Atta Jabr is a farmer who lives with his family on a hill, near Road 60. They live in the Al-Baqa’a Valley, east of Hebron. They live close to Harsina settlement and an illegal outpost. At around 5:00am on Wednesday morning, 18 August 2010, Atta and his family were awoken by the sound of a shofar – a horn used in Jewish religious rituals.
Six settlers came down from the rocks where they were sitting, on land which is the property of the Jabr family. Atta and his pre-teen daughter came out to see what was going on. The settlers then ran down the hill and attacked them. Atta and his daughter were pushed around violently, but thankfully they managed to get inside the house and close the door. The settlers then began yelling a slew of insults and threats. They said that the land belonged to them and therefore they should own Atta’s house too. They screamed that they wanted to “f—“ everyone in the house and that they wanted to “f—-“ Atta’s daughter. One of Atta’s relatives, Jaoud, came running out of his house to see what was going on. When the settlers saw him they fled.
During the assault, Atta tried calling the police for help. Noone arrived for approximately 2 hours. It was only after activists called the police and announced that they were on their way, that the police responded.
The settlers were caught on tape by one of Atta’s daughters. (footage to follow).
Al Buwayra is a small village located on the outskirts of Hebron, with about 560 inhabitants. Most people are farmers, growing grapes and vegetables to support themselves. The situation in the village is critical, and villagers are repeatedly being attacked by settlers from the illegal Kyriat Arba and Harzina settlements which surround the village as well as several illegal outposts.
The road into the village is blocked by a gate and an earth mound set up by the Israeli army, forcing the villagers to either climb or drive a long way in order to enter their homes. Since the Israeli army began demolishing two of the five illegal outposts around Buwayra, settlers have carried out several attacks both on the villagers, their farmland and their animals. Daily life is a struggle with good reason to be constantly afraid. ISM, in close cooperation with CPT, has been going to Buwayra almost every day over the last 3 weeks, when the army removed the first illegal outpost and the settlers started to attack the Palestinians in response.
Thursday 5 August
Death threats towards two internationals, attack on Susan Sultan.
Early Thursday morning, around 6.30, soldiers from the Israeli army came to remove an illegal outpost near a settlement. ISM and CPT sent people there straight away to make sure the soldiers and settlers didn’t harass Palestinians. The settlers were really angry and the villagers feared that the settlers would retaliate against the Palestinians. The settlers set fire to a small piece of Palestinian farmland but luckily the Palestinians themselves were able to put out the fire. There were internationals present almost the whole day. Two internationals, one from Denmark and the other from England, received two death threats from settlers because of their presence in the area. The outpost was removed and the soldiers tried to block the way to outpost but after the soldiers left the settlers started on clearing the road and rebuilding the outpost.
On the evening of August 5th Suzan Jamil Sultan, 51, a university English teacher was in her car, with her three children aged 2, 3 and 8 in the backseat, driving towards her home, at around 21.30 at night. Near her home, which has an outpost located near to it, she saw a car parked across the narrow road, blocking it. She also saw a car with a blue light, and assumed it was a police car, and therefore thought it was safe to drive on. Suddenly at least ten settlers appeared, and they started throwing stones to her car. She was scared, and her children were crying. She tried to reverse the car, but was not able to move on the narrow road.
Suzan then got out of the car, as she wanted to protect the children from getting hurt. The settlers attacked her with stones, hitting her in the head, in her side and her hand. She remembers that she fell, and couldn’t hear or see for some minutes, and when she was able to see again the settlers were gone. She then saw that the blue light belonged to the settler’s security car, parked near where she was attacked. She then asked the driver: “Did you see what they did?” in English. The man answered that he doesn’t speak English. Suzan’s daughter then arrived and helped her and her children home. She had to go to hospital and needed three stitches on her hand. She was still suffering from pain in the head and side, and had a bandage on her hand when ISM activists spoke talked to her the following Monday and her whole family, she said, were scared to move around the open fields where they might encounter settlers.
Friday 6 August
Two internationals attacked. Three Palestinians arrested at night, while trying to defend a family from settler attack.
