Tag: Settlers

‘Silwan is the next Hebron’ : an interview with a resident of Silwan

17 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

On 14 May 2011, the ISM went to Silwan, East Jerusalem after hearing about the tragic death of Milad Ayyash, a Palestinian teenager, who was killed during the Friday demonstrations against the Occupation in Batten Al Hawwa. Milad Ayyash was pronounced dead in the early hours of May 14. His death came as tensions rose between Palestinians and the Israeli army due to the Naqbah demonstrations which occurred all throughout the West Bank, Lebanon, Egypt and the Golan Heights, on the 15 May.

We interviewed Nihad Siam, a Palestinian activist for the Wadi Hilweh Information Centre who also arranges sports activities for the youth in the district in the Maada Centre.

Can you please describe what happened at the Friday demonstrations (13/05/2011) in Silwan, East Jerusalem?

The demonstrations usually begin after the Friday prayers which end in the early afternoon. There are usually violent clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinian residents and this occurs every week. On this particular day, the ‘shubab’ (young men) threw Molotov cocktails at Jonathan’s house (Beit Yehonatan*). These settlers are always making problems for Silwan residents, they have guards and are armed. The settlers in the area, it’s like…choking. They have no right to be here, they make life hard – for what reason?

The Molotov was a reaction against the harassment the Palestinians experience here. There is nothing we can do about it as the police arrest us if we complain against the settlers. This has happened to me. The protest tent that we have now, at the bottom of the hill, was in Wadi Hilweh. The settlers attacked it, I told them to leave, that this was private and one of them said to me; ‘no place is private, this is all ours.’ I reported them to the police but the settler said I had attacked them and I was arrested.

So the Molotov cocktails were thrown, and then what happened?

There were many witnesses on the day who can contest that Milad was sitting away from the shubabs, he was watching from a distance. It was after these Molotov cocktails were thrown that the protestors were shot with ‘dum dums’ (rubber coated steel bullets) by the Israeli army. The shubabs closed the road by burning tyres and at some point at around 2pm, Milad was shot from the roof of Jonathan’s house, by a settler or a settler guard we are not sure. The shubabs threw more stones and it got more intense.

We were told afterwards that inside his body, it was…torn, like…’digging,’ it tore his insides and came out the other side. We have never seen this before, it’s new. The hospital tried to give him 16 units of blood but it didn’t work he was continuously bleeding, His BP was 40 when he got to hospital which is pretty much dead. The family probably wanted things to calm down before they announced his death.

Have the police questioned anyone to find out who shot Milad?

No. Nothing has happened.

Can you tell us a little bit about Silwan and why it is so important to Israel?

Silwan is Old Jerusalem, it started here. There are holy places for Muslims, the Jewish and Christians. This was the City of David 3000 years ago and the history of Silwan goes back 5000 years.

Silwan is made up of 10 to 11 neighbourhoods. There are about 55 000 Palestinian residents living there. The first settlers to move into Silwan were a family made up of approximately 7 or 8 people in 1991. There are now 350 settlers living in the area. They are required to carry arms by law and are also provided with armed security guards. They are a state within a state. They arrest people like they are policemen. They take the Green Line where they want. Israel is the only country in the world without declared borders.

What do you think the future is for Silwan?

‘Dundura’ [Arabic for ‘revolution’] as the shubabs would say! Palestinian people can’t handle the situation anymore, I know someone who told me he feels he cannot breathe. We don’t need new technology or anything they promise, we want to live like the farmers, simple, quiet, restful. We don’t need all these things they want to give us. We are Palestinian people. We are from the beginning of history. Leave us.

*Standing at least 4 stories above the surrounding Palestinian homes. Jonathan’s House, or Beit Yehonatan, has been home to eight settler families since 2004 where it was built without license by an extremist settler organisation, Ateret Cohanim. Ateret Cohanim was founded in 1978 and is dedicated to encouraging Israeli Jews to move to live in East Jerusalem. Analysts say, illegal settlements together with outposts, such as Jonathan’s house, which in total are home to approximately 200 000 Jews, is to jeopardise any peace agreement that might offer Palestinians a state, with Jerusalem as its capital.

CPT: Rampaging Israeli settlers invade Palestinian village of Tuba

16 May 2011 | Christian Peacemaker Team

(Tuba, South Hebron Hills, West Bank) Late last night, Israeli settlers invaded the village of Tuba, damaged property, and killed and stole several sheep belonging to the Ali Awad family. Palestinians of Tuba reported that they counted seven masked settlers, who entered and left the village on foot, and saw two cars at the outskirts of Tuba, near the chicken barns of Ma’on settlement.

