Israeli forces opened fire on Iraq Burin villagers Saturday, following a settler attack that has become almost a weekly routine in the Palestinian village near Nablus. One villager was injured and treated at the hospital after being struck in the thigh by a tear gas canister.
An expectant atmosphere hangs over the village each Saturday now. The peaceful silence, punctuated only by donkey brays or the sound of children playing, offers a strange prelude to what each resident knows is coming. ISM activists have been maintaining a presence in Iraq Burin over the Saturday period – the Jewish religious holiday of Shabbat – but better known in the Occupied Territories for the territorial violence waged on this day by Israeli settlers on the rural Palestinian population.
Israeli military were sighted positioning themselves on the hill to the south from approximately 12pm, drawing onlookers from the village. A group of 15 settlers appeared on the hillside, where a long stand off took place between the village’s youth and the settlers from across the valley.
The settlers made frequent and provocative incursions half-way down the hill, returning to top only to coordinate with the Israeli soldiers. The soldiers fired one tear gas canister at two men sitting at the bottom of the hill and then seemed to retreat.
After an hour-long lull, the settlers appeared about one kilometer to east at the crest of the hill. This time they were brandishing slings and began to launch their projectiles at some shabab holding their ground 50 meters down the hill. The Israeli soldiers seemed to enjoy this spectacle, as they loafed 200 meters directly to the east, watching the scene for nearly half an hour. The soldiers then began to launch tear gas into the group of Palestinians on the hill who were already being bombarded with rocks slung by the handful of settlers up hill.
The soldiers shot two canisters of tear gas across the small valley and into the crowd of spectators which was comprised of young children, old men and internationals. There was a lull in the violence as the Israeli soldiers escorted the settlers up the hill and back to their settlements. The sharp twang of ammunition bouncing off the tin walls of the barn behind the villagers initiated a hasty retreat of all those present on or near that hillside.
The reason for such urgency in flight is lost to an outsider, but for the locals it is familiar dance. Three Humvees quickly barreled through the entire village and rapid successions of tear gas, sound grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets could be heard rocketing towards the hillside everyone had just vacated.
Once the soldiers realized that everyone had left the hillside, they began to spread terror throughout the village upon their exodus. Volley after volley of tear gas grenades flew into the village, bouncing off homes and threatening to spray families seeking shelter with broken glass. These volleys were punctuated with two to three sound grenades exploding in rapid succession and the firing of rubber-coated steel. Their retreat was made difficult by the lines of boulders that happened to find themselves in the middle of the road every 50 meters.
As they left the village, the soldiers shot tear gas blindly through the black, billowing smoke of a flaming tire. Jubilant shouts arose as they disappeared over the hillside, the villagers’ eyes still streaming from the tear gas.
Summary: December 2009 was marked by invasions of Palestinian villages in the area by Israeli occupation forces, continued denial of the right of Palestinian children to access education, and consistent rejection of Palestinian owners’ rights to cultivate or graze sheep on their land. Despite the invasions, challenges faced in accessing education, and obstacles to cultivating the land, Palestinians in the At-Tuwani area continued to organize local marches, plowing actions, and joined in nonviolent actions with other Palestinian communities committed to nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation.
Israeli Military Incursions
Tuesday 1 December 2009
In the early morning hours, the Israeli military invaded the village of Maghayir Al-Abeed. Approximately 50 soldiers, 10 jeeps, and a number of helicopters conducted training operations, including shooting exercises, in the village.
Wednesday 2 December
Two military vehicles entered At-Tuwani at 4:15 am and went to a number of houses, pounding on doors, harassing the inhabitants, and checking identification. The soldiers pointed their guns at Palestinians and internationals who opened windows and doors to investigate the noise.
Tuesday 15 December
The Israeli secret police (Shin Bet) entered At-Tuwani and photographed the village. Plainclothes police officers asked villagers about all newly constructed buildings, caves, and cisterns in At-Tuwani. A police officer demanded to see Hough and Nichols’ IDs as soon as they approached the scene. The officer questioned the CPTers as to why they were living in the village, where they were living, which organizations worked in the area, and additionally about the newly constructed houses in the village.
The same morning, there was also an unmarked white airplane that flew unusually low and quietly over the village. Villagers in Tuba also reported seeing the plane, saying that it flew around Tuba in patterns that led them to believe it was taking photographs.
