7 December 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Masafer Yatta, Occupied West Bank
In just over one week, several Palestinian family homes were relegated to fields of rubble after occupation army bulldozers invaded several villages including al Deirat, Umm Lasafa and Umm Qissa. The demolitions left Palestinian children and their families homeless as the targeted destruction and expulsion of Masafer Yatta communities continues to accelerate.
The ruins of a demolished family home in Masafer Yatta. Photo Credit: BNN
On December 6, Occupation forces took the opportunity to demolish a sheep barn in Umm Qissa overnight during their destructive incursion in furtherance of the attacks on the shepherding and farming infrastructure of Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills. Coupled with the violent raids, antagonism and invasion of Palestinian homes by extremist ideological settlers, the pattern of harassment towards the achievement of a land ethnically cleansed of indigenous Palestinians grinds forth.
Taking advantage of the gap in coverage with the world’s eyes on the genocide in Gaza, and the isolated nature of the villages of Masafer Yatta, the occupation army has enabled and participated in the increasing momentum of settler terrorist attacks along with the destruction of residences to force Palestinian expulsion.
On December 3, settler extremists invaded Esfay, Maghayir Al-Abid and At-Tuba, leaving behind them the destroyed water network of a wide swathe of villagers of the South Hebron Hills communities. With surgical exacting, occupation forces are removing all elements of a people’s ability to exist; from the slashing of water cisterns to the destruction of water flow pipes, a community without water cannot survive. In image after image filtering out of the embattled villages, homes are seen crashing down under the gears of army-driven bulldozers while armed IOF stand guarding the destruction from intervention.
Credit: OCHA data on demolition and displacement in the West Bank. 12/03
On OCHA’s data on demolition and displacement in the West Bank website rolling figures which “reflect the demolition of Palestinian-owned structures and the resulting displacement of people from their homes across the West Bank since 2009” are updated every 48 hours. The numbers continue to grow and the project of colonial expansion continues to saturate the occupied West Bank.
Under the cover of night, several Palestinian homes in the Mleihat Arab community endured violent incursions by settlers in an attack overseen by the occupation army. Disturbing video of the storming of Palestinian family homes last evening in Mleihat displays a nightmarish scene in which a heavily armed extremist used his gun to viciously beat a resident and then pursued him at gunpoint.
During the home invasions, the settlers, one who has been identified as Zohar Sabah, committed violent assaults of Palestinian residents, traumatized children, insulted the women of the home and stole sheep from two Mleihat residents. This hours-long campaign of terror is part of a wider, coordinated project of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land by ideological extremist settlers who have been targeting small, isolated Palestinian communities for years. These assaults have soared in pace and have remained at fever pitch since October 7th with over a dozen farming and shepherding communities effectively terrorized into abandoning their villages under death threats accompanied by the destruction of water infrastructure, the smashing of vehicles, the destruction of farming equipment.
The violence committed against Palestinian family homes of Mleihat last evening is but the latest echo of settler brutality including tactics disturbingly targeting children and weaponizing their proximity to occupation forces against Palestinians through false accusations which place their lives at the whim of occupation troops who have long acted with the affirmed assumption of impunity.
The violent settler invasions of Mleihat last evening goes unanswered by the same authorities and occupation army whose lines have been intentionally blurred with the terrorist extremists who committed, and continue to perpetrate, these acts. There is no recourse for the victims, only endless nights of waiting until the next settler invasion, beating, shooting or theft is violently visited upon them by a gang whose arms continue to be supplemented by the Israeli government even as they offer lip service of “reigning in settler violence.”
Yesterday, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) announced the “postponement” of a talk by extremist pro-settler group Regavim in London due to opposition from British, Israeli, and Palestinian activists.
Regavim, which receives funding from the Israeli government, is not only anti-Palestinian and openly racist, but also lobbies for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the West Bank and destruction of their homes and schools, in clear violation of international law. A range of voices have been raised in opposition to Regavims visit including the International Solidarity Movement, Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Stop the Demolitions, with criticism also coming from Yachad UK and New Israel Fund. In the words of Regavim General Director Meir Deutsch, the protests planned against Regavim’s London lecture “represent a whole new level of cooperation between…organizations operating in Israel and abroad with Palestinian organizations”
We strongly reject UKLFI’s claim that most of the objections to the proposed talk related to irrelevant statements by a co-founder of Regavim who has since stopped working with the group. Regavim’s racism has been clear since the beginning, and it continues to do so, spreading discriminatory and hate filled messages.
