Demolition threats continue in Imnzeizil

by Aida Gerard

21 November 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On the same morning when an official from the ICA, Israeli Civil Administration, promised to “pardon” the demolition orders of the solar panels in Imneizil, a village at the southern border of the West Bank, a new demolition order was delivered to the village on 21 November.

Two representatives from ICA showed up at the school in Imneizel and handed over a demolition order that commanded the immediate cessation of restroom construction at the school.

Representatives of the Israeli Civil Administration deliver a demolition order on a unfinished part of the school in Imnezeil.

Several constructions in Imnezeil have demolition orders, including part the main part of the school that was built in 1993.The school is both a primary and secondary school, and if the school is demolished the children of Imneizel and the surrounding villages in the same zone will have no possibility of continuing school unless they are transferred to Yatta.

According to Btselem, an Israeli Human Rights Organization, 88 cons

The demolition order for a new part of the school in Imnezeil

tructions were demolished in the West Bank in 2011, 21  of them in the Hebron area.  According to the Rabbis for Human Rights, it is a part of the bureaucratic system of the Occupation of Palestine that suppresses through a permission system that is supporting demolitions in violation of international law.

Aida Gerard is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Imneizil demolitions: “Hanging between the ground and the sky”

by Jenna Bereld

18 November 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The solar panels in the village  of Imneizil, near Hebron, became effective almost two years ago,  improved the living conditions for about four hundred inhabitants in the village, but recently  residents learned that the Israeli army issued a demolition order for the solar power installations.

“When the electricity came, we could have light at night. So right now, we could sit with our friends in the night, and we can see each other,” said  25-year-old Nihad who has seen her life change since electricity become available in Imneizil. She talks about how the school now has access to computers and printers, and how radio and TV have connected the village to the rest of the world. Now they have washing machines, and refrigerators that make it possible to store food.

Nihad gives her 3-year-old son a hug and states that she also has a four-months’ baby at home.

Threatening the light of the village - Click here for more images

” Earlier, women used to go to Yatta to have an ultrasound. It is far away and it costs a lot of money to go there. Now, those who are pregnant can have ultrasound here at the clinic.”

Before the installation of solar panels, the village had no electricity, and the evenings were sparsely lit by dangerous kerosene lamps and candles. A few households had access to diesel generators that were used at parties and weddings.

The solar cells that have been installed cannot satisfy the village’s full electricity needs, but it is sufficient for moderate household consumption, and the needs of the school, health clinic, and common water pump. During the day people are trying to limit their consumption for the school to have enough electricity.

The project was planned to be extended so that later there would be electricity for regular usage. But  in October, residents learned that the Israeli army issued a demolition order for the solar power installation. The consequence is that the power will be lost for forty households, they health clinic, and the school. The reason is that the solar panels were constructed without a permit from the Israeli Civil Administration which controls the occupied territory of Palestine.

– When I think about that they will cut our electricity, I am very, very angry, Nihad says.

Imneizil is not the only village in Palestine affected by the demolition policy. During the years between 2000 to 2007 nearly five thousand demolition orders were issued for Palestinian buildings, of which one third were implemented.

“They never requested a building permit here,” says Ali Mohammad, head of the village.  “And you see that the other structures in the village were built thirty years ago. So we never applied for a building permit for solar panels, either. If we would try to apply, we know that we will never get a permit.”

The reason for the Israeli Civil Administration’s influence over Imneizil is that the village is located in what is known as Area C, which is under Israeli civil and military control.

“It is apparent to  us that it means to displace us from here, to push us out of this area, silently, without declaring it, Ali Mohammad continues.

The solar panels were installed in cooperation with the Spanish organization SEBA. A spokesperson for the organization says that they appealed the demolition order through a lawyer, whereupon the Israeli Civil Administration issued a new demolition order. The demolition order is now frozen pending a court decision. But hope is fading that the half-million dollar project can be saved.

