Tag: Settler violence - Page 65 - International Solidarity Movement

Asira al Qibliiya: “The time for settler attacks is now”

by Amal

11 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The season of settler violence – Click here for more photos

As warm days sneak into this cold month of February, illegal settlers begin their season of attacks early. Although there is no “off season” for settler attacks, the number of these criminal acts increases in the spring and summer. The residents of Asira al Qibliiya unfortunately have the experience to believe the attacks will only increase.

This was evident as a group of 20 settlers from Yitzhar illegal settlement descended on Asira on a beautiful Saturday afternoon on February 11, 2012. It was approximately 3:30 PM when the settlers gathered on top of a hill overlooking Asira and stood only a couple hundred meters from residential homes.

They were armed and dangerous as they drew closer and closer to one of the homes, but fortunately crowds of locals gathered near the home and the settlers retreated back up the hill. Within a few minutes Israeli Occupation soldiers joined the group of settlers with two army jeeps and at least four soldiers were on foot. Also joining in support were two settlement security jeeps.

This is the second settler attempt to attack Asira this year. The last attack on Asira was during the early hours of December 12, 2011. By the end of this act, three homes and a bus were damaged as reported by Ma’an News Agency.

The average weekly settler attacks have already increased in 2012. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has documented an increase to eight attacks the first week of February from five attacks the beginning of the year.

The belief that settlers attack more frequently during warmer weather is evident to many local residents. However, the peak time for settler attacks is not well documented. An activist from Asira, who has witnessed many of the attacks, confidently declared “that the time for settler attacks is here now.”

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

Burin: Yitzhar settlers leave the mark of violence

by Veronica

10 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Thursday 9 February at about 10pm, a house in the village of Burin near Nablus was attacked by settlers. Approximately 50 armed settlers approached a house near the edge of the village and threw stones and rocks at the inhabitants, shouting at them to get out of the house. Young men in the village were alerted and came to the assistance of the family.

Settlers leave the mark of violence - Click here for more photos

When they arrived the settlers backed off, but soon after 15 jeeps of Israeli soldiers arrived and used flares, teargas and sound bombs to attack the Palestinians defending the house. The attack lasted until about midnight, the settlers staying there with the soldiers. Burin villagers were unable to do anything to defend themselves and their village except throw stones – and even this was difficult in the dark.

Later that night, at about 1am, a house on the other edge of the village was attacked by another group of settlers. They rolled burning tires down the hill towards the house, filling it with acrid smoke. Hanan Nasser who lives in the house with her family said that she was asleep when someone from the village called them to say settlers were attacking. They gathered on the roof of the house and could hear the settlers shouting. About 6 to 10 burning tires were directed at their house, but came to a stop a short distance away. The family was concerned about the effect the smoke from the tires might have on Hanan’s daughter who is pregnant.

Hanan’s house is very close to the illegal settlement of Yitzhar, and they have suffered innumerable attacks from settlers over the last 10 years. In 2002 when her husband built the house, it was set on fire by settlers. Her husband suffered a heart attack and died from the shock of seeing his house on fire. Since then settlers have set fire to the house twice more, poisoned sheep, regularly burn their olive trees and injured her son by throwing a stone at him. Just two months ago they threw paint in a glass container at the house – the metal mesh on the windows prevented any serious damage or injury, but the angry red paint on the bathroom windows is a daily reminder of the settler threat.

Burin is a village of about 3,000 people and sits in a valley between the illegal settlements of Bracha and Yitzhar. There is a further outpost above the village, and it is thought that the settlers who attacked the first house had come down from there, possibly because building had begun on a new house there that day. The settlers regularly come and cause aggravation in the village – usually about once a week, but it had been fairly quiet until last Thursday. Israeli soldiers come much more often, raiding homes and arresting people. Also on Thursday night they raided homes close to Hanan’s home, just up the hill towards Yitzhar. The soldiers inspected one young resident’s shoes for mud, suggesting that this indicated they had been in the settlement, though his house is surrounded by muddy fields.

These settler attacks were the first to happen so late at night in Burin, though the soldiers often raid Palestinian homes in the middle of the night. Unfortunately the residents of Burin felt that after a quiet few weeks, Thursday’s attack may mark a fresh wave of them as the weather gets warmer.

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

Settlers attack demo in Qaryut

10 February 2012 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Demonstrators in Qaryout attempted to plant olive trees to resist land grab. On the way, they were attacked by settlers and the army.

