Tag: Area C

Israeli forces threaten Palestinian families with house demolitions

7th April 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | al-Bireh, occupied Palestine

The map presented by Israeli forces showing the Qar’an home (top left) running along the boundary of Area B, but within Area C

On 5^th April, 2017, Israeli forces told Abbas Qar’an and his family that their home in al-Bireh was going to be demolished. The homes of two other anti-occupation activists in the area recieved similar threats. ISM activists met with Abbas, the son of the homeowner, to hear his story.

Israeli forces arrived at the family home, located west of the illegal Israeli settlement of Psagot, whilst Abbas was at work and presented the demolition notice to his wife. After his wife refused to take the order, the soldiers left it outside the house, weighed-down with a rock. The notice comes from the district coordination office in the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit El, charging the Qar’an family of building a house without the right permit.

On the local municipality map, Abbas’ home lies well within the boundaries of Area A – under full Palestinian control. However, Israeli authorities claim the boundary line runs straight through the family’s home, with a majority of the rooms lying within Area C – under full Israeli control. Whilst no specific date has been given for the demolition, the order states that he must go to the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit El within three days of the notice to challenge the demolition. The family home was built in 1960 – decades before the Oslo Accords that created the so-called “Areas” (A,B,C) – and the family insists that all of their paperwork is in order. It is also unclear if the demolition order is against a single house or the whole building, meaning that a form collective punishment is looming over all of the residents in the building.

The local municipality map, showing the home (red) within the boundaries of Area A.

Abbas lives in Jabal al-Taweel with his wife and four children: fifteen year old Hamza; twelve year old Murad; five year old Jenna; and his eighteen month old daughter, Judy. Abbas tells us that he and his family have been targeted by Israeli authorities due to his past involvement in activism against the occupation for which he spent seven years in Israeli military prison. Despite both he and his father being American citizens, Abbas was denied all travel beyond the occupied West Bank for twenty years.

Abbas and his family are not alone, as the homes of other activists have been targeted for demolition in the al-Bireh area: Abbas’ cousin, Rami Ishtawi, has also been threatened with demolition orders by Israeli authorities; while the home of Bajes Nahkleh – currently in an Israeli prison – in nearby al-Jalazone refugee camp (Area B – Palestinian civil control, Israeli security control) has also been threatened with the demolition of his home.

The Qar’an family does not know what they will do should the demolitions go ahead and the family home lost, but they claim that the Palestinian community has already offered them places to stay if Israeli forces carry out their threats. At the end of the interview, Abbas wished to thank all the internationals who travel to Palestine to hear the stories of families like his and to support all Palestinian people, who suffer daily under the occupation. The family are currently pursuing a legal case against the demolition.

Israeli settlers onces again attack Daraghmah family

24 January 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Tulkarm Team | Lubban ash-Sharqiya, occupied Palestine

On Thursday night, 21st of January, Illegal settlers attacked a Palestinian home in the outskirts of Lubban ash-Sharqiya village. The Israeli settlers threw stones, destroyed surveillance cameras and the Palestinian family also suspects that the settlers poisoned their water tanks. Since there isn’t any surveillance on the farm, the family now fears for further attacks.

The family was asleep late Thursday night when settlers from the nearby Ma’ale Levona settlement entered the farm, climbed up on the roof of the house and started throwing stones towards the main door. During the attack settlers screamed humiliating words to the family and dared them to go outside. The only thing the family could do was to stay inside, hoping that the settlers wouldn’t try to break in.

lubban5wm — Stones thrown at the family’s door. Photo credit: ISM

The morning after the family noticed that the lids to the 3 water tanks located on the roof were opened, so they now fear about poisoned water. The settlers also destroyed all 5 surveillance cameras on the farm. The Palestinians assume that the action must have been well planned, since the settlers were capable of locating all the cameras within a short amount of time.

lubban3wm — Two of the broken cameras. Photo credit: ISM

The surveillance cameras had been donated to the family from European NGOs, in order to protect them against a large number of settler attacks. Additionally all windows of the family house are covered with metal bars. Every night the family closes both windows and doors thoroughly with rigid metal doors to keep attackers out. The family is living under constant threat and can’t even go to the toilet in the night, since it is located outside of the main building and it’s too risky for them to go out.

lubban2wm — Sealed window. Photo credit: ISM

While settlers attacked the house the family called Israeli police who didn’t arrive on the scene until three hours later. What increases the family’s vulnerability is that there is no authority that will protect them from the illegal settlers. Since the house is located in Area C, the roughly 60% of the West Bank that is under complete Israeli control, Palestinian police are not allowed to support the house and Israeli authorities clearly show that they have no interest in protecting Palestinian lives or Palestinian property.