The rampaging settlers stole seven sheep, killed two, and injured others, including one which lost an eye. In addition, the settlers upended three water tanks, which held a total of 4.5 cubic meters of water. They destroyed fences, punctured a storage tent and three large sacks of yogurt, damaged a goat pen and destroyed the ventilation pipe of an outhouse. They also set loose a donkey, which later returned.

Around midnight on Sunday 15 May, internationals from Christian Peacemaker Teams received a call from a Tuba resident to report the settler invasion and request help in urging the Israeli police to come to Tuba. The police refused to go to the village because no one there could speak to them in Hebrew. Two Israeli soldiers arrived in Tuba on Monday morning, but did not speak Arabic and so could not communicate with the villagers.

The Ali Awad family is considering making a complaint to the Israeli police, despite the fact that all their previous complaints about settler attacks, vandalism or harassment have not yet resulted in any indictments or compensation. On 21 March 2011, a masked settler from the illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on stabbed Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad as the Palestinian traveled by donkey from Tuba to the city of Yatta. Mahmoud Ali Awad spent a week in the hospital recovering from stab wounds on his chest and arm.

Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004.

Activists in Hebron accompany farmer suffering from settler attacks

15 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

This past week in the outskirts of Hebron, ISM activists have been helping farmer Abd al Kareim Al Jabari to work his land after him and his family have suffered continuous harrasment from settlers who have prevented them from working their land. In the most recent settler attack on Monday 8th, settlers stole the crops that Abd al Kareim had gathered during the day, took them to another field and tried to set them on fire. To prevent further attacks, he has asked ISM activists to be present whilst he works on his fields.

Six members of Abd al Kareim’s family have been injured after unprovoked attacks by settlers. In 2005 Abd al Kareim’s arm was broken during a prolonged attack. In 2008 his daughter Ayatt Jabari was hurt after being hit in the head by a stone thrown by a settler. Since Palestinian vehicle movement is restricted in the area, Ayatt Jabari had to wait two hours before the ambulance arrived.

Eight years ago a tent serving as a synagogue was raised on the family’s land. The High court has ruled that it should be removed from the private land, but it still remains, despite several complaints and protests from the family and Palestinian, Israeli and international activists.

The family’s land is situated in between the illegal settlements of Kiryat Arba and Hava Oat in the east of Hebron. Hava Oat is a small settlement situated on the top of a hill opposite the main entrance to Kiryat Arba. Kiryat Arba is the biggest settlement in Hebron with approximately 7200 illegal inhabitants. Settlers have made a walkway through the fields of the family. Subsequently, settlers pass by through the fields throughout all the day.

Villagers of Jaloud protest their electricity being cut

13 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Today the village of Jaloud held a non-violent demonstration against the decision of Israel to cut off the electricity of seven families living on the outskirts of the village. The villagers and several international organizations marched from the village to the aforementioned houses carrying banners protesting the theft of their land and electricity. Jaloud, which is home to nearly 1,000 villagers is, according to the plan of the District Coordinating Office located in area B. However a small number of properties fall into area C outside of this plan, despite being inhabited for over 80 years and have recently been served with notices that they will have their electricity cut off. They have been given a court date of 19th May, where they will be able to object to this decision. Village Mayor Abdullah Haj Mohamd says that he doesn’t know what the families will do if their power is cut as they are reliant on electricity for their everyday life and farm work.

Jaloud, which has been inhabited for over 6,000 years is now surrounded by seven illegal Israeli settlements and a military base. Since the beginning of the occupation the village has lost 80% of it’s land to settlements and it suffers from frequent attacks by the settlers, often at night. The village has also been targeted by the Israeli military who three months ago uprooted and removed 200 olive trees the villagers had planted on their land. This most recent move from the state of Israel can be seen as an attempt to prevent the expansion of the village and force families back into the centre, all the while facilitating the expansion of the surrounding settlements.

Settlers attack a school in northern West Bank

09 May 2011 | Palestine News Network

A group of Israeli settlers attacked on Monday morning a Palestinian school in the southern part of Nablus, northern West Bank.

Witnesses told local media that the settlers smashed windows and put-up a banner and wrote slogans on the outer wall of the school calling for the killing of Arabs.

Israeli soldiers were providing protection for the settlers and did not do anything to stop the attack in the school, the Palestinian Education Ministry announced on Monday.

According residents the school had to shut down today fearing that settlers will attack students, adding that such attacks on the school are committed under the protection of the military