11 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, West Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine
Four buildings were demolished in Beit awwa, one journalist hit in the leg with tear gas canister and treated in hospital.
On the morning of Monday 11th February Israeli occupation forces bulldozers protected by soldiers entered the village of Beit Awwa. They demolished four buildings. A chicken house, an agricultural storage house, a well and a house seasonally inhabited in the summer. The buildings had demolition orders put on them eight months ago.
Remains of a house in Beit Awwa
Residents of Beit Awwa said that the army came into the village and destroyed the buildings very quickly. The Israeli army then wanted to demolish two more homes but the people of Beit Awwa rushed to the homes and locked themselves inside, preventing the houses from being demolished. Residents said that concerning the two houses the soldiers said “We will be back next week.” Around fifteen homes in Beit Awwa have demolition orders on them.
Clashes then ensued with the residents attempting to protect their village from the Israeli army incursion. The army responded by firing large amounts of tear gas, injuring six people. One journalist from Palmedia was hit in the leg with a tear gas canister and taken to hospital. The other people injured were treated at a medical centre in the village.
Soldiers around the demolition site. Photo from Beit Awwa facebook page
Beit Awwa has the aparthied wall and settler only roads on three sides of it and a new settler only road is being built along the other side of it. In recent days there have been regular flights over the village and officials have been seen suurveying the land. On the 10th of February two black hawk Apache helicopter gunships circled the village. When this new road is built the village will be completely isolated from the rest of the West Bank. There is a large military base next to the village housing an anti missile battery. In January 2009 a sixteen year old boy was shot dead as he placed a Palestinian flag on the fence next to a settler only road by a sniper from the base. There is also very close to the village the illegal Israeli settlement of Nogo Hot.
Team Khalil
Anti-missile launchpad near villageA child sits on top of her demolished home. Photo from Beit Awwa facebook page
Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)
11 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, West Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine
Israeli occupation forces demolished a home near Idna, without warning or having issued a demolition order. The Family had their house destroyed one year ago.
At 10am Monday 11-2-2013 Israeli bulldozers arrived at Dir Baluda, near Idna and demolished the portacabin home that Mohammad Badoei Tomazi and his family had lived in for a year. Mohammad and his family of 8 including 5 children, 3 girls and 2 boys lived in a portacabin donated to them by the UN because the Israeli army demolished their house last year.
Mohammed Tomazi stands next to his destroyed home
At that time the army destroyed 2 wells belonging to the family said to be 2000 years old. There was no demolition order on the house and no warning was given to the family.
Mohammed is a farmer who has lived here for 19 years, his family grows crops of wheat, fool, courgette, cucumbers and lemons in the valley. The hillsides are covered in olive trees. There is excellent land in the valley for agriculture. A relative, lawyer, Dr Raid Tomazi said “There is not much land left here in Idna. They dont want anyone to build in the area at all, so nobody can take care of his land.”
Abdel Fatah Ahmad Tomazi sits infront of her destroyed home
About the soldiers Raid Tomazi said “Soldiers have no respect for international organisations.” He went on to say the soldiers said “We know this is supported by nice people, but we dont care for for anybody. Them or you, we dont care.” Mohammed said of his home and livelihood “It doesnt affect their security at all.”
Amongst the rubble of two homes, next to their fridge standing in the open air, with the food still inside, Abdel Fatah Ahmad Tomazi, Mohammad’s wife, sat stunned. When asked what the family will do now Mohammad gave an exasperated laugh, Raid explained “The family will stay here, sleep here, they have nowhere to go. It is too cold. They will hope to receive a tent or something from the red cross. Two of the girls went to university this morning, they do not even know yet.” Two of Mohammads daughters go to Hebron University, one studying to be a teacher, the other geography.
At 5pm volunteers from the PRCS (Palestinian Red Crescent Society) Brought an emergency tent, again donated by the UN. Mohammad enthusiastically helped pitch the tent in the gathering gloom of the February evening. He will stay on his land and tend the crops, but the open ended valley was getting very cold by then, and instead of their home the family have an emergency tent with no heating, for shelter.
What remains of the Tomazi house
Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)
29 January 2013 | OCHA Displacement Working Group, edited by International Solidarity Movement, Al Maleh, Occupied Palestine
On 17 January, Israeli occupation forces demolished 47 (sic) residential and other structures in Hamamat Al Maleh area, displacing 60 people, more than half of them children. On 19 January, Israeli occupation forces confiscated basic emergency tents that had been provided to the families in the aftermath of the demolitions. On 21 January evening, while villagers tried rebuilding their homes, army returned and forced them to stop. A few days later, on 24 January, another 4 structures belonging to one of the displaced families were destroyed. Israeli occupation forces entered Al Maleh again on 25 January to photograph remaining structures. At the same time, a large group of illegal Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, toured the area. The families have been informed by the army that if they erect further shelters or try to rebuild their homes, they will be subject to arrest and their livestock confiscated. As a result, the families have been forced to temporarily relocate to another area to receive basic humanitarian assistance, including emergency tents, after having spent several nights without shelter.
