Tag: Settlement

Israeli forces put curfew on Azzoun

12 September 2009

On Saturday 12 September at 10:30am the village of Azzun in Qalqiliya came under curfew for the third time in 6 days. Soldiers stomped the village announcing curfew over a loudspeaker from a jeep with no explanation for villagers. Villagers were forced to stay in their homes until Iftar, the breaking of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

On Tuesday 8 September, one Israeli army jeep entered the village and fired live ammunition into the air. This was then followed by 7 more jeeps who declared a curfew and forced shop owners to close their shops at 5pm shortly before Iftar, and losing the shopkeepers their perishable goods that would be purchased in advance of Iftar. Curfew continued until approximately 2am in the morning when the army invaded and threw sound bombs and sealed off the exits to the village setting up checkpoints and earthmounds to prevent movement. They also harassed villagers in their homes along the main road close to Road 55, an illegal Israeli road which is open in parts to Palestinian traffic.

On Thursday 10 September at 19:30, 2 jeeps with approximately 15-16 soldiers in them, again invaded the village firing live ammunition and tear gas. They proceeded to the boys high school, where local boys were watching and taking part in basketball and other sports. The soldiers gave the boys 2 minutes to return to their homes and leave the school and their activities without any explanation. Upon entering the school the Israeli army arrested two 13 year old boys taking them away to an unknown location. The jeeps then patrolled the village for several hours imposing another curfew on the village.

After midnight the village was then invaded by around 35 jeeps and began searching several homes were they said ‘wanted’ boys were resident. They damaged property and harass the residents. During the searches the army arrested Samir Jamal Ishadey (20 years old), Mohammed Rafah Cartesh and Adham Saahar Saleem (15 years old) taking them from their homes to and unknown location. It is believed while trying to retreat Mohammed was shot by soldiers but when Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance drivers tried to reach the scene the army prevented them. Mohammed was arrested and his condition is unknown.

When the army arrested Samir the army assaulted his brother Muhammed Jamal, attacking him with the but of their rifle on his head and back. This attack was undertaken by a group of soldiers that had verbally abused Muhammed and Samir on Tuesday during the invasion that day, calling him a “son of a bitch”. Muhammed had returned the insult to the soldier and on Thursday the same soldier was part of the group of soldiers that then assaulted him and arrested his brother two days later.

At 5am in the morning of Friday 11 September the Israeli army again imposed curfew and this continued until noon prays that day. Internationals entered the village shortly after noon prayers and soldiers could be seen on the outskirts of the village. While assessing the earthmounds made by the Israeli army to prevent movement in and out of Azzun a farmer was assaulted by a group of soldiers sitting under a tree. He was slapped across his face and internationals proceeded to the area. At 16:00 a group of 20 settlers and 6 cars attempted to come to the outskirts of the village to harass and attack the nearby shops and houses but were prevented by the army.

During the last few months almost 105 boys from the village have been arrested and taken to unknown locations. They can be held for a period of 6 months in administrative detention without access to a lawyer or their family. These periods can be extended indefinitely for ‘security’ purposes that are not disclosed to the detainee. Red Cross and other NGOs organisations are also denied access to detainees or to know there whereabouts for anything up to 20 days. Under Israeli military occupation Palestinians are considered ‘adults’ when they are above 13 years old in direct violation of international law on the rights of children.

The village of Azzun and its neighbours are subject to constant army and settler violence. The village is surrounded by the Apartheid Wall nearby, the illegal settlements of Ma’ale Shomeron and Alfe Menashe and Road 55. The army claim that Palestinian youth throw stones at settler vehicles passing on Road 55. They have closed off by the use of earthmounds 3 exits to the village allowing only one exit via car through the village of Izbat at Tabib and Isla for villagers to gain access to Road 55 and the route to Nablus, Tulkarem and Qalqiliya, vastly extending journey times. During invasions they can easily block this route making it virtually impossible for villagers to move around or gain access to facilities in nearby towns.

Azzun like many other villages has lost thousands of dunams of land to the settlements and the Wall. The Israeli Government has granted permission for a further road connecting the illegal settlements on Azzun land, furthering annexing land, part of PM Netanyhu’s ‘natural growth’ philosophy. The road itself will also have a 600 metre closed military zone surrounding it. A further ‘industrail zone’ has also been granted permission by the Israeli Government for construction and consistently over the last 2 months larger numbers of settlers have been visiting the area which is on land for the Palestinian villages of Azzun and Izbat at Tabib. The area will annex 2,500 dunums of Palestinian land. Villages that were once 2km apart are now separated by a mixture of closed military zones, Walls, fences, earthmounds and settlement buildings.

