Tag: Hebron

Farmer’s Land Threatened by Israeli Bulldozers in Beit Ummar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Early this morning Israeli bulldozers came back to destroy village agricultural lands after they were blocked by the people of Beit Ummar yesterday. A group of Palestinians and internationals who went early to the lands succeeded to stop the work and push the bulldozers back.

Right now, there is no work going on even after a decision from a judge of the Israeli military high court yesterday to continue the work. Local people and the army are waiting for the lawyer to come to observe the work on the ground.

The people and the internationals there are expecting the bulldozers to come back at any moment to continue bulldozing the lands. Therefore they are ready to non-violently block the bulldozers with their bodies to prevent more bulldozing for the lands. For now, the bulldozers are not working in the lands anymore. They moved to another area and the people there are waiting for the lawyer.

The army commander has been saying that Israeli settlers bought the lands. However, the local DCO (District Coordinating Office – essentially the Israeli civil/military administration) when called have said that this is not true and that the army have an order to take the lands for “security” to build a wall for the Krmi Tsor settlement.

In total, 5000 dunmans of agricultural land will be confiscated if they succeed.

The judge of the Israeli military high court said that the work should continue after the commander called him last night.

Right now 10 people from Beit Ummar and Halhul are the near the Karmi Tsor settlement which is it closed to road 60.

For more information:
Musa Abu Marya: 054 583 8925
Zadie: 054 590 2319
ISM Media office: 02 297 1824

Beit Ummar Farmers Continue Struggle against Israeli Settlers’ Land Grab

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, July 3rd, at 6:30 am, farmers from Beit Ummar and Halhul, along with international and Israeli supporters, will gather on their land to stop its illegal destruction by the Israeli state. The army is building two barriers with a patrol road in between them in order to expand the Israeli settlement named Karmi Tsore.

The Palestinians are intent on blocking the bulldozers.

This action is to continue the resistance to the illegal confiscation of the Palestinians’ land that began late this afternoon (July 2nd). Thirty Palestinians, four internationals, and two Israelis arrived at the aforementioned site when two bulldozers plowed through the farmers’ stone wall and destroyed over 20 grape vines. A Palestinian activist, Musa Abu Marya, and two internationals sat and lay in front of the bulldozer and succeeded in stopping it. The army arrived, beat Marya, and detained him until the protesters dispersed. Two other Palestinians were beaten by one soldier.

The Israeli soldiers claimed that the land was purchased by Karmi Tsore, yet the Palestinian landowners were present and denied any such claim. An Israeli commander spoke with the landowners, saying that he would call an Israeli military judge to discuss the settlers’ land claim this evening. Tomorrow the landowners will bring their lawyers to the site and they are prepared to stop the bulldozers if the judge commands the building of the wall to continue.

For more information:
Musa Abu Marya: 054 583 8925
Zadie: 054 590 2319
ISM Media office: 02 297 1824

South Hebron Villages Persist to Resist


“We call on the international community to intervene and stop settler violence against us.”

by Zadie

Today, June 30th, the people of Qawawis accompanied by people from Tuwanwi and other neighboring villages as well as Israeli and international activists demonstrated against the settlements and the wall. About 50 people gathered and marched to the wall. The Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights also donated ten bales of hay that will be used to feed the sheep to replace what was burned by the settlers earlier this week.

The settlers have a history of aggression towards people in Qawawis and neighboring villages. They have damaged villagers’ wells and harassed and attacked children and farmers.

One month ago an inner barrier was built along the road that passes Qawawis. This barrier separates farmers from their lands and makes it hard for tractors and sheep to pass.

There were very few army and Border Police present and no journalists representing any of the local or Arab media because of the attention on Gaza. Despite this fact, the people of Qawawis continued to demonstrate their resolve to resist the illegal settlements and the wall.

