Tag: Settlers

Settlers set fire to Palestinian land in Asira al Qibliya

29 June 2009

Around 7 p.m. on Monday night, dozens of heavily armed settlers trespassed on farmers land, setting fire to the wheat crop and attacking a home in Asira al Qibliya. Settlers fired high-caliber weapons into a family’s home where 4 children live the youngest one only a year and a half old.

Israeli soldiers responded to the event around 8:30, shooting tear gas into the family’s home after the settlers retreated. Rubber coated steel bullets where fired and some soldiers threw a sound bomb.

Palestians and internationals gathered at the house for the rest of the evening. In the morning the women who lives in the house discovered that the settlers had also shot out the family’s water tank and thrown rocks on the solar water heater.

Asira al Qibliya, south -west of Nablus with settlements above the village.

YNet News: ‘Palestinians: IDF sanctions land theft’

Aviad Glickman | YNet News

30 June 2009

Two residents of the West Bank Palestinian village of Qadum filed a High Court petition against the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday asking that it overturn a military appellate board decision and order a Kedumim settler who they claim invaded their land to return it to them.

The petition was filed with the assistance of the Yesh Din human rights organization. According to the brief, the two realized the settler invaded their property in May 2007, fencing off some of their agricultural land as his own, planting hundreds of plants and setting up irrigation devices.

In letter to defense administration heads Yesh Din reports of alarming increase in number of attempts to uproot or damage Palestinian farmers’ trees as part of settlers’ efforts to ‘achieve political goals through terrorists acts’

In August 2007, the Civil Administration issued an eviction order against the man, who, in turn, asked the military appellate board to override the decision, claiming he had been working the land for 10 years. His motion was granted in March 2009.

The plaintiffs claim that the land in question was private Palestinian property, which is outside of Kedumim’s municipal jurisdiction, and that the board’s decision did not take into account the fact that the settler could not substantiate his claim of proprietary.

“The board’s decision backs systematic and aggressive land theft,” said Yesh Din Attorney Michael Sfard. “Letting the decision stand is equal to giving out the death sentence for the rule of law in the West Bank.

“The Court has an opportunity through this case to enforce the rule of law against settlers who bar Palestinians access to their lands through cultivation.”

Israel to build 50 West Bank homes for outpost evacuees

Tomer Zarchin | Ha’aretz

29 June 2009

Israel will build 50 new homes in an existing West Bank settlement as part of a wider plan to absorb residents slated to be evicted from the illegal outpost of Migron.

The complete plan calls for the construction of 1,450 homes in the settlement of Adam.

The State Prosecutor’s Office informed the High Court on Friday that 190 housing units will be built in the settlement of Adam in the first stage, in accordance with the plan, which was approved by the Defense Ministry in May.

However, only 50 of the units can be erected without further approval from the ministry. This number does not include public buildings and roads.

“The understandings to advance the construction were examined by the political echelon, Yesha Council of settlements representatives and settler leaders in Judea and Sameria,” the state wrote, referring to the West Bank.

News of the plan emerged shortly before Defense Minister Ehud Barak set off for the United States Monday in a bid to end a quarrel with U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration over Israel’s refusal to completely halt West Bank settlement construction.

A media advisor to Barak denied the report of a plan to build 1,450 new homes.

“The Defense Ministry approved the construction of 50 housing units only in the community of Adam, which will serve the evacuees from the settlement of Migron,” Army Radio quoted the advisor as writing.

“All other reports speaking of the construction of 1,450 housing units are erroneous, tendentious and incorrect.”

Israeli forces arrest Israeli and international activists in Safa

For Immediate Release

27 June 2009: Israeli forces arrest 24 solidarity activists and 2 hired Palestinian Israeli drivers in the West Bank village of Saffa.

At 7.30am, 35 Israeli and 10 international solidarity activists joined 3 Palestinian families from Beit Ummar to harvest their land. As the group tried to go down to their lands, 50 soldiers and border policemen stopped them.

Before reaching the land, Israeli forces arrested 10 Israeli and international activists, under the premise that Saffa was under a Closed Military Zone*. The army was aggressive towards the group and used violence against them.

After pushing the group, border policemen arrested another 9 activists.

Yousef Abu Maria from the Palestine Solidarity Project, had his leg broken from the use of excessive force. Israeli soldiers tried to arrest him, but the solidarity activists negotiated for the soldiers to release him and allow him to be taken by an ambulance from the Palestinian Red Crescent. He is currently being treated at a Hebron hospital.

A female Israeli activist from Tayyoush was also injured and is currently at an Israeli hospital seeking treatment for a potentially broken hand.

As 2 cars with hired drivers were leaving the area with other activists, Israeli forces stopped them and arrested 5 more activists and the 2 Palestinian Israeli drivers.

The arrested were taken to the Israeli prison in the illegal settlement of Gush Etzion.

The activists are members from Palestine Solidarity Project, Tayyoush, Anarchists Against the Wall, and the International Solidarity Movement. They have been accompanying Palestinian farmers to document and deter violence from Israeli forces as the farmers harvest their land.

Last Saturday, 8 Israeli activists were arrested as they accompanied Palestinian farmers.

*Israeli forces have declared the area in Saffa a Closed Military Zone (CMZ), in direct violation of an Israeli Supreme Court decision. The Israeli Supreme Court determined that Closed Military Zones cannot be issued on Palestinian agricultural land, cutting off Palestinian farmers, or prolonged periods of time. However, Israeli forces have been regularly declaring a Closed Military Zone on farm land in Saffa since 2 April 2009.

UPDATE: 1pm, 27 June 2009, All the activists and drivers have been released.

Palestinian says settlers repeatedly damaged his home

Ali Waked | YNet News

24 June 2009

Ibrahim Ayid, of the village of Borin near Nablus, says he cannot complete construction on his home because it has been attacked three times during the past week by settlers.

The IDF stated that a number of incidents have occurred on the scene and that forces had to prevent physical violence from breaking out between Palestinians and settlers.

Ayid said that on Wednesday three settlers, one of them armed, had arrived at the construction site to threaten him.

“The settlers came down to the house, took apart the wood intended for construction, broke the water containers, and vandalized the property. They also threatened and chased away a tractor driver and electricians working there,” he recounted.

He said the previous incidents had occurred on Tuesday and Saturday of the past week. “They get backing from the settlement’s security guards. The goal of the army alerted to the scene is to peacefully chase away the settlers, by firing tear gas at us. This time the soldiers came as well, but they did nothing against the settlers in the village,” Ayid added.

He said he had filed a complaint with the Palestinian administration, which the soldiers regarded derogatorily. “They answered, ‘Come on, no administration’,” Ayid said. “The soldiers cursed and humiliated us, instead of bringing to justice those who in the course of a week vandalized and caused damage to my property three times.”

The IDF stated in response, “A group of Palestinians gathered in one place and a group of Israelis gathered in another place. When they approached one another an IDF force was there to prevent the sides from clashing. The sides left the area without further incident.”

Meanwhile, Palestinians are claiming that settlers from Gilad Farm set fire to a field in the village of Jat. They claim the settlers also cut down olive and fig trees and afterwards destroyed a field of tomatoes.