On Wednesday, July 26th, at approximately 1:30 pm, a group of internationals went with the farmer Abu Jabber Soleiby to document the most recent damage to his land by settlers from the nearby settlement Beit ‘Ain. The settlers from Beit ‘Ain have been bringing their sheep down the steep hill to graze from the settlement onto Soleiby’s land. As the group of three internationals and two Palestinians including Abu Jabber and his brother approached Soleiby’s land, they noticed at first one sheep among the trees. It was then observed that an entire flock of approximately 15-20 sheep were on Soleiby’s land and were clearly destroying the trees and grape vines.
The sheep were accompanied by two male settlers, one of whom was armed with a large automatic rifle. The group approached the settlers and demanded that they take the sheep off the land immediately. Internationals took pictures and filmed as the Palestinian men herded the sheep -and the settlers- back towards the settlement. As one international woman was taking pictures of the armed settler, he turned and raised his gun to her head from 12-18 inches away. Other than this particular show of force, the settlers were clearly outnumbered by internationals and Palestinians and allowed themselves to be escorted off of the land with little direct confrontation.
In the past, settlers from Beit ‘Ain have beaten and shot at Abu Jabber and his family, cut down limbs of trees, burned trees, and dammed up the small stream that provided the irrigation for his land by rolling large boulders down the hill from the settlement into the water. The nearby larger settlement, Gush Etzion also controls the piped water to the area (including some Palestinian homes in Beit Ummar) and had cut the water off for the previous three days.
Abu Jabber attempted to file a complaint with the Israeli police stationed in Gush Etzion the next day, but when he arrived he was told that the settlers were free to do whatever they want and refused to take his statement (this would have been the ninth complaint filed by the Soleiby family about the actions of settlers from Beit ‘Ain).
On Wednesday, July 19, 4 volunteers from then International Solidarity Movement accompanied a farmer from the village of Al Jab’a whose fields had been burned by settlers. Al Jab’a is a small farming village located in the shadow of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc. The settlers from a settlement outpost, Beit Aien, are responsible for starting two fires in recent months to farmers’ land in Al Jab’a that have burned olive trees and other arable land.
In addition to burning land, the settlers drain waste water from the settlement, that sits on top of a small mountain, to the farmers’ land in the vally. This water has poisoned many trees so that many are brown and dying.
The farmer needed to cut dead limbs off the trees in order for new branches to grow, but feared harrassment from settlers. The settlers of Beit Aien live a short distance from his land and have threatened him and his workers with guns on several prior occasions. The day was successful, nevertheless, with no appearances by the settlers and a large amount of work completed by the farmer and his workers.
On July 24th, people from Beit Ummar, Halhul and Hebron, and internationals marched against the ongoing war in Lebanon and Gaza. About 400 people were gathered of Halhul in protest of the disequilibrial war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Yehuda yells at some soldiers who don’t want us to go to the Abu Haykal house
by Shlomo Bloom
July 24th: Today was the 16th birthday of two girls in the Abu Haykal family who live at the end of Tel Rumeida street, surrounded by the extremist Jewish settlers of Hebron. This Palestinian family is constantly under attack either by the settlers directly or though intimidation by Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) soldiers. The family was recently informed that they are not allowed to use the paved road to their house, instead they must walk up a long, rocky dirt path that leads to the back of their home.
A birthday party was organized by members of CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams) and Breaking the Silence (a group of Israeli ex-soldiers) which included members of ISM, ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions) and other Israeli and international activists. Altogether, there were over 30 activists and with Yehuda of Breaking the Silence leading them up Tel Rumeida hill, the marchers proceeded past the soldiers’ station, through the Tel Rumeida settlement to the Abu Haykal house at the end of the road. The soldiers panicked and attempted to stop the group. Yehuda, with a balloon in hand, explained the purpose of the visit, and refuted the soldiers in Hebrew when they tried to prevent the group from passing. There were just too many people to stop, and while the soldiers scrambled, the activists made it all the way to the Abu Haykal’s gate where they came upon a disgusting barrier blocking the way.
Settlers had piled a large heap of random garbage and razor wire in front of the gate to the house, preventing safe passage. The activists had to move some of it aside, and climb over the rest in order to pass though.