Demolitions are illegal under the Geneva Convention. The Fourth Geneva Convention 53rd article provides that: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons […] is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”

“I don’t think these solar panels cause any harm to anyone,” Ali Mohammad says. “They’re not affecting anybody. They’re not cutting the road to the settlement. I cannot understand what’s the point of coming here to demolish these solar panels! Now we’re astonished with the Israeli Authority’s demolishing orders. We’re feeling that we are hanging between the ground and the sky. ”

Imneizil is located in Area C, which makes up 62 percent of the West Bank area. Building permits for houses and other devices, such as structures for collection of rain water, must be applied for from the Israeli Civil Administration.

Jenna Bereld is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Al Baqa’a: The struggle of a family in the shadow of illegal annexation

by Alistair George

17 November 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

“The Israelis hope that that the young people leave, the old people die, and then they can confiscate the land and the houses” says Sami, an activist working in Al Baqa’a, a windswept valley situated a few kilometers east of Hebron.

Atta and Rodni Jaber at their house in Al-Baqa'a, near Hebron

The Jaber family’s experiences of living in Al Baqa’a are similar to many other Palestinians in the area, in that their ordinary family faces extraordinary pressure on a daily basis from the Israeli military and nearby settlers.

Rodni Jaber is the mother of three daughters and a son.  Dressed in a bright pink jumper and a floral headscarf, she is cheerfully voluble and keen to tell her family’s story.

“We have had our house demolished twice, this our third house on the land.  We lived in a tent for six months and after that we got a court decision to live in this area within 150sqm, so we started to build this home.”

Rodni and Atta Jaber work as farmers growing grapes, raspberries and tomatoes in the milder months and radishes and turnips in the winter.  Neat lines of cauliflower grow next to their stone house situated halfway up the hillside facing west towards Al Bwayre and the illegal Israeli settlements and outposts of Al Bwayre mountain.

The family owns 31 dunums of land (1 dunum = 1000 msq).  Despite having papers dating from the era of the Ottoman Empire proving that the family owns the land, their house still has a demolition order in place.

“We went to the court, and we have a postponement by the Israeli military to destroy this house”  says Rodni.  “We are not here legally – by Israeli law – but they let us live here for the moment.”

Around 900 Palestinians live in Al Baqa’a valley.  Many of the houses in the area are subject to demolition orders as the Israeli authorities and the settlers attempt to make life impossible for the Palestinians in the area to expand Israeli settlements.  Local residents and activists claim to have in their possession a map on which red lines outline areas in Al Bwayre and Al Baqa’a valley that have been designated by Israeli engineers as places for the construction of 500 new housing units for Israeli settlers.  Much of the land is currently inhabited by Palestinians and will need to be cleared to make way for the proposed development.

In addition to experiencing house demolitions and harassment from the military, the Jaber family has been subjected to repeated attacks by Israeli settlers from nearby Al Bwayre and Qiryat Arba settlements and various outposts.

The Jaber family's house in Al-Baqa'a Valley

The family’s house and land was attacked by settlers around a month ago.  The Israeli military arrived in jeeps but declined to intervene as the settlers attempted to set fire to the house.  Rodni Jaber explains:

The soldiers were there just to protect the settlers.  The settlers told us to leave the house and said ‘this is our land’ .  They even began to complain to the soldiers asking them to kick us out of the house saying that ‘the land is for Abraham and not for them’, putting pressure on the soldiers…They [the settlers] tried to burn the house and I began to push them to stop, I even called the Israeli police to come and see what the settlers were doing.  All the family fled as we were afraid of being burned in the house.

They failed to set fire to the house.  This was just one incident in a long line of attacks on the family over the years; “I lost a baby [because I was attacked by settlers]. I was 4 months pregnant at that time and they attacked me and I lost it.  I have been attacked many times by the settlers and I have been in hospital many times.

