Israeli forces demolish Aqraba area homes

17 June 2009

On Wednesday, June 17, 2009, the Israeli Army demolished seven houses of shepherds in the small village Qurusdyia in the Aqraba district, southeast of Nablus. About two months ago, the affected families had received eviction orders in Hebrew which they did not understand. Once the deadline had passed for the families to leave the area, the Army moved in with bulldozers and tore everything down. The families now live in tents in Aqraba and moved their livestock to fields nearby.

The demolished houses consisted of three family houses and four farm houses. They were simple structures such as large tents, and three separate kitchens built with sheets of corrugated iron. According to the Mayor of Aqraba, about two months ago, the three families that were all related (3 brothers) had received eviction orders in Hebrew. They did not understand the content of these documents and did not inform the Municipality. Once the deadline for evicting the area had passed, the lawyers could not do anything to help. Qurusdyia lies in area C as defined by the Oslo Accord requiring building permits for any house or tent. These families have been living here for generations. The concept or the process of building permits is foreign to them.

Everything but the well used as drinking water for the animals at this extremely remote site in the desert has been completely destroyed by the Israeli Army. Water canisters have been slashed, kitchens put out of function, and the water pipes severed. It appears that the families must have fled the scene in great haste since there were carpets left behind, children’s books half-way buried under rubble, a car toy, and a few shoes here and there plus many other small personal belongings.

The Mayor pointed out that it is not so much the issue of losing houses, but rather of losing their land. People should be able to remain on their land. He seeks financial compensation through international organizations for any house that is being destroyed.

Aqraba (aka Akraba) in which Qurusdyia is located, has a total of 144,000 dunums of land, 80% of which have been taken by the Israeli Army for ‘training purposes’, as they claim. In reality, their objective is to build new settlements on these lands. Since 1967, Aqraba district is declared a Area C, but for a long time the people were allowed to farm; they have been treated worse and worse each year since, until they have gotten to the situation they are now in. The people living here are now being treated worse than before.

In Twael which is another small village in the Aqraba district, several houses including a mosque and a school have also been given eviction orders.

Over 50 bullets shot towards a fishing boat

ISM Gaza | Fishing Under Fire

21 June 2009

This video shows a Palestinian fishing boat attacked by the Israeli Navy BEFORE the recent massacres (December 2009, January 2009), that means during the 6 month “CEASEFIRE” (June – December 2008). Finally we counted more than 50 bulletholes!

During the interview gunboats of the Israeli Navy were continuing to patrol in Palestinian territorial waters, very close to the shore (for sure closer than the 3 miles “limit” that they suppose to impose) and harassing Palestinian fishing boats.

Hearing begins over Palestinian lawsuit against Quebec builders

CBC News

22 June 2009

A Palestinian village in the West Bank will argue Monday that a Quebec court should hear its lawsuit against two Canadian construction companies that it alleges illegally constructed buildings on Israeli-occupied territory.

Bil’in, a community of about 1,700 inhabitants located northwest of Ramallah, is suing the Quebec-based companies for $2 million.

“They know it’s a legal long shot, but if the Quebec Superior Court even agrees just to hear their case, it would be a partial victory, set an international legal precedent, and it would be a public relations coup for the small village,” said the CBC’s Dan Halton, reporting from Montreal.

Beginning Monday, the Quebec Superior Court in Montreal will hear arguments from both sides on whether it should hear the suit.

The village’s claim was filed July 9, 2008, against sister companies Green Park International and Green Mount International. It asks the Quebec Superior Court for an injunction to stop further construction and demolish apartment buildings already erected in Moddin Illit, a Jewish settlement northwest of Ramallah.

It alleges that both companies illegally built buildings and roads in the settlement, which was part of the Palestinian village until Israel seized the West Bank from Jordanian control in the Six-Day War in 1967. That seized land is subject to international law, which the construction violates, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit asks the court to rule whether the construction represents a violation on several fronts: the Fourth Geneva Convention, which deals with the protection of civilians in times of war and occupation; Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes; the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms; and the Civil Code of Quebec.

The Fourth Geneva Convention forbids an occupying power from transferring its own civilians into occupied territory.

Jurisdiction disputed

In the lawsuit, the village’s municipal council and chief Ahmed Issa Abdallah Yassin allege Green Park and Green Mount acted as “agents of Israel” by building the housing.

The lawyers for Green Park and Green Mount International declined to be interviewed by the CBC.