The Apartheid Wall and settlements are illegal under international law and the International Courts of Justice ruled in 2004 that the Wall should be taken down. Israel continues to build the Wall and expand settlements in direct violation of these rulings. Only 27 per cent of the land behind the Green Line (the armistice line drawn after the 1967 war) in land considered the West Bank is considered free for Palestinians. Over 450,000 settlers reside in the West Bank annexing Palestinian land and demolishing homes to create a network of roads and infrastructure not open for Palestinians despite the land being owned by Palestinians.

Settlers attack Palestinian home in Burin

10 September 2009

In the early hours of Thursday 10 September at approximately 3am, 20 masked settlers came down from the illegal settlement of Bracha near Nablus to a home under construction in the Palestinian village of Burin. The home which is currently under construction had just been furnished with a wooden roof ready for concrete to be poured.

Two local Palestinian boys had been sleeping at the home as it is close to the illegal settlement of Bracha and has been subject to attacks in the past. The boys were awoken by 20 masked settler youths who threw stones at them and threatened them. The Palestinian boys retreated to telephone the owner of the home and alert local international groups.

Upon arriving at the scene the home owner, Bruce Lee, discovered the settlers had sprayed the wooden roof planks with gasoline and ignited it. The Palestinians called the local Burin fire brigade who came and extinguished the fire. The settlers had also smashed the overhead lights around the home.

The local villagers and international activists are now keeping a 24 hour presence at the home until the roof is poured with concrete and therefore less libel for settler damage. One year ago construction on the house had to stop due to constant settler attacks which resulted in some of the foundation beams being damaged and in need of replacement.

The village of Burin and its surrounding neighbours have been subject to numerous violent attacks from the two illegal settlements of Bracha and Yitzhar that sandwich the local Palestinian villages. Only on Wednesday 9 September, the neighbouring villages of Asira al Qibliya and Urif were attacked by armed, masked settler youth. Burin village has also lost thousands of dunams of land planted with olive trees due to settlers burning the land and in 2006 settlers from the illegal settlement of Bracha fired homemade rockets on the village burning a house down.

Settlements are illegal under international law and both settlements have numerous outposts that continue to annex further Palestinian land in violation of both Israeli and international law.

Settlers attack Asira al Qibliya

9 September 2009

Israeli forces arrive in Asira al Qibliya after a settler attack on the Palestinian village
Israeli forces arrive in Asira al Qibliya after a settler attack on the Palestinian village

On Wednesday 9 September 2009 the villages of Urif and Asira al Qibliya south of Nablus, came under attack from settlers from the nearby illegal Yitzhar settlement. At approximately 2pm, 10 settler youth, half of them masked and armed with machete knives, stones and slingshots attempted to attack the village of Urif and Asira al Qibliya.

The settlers attempted to first attack the village of Urif, however the Israeli army did arrive and prevented the armed youth proceeding any further. Following this the settler youth then proceeded to the village of Asira al Qibliya.

The youth destroyed a hillside tent put up by the army two months ago on the outskirts of Asira between the illegal settlement and the Palestinian village. The Israeli army then arrived with 3 jeeps, carrying 9 soldiers. The soldiers began to shout at Palestinians to return to their homes and made no attempt to push the settlers back who continued to roam a few metres from Palestinian homes. As Palestinian youth gathered at the edges of the village to defend against any attacks by the soldiers or settlers the army fired four bursts of live ammunition and tear gas on the unarmed crowd. A ricocheting bullet hit one Palestinian boy, 8 year old Machlouf Abrahim, in the arm. A number of people were also effected by two rounds of tear gas that had were fired at their homes.

After approximately one hour the army regrouped and , joined by one settlement security jeep drove through the village, firing tear gas on dozens of young boys, some of whom were throwing stones. They established a checkpoint on the main entry road and remained on the outskirts of Asira until nightfall.

Asira al Qibliya and the surrounding villages have suffered repeated attacks from the illegal settlements Yitzhar and Bracha that surround the Palestinian villages. One year ago settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar rampaged through Asira al Qibliya shooting a number of residents and causing damage to property. The incident was described by the then Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak as a ‘pogram’ and condemned at the time but despite footage of the incident the Israeli Government has not brought forward charges against any settlers. In a later incident the settlers shot dead a 14 year old boy from the village.