While UKLFI claims it “is not aligned with any particular political viewpoint or party in the UK or Israel”, their actions show they are anything but a neutral or objective group. In March this year, an UKLFI document describes itself as an “association of lawyers” who “invok[e] laws in support of Israel and against Israel’s enemies”, “combat” the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign, and “work[s] closely with other pro-Israel organisations in the UK and around the world”. They devote most of its energy to lobbying public bodies in order to suppress activism for Palestinian rights, and target organisations promoting the Palestinian-led BDS movement, lodging complaints with regulatory bodies and sending letters threatening legal action. UKLFI seeks to frame groups advocating for Palestinian rights as extremists, but happily invites to the UK an organisation that has promoted violent racist narratives, and the violation of international law. UKLFI itself refuses to accept the illegality of Israeli settlements under international law.
While Regavim’s propaganda lecture has been postponed, it is still planned to take place at a later date, while on the ground in Palestine Regavim continues to lobby for the demolition of Palestinian communities and eviction of UNESCO from Jerusalem. We call on those committed to human rights, international law, and justice in the Middle East to continue to oppose both Regavim’s attempts to propagate its extremist views and discriminatory organizations like UKLFI that play in supporting role in Regavim’s destructive actions.
– International Solidarity Movement
– Stop the Demolitions
– Palestine Solidarity Campaign
August 25 | International Solidarity Movement | Occupied Palestine
At a time of regular settler and IOF violence in the West Bank, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is issuing an urgent call for volunteers to join us for the 2019 Olive Harvest Campaign at the invitation of Palestinian communities.
The olive tree is a national symbol for Palestinians. As thousands of olive trees have been bulldozed, uprooted and burned by Israeli settlers and the Israeli military — over half a million olive and fruit trees have been destroyed since September 2000 — harvesting has become more than a source of livelihood; it has become a form of resistance.
Despite efforts by Israeli settlers and soldiers to prevent them from accessing their land, Palestinian communities have remained steadfast in refusing to give up their olive harvest.
ISM volunteers join Palestinian farming communities each year to harvest olives, in areas where Palestinians face settler and military attacks when working their land. Your presence can make a big difference, with Palestinian communities stating that the presence of international volunteers reduces the risk of violence and harassment from Israeli settlers and the Israeli army.
We support Palestinians’ assertion of their right to earn their livelihoods and be present on their lands. International solidarity activists engage in non-violent direct action and documentation as on the ground, practical support which enables many families to pick their olives.
The harvest will begin in early October and run until mid-November. We request a minimum 2 week commitment but we ask that if possible, volunteers could stay as long as they can. Our work is dependent on relationships with the Palestinian communities in which we work, and a long term presence is a massive help towards that end. We kindly ask volunteers to start arriving in the first week of October if possible, so we are prepared when the harvest begins.
In addition to the harvest, there will be opportunities to participate in grass-roots, non-violent resistance in Palestine. ISM activists will receive training, normally held on Saturday or Sunday, at the beginning of each month with information on what to expect and how to act in what can be tense situations. Our other actions include:
The School Year:
Sunday the 25th of August marks the beginning of the school year, and with it increased threats for Palestinian teachers and children. Therefore, in the coming months, it is vital that we have volunteers who are able to walk with the children on school runs, to document and serve as a protective presence against Israeli Occupation Forces and settler harassment, which includes checkpoint delays. It is hoped that the presence of internationals may prevent settler attacks, and reduce the risk of Israeli soldiers harassing children.
Beyond the school runs, ISM maintains a constant presence in Hebron (Al-Khalil), where settler harassment and violence is a regular occurrence. Lately, Israeli army violence has escalated for Palestinians living close to the illegal inner-city settlement. Israeli forces have used the Palestinian neighbourhoods for military training, and heavily repress any form of resistance, responding with collective punishment as they fire dozens of teargas canisters and stun grenades onto Al-Khalil’s civilian population. Through documentation and non-violent resistance, ISM attempts to relieve some of the pressure placed on Al-Khalil’s residents.
Israeli soldiers take pictures inside a school playground in Khalil
Protective presence at protests and police raids:
In addition to these activities, we participate in the weekly demonstrations in Kafr Qaddum, and other villages where our presence is requested and protesters face excessive force by the IOF. Recently the Jerusalem police have been targeting the East Jerusalem town of Issawiya, invading the area every night and arresting children as young as 5. Evening and afternoon patrols are needed by internationals to document these human rights abuses and have a mediating effect on the notoriously brutal units that operate in occupied East Jerusalem.
