From Haaretz: Settlers attack UN personnel near southern Hebron Hills

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By Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent

Two residents of an illegal settlement outpost near Hebron attacked United Nations workers on Thursday.

The UN personnel were driving in the South Hebron Hills area when one of the settlers jumped on the car and smashed the windshield, sending shards of glass into the driver’s eye.

A Haaretz reporter and photographer were in the car at the time, along with three members of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The settlers, residents of Mitzpeh Yair, claim that the OCHA workers were trying to uproot the outpost’s olive trees.

The OCHA workers had been visiting the nearby Palestinian town of Bir al Eid. As they were leaving, they spotted a man approaching. The driver braked in order not to hit him and the man drew near, as if to speak to the occupants.

Instead, he jumped on the car and refused to get down. UN orders forbid employees to leave a car that is under attack, so instead, the driver drove forward, very slowly. The settler held on to the windshield wipers and pressed against the glass until it shattered.

Meanwhile, another settler appeared and demanded to see the identity cards of everyone in the car, which sported a UN flag. He also brandished an iron bar and blocked the road with stones and tires.

About 25 minutes later, after the Haaretz reporter called the Israel Defense Forces, an army jeep arrived, followed half an hour later by a police car. According to the police, the man who attacked the car has been involved in similar incidents before. The second man is a British citizen. Both were questioned at the Kiryat Arba police station.

Hares: Villar Stealing Palestinian Land

Near the village of Hares south-west of Nablus lays the industrial compound of Barqan where Salman Mahmoud Simlawi has been facing a takeover of his land for decades by two factories on each side of his property. On Thursday the 26th the factory managed to uproot several olive trees after arresting Simlawi and preventing him to contact his lawyer nor any human rights groups.

On three occasions ISM Nablus has spent time on Simlawis land trying to prevent further conquest from the Villar factory bulldozer. Villar international is an Israeli construction company that specializes in large scale residential projects, amongst other things expansions for settlements.

“Villar group specializes in finding and purchasing lands for industrial buildings, safe housing for immigrants to Israel and offices for lease.” – Villar Corporate Statement.

For companies such as Villar producing their materials in industrial compounds inside Palestine is an opportunity to acquire a lower minimum wage, around 8-10 NIS per hour, cheaper than the average 19 NIS per hour in Israel. In 1982 Villar began clearing land to expand their productions facilities and Simlawi chose to go to court. Since 1986 Simlawi has legally been able to work on his original land near Hares yet harassment from the factory using military help continues with Villar refusing to recognize the 1986 court decision when confronted on Simlawis land. Now facing two large factories on each side Simlawi is slowly but surely loosing land. Simlawis only chance to fight the factory is through the Israeli legal system, but it requires the appearance and cooperation of the civil administration who haven’t yet showed support.

Hebron: Action to Access Lands

On Friday 3rd August, Human Rights activists will accompany the members of a local Palestinian family to access their land close to the Illegal Kiryat Arba Settlement in Hebron. On all previous occassions where the family has attempted to access their land, Settlers have acted with undue aggression attacking both Palestinians and Human Rights Workers who have been present. The most recent of which culminated in two Human Rights Workers being repeatedly hit in the face with a stick causing both distress and injury.

The aggression and violance on these occassions are typical and reflect the ongoing struggle Palestinians must face in their day to day lives and the determination of Settlers in their attempt to forcibly remove Palestinians from their land and homes through campaigns of violance and harrasment. We hope that our presence as international, Palestinians and Israeli activists will reduce the violance and enable the Palestinian family to tend to their land without being attacked.

We invite you to join us in accompanying this family to their land in both solidarity and protection. We will be gathering in Hebron, close to Kyriat Arba along Worshippers Way at 17:30. The action is expected to last 2 hours.

For more information, please contact Fawaz on 054 6533157

We look forward to seeing you there.

For additional information and previous reports, please see July 27th report or click onto Hebron Reports.

Artas and Walaja: Anti Wall and Occupation Demonstration

On Friday the 3rd August Anti-Wall and Anti Occupation demonstrations will be taking place in Artas and Walaja. Both these villages in the South Bethlehem region are subject to having significant amounts of their land confiscated by the illegal construction of the Aparthaid Wall. The construction of the Aparthaid Wall is illegal under international law. This grotesque land theft serves to economically and culturally impoverish the local communities by destroying their means of income and their historical connection to the land.

In solidarity with the local popular committees of Walaja and Artas, we invite you to participate in both demonstrations and add your voice to the growing number of people opposing the Israeli Occupation and its means of oppressing the Palestinian people.

Artas, South Bethlehem: 10am and then moving to Walaja for the demonstration at 12:30.

For additional information please contact Lui 059 955 1837

We hope to see you there.

Goliath comes tumbeling down

update:
The Goliath real Estate Company Heftsiba who is the company (together with Canadian company Green Park) that was building the settlement of Matityahu Mizrah as well as the settlement of Beitar elite and settlements in occupied East Jerusalem has started showing signs of bankruptcy. The Haredi population who have bought apartments from the company broke into the unfinished apartments in various building sights including Matityahu East. Heftsiba has existed since 1968 and executes 10% of Israel’s real estate. In Israeli channel’s 2 news a financial expert explained that the reason for the companies downfall was the stop work order and the inability to sell more of the apartments in Matityahu east. He called it “Modiin Elite next to Bilin”. It is still not clear how this will effect the continuation of the building of the settlement, the ban on Building, or the courts decision. But in the struggle of who would outlast the other between Heftsiba and the Bil’in villagers. Bil’in’s resistance has endured!.

Setters break Supreme Court ban on populating Matityahu Mizrah
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Last night, hundreds of Israeli settlers occupied buildings illegally erected on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Bil’in, despite an order from the Israeli Supreme Court forbidding them to do so. The takeover came amidst rumors relating to the imminent bankruptcy of real estate giant Heftsiba.

Earlier today, Mohammad Khatib, a member of Bil’in’s popular committee against the wall and settlements stated that: “The settlers are above the law. The organized takeover of the Matityahu Mizrah settlement is in defiance of the Supreme Court’s ban, it is a continuation of the Modi’in Elite local council’s policy to work illegally and create facts on the ground. This time Modi’in Elite’s local council are taking advantage of Heftsiba’s rumoured bankruptcy to commit yet another crime intended to pressure the Israeli Supreme Court.”

In January 2006, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a temporary order in one appeal case (143/06), freezing the building and population of the Matityahu East settlement after the illegal building of 42 residential buildings. Twenty of the buildings were built with no permit and 22 others with permits illegally issued by the Modiin Elite council.

Khatib reports that Yaacov Gutterman, head of the Modi’in Elite local council and the man who, according to the civil administration, is responsible for “large scale illegal building” in the Matityahu East settlement is on site distributing food to the invading settlers. According to a report in today’s Ha’aretz Metityahu Mizrah is the largest West Bank settlement project that is illegal under Israeli law.

The route of the wall in Bil’in is designed not only to protect Matityahu Mizrah but according to a master plan allowing for future expansion. For more details see B’tselem Report “Under the Guise of Security: Routing the Separation Barrier to Enable Israeli Settlement Expansion in the West Bank“.