Tag: Settlers - Page 49 - International Solidarity Movement

Armed settlers occupy village land in Hebron

14th March 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Team Khalil | Arab ar Rashyaida, Occupied Palestine

On Tuesday 11^th March 2014 villagers from Arab ar Rashyaida, 15 kilometers (10 miles) west of Hebron, noticed that a large tent and industrial digger had moved onto a hill top on a villagers land. ISM Hebron was called and accompanied local people and Palestinian activists to confront the settlers.

On arriving at the village, the demonstrators parked on the opposite hill and made their way through the valley to the settlers’ encampment. The settlers were armed with automatic hand guns, assault rifles, and dogs to protect the illegal camp. Resistors confronted the settlers in a non-violent way while settlers took photographs on the phones of all the protestors. After a short time a settler armed with a machine gun and dressed in black with his face covered climbed a wall and started to insult a Palestinian activist, stating that he would kill other Palestinians. The activist responded with in a raised voice matching his righteous indignation at the Zionist’s hateful comments. The army soon arrived and attempted to move the protestors from the construction area. On many occasions the leader of the settlers took the soldiers to one side to make suggestions. A proposal was made that, if the settlers camp is dismantled, the protestors can leave and take the matter up in court, but this was dismissed.

Masked settlers and soldiers on Palestinian occupied hill (Photo by ISM) — Masked settler and soldiers on the Palestinian occupied hill (Photo by ISM)

Soon a high ranking military officer arrived and was presented with ownership papers from a villager which date back 130 years. The officer told him that the settlers had ownership papers too (presumably not quite so old!). Meanwhile the settler, with his face concealed, had made his way across to the Palestinians’ cars with his aggressive dog following. A small group made their way across to stop him damaging the vehicles. On seeing the Palestinians approach, the settler made his way down to a taxi driver, that was waiting to drive the ISM team back to Hebron. The Palestinians feared that the settler would attack the taxi driver, so the group drove down the hill to support him. The armed settler then made his way back to the constructions site. Sometime later the Israeli police arrived and arrested the activist who had argued with the Zionist armed settler, who had complained that he was physically attacked. The Palestinian went with the Police peacefully and was later arrested and charged with the assault. Activists exchanged video evidence and the prisoner was released on bail with a payment of 2000NIS. We await a trial date.

Arab ar Rashyaida is extremely vulnerable to occupation by settlers. The land surrounding the village is designated as “Intended Nature Reserve” under the Oslo Interim Agreement, and as such is under full Israeli control. The strategy of building outposts on Palestinian land as a seed to develop illegal settlements is well established and supported by the Israeli authorities, despite the fact that it breaks International Law and the 4^th Geneva Convention.

Settlers attack stopped by farmers in Talfeet

6 March 2014| International Solidarity Movement, Team Nablus| Talfeet, Occupied Palestine

Farmers caught a settler cutting down olive trees in Talfeet, delivered him to the Israeli police and lodge a complaint toward him.

This morning, at around 10:30, three farmers working on their land in Talfeet caught a settler cutting down ” title=”olive trees”>olive trees in the area. Quickly joined by other villagers, they were able to capture him. They then kept him on the spot, waiting for the Israeli police.

At 12:00, the police arrived the place with the army. After the explanations of those involved, they finally left with the settler under arrest.

Indeed, this settler, known as “Kurein” by the locals, is sadly notorious in the area surrounding the illegal settlement of Eli for different attacks and attempts to damage state properties.

Later in the afternoon, the farmers met again the Israeli police, going with soldiers and members of the DCO, to notice the damages and lodge a complaint toward Kurein. The Israeli mandated for this task clearly said to the villagers that the two “troublemakers” (ISM observers) were unwelcome and that they had to stay away from the area. Following the incident, when the two volunteers came back to the scene to take pictures, all the broken branches had been removed from the place.

Furthermore, last month, settlers from Eli tried on several occasions to attack the Palestinian houses during the night, waking up the inhabitants and placing pressure on the families. After many complains from the villagers to the mayor, a dialogue has been set up between the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian representative of Nablus area to try to prevent the aggressiveness of the settlers. This attack threatens the quietness of the last days in the village of Talfeet.

Israeli settlers prevent shop renovation in Hebron

23rd February 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

On Sunday the 23th of February at around 9:30 a.m. more than ten settlers forced a Palestinian shop owner to stop renovating his shop. The settlers did this by sitting at tables and chairs they had brought from the nearby Gutnick Center in Hebron, an Israeli visitors center close to the Ibrahimi mosque, eating breakfast right in front of the shop while harassing the men at work.

The shop owner had gotten permission to do the renovation by the Israeli Civil Administration but this was not satisfactory to the settlers, who forced the Palestinians to stop working. When the Palestinians tried to continue their work the settlers became aggressive towards them, making them stop.

The Palestinian workers from the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, an organization which rebuilds Palestinians houses and helps improve living standards in the Old City in Hebron, asked the settlers to move the table and have their breakfast on the other side of the road but they refused.