More Settler Vandalism in Hebron

by Harry, Tel Rumeida Project

June 27th: Settler youth continue to trash a internationally funded project intended to make it safer for Palestinian girls living in the Tel Rumeida section of Al-Khalil (Hebron) to reach their elementary school.

The project, funded by the international monitoring group Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), involves several improvements to a staircase and pathway the girls have to take to reach the Qurtuba School, which is located opposite the Beir Hadassah settlement. Workers have recently bricked in the path and built a low cement-block retaining wall alongside it to protect it from erosion of the hillside above it. Five days ago, on June 22, 2006, settler youth began vandalizing the wall, using bricks and boulders to smash the cement blocks. Israeli Police summoned to the scene refused even to get out of their jeep to assess the damage.

Human rights workers witnessed a second attack on the wall by the settler youth the next day, and there have apparently been at least two (probably more) subsequent attacks. As of today, June 27th, the top row of cement blocks has been completely destroyed along most of the length of the wall, and the bricked-in pathway is littered with fragments of broken cement.

Meanwhile, the workers on the job have not returned to the site since on June 22 when an Israeli military officer ordered them to stop work, on the grounds that they lacked a permit for the construction of the retaining wall. The officer issued this edit a few hours before the first attack by the settler youth. In fact, according to TIPH, the work is completely in line with the permit for the project issued by Israeli authorities.

Israeli Settler Attacks Eccumenical Accompanier In Hebron

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

World Council of Churches – News Release

A member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) was attacked by a woman settlerIn the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron on Friday, 23 June. Whilst in the area of the Cordoba school, where Christian volunteers accompany children to school, Duduzile Masango, a South African ecumenical Accompanier was attacked by an elderly settler woman, who pulled a towel tightly around her head.

It is not known if the woman intended to suffocate her, but the accompanier had difficulty breathing. Stones were also thrown at Masango and four other internationals who were with her. The incident left her shaken, although she did not need to receive medical treatment.

Although a soldier was standing next to the group of volunteers, he did not act to stop the attack. After the incident, members of the international solidarity movement who had witnessed the incident filed a complaint with the police. However, Masango was told by the police that they did not believe her testimony.

Rifat Kassis, EAPPI international programme coordinator, stated: “This is just one in a long line of incidents targeting internationals in Hebron. The WCC continues to advocate that all settlers in Hebron be withdrawn and settler-occupied properties be returned to their Palestinian owners. A letter was sent to the Israeli ambassador in Switzerland in April, following similar incidents. It requested appropriate actions by the Israeli authorities and law enforcement agencies to stop this behaviour toward Palestinians and internationals. The WCC has so far received no response.”

On 1 April, a Swiss lawyer, was stoned by a young Israeli settler in the same Hebron district, and on 20 April still in Tel Rumeida, a German social worker and a Norwegian sociologist were attacked by some 15 young settlers. TheSwiss lawyer needed seven stitches for a head wound as a result. In both cases, the Christian volunteers were escorting Palestinian pupils of the Cordoba Girls School to protect them from harassment by settlers. The WCC presented a formal protest to the Israeli ambassador in Switzerland over these two incidents on 25 April.

A team of four ecumenical accompaniers escort Palestinian pupils of the Cordoba School to protect them from harassment by Israeli settlers. The school is situated opposite the Beit Hadassah settlement. Its pupils and teachers are frequent targets of stone-throwing, kicking and spitting by the settlers.

Coordinated by the WCC, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) began in 2002, and has deployed nearly 300 accompaniers from 14 countries. Its purpose is to support Palestinians and Israelis working for peace by monitoring and reporting violations of human rights and International humanitarian law, offering protection by accompanying local communities in daily activities, and by advocating with churches for a peaceful end to the occupation.

See also the 26 April 2006 press release referring to the earlier attacks and the WCC protest: click here

Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI)
website:
http://www.eappi.org

The WCC and Palestine/Israel:

http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/regconcerns-palestine-israel.html

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org

World Council of Churches – News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 348 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.