Settlers have also been responsible for the continual burning of land of the local Palestinian villages with 1000’s of dunams of land planted with olive trees, vital to the local economy, destroyed. Settlers have continued to engage in what they call a ‘price tag’ campaign whereby if an illegal outpost is taken down in one part of the West Bank settlers rampage, destroy and attack Palestinians and their property in retaliation. Settlements in the occupied territories and outpost are considered illegal under international law and despite their obligation to protect the local population as an occupying force the Israeli Government continues to condone and support the violent and illegal acts of settlers in the occupied territories.

Israeli settlement expansion in South Hebron Hills continues unabated

Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove

10 September 2009

At a time when the international community is calling for a freeze on new building in settlements and the disbanding of settlement outposts, the settler community of the South Hebron Hills is continuing its expansion unabated.

Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement on Ma’on, in the South Hebron Hills area, are constructing at least five new caravans on the south-west side of the settlement. Internationals based in the nearby Palestinian village of At Tuwani first observed building preparatory work in Ma’on a few days ago. Today, as the new caravans were being built, settlers began preparatory work on a nearby hilltop for further settlement expansion. Over the past three months, internationals have also observed settlers constructing numerous new buildings in the nearby illegal Israeli outposts of Havat Ma’on (Hill 833) and Avigail.

Since its establishment in 1981, Ma’on settlement has been a source of violence towards local Palestinians. The agricultural orchards of Ma’on are cultivated on private land belonging to a family from the nearby Palestinian village of At Tuwani. By 1997, ongoing settler violence forced the Palestinian inhabitants of three nearby villages (Sarura, Humra and Kharoubeh) to abandon their homes.

The original outpost of Havat Ma’on was established in July 1999, but was dismantled in September of that year by the Israeli military. The following year, the outpost was re-established on a nearby hilltop, Hill 833, and has remained and grown since then. Avigail outpost was established in 2001.

Settlers from Ma’on and Havat Ma’on attack and harass Palestinian children from Tuba and Maghayir al Abeed traveling to and from school in At Tuwani. In 2004, following two attacks on internationals accompanying the children, the Israeli Knesset Committee for Children’s Rights affirmed the need for a military escort for the school children. The escort continues five years later. Settlers from Avigail and Havat Ma’on outposts also regularly attack Palestinian shepherds grazing their sheep.

For photos of new buildings in Ma’on go to: http://tinyurl.com/mj9fmw

Israel authorizes building in another East Jerusalem neighborhood

Akiva Eldar | Ha’aretz

9 September 2009

Three days after the U.S. administration criticized the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to authorize the construction of hundreds of new housing units in settlements, the Israel Lands Administration published tenders for the construction of 486 apartments in the neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev in East Jerusalem.

The new construction project is designated for the outer edge of the northeastern municipal boundary of Jerusalem, and will narrow the distance between the homes on the edge of the neighborhood and the nearby Palestinian communities. Bids have been solicited for construction on an overall area of 138 dunams (about 34 acres), which was subdivided into 25 smaller tenders.

The Obama administration has made it clear on a number of occasions that it is demanding that Israel freeze settlement construction in the territories, including in East Jerusalem. Two months ago, it was reported that Netanyahu had ordered a delay in the publication of the tenders.

In October 2008, the ILA canceled the tenders, arguing that the bids received from developers were too low compared to the value of the land. Then, last month, Haaretz-TheMarker reported that the tenders would be reissued after an appeal by contractors had led to the conclusion that the official assessment of the land value had been excessively high.

Officials at the Ministry of Housing and Construction said at the time that they would offer or development more land in the neighborhood so as to lower the price of apartments in the area.

Daniel Seidemann, the founder of Ir Amim, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote coexistence in Jerusalem, said last night that tenders of such magnitude would not be announced if they did not have the support of the prime minister. Seidemann describes the bid-taking as yet another example of a fraud that leads to creating facts on the ground even though there is talk of a freeze in settlement construction.

According to the ILA: “The tender was issued with the approval of minister of housing, and there was no additional approval needed at the political level. It is a tender that had been published last year in October and, for technical reasons, so far only two of the 25 plots had been sold.”

Meanwhile, a source familiar with the exchanges between Israel and the U.S. on the issue of a settlement freeze told Haaretz that the Obama administration is not interested in a crisis with the government of Netanyahu on settlements.