The farm is located in the outskirts of Lubban ash-Sharqiya village, next to the road leading towards Ma’ale Levona settlement. The house is surrounded by five settlements, of which Eli, Shilo and Ma’ale Levona are the closest. The illegality of these Israeli colonies have been confirmed by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Security Council. In the past, the family has suffered a lot from the settler attacks. It is not uncommon that settlers are both violent and heavily armed. The threatening of family members has come so far, that medical treatment was required. At the age of 9, the youngest brother sustained cut wounds on his stomach after being attacked and thrown on the ground. They live under constant threat of further violence. Settlers have already shot and killed a dog and a horse belonging to the family. A cow succumbed two days after a settler attacked and the family believes that the cow was poisoned. Also a car belonging to the family has been destroyed, along with other property.

lubban1wm — The settler attacks have left several scars on 15-year-old Mu’min. Photo credit: ISM

Farmers protest closure of gate blocking them from accessing their land

18th of December, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Tulkarm team | Deir al Ghsoon, occupied Palestine

Hundreds of farmers protested on the morning of the 18th of December against the closure of an agricultural gate, which led Israeli commanders to agree to reopen the way. In 2002, 3200 dunumns of farmland got cut of from the rest of the two Palestinian villages of Deir Al Ghsoon and Al Jarosheyyah by building of the Israeli apartheid wall. Ever since, farmers have to cross one, out of two, agricultural checkpoints in order to get to their lands. The process of getting through the checkpoint takes a lot of time and not all farmers manage to get a permission to cross.

Farmer Abdullah Ghaner arrives at 6 o’clock to the checkpoint every morning in order to be among the first half of the farmers to cross the checkpoint. The soldiers are supposed to open the gate at 7 o’clock, but farmers often complain that opening hours are unreliable.

“When, and even if, we get through is depending on the mood of the soldiers”, says Abdullah.

He and his family own 16 dunnams of land on the other side of the Apartheid wall. The farm has been property of the family for three generation, and Abdullah is hoping to pass it on to his daughter. “We are born farmers. By enclosing our land they are trying to demolish her heritage !”, he says.

This part of the wall doesn’t in-circuit any settlement or military base. The only thing between the wall and the green line is Palestinian farmland. “This piece of land has not been surrounded by the wall for security reason, they surrounded it in order to steal our land”, Abdullah explains.

Yesterday, soldiers told the farmers that they would close checkpoint 623, one of the agricultural checkpoint leading to the farmland. Closing the checkpoint would be devastating for Abdullah and the 300 farmers that are dependent on this checkpoint for making a living. “What can we do ? he asks. We are farmers, we can only shout. They are soldiers, they can shoot”.

It it is not even certain that the farmers affected by the closure will get permission to enter the other checkpoint. Even if they do, the lack of roads on the other side of the apartheid wall will force them to walk for hours in order to reach their lands. It would take Abdullah 1,5 hour of walking from the other checkpoint to reach his land. That means he would only be able to work for a few hours on his land before having to return back to the checkpoint, in order to get there before the soldiers close it.

Yesterday morning farmers and Palestinian activists together with politicians gathered to protest Thursday’s announcement to close the checkpoint. After demanding the checkpoint to remain open, and threatening to take this decision to court, Israeli commanders agreed to leave the checkpoint open. For the farmers, this is a small but important victory. But the future of the checkpoint is still uncertain and farmers will not be satisfied until the apartheid wall has been removed, and the farmers guaranteed unlimited access to their land.