Hamamat al Maleh area is home to around 260 people residing in three clusters of communities: 1) Hamamat Al Maleh, 2) Hamamat Al Maleh – Al Meita and 3) Hamamat Al Maleh – Al Burj, which have existed in the Jordan Valley since the 1970s. The communities have suffered demolitions in the past, including in 2011 and 2012, and have also suffered repeated temporary displacement due to military training exercises carried out by Israeli occupation forces in the area. Prior to this year’s demolitions, the affected families had received a combination of stop-work orders (30 July 2012), demolition orders (August/September 2012) and eviction orders from a closed military area (6 November and again on 31 December 2012). The lawyer of the families had tried to challenge these orders on numerous occasions, submitting the last request for postponement on 20 December 2012.
According to initial information the communities are located on a land owned by the Latin Patriarchate, with reportedly owns around 7,000 dunums of land in the area. Some of the land, including the land where Hamamat al Maleh-al Meita stands, has been designated by the Israeli military as a closed military zone for training purposes. However, the other two communities seem to be located outside the current boundaries of that area.
Here is a brief history of the nine days in Al Maleh:
Pre-2013: Since 2009, four demolitions took place in the Al Maleh area, all in Hamamat Al Maleh – Al Meita, on the grounds that the structures were located in a Firing Zone. During these demolitions – three in 2011 and one in 2012 – seven residential structures, 10 animal structures, and one beehive were demolished, resulting in the displacement of 36 people and affecting 35 others.
17 January 2013: Israeli occupation forces demolished 47 (sic) residential and animal structures: 20 residential tents (18 inhabited/2 uninhabited), 20 animal structures, five kitchens and one toilet in Hamamat Al Maleh – Al Meita and Hamamat Al Maleh. Two water tanks and a solar panel were also damaged. As a result, 10 families comprising 60 people, including 36 children, were displaced and two additional households including three children were affected.
19 January 2013: Between 6.30 am and 8 am, Israeli army confiscated 37 emergency tents (including 14 new tents given by Red Cross) provided as humanitarian assistance in response to the demolitions on 17 January, leaving the families without any shelter for themselves or their animals. The area was subsequently declared a closed military area and access to the area was restricted through existing checkpoints as well as several flying checkpoints. International observers and journalists were denied access.
21 January 2013: The Palestinian DCL (District Civil Liason), the Israeli DCL and the Tubas Governor carried out a joint visit to Al Maleh. Israeli army indicated during the visit that they would try to find an acceptable solution, but no further information has been received in that regard. In the evening the people of Al Maleh tried to rebuild their homes and tents. However, within one hour the army returned to demand that they stop rebuilding. Army’s message is clear: “If you are going to put up any tents, structures, build anything, we are going to demolish it and punish you by confiscating your animals.” People slept in fields, fearing further army retaliations.
24 January 2013: At 8 am in the morning Israeli occupational forces once again demolished homes in Al Maleh: a residential tent, a tent used for storage, a kitchen and a livelihood structure (for bees). A family of nine people including six children, was displaced as a result. Army bulldozers swifted off to Jiftlik to carry out another destructive piece of work.
25 January 2013: Israeli forces took photographs of all remaining structures in Hamamat Al Maleh as well as in Al Farisiya. A group of Israeli settlers, including women and children, visited the area on the same day, accompanied by Israeli soldiers.
The communities in Hamamat al Maleh are some of the most vulnerable in the West Bank. The restrictions imposed on their lives and livelihoods, including their repeated evacuation to make way for military training exercises, has increased their levels of poverty and their dependence on aid. These recent developments have had a devastating impact on the families, leaving them without adequate shelter, disrupting their livelihoods and access to basic services, and has resulted in trauma, particularly amongst the children.
Repeated displacement of civilians, combined with the destruction or confiscation of their property and the deliberate obstruction of humanitarian assistance, raises serious concerns under international law. Israel, as an occupying power, has an obligation to protect civilians at all times and to administer the territory for their benefit, ensuring that people’s basic needs are met. International law specifically prohibits an occupying power from forcibly displacing or transferring civilians, regardless of the means or methods used, or to destroy or confiscate private or public property.
Now the villagers are relocated to another area. An NGO has provided shelters as part of humanitarian response, funded by EU. Israeli occupation forces keep taking photos of the village. The governor of Tubas is in communication with Latin Patriarchate. The village of Al Maleh continues to “exit by resisting”, the latest example being on 26 January by planting olive trees and organizing a fun day for children, supported by other Palestinians and international activists. Israeli army reacted by closing off the area during these activities and by installing a temporary roadblock until late hours. Sources say that “the demolitions were inevitable as the Latin Patriarchate did not prolong the contracts to the villagers”.
Update on 24 Jan: Army demolished an emergency tent and two animal barracks this morning in Al Maleh saying that any new [even emergency] structures will be demolished again. Breaking: 10 am – reports of bulldozers on the way to Jiftlik (Jordan Valley). This Friday expected demolitions in Fasay’il al Wusta (Jordan Valley).