Over 12 IOF soldiers, 10 police, and 6 military police eventually arrived, and although they had no invitation to the birthday party(!), they entered the family’s porch where they had what appeared to be a discussion on whether or not this birthday party was legal. Some of the activists made it though the gate and into the house but the rest were forced by the police to turn around and walk over a quarter of a mile down the street and around Tel Rumeida hill to enter the house through the back entrance (about a 10 minute walk).
“Is this birthday party illegal?”
Once all of the guests were inside, Hani, the father, thanked everyone and shared his story about last Saturday, when settlers attacked his home with rocks and he called the police but they never came. Last week, not one police officer came when the house was under attack, but this week they showed up in full force when friends and activists, invited to the party, used the most convenient road which has been designated a closed military zone. Only settlers are allowed to use this road because use by anyone else is said to be a provocation to the settlers.
Cake and punch was served to all, and gifts were given to the girls. Hani said his home was open to anyone, Muslim, Christian, Jew, whatever their religion or color, as long as they respected human rights for all, and harm no one. Hani’s sister gave a speech saying that “my family sheltered Jews in 1929 and we want to do the same now. If anyone from the North [of Israel, where the threat of rocket attacks continue now], wants to come here now for shelter I will welcome you again, this is a house of peace.” A man from Haifa said he was afraid to return to his home at the moment, and that he was glad to be here.
The birthday girl
So there we were, Muslims, Christians, and Jews having a birthday party together for two young women with their whole lives ahead of them. With tears in their eyes, the family apologized for the difficult entrance to their home and said they hope we can all return in the future – for another party, this time without having to go through any gate, and with no soldiers or police trying to prevent us.
After the party was over and people were filing out, the police were still waiting outside the house. They escorted the guests down the rocky path (through the back way this time) and Hani explained that the reason the police remained was in order to provide protection for the Israelis activists who the police felt were in danger of being kidnapped by Palestinians!
Israeli Colonist Wear: tallis, tzitziyot, and masks
by Harry Pockets
On 22nd July, ISM activists and Israeli activists joined locals from Suseya to rebuild the roof of a farmer’s home that had been burned by neighbouring Israeli colonists. Suseya, an agricultural village located in the South Hebron hills, repeatedly has come under attack by Israeli colonists in the nearby settlement of the same name.
Following the arson, the family living there temporarily moved out of fear of continued harassment and physical attacks by the colonists. ISM and international human rights workers gathered with the villagers to replace the burnt roof with plastic sheets in order to return the home to a liveable condition. As the group began to lay the tarp over the home, fully-masked settlers approached the group demanding that the internationals leave settler “Holy Land” (picture above). The colonists engaged in physical and verbal intimidation, characteristic of settler interactions with Palestinians and internationals in the West Bank. In the ensuing encounter the colonists, who would not identify themselves, assaulted a female ISM member who was videotaping the incident.
Shortly thereafter the IOF arrived, called by the settlers who frequently enlist the help of the army because of the tacit and active support they receive from them. Following a dialogue led by Israeli activists, the situation calmed. The group of villagers and internationals were able to successfully replace the roof with the tarp, clear away charred remains of the house interior, and assist in watering the farmers’ plants.
At the request of the farmers in the area, ISM activists are now living with the families who fear further attacks, including arson and assault.
Two Palestinian women from the Tel Rumeida neighborhood were on their way to visit their aunt in the hospital when the police stopped them for an ID check. Because one of the women was not wearing a headscarf, as is normal in the particularly religious city of Hebron, one of the policemen did not believe the two women came from Tel Rumeida. Frequently police and soldiers deny entry to anyone coming into Tel Rumeida who cannot prove they live there. After after being verbally abusive to the women, the police officer returned the IDs. One of the women took it back from him quickly as she was in a hurry, causing the police officer to become upset and nervous. He took her ID back from her, and went to his car for a while. He then told her to come over to the car. She replied that if he wanted to talk to her, he could come over to her instead. She and the other woman left in disgust.
After they returned from the hospital they called the DCO to see if they could get the ID back. The DCO said that if she doesn’t get it back in a day, they’d see what they could do.
This family is harassed regularly by soldiers and settlers and frequently calls on human rights workers in Tel Rumeida to intervene. The family believes that the harassment is severe and frequent due to settlers wanting the family’s house. The house is in a somewhat strategic location on the top of Tel Rumeida hill. Recent bouts of harassment include settlers stealing the family’s water pipe, burning their olive trees and soldiers invading the property at night.
