19th June 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
Israeli settlers in the Wadi al-Hussein valley neighborhood of occupied Khalil (Hebron) have begun building a new road on land owned by a Palestinian family. The road will be around four meters wide and lead to the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba which is above the valley. When completed it will split two olive groves.
Bulldozers clear the path for the construction of the illegal settler road
The work on the new road began at around 11am as settlers arrived, accompanied by bulldozers and Israeli soldiers and police. Initially, the settlers made a tent and planted their flag, as if doing that could overturn generations of Palestinian ownership of this plot of land. Soldiers also blocked off a portion of the main road and bulldozers dug holes in the ground. A truck full of Israeli recording equipment has also been present on the scene.
The family who own the land were outside watching this happen. Israeli colonizers tried to build this road three weeks ago, claiming they had a court order authorizing it, but were met by widespread resistance and were unable to provide a copy of the court order. See details here. Building continued for the following days.
11th June 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
On the evening of Thursday, 6 June 2013, a fellow activist and I were walking home from an innocent venture to get a refrigerator door in the Prayers’ Road area of the H2 area of Hebron. My companion saw out of the corner of her eye one Palestinian youth throw one rock at one settler car, then scuttle away before anyone could approach him. The settler got out of his car and ran to the nearest checkpoint and gave a description of the Palestinian to the soldiers there. Almost immediately, seven Jeeps full of soldiers arrived on the scene, and we followed a group of soldiers as they dispersed over the area, stopping at every Palestinian home to ask for ID cards and whether there were any shebab (Palestinian youth) in the house. We then returned to the place the soldiers dispersed from and watched in case there were any arrests. Fortunately, to our knowledge, there weren’t any, but the soldiers stayed for hours talking to settlers, including a woman we know to be particularly extreme. At one point my companion approached the soldiers conversing with this settler woman and, as I followed suit, the woman tried to get behind me and stop me from walking, as if she wanted to assault me. I kept on walking as if nothing had happened as my companion pulled me away from the settler woman. The soldiers made no response.
Broken window (Photo by ISM)
We continued down Shuhadah Street to go home, figuring the Souq (marketplace) would be closed down at this late hour; it was well after sunset. We were approached by a group of teenage girls on bicycles, who I misjudged to be Palestinian because most of the settlers here are Caucasian. They asked me if I was Muslim and where I was from; I was nervous because of the hour and in hindsight, I didn’t notice that they were talking to each other in Hebrew and dressed in a way more common for settlers than Palestinians (mid-length sleeves and skirts). Then one of them ran up behind me trying to grab me and my companion came in front of her, warned her not to touch us and pulled me away from the attacking settlers. We detoured up the path Palestinians take to exit Shuhadah Street before the checkpoint and a soldier ran after us with the attacking settlers at his heels. He was yelling at us in rapid Hebrew interspersed with “Passport, passport!” His use of Hebrew, even though we were clearly internationals, seemed meant to confuse and delay us. My companion yelled “But this lot are giving us trouble!” and the soldier was undeterred. She finally argued that we had shown our passports at the last checkpoint and he let us continue.
The settler girls followed us home via Shuhadah Street and, as we passed through Checkpoint 56, they gathered around our house. We later found that the women’s bedroom window in our house had been partially shattered, with a hole in what remained of the window and a rock sitting on the floor. A word of caution to internationals – especially those who, like me, are clearly Muslim – if you travel home via Shuhadah Street after dark.
2nd June 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
On Saturday the 1st June, another group of illegal settlers of Hebron and other settler tourists invaded the old city of Hebron, a Palestinian area which is tightly controlled by the Israeli military. Palestinian homes were invaded by the soldiers and several incidents of violence and harassment were reported.
Settlers and soldiers block streets in the souq – restricting Palestinian movement – (Photo by ISM)
The afternoon was unusually hot and the area was quiet until around four in the afternoon at which point two groups of three soldiers appeared in the old Souq and invaded Palestinian houses, purportedly to use their roofs for surveillance. One of the homes invaded was that of a sixteen-year-old boy who was arrested last week on false charges of injuring a settler – he was in a different city at the time of the injury – and released shortly thereafter. There also was a report of a soldier beating a Palestinian man, kicking him on the head.