ISM sent two people to replace the people from CPT that had spent the night in Al Buwayra. The situation up until 12.00 was quiet
Canadian activist Peter Cunliffe after he was left with a broken nose following an attack by masked Israeli settlers in Al Buwayra
At 12.00 the two internationals were sitting in the shade under a tree when three masked settlers appeared out of nowhere and attacked. There carried wooden and metal sticks. The internationals were severely beaten. After the attack, which lasted only 2 minutes, the settlers ran towards the outpost. Family members from the Sultani house helped the internationals to stop the bleeding and protected them from further attacks. They were taken to Al Khalil hospital and one needed surgery on a broken nose and is still recovering from his injuries.
That night 100 settlers threw stones at the Sultans house because the Sultans helped the two internationals that were attacked. When soldiers arrive most of the settlers leave the crime scene but one settler stays back to tell the soldiers that it’s the Palestinians that have been attacking the settlers and not the other way around. Three Palestinians were arrested at night while they were trying to defend and protect the Sultan house from the settler attack. It is known that two of them have been released.
Saturday 7 August
Closed Military Zone. Settlers set fire to grape vines.
Early on Saturday morning six people from ISM went to Al Buwayra. At first things seemed calm but after a while, when sitting close to the outpost, activists were approached by soldiers who said the area was a closed military zone and that the internationals had to leave. They moved a little away.
At night the settlers set fire to a field of Palestinian grapevines and a fire truck was called. However, the Palestinians ended up putting out the fire themselves.
Sunday 8 August
In the morning internationals tried to go into Al Buwayra but were refused access by the soldiers saying once again that the village was a closed military zone and that the internationals could not go and visit families and take pictures of the damage caused by the settler attacks.
Later three internationals, one from CPT and two from ISM, go by car and enter the village. The border police spotted the internationals quickly but after a talk with the commander the internationals and the Palestinian driving the car were allowed to go and visit one family for half an hour. The family spoke about what it is like to live in constant danger and fear of the settlers. From the family house settlers could be seen walking in the hills close to the outpost.
Monday 9 August
On Monday internationals made it in to Al Buwayra. By taking the back way the internationals avoided being seen by the border police and were able to go and speak to different families. The internationals saw settlers walking around the outpost but overall things seemed to be calm. But the villagers live in constant fear. They have trouble sleeping because they never know when to expect a settler attack. They are really worried about the future and when things are quiet for a few days they know that this is only a brief respite before a new settler attack.
15 August 2010 | International Solidarity Movement
On Saturday Palestinians were joined by internationals and Israelis in their weekly demonstration, asking for the opening of Shuhada Street and responding to the closure of three shops in the old city earlier in the week. The Israeli army, represented by soldiers and border police, entered from the gate leading to Shuhada Street, and pushed the protesters back up the street they came from. Several people were pushed violently to the ground without any warning or for any reason. Five innocent protesters were arrested with extreme force; one Australian, two British and two Israeli citizens, and taken away by border police and soldiers. All faced trumped up charges, including, ironically, of supposedly assaulting soldier.
In response to the closure of the three shops located in the old city, protesters were carrying banners asking: “Is the Old City becoming the new ghost town?”, referring to Shuhada Street that has been closed off for more than a decade. Some posters were also showing pictures of Shuhada Street in 1997 and 2007, showing how the street has become like a ghost town since all the shops were closed down. Although it’s Ramadan, about 60 people gathered for the demonstration.
The protesters went down to Bab al Balladyeh, and were faced by about 50 soldiers and border police. Police were also present. People were playing drums, singing slogans calling for a free Palestine and the opening of Shuhada Street, when the commander announced that it was an illegal demonstration. The border police who had lined up preventing people from moving on, started to push people back, and even though none of the protesters resisted, more and more force was used, causing many people to fall. The border police targeted one international activist, and while pushing everybody else away, they took him by the neck and pulled him violently down the street. Minutes later the same procedure was carried out on another activist, without any provocation from him. He fell to the ground and was dragged away by soldiers. Later in the demonstration two Israeli activists were targeted in the same way, though no physical contact with the soldiers whatsoever had occurred beforehand. Then another international activist, an elderly man, was grabbed and forcibly taken away.
The remaining group of protesters were then forced back along the street. People were asking the soldiers to stop pushing, which they didn’t respond to. This went on several times, and in the end the protesters walked back up the hill. The protest lasted for about an hour. Again the Israeli army proved that they don’t hesitate to use violence against peaceful protesters in Hebron.
