Tag: Area C - Page 3 - International Solidarity Movement

Israeli military bulldozers rampage across the South Hebron Hills

by Team Khalil

14 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Israeli military bulldozers destroyed four homes in a morning of mayhem in the South Hebron Hills. The demolitions were carried out by plain clothed officers accompanied by 15 Border Police and two bulldozers.

At 8 am Monday 14^th January the house of Shoib Hathaleen in the village of Um Al Kheir was demolished by the Israeli occupation forces bulldozers. Eight people lived in the house, four adults and four children. Shoib has had a stroke and is unable to speak. The family were able to remove their possessions and pile them up next to the rubble of their home. The house had a demolition order put on it three years ago and on this morning the Israeli military turned up unexpectedly to wreak havoc on this refugee family. Their status as refugees means that the Red Cross who visited the family shortly afterwards has to check with the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNWRA) before supplying them with basic aid such as a tent for shelter from the cold.

From Um Al Kheir two Israeli army bulldozers drove to an area called Shakia, near to the village of Hawara, between Um Al Kheir and Al Dereit. This is a rural area and the houses are spread far apart across the hills. The two bulldozers, acccompanied by Israeli army jeeps and plain clothed officers possibly from the District Coordination Office (DCO) driving in white pick up trucks drove around the area leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

At 9:45 am the next house to be demolished belonged to Ziad Makhamri.Ziad lives in this house for four to five months a year in the spring. Ziad owns a hundred sheep and lives in the house when his flock grazes on the lands around the house which he owns, the rest of the year Ziad lives in the village of Birl Ed. The family recieved a phone call to say the Israeli army were demolishing their house. They turned up to see the house lying in ruins. “The family were given no notice and no reason as to the destruction of their house, there was no demolition order on the building,” a family member Jamille Makhamri, a vetenary doctor said. “This is area C, we did not have a permit to build the house but the Israelis don’t ever give permission to build,” he added. Area C is under full Israeli civil and military control and permissions for Palestinians to build on the lands they own is very rarely granted.

At 10:45 am the home of Waleed Saljbor’s family was destroyed. And at 11:10 am the family of Mohammed Ali Issa Atayet, comprising of fifteen people including children, found themselves homeless as the Israeli occupation forces bulldozed their home.

The Israeli military targeting civilian housing in the middle of winter, leaving people to fend of the bitterly cold weather with little more than the clothes they are wearing, can only be described as acts wonton destruction carried out against farmers who work the land, and refugees.

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)

Protest march and bike ride in South Hebron Hills firing zone [Update: Video added]

by Team Khalil

8 December 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Close to one hundred protesters marched and rode bicycles in a peaceful march through several villages in South Hebron Hills on Saturday 8 December. The purpose of the symbolic protest was to draw attention to and oppose the eviction orders issued to eight villages in the area. Native Palestinians in the area near one thousand and have lived there for hundreds of years. The march started in At Tuwani and ended in Al Fahkeit.

Together with seven other villages, the village of Al Fahkeit is inside what the Israeli government considers to be a firing zone (see the Hebron area map here). This means heavy artillery is shot near Palestinian villages. The villages are also often target of restrictions, demolitions, evacuations and abuse policies by the Israeli army.

The event happened in spite of a large military presence. The protest was at its largest in the village of Al Mufaqarah, in which on the fourth of this month a mosque was demolished for the second time in less than a year.

The gathering was held with enthusiasm by women, men and children who often rode bicycles alongside internationals. As the demonstration came to a close, a Palestinian man climbed onto the rubble that was once the largest structure in the village and conducted afternoon prayer.

Video: Afternoon prayer on the rubble that was once the largest structure in the village.

Reflections on a brief exchange in the aftermath of a home demolition, 4 December 2012

by Jeff Berryhill

5 December 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The pain and anguish on the woman’s face was penetrating. Earlier this morning two Israeli military jeeps, one civil administration vehicle, and a bulldozer had arrived at her home with orders to level the structure. This is in spite of ongoing legal proceedings seeking to preserve the home. The modest twenty square meter home was erected by the owners of the land in November of 2011. Just three days after the building was complete, the Israeli Civil Administration arrived and informed the owners that the structure was not permissible due to their failure to acquire appropriate building permits. But as these civil servants knew full well, for Palestinians acquiring building permits is no simple matter.

A Bedouin woman whose home has been demolished

The family lives in a small Bedouin village part of Aqraba, located in what is known as Area C of the Jordan Valley, a category designating territories within the West Bank which are formally under full Israeli civil and military control (as determined in the Oslo Accords). According to the Mayor, Israel is engaged in a systematic process of clearing the area of its inhabitants so that its fertile land can be appropriated for agriculture uses by nearby settlements.