Nine or ten years ago an ‘operation’ happened on the highway here by the Palestinian resistance against the settlers.  After that, the settlers gathered in Qiryat Arba and came here.  They broke the door, entered the house and burned it…I left without shoes and wearing my pajamas.  The settlers kicked my family out for three days….The soldiers then occupied the house for 40 days.  We got a high court decision to return – when we came back to the house everything was broken.    At that time settlers also went to my brother’s family [who lives near the house] and they shot him in the stomach – he survived but he has a plastic stomach now.

Al Baqa’a residents live under full Israeli civil and military control in Area C, so how do they protect themselves when the soldiers stand-by and facilitate settler attacks on the family?

Rodni stated that  “The chief of police has been to the area and said ‘If something happens just call me’.  We got a paper from the DCO (District Coordination Offices) saying that the Israeli soldiers have to protect this house.  We got this when we were attacked in 2001.  But they don’t do anything – it’s just paper…Most of the Palestinian people in this area are from my family so we try to protect each other.  If they attack a house they try to go to the house to protect it.”

A cousin of the family was attacked last week as he rode a donkey in the valley; settlers hit him on the head with metal piping.  He was hospitalized and his wounds were stitched up, luckily he was not badly injured.

How does the family cope with the psychological pressures of the constant threat of attack?  Rodni smiled and stated, ” I am very strong…and if something happens I think ‘Al Hamdillilah’ (By the blessings of God).

If the family’s experiences are often terrifying and brutal, they are also occasionally absurd.  In 1998 Rodni’s son Raja’ was born.  A few days after his birth, settlers attacked the house; one settler made a complaint to the police that someone called ‘Raja’ had put a knife to his chest, threatening to kill him.

“After that [several days later] the soldiers came to arrest my son – who was 40 days old” said Rodni.  “They heard about my son ‘Raja’ and they came and asked ‘where is Raja’.  I showed him my son who was 40 days old, I showed them his birth certificate because they didn’t believe he was Raja’.”  But the incident did not stop there as Rodni said, ”

They said that Raja’ should come to the court – at the age of 50 days I had to take him to court.  They said ‘where is the defendant Raja’ I showed them my son… the judge ruled that when he reaches 16 years old he will have to come to back to court!”

Surely when the case comes to court and it becomes apparent that Raja could not even sit up or support the weight of his own head at that time of the incident, let alone threaten to harm anyone, the situation will go beyond parody.  Rodni laughs and agrees it will be extremely embarrassing for the Israelis but the ruling still stands; Raja is 12 years old now and in four years time he will have to go to court and explain his role in the incident.

As Rodni talks, her husband Atta returns from work, wearing a woolen hat against the Autumn chill.  He talks eloquently about Palestinian history and recounts his memories of Al Baqa’a Valley during the Six Day War in 1967.

“I was five years old when they occupied the West Bank, I still remember that day.  The Israelis bombed the people and the Jordanian army here and they killed maybe 150 people in that time.  Everybody had put white keffiyehs out as white flags to show that this is a peaceful area.”

A ruined house destroyed by the Israeli military in Al-Baqa'a Valley

As well as talking about the area’s history and the threat from settlers and the Israeli military, Atta described the mundane challenges of daily life in Al Baqa’a valley.

” We have a lot of problems in this area; there are no schools to send our children, we don’t have any clinics or hospitals.  We don’t have water – the settlers have water 24 hours a day.  We connected pipes to the settlement after we had submitted a lot of applications with the Israeli administration and water companies.  In 1998 we applied to the company to have water but Israel prevented this.  Under the Geneva Conventions it says that you are responsible for those that you occupy, but they want to transfer us from this area even though we have been the owners of the land for hundreds of years.”

Atta and Rodni refuse to be daunted by the problems they face.  When asked about what the future holds for their family, Atta evades directly answering the question and replied in broader terms.

“It is not just my future, it is about all Palestinians’ future.  Their tragedy and suffering becomes greater everyday.”