Photos by Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Approximately 100 residents of the Qaryout joined the weekly protest against the occupation this week, aiming to plant olive trees on their lands, as an action against confiscation of lands by neighboring settlements. One of main legal mechanisms used by Israel to expropriate Palestinian land is the Ottoman Land Law of 1858, which was in force on the eve of the occupation. According to this law, if privately owned agricultural land is not cultivated for three years it may be declared as “abandoned property” and seized by the state.

Residents and their supporters marched towards the roadblock, which they have managed to open last week, and which currently remains open. As they were proceeding, settlement private security guards approached the demonstration, shooting live ammunition in the air. The protesters continued marching, finally reaching a line of soldiers. After proceeding some more, the march was effectively trapped in between two groups of settlers – one from the front and one from the back, as well as the army. Nonetheless, they managed to plant a number of trees. As demonstrators were heading back towards the village, settlers “accompanied” them from the hilltop and threw stones directly at protesters. As a result, some clashes erupted between the local youth and the settlers. The army intervened by shooting massive amounts of tear-gas canisters at the protesters. Two injuries were reported.

The village of Qaryout is located in the Northern West Bank, near the city of Nablus. It is home for approximately 2500 residents whose lives have become unbearable due to continuous land confiscations, obstruction of movement and settler violence.

In Photos: Settlers and Israeli military violently steal land in Kufr Qaddoum

6 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On February 5 the residents of Kufr Qaddoum noticed several soldiers and illegal settlers on their lands who were plotting how to illegally seize land from the village. Upon arrival, International Solidarity Movement received word that indeed the colonizers were planning an action to seize land today.

Zionists attack to steal Palestinian land in Kufr Qaddoum - Click here for more images

Early this morning over 20 Israeli soldiers and Zionist settlers descended up on Kufr Qaddoum’s lands, arresting local villager Abu Ashraf, and dragging him off. Settlers were seen plowing through the land with bulldozers and military present.

In a collaboration between military and illegal settlers, the main road that Kufr Qaddoum has been advocating to open through its weekly peaceful demonstrations has also been reportedly seized, while illegal, Zionist settlers are currently planting trees in the newly plowed land under the protection of the Israeli military.

Every Friday Kufr Qaddoum has held peaceful demonstrations to reopen their main road. On January 21 the village celebrated their success in peacefully pushing back Israeli Occupation Forces for the second week in a row as they tried to reclaim access to this road.

Kufr Qaddoum is hedged in on most sides by Israeli Jewish settlements, illegal according to international law, the 1993 Oslo Accords, and in some cases even Israeli law.

Breaking: Settlers and Israeli military move forward with plan to steal land

6 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

As of 2:00 PM today it was reported that two army jeeps were still on site in Kufr Qaddoum, in addition to one police jeep, while illegal settlers had left the scene of today’s violent incursion.

Abu Ashraf, pictured below being dragged by Israeli military, is now in a local hospital with injuries sustained to the head and wrists. It is reported he was hit by military on the left side of his forehead leaving an open wound and bruising. His hands were also tightly handcuffed in plastic, leaving bruising to the wrists.

Abu Ashraf was defending his family’s land as it was being invaded by settlers from nearby illegal settlements and was met with violence. Settlers plowed this land under the protection of Israeli military.

Another 60 year old woman was also wounded by Israel’s violent intrusion into Kufr Qaddoum, after Israeli forces twisted her arm. She was treated on the scene by paramedics.*

Abu Ashraf is in a local hospital, recovering.

Updated From:

Abu Ashraf, a local of Kufr Qaddoum, being dragged away by Israeli Zionist military

Kufr Qaddoum is hedged in on most sides by Israeli Jewish settlements, illegal according to international law, the 1993 Oslo Accords, and in some cases even Israeli law. Theft of nearly 2/3 of land associated with these settlements (1100 ha of the 1900 ha pre-1967 original), combined with the Apartheid Wall and closures of multiple access points in the last 12 years, have choked the local economy and driven people from the community (according to POICA and the Land Resource Center). During 2003, in the midst of the Second Intifada, the Israeli military closed off the main road leading to the village, doubling the transit time to Nablus. After 6 years of court cases and a ruling supportive of villager’s rights–but still no results–the Popular Committee of Kufr Qaddoum decided to press the issue with a series of weekly protests which began in July, 2011.

Organizers in the village are currently determining future steps and actions in light of the Zionist invasion upon their lands and call upon the Palestinian and international community to support their village and Palestine against illegal Israeli Occupation.

*Correction: The original article stated that the women injured was taken to the hospital. This has been replaced with the fact that she was treated on the scene by paramedics.