Tag: Settlers - Page 50 - International Solidarity Movement

Israeli forces protect settlers as they cut down Palestinian family’s trees

12 February, 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

On the afternoon of February 11, 2014, settlers in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Al-Khalil (Hebron) cut down trees belonging to the Abu Eisheh family. While attempting to film the destruction of the trees, four human rights activists were arrested by Israeli police.

At approximately 3:30 p.m., three activists, a Swiss-American, an American, and an Italian, were sitting in their apartment in Tel Rumeida when they heard a commotion outside. Outside the apartment, they found a group of settlers, Palestinians, Israeli soldiers and Israeli police. They were informed by the Palestinians that a group of settlers was cutting down trees at a house just up the road.

The three activists began filming but were not allowed up the road to where the tree-cutting was taking place. While filming, the American activist was physically assaulted by a settler. None of the soldiers or police officers present intervened. Instead, the Israeli police took the passports belonging to the American and Swiss-American and told them to sit on the ground.

At this time, the Italian citizen returned to the apartment, where she was joined by a fourth activist, an American, who had just arrived. Shortly thereafter, a group of soldiers and police officers attempted to enter the apartment. They were not allowed entry, but briefly questioned the two activists outside the apartment door. The Israeli police then confiscated the passports belonging to the American and the Italian.

Not long after, all four activists were transported to the police station near Kiryat Arba, where they were interrogated and threatened with deportation. After seven hours, the activists were released.

The following day, February 12th, two activists from Christian Peacemaker Teams visited Tel Rumeida to document the destruction of the trees. They were not there long before several Israeli soldiers approached them, told them to stop filming, and took their passports. They were held for two hours before their passports were returned. Israeli soldiers informed the two activists that if they approached the trees again they would be arrested.

The destruction of Palestinian trees by settlers is a chronic problem, not only in Tel Rumeida, but all over the West Bank. In the past month alone, more than 2500 trees in the village of Sinjil were destroyed by settlers. Trees have also recently been destroyed by settlers in Qusra, Ramallah, and Nablus. Fruit trees are an essential resource for the Palestinian community, and their damage causes serious economic loss. It takes as long as 12 years for an olive tree to reach full maturity.

dave — ISM activist with settlers in Tel Rumeida (photo by ISM Italy)

Settlers attack Palestinian shepherds, Israeli activists and internationals during nonviolent action in South Hebron Hills

8th February 2014 | Operation Dove | At Tuwani, South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine

On the morning of February 8, 2014, during a nonviolent action claiming the right of Palestinians to access their own land, a group of settlers from the illegal outpost of Mitzpe Eshtamoa attacked Palestinians, Israeli activists and internationals with stones and sticks, while Israeli soldiers stood by and watched.

At 9:36 a.m. about fifteen Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills village of Shuweika, accompanied by eight Israeli activists and five internationals, went with five flocks to the valley near Mitzpe Eshtamoa to claim their right to access their own fields. When the shepherds arrived in the valley they found a Star of David created with stones and rocks on Palestinian-owned property. Palestinians, Israeli activists and internationals together removed the stones and rocks, cleaning up the field. At 9:59 a.m. a group of settlers appeared from the outpost, looking toward the shepherds and activists. After about half an hour settlers started organizing the attack, even as Israeli soldiers were inside the outpost.

At 10:53 a group of twenty settlers, half of them masked, stormed down the hill and threw stones with slingshots. Israeli soldiers watched the scene without intervening, even when four settlers ran towards an Israeli activist and beat him up. After that the settlers moved to a nearby hill and continued throwing stones. Only at this time did the soldiers unsuccessfully attempt to stop the settlers. Several minutes later the Palestinian landowner arrived in the valley to show his property document to the soldiers. Settlers also threw stones at the landowner, but they didn’t hit him.

No settlers were arrested or detained by soldiers or Israeli police, the latter arriving on the scene at about 12:00 p.m.

Settlers beating Israeli Activist (Photo by Operation Dove)

Despite this event, the Palestinians from the village of Shuweika are still 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: click here

Video of the incident: click here

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 also considered illegal under Israeli law.]

Military repression following a settler attack in Qusra

7th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Qusra, Nablus District, Occupied Palestine

On the 7th of January in Qusra, two farmers working on their land were threatened by settlers carrying guns. Villagers helped them to chase the invaders away before being violently repressed by the army.

On Friday, at 10:30 a.m., two Palestinian farmers were working their land around the village of Qusra when they were ordered by two armed settlers to stop their work and leave the area. The two farmers refused to obey, and called members of the municipality. Soon, about 50 villagers reached the scene, immediately followed by seven Israeli military vehicles, most of them from the border police. They demanded all the Palestinians to leave the area within five minutes.

When the villagers refused to leave, the army began firing tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades. The attack lasted until 3:00 p.m. Seven Palestinians were injured; four of them were less than eighteen years old.

The two settlers responsible for the attack are from the illegal colonial outpost Raheir, totaling less than ten permanent residents.

Friday’s events mark the 65th recorded attack on the village of Qusra in the past two years. Since the beginning of January, 88 olive trees have been destroyed by the settlers and one young man suffered a severe head injury. In the year 2013, 870 olive trees were destroyed and 30 people were injured, five of them severely. 3,11 dunums of land were annexed and access to 500 more was declared forbidden for Palestinians for “security reasons .”

