on Jabaari Family Property
Six international activists joined ten Palestinians and two Israelis to farm the land and monitor the situation to ensure the safety of the workers from the armed settlers. The land was worked through the gathering of grass to feed the farmer’s goats from 17:30 to 19:45. In addition to that, a large amount of razor wire which had been placed on the land by the military on a previous occasion was successfully removed.
Soldiers harassed workers and humanitarian monitors who were helping to farm the land, forcing them to remain in certain areas which they were invited onto by the owners. Despite settler pressure on the farm laborers to end their work at the beginning of Shabbat, everyone involved remained non-violent throughout and successfully managed to finish their work. Despite this small victory, the family continues to face daily pressure from settlers who intend to annex their land in order to connect the two settlements.