But Ronald Levy, one lawyer for the two companies, told Halton “that he considers the lawsuit totally inappropriate.” He has filed three dismissal motions in the case.

“Today in court, he’ll argue that the judge dismiss the lawsuits on the basis that it’s just not the right jurisdiction,” said Halton.

“International legal experts say while this is a very creative legal challenge, they’re pessimistic on the chances for their success. They say that Canadian courts would be very reluctant to interfere with Canada’s foreign relations and really weigh in on the legal status of Israeli settlements,” Halton said.

The lawsuit also names Annette Laroche, who is named as the director of both companies. She did not return the CBC’s calls.

The hearings into the dismissal motions will take place Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Nonviolent resistance in the south Hebron hills

Joy Ellison | Electronic Intifada

18 June 2009

A couple of months ago I had the great pleasure of watching Palestinians successfully graze their sheep near Avigail settlement, on land where they are regularly attacked and harassed. The joy I felt in watching my friends and partners grazing their sheep on their ancestral lands was overwhelming. Sitting on the hill and eating lunch together felt like having a party.

As the day drew to an end, Mahmoud, one of the Palestinian elders, excitedly explained to me the strategy he had used in dealing with the Israeli army and settlers that morning. He told me how, even though the army had declared the area a closed military zone, he firmly stood up for his rights. He explained how he pretended to slowly begin to comply with the military order, all the while challenging the soldiers and insisting on his right to graze his sheep. Eventually, he said, the army lost control of the situation and gave in. When he finished his description, Mahmoud turned to me and grinned. “I read in a book that this is called nonviolence,” he said, laughing.

When US President Barack Obama called on Palestinians to practice nonviolence, I laughed just like Mahmoud. Palestinians like Mahmoud have never needed to be told about nonviolence. The English word may be unfamiliar but the steadfast, daily acts of resistance known as nonviolence are nothing new. In the south Hebron hills, Palestinians face Israeli soldiers and violent Israeli settlers who are illegally expanding their settlements and attacking Palestinians, including children walking to school. In response to this profound injustice, Palestinians are organizing demonstrations, refusing to comply with military orders, filing complaints against settlers, and courageously working their land despite the risk of arrest and attack. They don’t need President Obama to tell them to practice nonviolence.

Palestinians have practiced nonviolent resistance for the last 60 years. From the “Great Revolt” during the British Mandate to the first Palestinian intifada in 1987, to the loose-knit but powerful community-based movement of today. Certainly, it’s inaccurate to omit armed resistance from Palestinian history, but it is equally false to claim that Palestinians are unfamiliar with nonviolence. President Obama missed the point in his Cairo speech — Palestinians do not need to be admonished towards peacefulness. It’s radical Israeli settlers and the Israeli government who do.

Instead of preaching to Palestinians, Obama should insist emphatically on the dismantlement of Israeli settlements that violate international law and the enforcement of laws to prevent Israeli settlers from attacking Palestinian villagers, a frequent occurrence in the south Hebron hills. After 42 years of Israeli military occupation, it is time for an American president to call on Israel to stop its violence towards Palestinians.

Joy Ellison is an American activist with Christian Peacemaker Teams, an organization that supports Palestinian nonviolent resistance. She lives in At-Tuwani, a small village in the south Hebron hills which is nonviolently resisting settlement expansion and violence. She writes about her experiences on her blog, “I Saw it in Palestine.”

Bat Ayin settlers uproot trees from Palestinian land

Ma’an News

22 June 2009

Israeli settlers uprooted more than 150 olive and grape trees from Palestinian-owned land in Wadi Abu Ar-Rish, near the settlement of Bat Ayin, south of Bethlehem, on Monday, witnesses said.

Settlers from Bat Ayin also set fires in the same area. Witnesses said that the settlers carried out these attacks under the protection of Israeli soldiers. The municipal government of the town of Beit Ummar, under whose jurisdiction the land lies, issued a condemnation of the assault, and also called for an investigation.

Last Friday, Israeli soldiers assaulted Palestinian and Israeli peace activists who held a demonstration in the same area. Seven protesters were arrested.

Bat Ayin is known as one of the more militant settlements in the West Bank, and has been a flashpoint for recent violence. A group of Israeli settlers known as the “Bat Ayin Militia” were convicted for an attempt to bomb a Palestinian girls’ school in 2002. In April a Palestinian man also killed a teenage settler with an axe near Bat Ayin.