20 January 2013 | Jordan Valley Solidarity
On 17th January the Israeli military destroyed 55 homes and animal shelters in Al Maleh, northern Jordan Valley. As of 19th January the entire village has been declared a Closed Military Zone and the road to the village has been closed. The army have confiscated the possessions of those made homeless and 18 red cross tents, which were donated after the demolitions. The residents are now sleeping out in the fields with no shelter. When international activists and journalists tried to access the area via the Tayasir and Al Hamra checkpoints and Mehola junction off road 90 they were refused entry.
Brihgton Jordan Valley Solidarity (JVS) is concerned that this is a tactic to make the residents of Al Maleh leave the area, and one which could spread to other areas in the Jordan Valley.
The demolitions are part of a long campaign against residents of Area C in the Jordan Valley. Palestinian residents of Area C, designated as under control of the Israeli administration during the Oslo Accords, are banned from building permanent structures or infrastructure and even prohibited from renovating their homes.
Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity is calling for international solidarity activists to contact their political representatives to call for the lifting of the Closed Military Zone and for aid agencies to be able to provide assistance to the residents of Al Maleh
TAKE ACTION
Please act and put pressures on the Israeli military to lift the Closed Military Zone. Contact your political representatives and call for the lifting of the Closed Military Zone and for aid agencies to be able to provide assistance to the residents of Al Maleh. Have your representatives raise the issue with the relevant Israeli Ambassador or politicians in Israel.
Commander of the IDF – West Bank
Major-General Nitzan Alon
GOC Central Command
Military Post 01149
Battalion 877
Israel Defense Forces, Israel
Fax: +972 2 530 5724
Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity is also calling on international community to take action in line with the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (see http://www.bdsmovement.net/) against Volvo, which provided the buses which transported the army to the demolitions and JCB which manufactured the bulldozers used in the demolitions (http://corporateoccupation.org/jcb-and-volvo-machines-used-in-demolitions-in-al-maleh-and-al-mayta-17113/).
Background information
At around nine in the morning on January 17th, a demolition order imposed on the village of Hamamat Al-Maleh, which includes the community of Al-Mayta, was carried out by the Israeli army and police. The demolition crew also included an unidentifiable group of balaclava-clad workers. Residents were given forty days notice of the demolition order. In Hamamat Al-Maleh, twenty-five houses were destroyed, including eighteen in al-Mayta, displacing seventeen families. Another 33 structures used for keeping livestock, and therefore the livelihood of these communities, were demolished. 130 people live in al-Mayta, with around 37 families in demolished areas of Al-Maleh.
22 January 2013 | Operation Dove, At Tuwani, Occupied Palestine
On 21st January the Israeli army demolished a building in the village of Ar Rifa’iyya and a water cistern in the village of Hawara. The army went on and damaged the only road that connects the village of At Tuwani and the nearby villages with the city of Yatta in South Hebron Hills. The three villages lie in Area C.
At around 8.30 am two bulldozers and three vehicles from the District Coordination Office (DCO) raided in the village of Ar Rifa’iyya, escorted by five Border Police vehicles. They demolished one house, belonging to Amed Mohammad Jaber Amor and his family consisting of 20 people. His brother Sabbri declared that the house was demolished twice previously because it is three meters outside the village master plan.At 9 am the Israeli forces moved to Hawara village, where they destroyed one water cistern belonging to Musa Abu Aram. The cistern was full of water. This is major damage as water supply in this area is particularly critical. The two villages are located along the road 317.
Afterwards the military convoy and bulldozers stopped at the entrance to At Tuwani village, where they damaged the road connecting the villages in Massafer Yatta area to the northern city of Yatta. At first they destroyed part of the little wall built alongside the road. Secondly they piled these ruins on the street, causing travel obstruction. The local council representative declared that they had never received a demolition order for that street. He added that the council appealed to the Israeli Civil Administration in order to receive a work permission for the street, but no answer was ever received.
“The aim of demolitions is to expel us from here and to take us to the other side of 317 road”, said Sabbri M. J. Amor from the village of Ar Rifa’iyya, “Nevertheless, we will rebuild this house again. Palestinian resistance is like the grass: it gets dry, but when it rains it grows back.”
Background
The policies enforced by the Israeli authorities in Area C restrict the possibility to access to basic needs for the residents and prevent development of Palestinian communities. An OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territories research demonstrates that “in some communities, families are being forced to move as a result of Israeli policies applied in Area C. Ten out of 13 communities recently visited by OCHA reported that families are leaving because policies and practices implemented there make it difficult for residents to meet basic needs or maintain their presence on the land.”
Most of Area C has been designated as military zones and for expansion of Israeli settlements, severely constraining the living space and development opportunities of Palestinian communities. While it is virtually impossible for a Palestinian to obtain a permit for construction, Israeli settlements receive preferential treatment in terms of allocation of water and land, approval of development plans, and law enforcement.
According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.
Operation Dove has maintained international presence in At Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.
Demolished house in Ar Rifa’iyya villageDemolished house in Ar Rifa’iyya villageDemolished cistern in Huwara villageVolvo bulldozer demolishing cistern in Huwara villageHidromek bulldozer demolishing cistern in Huwara villageVolvo bulldozer blocking the entrance to At Tuwani villageEarth obstruction at the entrance to At Tuwani village