None of the arrestees had so much as touched any of the soldiers – indeed they were in fact subjected to violence themselves – yet one British man was yesterday charged with assaulting a soldier. Rhys Samuel stood trial in the ‘Peace Court’ in Jerusalem, with the soldiers’ false testimony the only evidence presented against him. He was not given a translator. He was told he was banned from attending “illegal demonstrations”. Meanwhile, another British man was only released on the condition that he does not return to Hebron in the next 15 days. These court rulings, and the case of Swedish activist Marcus Regnander shows that the Israeli courts do not view the absence of evidence as an obstacle to imposing punitive conditions – but also that challenges within the legal system to unjust rulings can succeed as well. For fighting such increasingly frequent court cases designed to deter international peace activists, ISM has this week put out an appeal for funds to cover the hefty legal costs involved.
Meanwhile the violence used to arrest one of the Palestinians was so great that he lost consciousness during the and yet soldiers dragged him unconscious for 20 meters before handcuffing him. The care he was provided with following the arrest was extremely inadequate – police refused to take him to the hospital despite multiple requests made to the paramedic for the pains in his head to be treated.
As well as the injuries incurred during the action, violence towards the Palestinians continued in Kiryat Arba Police Station when an officer named Avi lifted a Palestinian up by his neck, took him outside and began to beat him with no pretext given. This ill treatment of detainees continued with police refusing to grant access to the toilet, providing only frozen bread for food, personally insulting the prisoners, taunting them, and making racist comments. While the British and Israeli detainees were released, the Palestinians prisoners were moved to a Military base in Gush Etzion settlement. They are currently awaiting a court date.
Yesterday, August 10th, between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon, in response to peaceful Palestinian resistance to the military occupation of Hebron – and ongoing settler violence – the Israeli army decided to collectively punish Palestinian shopkeepers in the Old City. They had been threatening for weeks to close certain shops because they are located by the yellow gate that closes off Shuhada street, where a weekly peaceful demo has started each Saturday for the past few months.
At about 3:00 the army announced that three of the five shops would be closed, and that they would weld the doors shut. Three families would lose their entire livelihoods.
Crowds of people then began gathering by the shops. There were members of ISM, CPT and EAPPI. There were also many Palestinians who came out to see what was happening. Some internationals and Palestinians stood in front of the shops.
Some people spoke to the soldiers who at that point were behind the gate. They asked them why they were punishing innocent people. The soldiers told them to leave. They did not listen to people telling them that they should disobey unjust orders. They just stared vacantly.
Some young Palestinian men tried to take off the gates before the soldiers got to them, so they would not be welded shut. One of the shopkeepers, an elderly man, tried to move his products out of the shop.
After about an hour, the gate to Shuhada Street swung open. Armed soldiers walked into the crowd and began ordering people to disperse. They charged towards the people in the first shop and arrested them. Palestinian men were thrown to the ground and were tackled by the soldiers. An older woman from CPT was roughly pushed. In all, six people were arrested, one international – who has since been released – and five Palestinians who are still being held.
The soldiers brutally chased out, dragged out or arrested everyone in the shops. They pushed crowds of people back and then proceeded to weld shut the doors. They declared the area a “closed military zone”. Many of the people in the crowd began remonstrating with the soldiers. Some of the soldiers told people to shut up. Others just stood there, not saying anything. Two officers were yelling at people and the soldiers pushed the crowds back.
After finishing welding the doors, the soldiers went back to their base. Before leaving, they threw a sound grenade. The loud noise shocked many people.
It was an action targeted at innocent civilians who were being punished for daring to peacefully raise their voices for their human rights.
On Saturday August 7th Palestinians were joined by Israeli and international protesters to demonstrate against the settlements and to demand the opening of Shuhada Street. About 60 people gathered to march to the gate closing off Shuhada Street. There they were met by soldiers and border police, but no arrests or injuries were made. The demonstration lasted for about one hour. After the demonstration 6 soldiers chased three boys around the age of 10, accusing them of throwing stones, but the boys managed to escape.
The demonstration went to the gate that closes off Shuhada Street, and while some people were playing drums and other instruments, others were clapping and shouting slogans. Some were carrying posters, bearing the words of President Obama regarding Palestine, in order to remind the world that he has not backed up words with actions. Hebron is still suffering from settlements, and nothing is being done to restore Palestinian access to streets and areas that belong to them., besides their owb peaceful resistance efforts.