This project of enclosure has caused persistent problems for the Palestinian Bedouin community living in the West Bank. Through a combination of complex bureaucratic hurdles and systematic discrimination, Israel routinely denies these communities the right to develop structures on their own property. When they take matters into their own hands (as they must to survive), Israel responds with more blunt forms of dispossession, today’s demolition being a case in point.

With the destruction of the home, the family was in desperate need of shelter. Members of the community, including civic leaders from the town of Aqraba, lent a hand in erecting a tent that would serve as their new home. A torrential downpour soon descended upon us, forcing everyone to seek temporary cover. Perhaps this was an ominous sign of the coming seasonal change and the challenges the family will inevitably face. Inside the tent, following the arrival of the Red Crescent Disaster Response division on the scene, an account of what transpired in the course of the demolition began to be recorded. Questions were primarily directed at the male owner of the home and the village mayor who was present to lend support for the family. Shortly after the rain relented, the folks inside the tent went outside and began assembling a second tent.

The building destroyed by the Israeli military was home to a family of five, and these simple tents will now serve as their only refuge from the elements. In the course of the demolition, the bulldozer also destroyed their toilet facilities and the electrical wires running to the nearby building that housed the kitchen, though those who gathered to assist the family were at least able to repair the damaged electrical wires. In addition, they also leveled a tent structure used to shield barley that serves as food for their livestock.

I sat quietly inside the tent with the woman and she poured me a second cup of tea. I watched her as she stared at the pile of rubble that was once her home, before turning her eyes to perform a visual survey of her belongings now huddled inside the tent. David and Andrea soon joined us, grabbing a seat on the single-sized bed pushed against the backside of the tent. Through Andrea’s knowledge of Arabic, we managed to engage in some simple conversation with the woman. During this brief exchange the woman revealed her pain and fears, and as she spoke tears began rolling down her cheeks. She indicated that her health and well-being were worrisome, and that being exposed to the elements like this would undoubtedly mean a turn for the worse. In a searing display of vulnerability, she said that with the destruction of her home she had nothing left to live for and now simply awaits her death. While this testimony proved tear-jerking and heart-wrenching, it was accompanied by a humbling display of compassion. Our new friend exuded a warmth and generosity that conveyed an underlying resilient spirit, bringing to life the maxim that ‘existence is resistance’. She extended sincere gratitude for our presence, calming the tensions I felt about being an onlooker to another’s misery. She patiently fielded our questions and provided poignant accounts of what this experience meant to her. At the conclusion of our exchange she said that we were like sons to her, and may god bless us.

Our powerful encounter with this 58-year-old woman occurred by mere chance, but reveals something profound about the concept of grass-roots democracy. So often we look to people of stature for insights and detail, erringly overlooking the wisdom embedded in the experiential knowledge of those most marginalized and often neglected. As an international, I often struggle to determine what it is I need to communicate to people upon returning home. Without a doubt the injustices I have witnessed deserve special attention, but perhaps just as important are the simple acts of humanity I have encountered. For within this one woman’s warmth and resilience are the seeds necessary for cultivating a better world.

The remains of the home which has been demolished

Putting up a tent where the family will live

Photos by David Langstaff.

Jeff Berryhill and David Langstaff are volunteers with the International solidarity movement.

Al Mufagarah: Cave dwellers struggle to remain on their land

By VLR

21 July 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

In the peaceful landscape of the South Hebron Hills, the occupation of the land is a daily struggle. Whilst life seems to be quiet and smooth the Palestinian communities often have to forget their daily life problems to focus on a bigger issue: resisting expulsion from their land.

As does 60% of the Palestinian West Bank, the South Hebron Hills lies in Area C, meaning it is under complete Israeli civil and military control. Palestinians residing in Area C live under harsh conditions, facing land confiscations, house demolitions, and access to water and electricity.

Furthermore, a 7.5 acre area within the district of Masafer Yatta, including 12 Palestinian villages, were designated in the late 1970s by the Israeli Occupation Forces as ‘Firing Zone 918’, a closed military zone. In 1999, evacuation orders were issued to remove the inhabitants of the villages, claiming that they are non-permanent residents and ignoring their ancient culture.

In Al Mufagarah, the 15 families are living in caves, tents, and a few stones houses. As their ancestors have been doing for ages, the families farm and graze. Its population, originally from the nearby village of At-Tuwani moved 4 kilometres south to set up the village of Al Mufagarah by the end of the British Mandate. At first, it seemed that nothing had changed. Secluded on a hillside, Al Mufagarah is accessible only by a rough dirt road. It stands quiet, facing the Naqab desert.

Its 160 residents, as do the 12 other hamlets of the firing zone, maintain a unique way of life with many living in or beside dug caves. Studies have shown that cave dwellers have been living in the southern Hebron hills since at least the 1830s. As families expanded, they build tents and a few stones houses. The community relies for its livelihood on growing grain and olives, husbandry of sheep and goats, and on the production of milk and cheese.