Experiencing the situation for yourself is vital to fully understand, and ultimately convey, the reality of life in Palestine to your home communities and to re-frame the debate in a way that will expose Israel’s apartheid policies; creeping ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem as well as collective punishment and genocidal practices in Gaza.
Police make arbitrary car checks outside the Palestinian neighbourhood of Issawiya
How to apply:
Please send an email to ismtraining@riseup.net letting us know what dates you are able to come, any experience you have with this type of work and why you want to volunteer in Palestine.
Other options to help:
Donate — for those who cannot make it on this period and want to help, you can donate or help raise funds which will be used to fund ISM’s ongoing campaigns.
August 20 | International Solidarity Movement | Beit Ummar, Occupied Palestine
Beit Ummar is an agricultural town and farming community just north of Hebron, with a populace of about 17,000. Al Shoroq, a Palestinian led group comprised of local activists based in the region since 2013 founded by longstanding committee members, work with families, farmers and the community to create resistance based empowerment through skill building, construction and collective work. Al Shoroq as an organisation are focused primarily on assisting in sustainability and development in Area C; Israeli controlled areas containing Palestinian families, farmland and buildings long standing on now occupied territories, which currently makes up 70% of the land. Beit Ummar is under constant scrutiny and stress from the Israeli government and military, and more increasingly, Israeli settlers.
Settlers are extremely volatile in their treatment of the residents of Beit Ummar, frequently shooting at farmers, cutting down their trees, attacking their livestock or burning their land so that the soil will not bear plantation. One of Al Shoroq’s avenues of support for the farming community is to replant trees. Recently 1000 olive trees were planted to replace those destroyed previously by settlers, only for the settlers from Bat Ayin to then tear them down and raze the ground earlier this year. Israel also controls and restricts the integral local resources in the area, including water, as Yousef Abu Maria explained: “Israel takes all the water to use on their trees, you can see the difference between the Palestinian and Israeli trees.”
There is growing evidence of extreme oppression in the area, and the rate in which land is taken and occupied is faster than ever. Another founding member of the organisation warned: “Problems like this happen constantly; it is impossible to live and work well here. The Israelis want the Palestinians to leave their land. 15 years ago, there were only 10 houses in the settlement in Karmei Zur, now, you can see 1,000. To do this, they take Palestinian land. The Israeli area has grown from 100 dunums” (100,000m2) “to 6,000 dunums”. (6,000,000m2). In interview, representatives of the municipality asserted that “This is the main aim of the occupation – to press the people, until they are fed up, to make them leave their land, to leave Palestine. It will NEVER happen. We are Palestinian. It’s our land. We will stay here. We will die here.”
Settlements at this point are surrounding and cutting off Beit Ummar, from all accessible sides, via Karmei Zur, Bat Ayin and Gush Etzion. On the remaining side are uninhabitable rocky valleys and mountainous terrains. While the entirety of the West Bank is dramatically affected by the occupation, Beit Ummar is a special case, as they are completely surrounded by settlements and the apartheid wall. The settlements are constantly undergoing expansion, ebbing away at Palestinian land. Naturally this has made daily life incredibly difficult for residents of Beit Ummar, their routes cut off and their land under threat from the occupation and biased military intervention. “If a Palestinian has to go to the hospital, or they want to go to pray, but the checkpoint is between them and the hospital or mosque, they can’t” explained one of the founders of Al Shoroq, Yousef Abu Maria.
“The suffering is daily, in our own land. This is our land.” – The Mayor of Beit Ummar.
The community suffers first hand in this situation. Whilst under constant harassment and devastation of the land, there is also the factor that Israel bars Palestinian farmers from sending their produce to external markets, overseas or even as close as Jordan. This coupled with the lack of employment and opportunity results in economic turmoil.
The occupation affects every Palestinian territory in the West Bank. In the case of Beit Ummar, a once thriving agricultural community is now under the constant threat of a new invasive manipulation of the law served only to make life harder for Palestinian residents, whilst simultaneously closing the area off, making movement incredibly difficult.
A blocked Palestinian access road.
