Tag: Settlement

Olive trees destroyed outside Bethlehem

31 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Broken olive tree
This morning Maher Abu Sab’a’ discovered that 248 out of the 250 olive tree saplings that had recently been planted on his land had been destroyed over-night. The saplings which had been planted three months previously had been systematically uprooted from the earth and broken with their remains left scattered over the earth. The land is situated outside Bethlehem next to a number of illegal Israeli settlements including Kiryat Arba, one of the largest illegal settlement in the West Bank with approximately 10,000 inhabitants. The attack took place right next to the Israeli checkpoint and watch tower on road 60, however it would appear that there was no intervention in the attack. Last year Maher lost all of the almond and grape trees from his land when settlers set light to the same field. He now plans to re-plant all of the trees he has lost.

Israeli bulldozers destroy farmer’s land in Al Ma’asara

30 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Yesterday private Israeli bulldozers arrived in the village of Al Ma’sara in the West Bank and destroyed a section of farm land belonging to the Brijia family, uprooting five grape trees and an abundance of wheat. The bulldozers who were accompanied by Israeli military jeeps belonged to an electrical company who were installing an underground cable to provide electricity to the nearby illegal settlement of Efrat. The family of farmers, who have legally owned the land since 1964 had been given no prior warning of the destruction and neither the workers nor the army could provide any paperwork when asked. This latest destruction of property is a sad blow to a family who have already lost four dunums of their land to illegal Israeli construction.

Al Ma’sara, 13 km south of Bethlehem, is home to about 900 people. The village is situated in a mountainous and fertile rural area which enjoys an abundance of natural water resources. Construction and expansion of Gush Etzion – one of the nearby illegal settlements – has already confiscated a large portion of village lands. Villagers believe that this latest destruction of land is part of the Israeli government’s bigger plan to expand the illegal settlements around Bethlehem and link them together, isolating Palestinian villages, who are already a minority in the area and strengthening Israel’s hold on the West Bank

Israeli army supress peaceful demonstration in Iraq Burin

21 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Around 80 Palestinians and international activists held a peaceful demonstration today in the village of Iraq Burin to protest the theft of village land for settlement construction. The demonstration began at about 16.00 when protesters marched through the village and over the hills towards the illegal settlement of Bracha. The peaceful demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and banners calling for an end to the occupation and for justice for Rachel Corrie whose trial continues tomorrow. They were immedietely met with a barrage of tear gas from the Israeli forces. The demonstrators had been at the top of the hill for only fifteen minutes, peacefully chanting slogans about freedom for Palestine and an end to the occupation and illegal settlements, when troops began firing tear gas at them. The protesters were forced to retreat quickly down the rocky hill as the soldiers shot at them; they narrowly missed the protesters and caused some to suffer adverse effects of strong teargas inhalation. One man was taken away by paramedics as he suffered from asphyxiation. The army continued to fire on protesters as they made their way down the treacherous hillside. However undeterred by the army’s brutality and disproportionate response to the peaceful protest, the villagers plan to continue their demonstrations on a weekly basis.

Iraq Burin is a small village 8 km southwest of Nablus. The illegal settlement of Bracha is located about one mile southeast of the village, and is situated on around 100 dunams (25 acres) of village land, as well as more land from surrounding villages. As with other settlements, it is not just the actual land of the settlement that is a problem, but also the land near it There is a swathe of “off-limits” land around the village that farmers are often prevented from using due to its close proximity to the settlement, leaving them with less land to graze sheep on or harvest from.

The villagers of Iraq Burin held weekly demonstrations last year to protest against the expansion of Bracha, and their continuing inability to access the village’s agricultural land. This began as a reaction to a sharp increase in provocative (and often violent) attacks initiated by residents of the settlement. These attacks were frequently aided and abetted by the Israeli military, who in turn invaded the village, firing rounds of tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition at Palestinian civilians. However the village took the decision to stop the weekly protests when Mohammed Qaddous (16) and Asaud Qadous (19) were shot dead by the Israeli military during a demonstration.


iraq burin protestors attacked by Israeli army

Villagers of Jaloud protest their electricity being cut

13 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Today the village of Jaloud held a non-violent demonstration against the decision of Israel to cut off the electricity of seven families living on the outskirts of the village. The villagers and several international organizations marched from the village to the aforementioned houses carrying banners protesting the theft of their land and electricity. Jaloud, which is home to nearly 1,000 villagers is, according to the plan of the District Coordinating Office located in area B. However a small number of properties fall into area C outside of this plan, despite being inhabited for over 80 years and have recently been served with notices that they will have their electricity cut off. They have been given a court date of 19th May, where they will be able to object to this decision. Village Mayor Abdullah Haj Mohamd says that he doesn’t know what the families will do if their power is cut as they are reliant on electricity for their everyday life and farm work.

Jaloud, which has been inhabited for over 6,000 years is now surrounded by seven illegal Israeli settlements and a military base. Since the beginning of the occupation the village has lost 80% of it’s land to settlements and it suffers from frequent attacks by the settlers, often at night. The village has also been targeted by the Israeli military who three months ago uprooted and removed 200 olive trees the villagers had planted on their land. This most recent move from the state of Israel can be seen as an attempt to prevent the expansion of the village and force families back into the centre, all the while facilitating the expansion of the surrounding settlements.

Activists demonstrate and work land, despite Israeli military harrasment

24 April 2011 | Palestine Solidarity Project

On Saturday, April 23, eight Israeli activists and 24 international volunteers joined residents of Beit Ommar for an action near Karmei Tsur organized by the Beit Ommar National Committee Against the Wall and Settlements. The international contingent included volunteers from the Palestine Solidarity Project and International Solidarity Movement, as well as the Belgian group Checkpoint Singers. The demonstrators gathered in the lands near Karmei Tsur, and marched towards the settlement carrying flags and signs and chanting against the occupation.

As the protest neared the settlement, soldiers from the Israeli Defense Forces lined the path. The protest continued beside the military for several hundred feet, before the soldiers stepped out and blocked the road. The IDF refused to let the demonstration pass.

The Checkpoint Singers began to sing as protesters argued with the soldiers, asking to continue their peaceful demonstration on their land. The lieutenant in command showed papers labeling the area a closed military zone and told the assembled protesters that anyone still in the area in three minutes would be arrested. The demonstrators refused to go.

Three minutes passed, and the soldiers prepared to move in. Then, Ahmed Abu Hashem gestured to his land, a field next to the road. “We are here to work my land,” he said.

“Then where is your tractor? Come back with a tractor, and you can work on your land,” the lieutenant replied.

Abu Hashem explained that a tractor was not needed, as stones needed to be cleared from the field by hand first. The lieutenant said that such an action needed to be coordinated through them first.

“Coordination my ass,” shouted a Beit Ommar resident.

Abu Hashem turned away from the soldiers, looping around the military line and walking onto his land. The rest of the protesters followed, and the soldiers formed a perimeter to attempt to contain the movement. As the choir sang anti-opression songs, Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals began to pull stones from the earth and add them to the rock walls bordering the field. Whenever a they approached the soldiers, the military would retreat, and soon a handful of the faster workers had pushed the IDF three-quarters of the way across the field.

While the demonstrators cleared the field, soldiers called out to them and asked them to stop. Despite the closed military zone and threats of arrest, work went on and on one was detained. The action dispersed on its own terms, and only after a substantial number of stones had been removed.