Denial of Right to Education
Thursday 10 December
The villagers of At-Tuwani organized a solidarity demonstration in response to the difficulties faced by the school in Al-Fakheit, located 5km southwest of At-Tuwani. Marchers participated to draw attention to Israel restrictions on the freedom of movement on Palestinian children and teachers.
Following the march, several community leaders gave at the Al-Fakheit School. This was followed by several hours of activities for and by the children of Al-Fakheit School. These included drama, music, dabka dancing (a traditional Palestinian dance), face painting, and a quiz show. Nearly 150 people attended the event, including various activists and journalists, as well as a Palestinian theater troupe from the northern West Bank.
The Israeli military maintained a presence sporadically throughout the march. While the march proceeded from At-Tuwani to Al-Fakheit, the Israeli military and police declared At-Tuwani a closed military zone in an attempt to prevent activists or journalists from entering the area. See a gallery of photos from the march here.
Monday 14 December
Nichols and Southworth monitored the Beit Yatir checkpoint, on the southern border of the West Bank, where Palestinian children from the village of Lesaafer pass through on their way to school. Lesaafer is on Palestinian land annexed into Israel by the separation barrier, forcing the residents of the village to pass through the checkpoint to access work, education, or other services. The children, who walk from Lesaafer through the Beit Yatir checkpoint to their school in Imneizel, are sometimes detained for more than one hour.
Sunday 20 December
In the afternoon the Israeli military detained teachers, children, and internationals returning from Al-Fakheit School. Soldiers confiscated the ID of the driver, who was transporting the teachers and students, and forced him and MacDonald to drive to a remote field south of the Palestinian village of Jinba. The schoolchildren and the teachers were forced to walk home. The soldiers proceeded to examine the truck’s registration and serial numbers, took photos of the truck, and confiscated the ignition key.
After hours of detainment, the Palestinian driver and MacDonald were told to leave the area. The owner of the truck was not able to retrieve his vehicle because the soldiers remained by the vehicle for some time. On 2 January, the owner found his vehicle completely destroyed in an Israeli military firing zone. Many of the vehicle parts had been confiscated or smashed, including the headlights, battery, and much of the engine. (See the CPTnet release: SOUTH HEBRON HILLS: Israeli army confiscates truck,
forcing children and teachers to walk an hour to homes.) Christian Peacemaker Teams and OD have been providing accompaniment for the teachers and students of Al-Fakheit School who face continuing delays and movement restrictions at the hands of the Israeli military.
Wednesday 30 December Video to the right.
An Israeli settler from the Israeli outpost of Havat Ma’on chased and attacked Palestinian schoolchildren from the villages of Tuba and Maghayir al-Abeed while the children were waiting to walk to school. Tareq Ibrahim Abu Jundiyye reported, “the younger kids started crying as we were running away because they were afraid the settler would catch them. I mean, we had to run away, if I would have stayed I would have been struck on the head by a rock.” The Israeli army exposed the children to this attack by arriving more than 90 minutes late to escort them to school. (See the CPTnet release: AT-TUWANI: Israeli army negligence permits Israeli settler attack on children.)
Thursday 31 December
During the afternoon escort of Palestinian school children from Tuba and Maghayir al-Abeed, an Israeli settler woman approached the children. After a verbal altercation between the settler and the children, the woman made a phone call, and the Ma’on settlement security guard chased the children into At-Tuwani village, some distance from where the children meet their Israeli military escort.
Palestinians Plowing Land Despite Obstacles
Thursday 3 December
Nichols and Southworth accompanied Palestinians plowing land between Qawawis and Susiya. After a few hours of plowing, Israeli settlers from Mizpe Yair (Magen David) forcibly stopped the plowing. One settler stood in front of the tractor while the other stole its key. Shortly after the settlers made several phone calls, the military, police, and District Coordinating Office (DCO, the branch of the Israeli military which deals with Palestinian civilian affairs in Area C) arrived. The DCO prohibited the Palestinians from plowing the plot. Instead, the military allowed Palestinians to plow only a small additional portion of the field.
Saturday 5 December
Palestinians living in Yatta attempted to plow the field between the Palestinian village of Um Fagarah the Israeli outpost of Avigail. Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, forcibly stopped the work of the Palestinians. The settlers brought aggressive dogs and ignored the Palestinians’ and internationals’ requests to control them. After several minutes of arguing, a soldier jumped up on the tractor and screamed orders and threats at the Palestinian driving the truck. After this incident the Palestinians decided to return home instead of risking the confiscation of their equipment.