Photo by ISM — Israeli soldiers fire tear gas at the villagers of Qusra (Photo by Mohammed Abu Ridah)

Firms active in the settlements are facilitating abuses of human rights – UN report says

24th January 2014 | European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine | Brussels, Belgium

The UN report is the result of a mission investigating Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Information gathered by the mission shows that private firms have enabled, facilitated and profited, directly and indirectly, from the construction and growth of the settlements. It identified a number of business activities that raise particular concerns about abuses of human rights. They include:

• The supply of equipment and materials facilitating the construction of settlements and Israel’s wall in the West Bank;

•The supply of surveillance and identification equipment for settlements, the wall and military checkpoints;

• The supply of equipment for the demolition of housing and property, including the destruction of farms, greenhouses, olives groves and crops,;

• The supply of security services, equipment and materials to businesses operating in settlements;

• The provision of transport and other services to support the maintenance of settlements;

• Banking and financial operations helping to develop, expand or maintain settlements and their activities, including loans for housing and business development;

• The use of natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes;

• Pollution, dumping and transfer of waste to Palestinian villages;

• The way Palestinian financial and economic markets are held captive by Israel, as well as practices that disadvantage Palestinian businesses, including through restrictions on movement, and administrative and legal constraints.

According to the report, companies active in the settlements are fully aware that they are abusing international law and contributing to violations of human rights.

It also states that Israel labels all its export products as originating from Israel, including those wholly or partially produced in settlements. Some companies operating in settlements have been accused of hiding the original place of production of their products.

The mission also notes that some businesses have pulled out of settlements because it harms their image and might entail legal consequences.

The mission urges private companies to cease operating in the settlements and calls upon all Member States to comply with their obligations under international law and to assume their responsibilities in their relationship to a State breaching peremptory norms of international law – specifically not to recognise an unlawful situation resulting from Israel’s violations.

The report also notes that private companies must assess the human rights impact of their activities and take all necessary steps – including by terminating their business interests in the settlements – to ensure they are not adversely impacting the human rights of the Palestinian People. The Mission calls upon all Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or under their jurisdiction, including those owned or controlled by them, that conduct activities in or related to the settlements respect human rights throughout their operations.

You can read the full report here

Six arrests in three days in South Hebron Hills

January 20th, 2014 | Operation Dove | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Between January 18-20, four Palestinians and two Operation Dove (OD) volunteers were arrested by the Israeli police and army while Palestinian shepherds were grazing their flocks.

On January 18 at 1:04 p.m. seven settlers came out from the illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), entered the Humra valley while two of them crossed the Palestinian-owned fields, trespassing in an area to which entry is prohibited for Israeli citizens. In the meanwhile two Palestinian shepherds, accompanied by three OD volunteers, were grazing their sheep in this area. At 1:14 p.m. the shepherds left for their homes and encountered another group of five settlers. After one minute Israeli soldiers arrived, telling the settlers to move away and declaring the area a closed military zone. Subsequently arriving to the area were an additional nine settlers, several Palestinians and Israeli activists, the Israeli police, Border Police and officials from the District Coordination Office (DCO). Once the Israeli forces start to push the people away from the area the shepherd, Mfaddi Ahmed Rabai, refused to leave the area, claiming his right to remain on his own land. While a policeman and a group of soldiers tried to arrest him, he collapsed on the ground. At 1:43 p.m. the Israeli army forced everyone to leave the area. Palestinians, Israeli activists and OD volunteers slowly came back to At Tuwani. The Israeli police arrested Mfaddi Ahmed Rabai and brought him to the Kiryat Arba police station before the ambulance arrived to check his health. Rabai was released after some five hours of detention.

On January 19 five Palestinian shepherds from Umm Al Kheer and Tuba villages were grazing their flocks in the Umm Zeitouna valley, accompanied by two OD volunteers. At 10:58 a.m. an army jeep arrived and three soldiers chased the shepherds along the valley. After several minutes the soldiers were situated very close to a Palestinian child, so an OD volunteer placed himself between them. The soldier then forcibly took the passport of the OD volunteer. Afterwards the same soldier caught a Palestinian man and asked the other OD volunteer to give him his passport, but he refused. The soldier threaten the OD volunteers with arrest and ordered the other soldiers to bring him to the jeep. The soldiers, the OD volunteers and the Palestinian walked toward a gravel road inside Ma’on. Once there they encountered three settlers, including the settlement’s security chief, and two policemen. The police officers collected every detail about what happened and declared that the OD volunteers and the Palestinian were under military arrest. At 12:40 p.m. the army brought them to the Kiryat Arba police station by jeep. Those arrested waited several hours inside the police station without knowing the charges against them. At around 5:45 p.m. the Palestinian shepherd was released after the policeman took his fingerprints. The OD volunteers were released at around 8 p.m. after been interrogated for 45 minutes total.

On January 20 at around 8:20 a.m. two Palestinian children from Umm Al Kheer were chased by Israeli soldiers while leading their flocks to the grazing areas in the nearby valleys. Meanwhile another Palestinian went up the hill facing the village to tape this chase. To that hill arrived two settlers, three soldiers, seven women from the Palestinian village and at 8:44 a.m. the Israeli police also arrived. The security chief of Karmel settlement told the police that two women on the hill tried to stone him. After half an hour the police arrested the Palestinian women and brought them to the Kiryat Arba police station. They were released at 3:35 p.m. without any charge.

The villages of At Tuwani and Umm Al Kheer are situated in the South Hebron Hills, defined as area C. According to the Oslo accords, area C is part of the West Bank under full Israeli civil and security control. As like many of the Palestinian villages located in area C, At Tuwani and Umm Al Kheer suffer from settlers and military intimidation and violence. As a result, the Palestinian residents encounter great difficulties in accessing their own lands for their everyday farming activities.

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

Photo by Operation Dove