The demonstration continued through the old city, and went on to another blocked entrance to Shuhada Street. One Israeli settler was seen on Shuhada Street, obviously trying to be provocative, and some people turned their backs on him, while showing the peace sign towards the blockade. After a few minutes the Israeli army arrived, rushed through the concrete blocks, and started to push people backwards. The protestors moved down where they came from, and marched together to the starting point of the demonstration.
Protests in Hebron
After most people had dispersed following the protest, six soldiers entered a Palestinian house near where the demonstration started. After about 15 minutes the soldiers then came down the street, and one of them raised his gun, pointing it at three boys around the age of ten standing further up the road. People around warned the boys, and they managed to run away. Then the six soldiers ran after them up the street and some hundred meters further, before returning. One soldier asked a Palestinian to bring the boys to him, and accused them of throwing stones after the demonstration. The Palestinian did not oblige them, and the boys managed to escape from what could have potentially been an attempted arrest or military violence.
Iraq Burin
Protests in Iraq Burin
This Saturday, July 7, around thirty Palestinians and two internationals marched through the hilltop village of Iraq Burin to protest against the illegal confiscation of 100 dunams of land by the nearby settlement of Berakha. The soldiers responded rapidly to the protesters’ presence by shooting aluminum tear gas canisters – illegally – at body height and shooting three live bullets. Some of the Palestinian youth at the demonstration threw stones symbolically but were forced to flee by the overwhelming use of tear gas as a weapon by the Israeli army. Four young men from the village were arrested prior to the demonstration when trying to enter the village through a checkpoint that is imposed every Saturday to prevent media and international access to the protest.
Soldiers at this checkpoint, which was established three months ago, declare the village a “closed military area” each Saturday and subsequently few people from outside the village are able to attend and document the disproportionate and illegal methods of the army, keeping the struggle in Iraq Burin behind closed doors. Residents are frequently arrested and detained for days at a time simply for entering their own village; this week Imad Moussar (age 25), Amid Ibrahim (15), Adham Kamal (12) and Ala Vibhi (22) were arrested and unable to attend the demonstration, we await news of their release. On the 20th of March this year soldiers entered the village after a demonstration, shot two young boys: Mohammed Ibrahim Qaddous, 16, was killed immediately, and Ussayed Jamal Abd elNasser, 17, was critically injured and later died. Israeli soldiers still enter the village occasionally causing a great amount of tension and fear at the prospect of more shootings.
Protests in Iraq Burin
During the demonstration a small group of soldiers reacted to the approach of around thirty demonstrators, some throwing stones. Tens of tear gas canisters were shot along a flat trajectory aiming at individuals, including the international activists who were present. No one was seriously injured although one young man was hit on the arm by a metal tear gas canister. Many children, who were present at what was intended to be a peaceful demonstration, hid behind trees. Border police later arrived and shot 5 or 6 tear gas canisters successively, forcing the protesters to retreat.
Beit Ommar:
Around fifty 50 Palestinian, international and Israeli activists protested in Beit Ummar on Saturday, August 7. They moved towards the Karmei Tsur settlement via land that has recently been confiscated by the Israeli army following a new order from the District Commander. Ten dunams of Palestinian agricultural land, declared ‘off-limits’ to its owners, will presumably be annexed to the settlement.
A large group of Israeli soldiers blocked the protesters’ way in the fields, before they reached the perimeter fence. The army attacked with sound bombs and tear gas, including directly at protesters and apparently once again targeting members of the press. One journalist collapsed, unable to breathe after inhaling a lot of tear gas. An international activist was also wounded when a sound grenade exploded on her ankle. In Beit Ommar, the army seems determined to use sound grenades as projectile weapons, throwing them directly at anyone and everyone present – but this tactic has not prevented protests or media coverage.
On Saturday Palestinians were joined by internationals and Israelis in their weekly demonstration, asking for the opening of Shuhada Street and responding to 
11 August 2010 | ISM
After about an hour, the gate to Shuhada Street swung open. Armed soldiers walked into the crowd and began ordering people to disperse. They charged towards the people in the first shop and arrested them. Palestinian men were thrown to the ground and were tackled by the soldiers. An older woman from CPT was roughly pushed. In all, six people were arrested, one international – who has since been released – and five Palestinians who are still being held.