The same day, Palestinians also attempted to plow a valley between the Palestinian village of Shi’b Al-Butum and the Israeli outpost of Mizpe Yair (Magen David). Settlers and the outpost security guard immediately approached the farmers and remained present until a group of Israeli soldiers arrived. The soldiers immediately stopped the work, simply claiming that plowing in the area was forbidden. The soldiers refused to look at the landowner’s paperwork, which showed him to be the owner of the entire valley. Officers from the DCO arrived and spoke with the settlers and the Palestinian land owner. The DCO officers told the land owner that he could plow no closer to the outpost than he had already plowed. The land owner told CPTers that until two years ago he was able to plow the all valley, up to the outpost. The last two years, the Israeli military has prohibited him plowing all of the land that he owns.
The same DCO officers stopped another Palestinian man from plowing his land on an adjacent hillside. The DCO officer detained the owner’s son, who was driving the tractor, and threatened to arrest him and confiscate the tractor if he continued to plow. The officer chided the driver, telling the young man he did not want to be a bad boy by disobeying an officer. The officer said he was prohibiting the work was because the man was plowing on the hillside, claiming that Palestinians could only cultivate privately-owned land in a valley.
Sunday 6 December
Israeli settlers plowed privately-owned Palestinian land in Umm Zeituna valley. In 1999, Palestinian families living in Umm Zeituna were forced off the land by settler violence. The Palestinian land owners have been reluctant to return to their land because of continuing settler violence and harassment. The owners have filed multiple complaints to the police regarding the violence against them and the confiscation of their land. However, no legal action has been taken against the settlers.
Saturday 12 December
Villagers from At-Tuwani plowed Khelli valley, privately-held Palestinian land between At-Tuwani and the settlement of Ma’on. The Israeli military declared the area a closed military zone. The Palestinians finished later in the afternoon, when the military had left the area.
Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance Unites
Tuesday 29 December
Women and men from the entire South Hebron Hills region went on a solidarity visit to the Palesitinian villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin. The visit began with a demonstration at Ofer prison and military base, near Ramallah. Several nonviolent resistance organizers have recently been imprisoned at Ofer. Palestinians from Bil’in, Ni’lin, and the South Hebron Hills gathered at Ofer to call for the release of these leaders. (See ISM article on this demonstration.). After the demonstration, the villagers from the South Hebron Hills proceeded to Ni’lin and Bil’in to hear those communities talk about their resistance to the confiscation of their land and the restriction of their freedom of movement.
Muntaser Hamdi’s house was invaded and trashed by 13 Israeli soldiers.
Early in the morning of January 17 the Israeli army arrested 3 young Palestinian in a dawn raid on Al-Ein Refugee camp, located to the North of Nablus. The soldiers came at around 5am, departing at around 8 the same morning. The three friends – Samer As-Salhi (17 years old), Muntaser Hamdi (19) and Raed Al-Khatib (21) – none of whom had any previous convictions, were taken from their homes in simultaneous raids by several large groups of soldiers. The mother of the eldest, Raed Al-Khatib, described how the soldiers identified him by his ID documents from a page-long list of names, other Palestinians presumambly wanted by the military.
According to family members present during the raid the As-Salhi’s house was entered by 7 soldiers at 5am. The soldiers pushed and shoved family members, manhandling women and children. Several items in the house were damaged including the kitchen ceiling and bedroom furniture, most likely due to sound grenades. The soldiers left the house between 6 and 6.30am. The As-Salhi family has already suffered similar raids – Samer’s older brother Eiman (aged 22) has been in prison for 4 years now. Samer, only 17 years old, has until now been working as a carpenter.
The second family we spoke to described how Muntaser Hamdi was taken by more than 13 soldiers, who broke down the door of their house at 6 in the morning. During the 20 minute operation the soldiers tore open several sofas in the living room. As is routine with most operations of this kind, the targets were the men and boys of the camp; Muntaser’s brother was also searched during the raid. But it is not only the young males who are bearing the brunt of the raids – apart from damaged property in an area already scarred with the visible effects of occupation, the raid on the Hamdi household left two terrified young children, Muntaser’s younger siblings. Muntaser himself was blindfolded before being taken away.