The “tour” proceeded from the gate near the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit Romano and through the old city. The Israeli settlers were completely surrounded by soldiers, who refused to let Palestinians through and made them travel by alternate routes. One female soldier had a dog on a leash, and several Israeli border policemen were also present and conversing with settler-tourists. It was clear from a conversation between soldiers that they were irritated by the presence of international observers. One international was also confronted by an armed settler, who demanded his passport and asked provocative questions in a clear act of harassment.
At one point, three soldiers broke from the main group and ran through the old city, intimidating people by pointing guns at passers-by. They then stormed into a Palestinian house, occupying the roof which oversees a Palestinian playground. They pointed their guns down at children playing and also trampled all over a rooftop vegetable garden, destroying a number of plants.
This weekly “tour” of Hebron disturbs the daily lives of Palestinians in the busy Souq of Hebron, which has seen an extreme decrease in trade since the Israeli occupation forces closed Shuhada street, which was formerly Hebron’s busiest market. Rather than closing the Souq, where there are several illegal Israeli settlements, Palestinian residents think the Israeli forces are trying to make life there as uncomfortable as possible and thus pressure them to move out of the area.
Soldier on rooftop pointing gun near playground – (Photo by ISM)Palestinians try to take a juice stall through the souq, blocked by settlers and soldiers – (Photo by ISM)
27th May 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Team Al Khalil | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
UPDATE 28th May: Settlers claim that they will return on 28th May to build a road on Palestinian owned land in Wadi al-Hussein, Al Khalil. No building has yet taken place and settlers have yet to provide any documentation or court order for the road.
******* This morning, 27th May, settlers from Kiryat Arba, an illegal Israeli settlement in the city of Al Khalil (Hebron), started to place road markers for the construction of a road through the Palestinian olive groves of Wadi al-Hussein. They were accompanied by Israeli military and police.
Road marker placed by settlers (Photo by ISM)
Palestinians, including the owners of the land, gathered in the area to stop any attempt of illegal construction in their land and were confronted by armed Israeli settlers, police and army. A number of international observers were there to monitor the situation. The settlers claimed that they had a court order for road construction. However, they were unable to bring any official papers to back this claim.
A while later, some settlers who remained in the area started putting up a tent in the olive groves, unhindered by the police who have the legal duty to prevent them from land theft. They equipped the tent with chairs and surrounded it with Israeli flags.
Wadi al-Hussein is a Palestinian neighbourhood in Al Khalil, which, due to its proximity with the illegal israeli settlements of Kiryat Arba and Givat Ha’avot, has suffered a lot from settler violence and oppression by the Israeli forces.
Settlers tent in the Palestinian olive groves (Photo by ISM)Israeli forces and Palestinian land owners arguing about the settlers tent (Photo by ISM)
26th May 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Team Al Khalil | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
Yesterday the illegal settlers of the city of Al Khalil/Hebron held a walk through the Palestinian souq and nearby neighbourhoods. Prior to this, Israeli forces entered Palestinian homes, occupying roof tops. Throughout the tour Palestinian movement was restricted, and the soldiers controlled the movement of some international observers, while about 50 Zionist tourists and settlers were being escorted by Israeli heavily armed soldiers and police, around the Palestinian neighbourhoods of the old city.
Zionist tourists and settlers marching through the old city of Hebron (Photo by ISM)
About half an hour into the tour, an object was thrown towards the illegal settlers resulting in one receiving a head laceration, briefly disrupting the walk, after which he was able to continue with the tour.
Although it was unclear where this object came from, some soldiers broke away from the tour group and increased the aggressiveness of their patrol, intimidating Palestinians by pointing guns and invading privacy by looking into residents homes. Eventually they entered a house, further away from the location of the incident. At the time of the intrusion three children were alone in the house. The children were scared as the armed soldiers marched into their home, occupied the roof top and remained there for about ten minutes. Human right observers stayed with the children, monitoring the soldiers, until they left the house.
This “tour” of Hebron happens every week and is a regular disturbance for Palestinians in the busy souq of Hebron. Since the closure of Shuhada Street – traditionally the busiest market street in the Old City – more trade has moved into the souq. Rather than close it, many Palestinians believe that the Israeli authorities are trying to make life as uncomfortable and unsustainable as possible, in the hope that Palestinians will move from the area.
Israeli forces escorting the settler tour (Photo by ISM)Soldiers invading the roof top of a Palestinian house (Photo by ISM)