“Unfortunately, nowadays, we are facing issues my grand-father would have never expected!” said Mahmoud. “We started building a few stones houses in the ’80s; but then, with the expansion of the 4 nearby settlements, the Israeli Civil Administration wouldn’t deliver building permits anymore.

Even though in 2007, I decided to build a 60m² bricks house on the top of my cave because it is too small for my wife and my 14 children. But the 24th November 2011, the Israeli bulldozers came and destroyed my house as well as the mosque and the container for the collective power generator.”

Most of the villages of the South Hebron Hills have been forcibly displaced or demolished, often times with the building of new settlements. Moreover, according to the Israeli non-governmental organization Peace Now, between 2000 and September 2007, 94% of the building permits requested in Area C by Palestinians were turned down. While only 91 permits were issued to Palestinians, 18,472 new homes were built, illegally by international law, in order to expand the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which currently house 400,000 settlers.Heavy restrictions on freedom movement, work and business isolate these communities and have increased poverty among the population.

Furthermore, the closed area has no physical infrastructure. There are no paved roads leading from the villages. They are not linked to a power grid, telephone lines, a running-water system, or a sewage system. The normal water supply is rain, saved from the rainy season. Although the water table in the area is healthy enough to be able to build a well, the military does not permit this. Even building a structure for rainwater catchment is forbidden. As the rain water does not last through the dry season and the inhabitants have to spend roughly 10-15% of their income to buy water, brought by tanker from an Israeli company, Yatta.

The community attempted a few years ago to run electrical lines from At-Tuwani village but it was, as always, shut down by the military. Nowadays, only Mahmoud has a small power generator that he uses strictly from 7-10 p.m., and all activities needing electricity are coordinated into this time. This includes using the washing machine, charging cellular phones and flashlights, as well as watching their favourite soap opera.

“We are harassed on a daily base by settlers, soldiers, police, and border police. But I am determined to behave the opposite way of their actions. We will get Al Mufagarah back on the map and bring its people from the caves within to the outside in houses,” Mahmoud says.

On 19 May 2012, the community of Al Mufagarah, supported by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, launched a campaign called ‘Al Mufagarah R-Exist’, to build 15 bricks houses. Every Saturday since the launching, Palestinian, Israeli, and International activists have gathered to build the houses and support the community in its struggle to remain on its land.

On June 10, after only 3 houses had been completed, Al Mufagarah received orders from the Israeli Civil Administration to halt construction. On July 16, a demolition order was received concerning the first house built, which should be implemented within 3 days.

Like Susya and many other villages from Area C, the existence of this community is jeopardized.

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VLR is a photojournalist based in Palestine since 2011 reporting life under occupation.

This article was originally published with an error in the name of the village Al Mufagarah. It was corrected from Um Fagarah to Al Mufagarah on 30 July 2012.

Jordan Valley: Palestinian family’s water confiscated, internationals arrested

By Rosa Andersson and Amina Simonsson

25 June 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Thursday, June 21, Israeli forces confiscated a water tank from a Bedouin Palestinian family in the Jordan Valley, leaving them with no access to water. Three Swedish women were arrested for standing in solidarity with Palestinian women and children who peacefully protested by standing in between the Israeli military and the water tank at risk of theft.

Israeli soldiers deal violently with a Palestinian woman peacefully protesting the theft of her water tank – click to see more photos

The Jordan valley is a fertile are ideal for agricultural production. When Israel took control of the West Bank, it immediately took hold of water resources and began to target Palestinian communities and empty them from the Jordan Valley. The villages left are isolated from each other not only by distance but by Israeli checkpoints, closed military zones, and other restrictions on movement. The Israeli military performs military training in proximity to many communities, putting them at constant risk.

The illegal occupation of water resources has made water access an urgent problem. The United Nations declares water a basic human right. The World Health Organization has declared that each individual need access to 100 litres of water per day, but Palestinians use on average between 50 to 70 litres per day. Many Palestinians in the Jordan Valley however, receive as little as 10-20 litres per day. This is a figure lower than both the recommended daily intake and the absolute minimum daily consumption required to avoid ‘mass health epidemics.’ Families in the Jordan Valley are forced to buy water at incredibly inflated prices. Some households spend 40-50% of their income to buy water from Israeli companies.

“When we came to the Bedouin camp, children were crying and there were a lot of soldiers trying to drag them away from the tractor that they tried to block. There were no men, only women and children, and around 60 soldiers and policemen. The Bedouin men were scared to show any resistance because of the risk of administrative detention,” says Rosa Andersson, one of the women who was later arrested.

The Swedish women were released after 30 hours of arrest and they are now prohibited from being in the West Bank. No one, Palestinian or International, showed any violence. The Palestinian family dependent on the confiscated water tank now has no access to water as the driest season of the year has just begun.

Rosa Andersson and Amina Simonsson are volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).