The raid that hit the Al-Khatib household was particularly brutal. About 20 soldiers entered the small apartment at 6am, setting of a sound grenade which punched a hole in the kitchen ceiling. Repeating a pattern apparent in the other raids, according to Raed Al-Khatib’s mother the damage done to the kitchen happened while the soldiers searched for weapons; as in the other two cases, nothing was found. Other damage sustained during the raid included a broken dishwasher and a bathroom door ripped off its hinges. After going through cupboards and drawers, and body-searching all the men in the house, Raed was identified from a long list of other names, blindfolded and taken away. Raed’s mother has since been in contact with the Israeli human rights organisation HaMoked, who have helped her discover the prison where her son is being held, precious information usually denied to Palestinians.
The families indicated that the three friends were probably taken to the Huwara prison, as in a previous raid that ISM reported on at the end of October last year, where thirteen boys were arrested and taken from the camp. No information has been given as to how long the most recent three will be held but in previous instances, as with Samer As-Salhi’s brother, this has been anything from a month to several years.
Eight demonstrators were injured today in Bil’in along with dozens who suffered tear-gas inhalation during a regular Friday protest against the Wall and subsequent army invasion into the village. The army used live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear-gas grenades and canisters against the unarmed crowd.
The demonstration, called by the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was joined by dozens of international and Israeli activists. Speeches were made commemorating the Palestinian martyrs, especially the late president Yasser Arafat and Bil’in resident Bassem Abu Rahmah. Bassem died after he was hit by a tear-gas canister the army shot at him from a short distance.
Demonstrators marched towards the site of the Apartheid Wall, carrying a twenty-meter long Palestinian flag. As every Friday, the protesters tried to reach their land confiscated by the Wall and nearby settlements. Immediately after the march arrived, the army, stationed behind the Wall, started shooting tear-gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Four residents of Bil’in, three Palestinian journalists and an Israeli activist were injured. At least one of them had to be taken to the hospital in Ramallah for treatment.
After the demonstration ended, the army entered the village and attempted to arrest two Palestinian activists. When the Israeli and international activists physically intervened in order to stop the arrests, the Israeli soldiers shot live ammunition into the air and attempted to surround the demonstrators.
The Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bil’in were also demanding the release of Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Committee, and Adeeb Abu Rahmah. They also protested against the arrest and continued detention of Ibrahim Ameera, Hassan Moussa and Zaydon Ameera, leaders and members of the Popular Committee in Ni’lin as well as all other Palestinian political prisoners. The Bil’in Popular Committee condemned the latest detention of Tahsin Yaqin, coordinator of the National Popular Committee in north west Jerusalem and the invasion of the houses of Mahmood Zawahreh, Hasan Berjeyyeh and Mohammad Berjeyyeh the leaders of the Popular Committee in al-Ma’asara.
In the early hours of the morning, dozens of soldiers invaded the village of alMaasara – a site of weekly peaceful demonstrations for over three years – and surrounded the houses of Popular Committee members Mohammed Barjiya and Mahmoud Zwahre.
Both Barjiya and Zwahre were warned about that repercussions will follow if they do not stop organizing protests in the village. Zwahre was even threatened that a child may end up dead.
The night before, a large contingent of soldiers invaded the village of Beit Duqqu North West of Jerusalem and arrested Sa’id Yaqim, a member of the Palestinian National Committee Against the Wall.
Yaqim’s arrest is a direct continuation of a recent Israeli wave of arrests aimed to suppress the Palestinian unarmed struggle. Thursday’s arrest follows the detention of three members of the Popular Committee in the village of Ni’iln and a long-standing arrest campaign in the village of Bil’in.
In the past month, since 16 December, the army has staged twelve night incursions into Ni’ilin. Since May 2008, when demonstrations began in the village, 97 residents have been arrested in connection to the protests. Similar raids have been conducted in the village of Bil’in – where 34 residents have been arrested in the past six month and the cities of Nablus, Ramallah and East Jerusalem.
Among those arrested in the recent campaign are also five members of the Bil’in Popular Committee, all suspected of incitement, and include Adeeb Abu Rahmah – who has already been held in detention for almost six months and Abdallah Abu Rahmah – the Bil’in Popular Committee coordinator.
The charge of incitement, defined in military law as “an attempt, whether verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order”, is a cynic attempt to indict grassroots organizers with a hefty charge, and is part of the army’s strategy to use legal measures as a means of quashing the popular movement.uar