Alistair George is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

 


Al Qasab demolished as hundreds of Israeli soldiers watch

by Guillaume and William

15 November 2011  | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
This morning, on Tuesday 15th  November, national day of Palestine, three houses in Al Qasab near Jericho were destroyed by the Israeli military.

 During the early morning, between two and three hundred Israeli soldiers entered Al Qasab with bulldozers and destroyed the houses. The village is in Area C; under full Israeli administrative and military control.

 The Fakhori family had some time to move some furniture and belongings outside before their house was destroyed as they were present when the Israeli military arrived.  The two other families were absent and didn’t have the chance to salvage any possessions.  They returned to find their homes reduced to rubble, with all their belongings inside.

 No one in the village was informed of the reason for the demolition and no prior warning or legal order was delivered. One of houses was built just two years ago and the family had a permit to build  from the Israeli administration.

 The three families must now find a roof to cover their heads tonight. One family is able to move in to his father’s house, but  it is not known what the others will do.  Naturally, the victims are distraught.  They asked us ‘Who will pay for this?’ but they are under no illusions; they know that neither the Israelis or the Palestinian authorities will provide them with any help.

Guillaume and William are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).

Israeli forces and settlers try to drive away Um Alfagara residents

by Aida Gerard

5  November 2011  | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Thursday November 3rd at dawn, 8 military jeeps with around 25 soldiers and one bulldozer arrived at Um Alfagara. The bulldozer immediately began to demolish six pylons built for bringing electrical wires from the nearby village of Attwani to Um Alfagara. The bulldozer worked a couple of hours, guarded by the Israeli Occupation Forces until the six pylons were torn down and destroyed.

Destruction in South Hebron village – Click here for more images

Um Alfagara is a small village with 150 inhabitants in the South Hebron Hills on the edge to the Jordanian dessert and beside a large area declared to be a permanent closed military area used as a shooting practice range by the Occupation Forces. There is no access to water except from the wells belonging to the villagers and no electricity except from the electricity provided by a small windmill producing just about enough for the villagers to charge their phones.

A new project for bringing electricity is the latest attempt to ease the life for the villagers who mainly stand the poor conditions in their village in order to protect their land against land grab both from the Israeli Occupation Forces and from the settlers in the neighboring settlement Ma’on. The project received the second demolish order on the electric poles around one month ago.

A local coordinator in the area answered when asked why the Occupation forces demolished the pylons, “The occupation has tried for many years to make life as hard as possible for the citizens in the South Hebron Hills in order to force people to move to the major cities so that settlers can steal our land for good. The policy used against the inhabitants in the South Hebron Hills are very similar to the suppression of the Bedouin population”

The Israeli Civil Administration is planning to expel Bedouin communities living in Area C as soon as January 2012, claiming that the Bedouins do not have rights to the land on which they live and that all Bedouin construction has been done without permits. Demolition orders have been issued against most Bedouin structures. Um Alfagara lies in Area C, under full Israeli military and civil control.

Attwani the neighboring village, inhabited by around 300 Palestinians, managed last year in the month of Ramadan to implement electricity and running water. The water is brought in by the neighboring settlement and was finally approved by the District Coordination Office after some months, but the electricity pylons have been destroyed several times. Two pylons on each side of Road 316 have been destroyed many times, but since the villagers of Attwani rebuild the electric pylons every time, it seems that for a while the Occupation Forces stopped harassing the villagers and destroying their pylons until recently.

The electricity villagers seek is not only useful for getting light in night but also for charging phones and cameras that are essential for documenting the violation by settlers and the Occupation Forces. Though attacks by settlers have eased a bit, there is still a high risk factor of settler violence in the area of Um Alfagara and Attwani. The settlers from the outpost Havat Ma’on have a long history of violence. The last severe attack was June 2011.

Aida Gerard is an activist with International Solidarity Movement (name changed).