Tag: Jordan Valley

Israeli and U.S. forces displace villagers from homes for military training in the Jordan Valley

By Brandi Jackson

13th November 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On November 11th Palestinians from the Jordan Valley villages of AelRaesAhemer, AelMaleh, and Ael Meta, were awoken by Israeli occupation forces at 6:00 AM and forced to leave their homes and villages because the military was to use the area for military training.

The villages are part of Area C in the West Bank, and therefore are under full Israeli civil and security control. Palestinians in Area C, which covers over 60% of the West Bank, are practically forbidden to build on their own property; while neighboring illegal settlements continue to expand. The villages undergo constant attacks and threats from either the army or settlers, including home demolitions, physical beatings, destruction of property, etc.

U.S. Forces have recently arrived in Israel and the West Bank to conduct a joint military exercise simulating a war in the Middle East that would require the U.S. to intervene. The drill is considered to be the largest joint military exercise carried out by the two countries, and is severely affecting the lives of Palestinian villagers throughout the West Bank. It also violates Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which states that “Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.”

After Israeli occupation forces displaced the villagers out of their homes, they then began to practice shooting tanks, missiles, and artillery into the areas of the villages throughout the day.

According to the information we received from several people, the villagers will be able to return to their homes at 6:00 PM. Some may have to go through this process every day for up to two months, until the Israeli and U.S. Forces are finished with their joint military exercise. “The Military told us that we are not allowed to return to our homes at all. We don´t know what to expect,” explained a Palestinian.

Brandi Jackson is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed)

Jordan Valley: Palestinian family’s water confiscated, internationals arrested

By Rosa Andersson and Amina Simonsson

25 June 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Thursday, June 21, Israeli forces confiscated a water tank from a Bedouin Palestinian family in the Jordan Valley, leaving them with no access to water. Three Swedish women were arrested for standing in solidarity with Palestinian women and children who peacefully protested by standing in between the Israeli military and the water tank at risk of theft.

Israeli soldiers deal violently with a Palestinian woman peacefully protesting the theft of her water tank – click to see more photos

The Jordan valley is a fertile are ideal for agricultural production. When Israel took control of the West Bank, it immediately took hold of water resources and began to target Palestinian communities and empty them from the Jordan Valley. The villages left are isolated from each other not only by distance but by Israeli checkpoints, closed military zones, and other restrictions on movement. The Israeli military performs military training in proximity to many communities, putting them at constant risk.

The illegal occupation of water resources has made water access an urgent problem. The United Nations declares water a basic human right. The World Health Organization has declared that each individual need access to 100 litres of water per day,  but Palestinians use on average between 50 to 70 litres per day. Many Palestinians in the Jordan Valley however, receive as little as 10-20 litres per day. This is a figure lower than both the recommended daily intake and the absolute minimum daily consumption required to avoid ‘mass health epidemics.’ Families in the Jordan Valley are forced to buy water at incredibly inflated prices. Some households spend 40-50% of their income to buy water from Israeli companies.

“When we came to the Bedouin camp, children were crying and there were a lot of soldiers trying to drag them away from the tractor that they tried to block. There were no men, only women and children, and around 60 soldiers and policemen. The Bedouin men were scared to show any resistance because of the risk of administrative detention,” says Rosa Andersson, one of the women who was later arrested.

The Swedish women were released after 30 hours of arrest and they are now prohibited from being in the West Bank. No one, Palestinian or International, showed any violence. The Palestinian family dependent on the confiscated water tank now has no access to water as the driest season of the year has just begun.

Rosa Andersson and Amina Simonsson are volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).

Farmland exploited for Israeli military exercises

By Alex

22 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Monday the 21 of May is the third day in a row of Israeli military exercises in and around the small Palestinian village of Khirbet Atwayel outside Nablus. These exercises prevent the farmers from working on their lands and force the villagers to sleep under the sound of heavy shelling with the constant presence of soldiers.

Khirbet Atweyel is a village located on the slopes West of the Jordan valley. The 18 families that reside there are almost exclusively farmers and have been victims to the actions of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) for a long time.

Every month, Israeli soldiers arrive, erect tents, and stay for a few days while they receive various kinds of military training. These include the shooting of live rounds, rocket missiles, and other heavy artillery. During these days, the farmers are denied entry to their own lands and can only stand aside and watch while soldiers drive their jeeps and other vehicles over the fields.

Volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), together with members of the municipality of the nearby town of Aqraba, approached the village on Monday, May 21.

“As usual, the soldiers stop their activities when they see internationals in the village. Only ten minutes ago they were shooting rockets on the hills a couple of hundred meters from the town’s houses,” Basem, the mayor of Khirbet Atwayel says.

Tents erected by the Israeli military to house soldiers during military training.

Later, whilst two ISM activists attempted to approach the field in order to better photograph the military tents, Israeli soldiers opened fire nearby. The activists were forced to turn around and flee the way they came. A rocket was fired on an adjacent hill, creating an ear piercing bang.

“These rockets are the kind of weapons they usually shoot at night. If you come here between 10-11 p.m. you will find they shoot dozens, making it impossible to sleep,” Basem says.