The Israeli police, border police and soldiers were all present but did not interfere with the settlers’ harassment of the Palestinian workers. The stated reason for not interfering was that the settlers were on a public road and therefore were allowed to be there, ignoring the fact that the settlers confronted the workers each time they tried working.

The Israeli Civil Administration called the shop owner and ordered him to stop working for an hour until the settlers had gone away. As a result, the settlers managed to postpone the work of restoring the shop for about three hours.

Hebron was with the Oslo Protocol in 1997 divided in two parts, H1 and H2. H1 is area A and controlled by the Palestinian Authority, while H2 is under full Israeli control even though it is inhabited by around 30,000 Palestinians and about 500 Israeli settlers.

It is not rare that Israeli settlers from the Tel Rumeida or the Kiryat Arba settlements harass or even attack the Palestinians living in H2 in Hebron.

Palestinian activists successfully plant 100 olive trees in fields targeted by settlers in South Hebron Hills

15th February 2014 | Operation Dove | Susiya, Occupied Palestine

On February 15th, 2014, more than 60 Palestinian men, women and children from the South Hebron Hills and city of Hebron gathered in the Palestinian village of Susiya and together with international and Israeli activists, participated in a nonviolent action organized by the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee. The action consisted in planting some 100 olive trees on Palestinian-owned land near the settlement of Susiya.

Palestinians planting olive trees near Susiya (Photo by Operation Dove)

At around 11:00 a.m. Palestinian activists started to plant olive trees in the Palestinian-owned fields close to the gravel road in front of the settlement of Susiya. An army car was already there and after some minutes additional Israeli forces arrived on the spot for a total of ten border police officers, sixteen soldiers and two policemen. In the meantime, other activists were affixing placards which read “no to occupation and settlement expansion” to trees and electricity poles.

At 11:14 a.m. the soldiers declared the area a “closed military zone” and after some minutes started pushing the activists away. A group of Palestinians slowed the Israeli forces’ action, giving other Palestinians time to continue planting olive trees along the gravel road. In some cases border police officers used harsh manners, even jostling some women. The Israeli forces were able to make Palestinians move about 100 meters away.

As soon as the soldiers stopped pushing, Palestinian women began singing while other activists took pictures in front of the soldiers. The planting of olive trees continued. At 11:49 a.m. an army vehicle with a water cannon arrived and some activists moved away. However, a small group of activists faced the vehicle, standing in front of it and waving placards and chanting slogans against the Israeli occupation. At 12:16 a.m. when the planting was over, the Palestinians slowly returned to the Palestinian village of Susiya.

Among the Palestinian activists was Mustafa Barghouti, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (Palestinian Parliament) since 2006 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Barghouti).

That action was a direct reply to the uprooting of eighty olive trees in Palestinian fields near Susiya, which happened only five days previously (http://tuwaniresiste.operazionecolomba.it/?p=2994).

Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills are strongly committed to accessing their land for everyday farming activities.

Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004.

Pictures of the incident: http://www.operazionecolomba.it/galleries/palestina-israele/2014/2014-02-15-palestinian-activists-successfully-planted-one-hundred-olive-trees-on-fields-targeted-by-settlers-in-south-hebron-hills/

For further information:
Operation Dove, 054 99 25 773

[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]

Eighty young olive trees uprooted in South Hebron Hills

14th February 2014 | Operation Dove | At Tuwani, Occupied Palestine

On the afternoon of February 11, Palestinians discovered about eighty olive trees uprooted alongside bypass road 317 near the Susiya junction in the South Hebron Hills.

Uprooted olive tree (photo by B'tselem) — Uprooted olive tree (photo by B’tselem)

The olive tree grove belongs to the Hushiya family from the nearby town of Yatta and had been planted only three weeks ago. Yesterday afternoon the owners and B’tselem staff members gathered near the destroyed trees, waiting for the police. The Israeli police and District Coordination Office arrived on the scene and documented the incident. Today Operation Dove volunteers and B’tselem staff went there to take more pictures.

This field is part of the area that settlers from the nearby settlement of Susiya illegally occupied during 2007, planting a vineyard. Immediately the Palestinians with the help of Rabbis for Human Rights filed a complaint and started a legal process concerning this land (for more details click here). In 2013 the Israeli High Court ordered the army to dismantle these crops and the order was implemented by force.

The number of Palestinian-owned trees uprooted and damaged in the South Hebron Hills area since the beginning of 2014 has risen to 100. Olive trees are an essential resource for the Palestinian community, and their damage causes serious economic loss.

Nevertheless the Palestinian communities of the South Hebron Hills area are still strongly involved in using nonviolence as a way to resist to the Israeli occupation. Just two days ago twenty-five Palestinians planted sixty new olive trees on their own land close to the illegal Avigayil outpost (for more details clickhere).

Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004.

Pictures of the incident: click here

For further information:
Operation Dove, 054 99 25 773