Israeli forces uproot trees and destroy greenhouses in Kafa district

8th of December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Tulkarm Team | Kafa district, occupied Palestine

Settlers from the nearby settlements and soldiers watched the scene

On Tuesday, Israeli forces entered the village of Kafa in the outskirts of occupied Tulkarm. Within a few hours, they uprooted over 150 olive trees, 30 lemon trees and demolished four greenhouses from the land of the Esmail family. Even though this land has been owned by the family for multiple generations, Israel has declared it state property. “They didn’t just cause a loss of income, they also attacked my culture and my heritage”, says Munir Fathi Esmail, owner of the land.

The farmers were harvesting tomatoes inside one of the greenhouses when the Israeli forces entered the farm with bulldozers. The army didn’t give any notice for their intervention. The operation was covered by 12 soldiers from the israeli army and 4 men from the Isreali border police. Palestinians witnessing the demolition suspected that some of the armed Israeli civilians that assisted during the destruction were from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Avnei Hefetz, located just a few kilometers away. One of the armed settlers was instructing the bulldozer where to go, and telling the international human rights activists that where present to back off.

Israeli forces uprooted trees with a bulldozer

Munir explained that even though he will be able to buy new greenhouses, the economic loss resulting to the uprooting would be severe. “I will be dead before the new trees will be old and strong enough to give the same amount of harvest”, he stated.
The destruction of farmland, wich is illegal under international law, is just one form of oppression that the Palestinian farmers are facing. This farm, like most other agricultural areas in the West Bank is located in Area C, as 60% of the West Bank, fully controlled by the Israeli authorities. For Palestinian farmers in area C, this means harsh restrictions of movement, sometimes not being allowed access to their lands as well as not being allowed to build new constructions. Israel uses these methods as a way to get Palestinian farmers to leave their land, in order to give more room for expanding settlements. But Munir Fathi Esmail is determined to stay : “I will plant new trees, and I will never leave my land.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXfo5ExK6a4&app=desktop

Olive tree planting in Kafr ad Dik

7th February 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr ad Dik, Occupied Palestine

On the morning of February 5, ISM volunteers travelled with around 50 Palestinian activists from the Salfit area to the village of Kafr ad Dik to take part in an olive tree planting action organised by the Joint Council of Salfit (a newly formed coalition which includes a group of municipal councils in the Salfit area and the Palestinian Youth Union). The mood in the coach travelling over was upbeat and defiant. Local youth and women, who together formed the majority of participants, sang and discussed the importance of the tree-planting.

Ninety per cent of the village land of Kafr ad Dik lies in Area C of the West Bank; buildings erected (post-1967) or trees planted are liable to demolition and destruction by Israeli Forces at any time, in contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention. In an area where the majority of the population are dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood, these illegal acts of destruction and the constant threat of future destruction have a devastating effect on the people´s economic and psychological wellbeing.

The people of Kafr ad Dik also have to contend, as do other villages throughout the Salfit area, with the presence of the illegal Israeli settlements. The Salfit region has a Palestinian population of 60,000, distributed among the 19 villages and one major town, but the aggressive expansion of the illegal settlements in the area means that the indigenous population is now outnumbered by the settlers – one settlement alone, Ariel, has a population of 40,000.

The mayor of Kafr ad Dik told ISM that Salfit is a target for aggressive settlement expansion because of the area´s water resources: it contains the second largest aquifer in historical Palestine. However, the villages have to pay for water to be imported from Israel as they are not allowed to drill wells. The strategic location of Salfit is another factor – the continued expansion of settlements in the region could divide the West Bank, completely isolating the north from the south. Elaborating on the impact which the illegal settlements are having on his and neighbouring villages, the mayor referred to the frequent attacks by settlers who destroy olive trees, and the health problems in the area, which he linked to the pollution from the illegal industrial settlement of Ale Zahav.

120 olive tree saplings, provided by PARC (Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee), were planted in Area C, were planted in Thursday’s action as an act of agricultural resistance. Fayiq Qeshawe, one of the coordinators, told ISM that this was the first in a planned programme of such activities, all of which are intended to empower local communities and help maintain the indigenous population´s presence on, and ownership of, their land. As Majd, a sixteen-year-old from Salfit town, told ISM on the way back to from the action, ¨Today we have all come to volunteer as the olive is so important for the history of Palestine and to plant the olive is to prove that we are here, that this is our land.¨