The military training, however, is only one of many aspects of oppression that the people of Khirbet Atwayel suffer on a daily basis. Like many other villages in the Jordan valley, Khirbet Atwayel is in Area C. It is under full Israeli civil and military control. One result is that the villagers are not allowed to have wells or water cisterns. Instead, they are forced to buy water from Aqraba and transport it in tanks to their houses. This makes the basic necessity of water enormously expensive. Irrigation of crops has become impossible and farmers are left to hope that the winter will bring enough rain.

When asked for his thoughts about the future of his village, Basem replied, “the occupiers are obviously trying to get rid of us, but we were born in this village and this land has been within our families for generations. We will never leave and give up what is rightfully ours.”

Alex is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

18 year old shepherd shot by Israeli soldiers in Jordan Valley

by Sally Rosarito

29 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Last Thursday 18 year old shepherd Yasir Sulaiman Sal man Najadah was shot in the chest by Israeli soldiers taking part in military training exercises near the Tyraseer training zone.

If one walks towards the Bedouin community of Wadi al-Maleh in the Jordan Valley, they will see one of the 67 blocks of concrete placed by Israeli military in the area, the words “Danger – Firing Zone – Entrance Forbidden” audaciously inscribed.

The village is only a few hundred meters away from an Israeli military base, and the villagers of Wadi al-Maleh are frequently endangered as Israeli soldiers carry out military training. In the past year, the village has lost two young men, both killed whilst shepherding as they inadvertently triggered unexploded ordnance.

“I was standing in the field with 19 camels,” said Yasir.  According to Yasir, army jeeps typically comb the area to alert herders before shooting exercises begin however on April 19th, no warnings were issued before the firing of live ammunition began. Yasir was shot  at a distance of approximately 1 to 1.5 kilometers, and he believes that the soldiers saw him before shooting.

He did not see the soldiers and only became aware of their presence after the shooting began; he believes they were behind a nearby hill. After the bullet entered his chest, Yasir walked to his home where he was then driven to the training base by his father for medical attention.

Israeli soldiers refused to treat him and denied fault in the shooting. It was nearly two hours before Yasir received medical treatment in Rafadia Hospital in Nablus. Yasir spent 1 day in Rafadia Hospital and was then transferred to a hospital in Ramallah.

According to his doctor, Yasir is in stable condition but remains in the Palestinian Authority hospital ICU after the shooting.

Yasir is the eldest of eight children and left school after the 10th grade to tend to the family’s heard of camels and sheep which is the main source of income for his family. He says his father is too old to take care of the animals and is concerned that no one is tending to them while he is in the hospital. Despite being shot, Yasir says he must return to the area surrounding the Tyraseer training zone for grazing because it is the only spring-time grazing near his village.

Aref Dyragma chief of council in Wadi al-Maleh, was one of the first persons to be informed about the attack. As Dyragma shows us around al-Maleh, he described how the Bedouins are exposed to systematic violence.

“Life is like hell here”, he said. “We have no running water, no electricity and we are prohibited from building anything. Israel has taken control of all the natural water resources, which forces us to walk 15 kilometers to the city of Tamoun, where we can buy expensive water.”

The violence used against Palestinians in the JordanValleyis part of process of ethnic cleansing. 130 families from the area have received demolition and evacuation orders – but Dyragma ensures that they will stay.

“We have no other choice – this our land and we cannot leave.”

Sally Rosarito is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

For immediate release: Cyclists attacked by soldier in the Jordan Valley seek legal action

17 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

For Immediate Release

April 17, 2012: Cyclists attacked by soldier in the Jordan Valley seek legal action

Danish activist Andreas was attacked by Israeli commander Lt.-Col. Shalom Eisner during an unarmed demonstration in the Jordan Valley on April 14th. (See video). Dutch activist Mira and a Palestinian man also suffered injuries following an assault by Eisner,  Swedish activist Alex was handcuffed and detained for over one hour during the incident. The action involved some two hundred people riding bikes along Route-90 which connects Israeli settlements, which are recognized as illegal by the International Court of Justice. Organized by the Sharek Youth Forum, the cycling event was to raise awareness of the restrictions on Palestinian movement and the human rights violations of Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley. According to the organization, Palestinian cars are frequently detained, searched, or refused entry on Route-90 where the event was held.

Andreas, Mira, Alex, and the Palestinian man are working with attorney Meissa Irshaid from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel to ensure that the testimony of these bike tour participants is represented in the assault case against Lt.-Col Eisner.

“Israeli soldiers blocked the road for all of the cyclists and quickly resorted to violent force to intimidate us from cycling on Route 90. Lt-Col Eisner beat me with his M-16 without provocation,” Andreas stated. Mira was also struck in the face by Eisner’s gun. The two were evacuated to hospital and Andreas received stitches in his lip.

The attack on the cyclists was publicly condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an April 15th news article published in Haaretz. In response to this public action taken by Netanyahu, Andreas says, “this is widespread phenomena across the West Bank. Dozens of protesters have been killed or violently injured for participating in peaceful protests against the theft of their land and the ongoing military occupation.”

Furthermore, Andreas argues, “it isn’t just internationals that deserve human rights in Palestine, all attacks by Israel should be condemned equally.”

The activists will continue work with the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank while pursuing legal action against the April 14th incident with the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.

 

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