International funding for Settler-only roads is met, whilst pre-existing roads for the Palestinian people are blocked and destroyed. A member of Al Shoroq stated that: “Any Palestinian that wishes to work in Israel occupied areas, cannot enter without a special permit, and even then, they must pass through a checkpoint which takes hours. Workers have to get to the checkpoint at 2am to wait to pass through to get to work in time. There are many people waiting there, and have to wait 4-5 hours to enter Israel. For many Palestinians, they are not even granted a permit, so are unable to move through checkpoints.”
Representatives of the municipality added: “So what about the farmers? Daily they have to go to their land to take care of it. They need permission every time? It is too difficult!”
The main entrance to the town is now situated next to an arbitrarily designated ‘military zone’ with a consistent Israeli military presence. However, there is no Palestinian police station in Beit Ummar, and so, if police presence is required, it has to be approved by the Israeli Civil Administration. This process takes up to 6 hours to get approval to enter, which more often than not, will result in rejection. This is not only dangerous, but denial of a basic human right for the people of Beit Ummar. as they cannot receive direct or timely emergency response in critical situations.
Al Shoroq’s work is imperative in sustaining a resistance to the land grab tactics and destruction long imposed on the innocent civilians of Beit Ummar. They are a singular force taking a stand against the ceaseless abuse of human rights in the town.
The founders of Al Sharouq have been working as a commitee for 15 years against the separation wall, settlements, the closing of road 60 for Palestinians. Around 2013, they formed Al Sharouq organisation and started working in humanitarian intervention, supplying food boxes, clothes, beds. The opportunity to start a small scale project for the farmers or for the women has been difficult. Al Sharouq do what they can, but it is not easy to do this work alone. They need support from the international community, to support fundraising for this project in their countries to help the farmers of Beit Ummar. – Al Shoroq member.
As the only tangible source of support, Al Shoroq are an integral part of the Beit Ummar municipality, also performing outreach work across Hebron and Yatta. They are small in number, but their dedication to improving the quality of life for Palestinian inhabitants of Area C is great, and appreciated throughout the community.
“What can we do to resist the occupation? We protest Israel’s plans for demolitions, building of walls, and sometimes we are successful in stopping their building plans, but most of the time we are not. The occupation has been going on for so long, that any small thing we can do to fight or support people to stay in their land, is a big thing.”
“Maybe we can’t stop the wall, but we can support people to stay living and working where they do, near the wall, or near the settlements. If the farmers do not have anyone to support them to stay where they are near the wall, or a settlement, and they leave, it is easy for Israel to expand the settlement, and push back the wall even more.” – Al Shoroq member.
Al Shoroq and the community of Beit Ummar are fighting daily against multiple impending threats as a result of the occupation. How dangerously close the settlements now are, the threats of security guards and settlers, the burning and razing of plantations, of homes, and of land to ensure that nothing is rebuilt. The terrorising nature of the occupation is seen here in full swing. A crater of rubble and corrugated twisted metal from the Israeli military’s destruction of what was – until recently – a thriving family home, acts as a reminder that nothing is off limits to the Israeli occupation.
“But there are many things we can do. We support the farmers to plant olive trees, we build wells so the farmers can easily access water, we run workshops on how farmers can resist the occupation and stay on their land, we provide legal support and documents to the farmers so that they can prove ownership of their land to Israel, we make food boxes for the people who are really suffering. All of these activities we do, while we never stop demonstrating against Israel and their plans. This is the goal of Alshouq, it’s a simple goal.” – Al Shoroq member.
“We can start small and get bigger and bigger.” – Yousef Abu Maria
But to achieve this goal effectively and to make a deeper impact on the unrelenting injustice of the occupation, Al Shoroq require the support of internationals and partner organisations. To focus and maintain global attention to their cause, to support and assist in the excellent progress they are making in the face of the oppressive Israeli regime, and to help expand their team and abilities with people power, funding, publicity and communication. Al Shoroq would like to reach out to fellow communities, organisations and individuals, so that they may visit and support the people of Beit Ummar by building small projects in the area, improving the stance on agriculture, support and outreach, by spreading the word, fundraising, planting, building and making imprints on the unjust state of things; sowing the seeds to return their land to a place of strength, unity and resistance.
“We have so many daily problems, but we have to exceed them. By any way we have to exceed them.” – The Municipality of Beit Ummar
To join Al Shoroq’s voluntary programme or to donate to their important work, please contact:Palestine-Hebron-Bayt Umar-Main Street
