4th October 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Operation Dove | Qawawis, Occupied Palestine
The destroyed olive trees (Photo by Operation Dove).
Yesterday morning, 3rd October, Palestinians discovered 48 olive trees destroyed alongside bypass road 317 near the South Hebron Hills area village of Qawawis.
The olive tree grove belongs to Ali Shetat from Qawawis and had been planted six years ago. At 10 am yesterday morning the owners, several internationals and B’tselem staff members gathered near the destroyed trees, waiting for the police. After 20 minutes the Israeli police and army arrived on the scene and documented the incident.
On May 10, 62 olive trees were cut during the night in a field next to bypass road 317, near the village of At Tuwani. On a small wall near the olive grove the slogan “price tag for those who steal” was found. The “price tag policy” (Hebrew: מדיניות תג מחיר) is, according to B’tselem, the name given to “acts of random violence aimed at the Palestinian population and Israeli security forces” by radical Israeli settlers.
The number of Palestinian-owned trees uprooted and damaged in the South Hebron Hills area from the beginning of 2013 now stands at 139. This is a substantial increase over 2012, when 101 olive trees were damaged.
Just in the last two months and right before the olive harvest season, 22 olive trees were destroyed in this area.
Olive trees are an essential resource for the Palestinian community in the South Hebron Hills area, and their damage causes serious economic loss.
5th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Jinba, Occupied Palestine
Stun grenade thrown into a home (Photo by ISM)
On Wednesday night, the Israeli army carried out a lengthy and violent invasion of the village of Jinba, in Masafer Yatta, south of the West Bank. The army was reported to have been led by two Israeli settlers from the illegal outpost of Mizpe Yair.
The army raided and ransacked twenty houses in Jinba, beating several young men in the process. People were woken up by stun grenades, which in one case the occupation forces threw directly into a house. Another stun grenade was thrown directly at a person, who was sleeping outdoors.
The Israeli army proceeded to break doors and raid Palestinian homes. During these raids, five people were beaten by soldiers, including a 4 year-old, named Ibrahim Jabarin. Ibrahim was hit by the soldiers in the face as he walked in front of them when they entered his home. The others were Thaar Khaled Jabarin, 16, Ahseen Nabil Jabarin, 12, Odi Jabarin, 21 and Sophian Raba’e, 15. Odi Jabarin was woken up by the soldiers beating him with their guns. He suffered several blows across his body, and severe injuries on his left leg.
Three men were then arbitrarily arrested during this raid and released hours later. Mahmoud Isha Ibrahim Raba’e was woken up by the army breaking into his house at 1 a.m., as they smashed his belongings, and he was then arrested and handcuffed. He was released at 9 a.m.
Home ransacked by the Israeli forces (Photo by ISM)
The raid was carried out over settler claim for a sheep
The two settlers accompanying the soldiers in Jinba yesterday claimed that the Palestinians had stolen one of their sheep. In fact they tried, with the cover of the army, to steal away one of the rams belonging to a Palestinian farmer; however they were stopped by the villagers. The ram in question purportedly worth 1600 dollars and is used for breeding purposes. This would have been a significant loss of property for the farmer, given that people in Jinba depend on animal husbandry for survival.
Mahmoud Raba’e posing with his ram, that settlers tried to steal (Photo by ISM)
Jinba is one of the villages in Masafer Yatta that lies in the area that Israel has designated as “firing zone 918”. This area is the land of 12 Palestinian villages that are threatened with mass demolitions, which is illegal under international law[1]. This would mean the forced displacement of all of their residents. Recently, violence by the Israeli army has escalated over the region in the time leading up to a major court decision concerning the fate of the South Hebron Hills.
[1] See Hague Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, U.S.T.S. 539 (entered into force January 26, 1910) and Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 75 U.N.T.S. 287 (entered into force Oct. 21, 1950).
27th June 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Susiya, Occupied Palestine
Today, June 27, 2013, the Israeli Civil Administration served thirty-four demolition orders in the Susiya village, which is in Area C and surrounded by the Israeli colony of Suseya. Due to previous demolition orders, every existing structure in the village is now threatened with destruction if they do not obtain permits by July 17.
Original copies of all the demolition orders served today (Photo by ISM)
The residents of Susiya include more than thirty families, who were all evacuated from their homes in the old Susiya village and forced to relocate 200 meters to the southeast, in 1986. Susiya residents collaborate with the nearby villages in Masafer Yatta, a closed military “firing zone,” also in Area C and threatened with demolition. On July 15, a hearing will decide whether all the villages in Masafer Yatta can be evacuated by the military. Hafez Huraini, leader of the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee and himself a refugee from 1948, emphasizes that the villagers in Susiya are targeted simply for existing, so everything they do from grazing sheep to visiting family members in the nearby city of Yatta draws violence from the Israeli military and the local settlers.
Susiya has faced six mass demolitions since the establishment of the Israeli Suseya colony in 1983. The last wave of demolitions in 2011 repeatedly displaced 37 people including 20 children [1]. Residents of Susiya, most of whom rely on subsistence agriculture, are subject to some of the worst living conditions in the West Bank. Their houses were destroyed by Israeli forces and they now live in tents and shelters, paying more than five times the price nearby villages pay for water and consuming less than 1/3 of the WHO standard per capita [2]. Settlers have violently denied Susiya residents access to over 300 hectares of their land, including 23 water cisterns. Documented cases of settler violence include beatings, verbal harassment and destruction of property. Settlers then annex parts of the land by exploiting the Palestinian owners’ inability to access their land.
Of over 120 complaints that have been filed based on monitoring from Rabbis for Human Rights, regarding settler attacks and damage to property, around 95 percent have been closed with no action taken. In 2010, when 55 Susiya residents petitioned the High Court to be granted access to their land, the State responded that it intended to map land ownership of the area. Since then they have only closed to settlers 13% of the land Palestinians have been denied access to, reversing only one incursion [3].
Susiya has been the site of creative non-violent resistance for years, resistance that is continually met with brutality. Events have included marches, picnics on land likely to be confiscated, and Palestinian “outposts.” This coming Saturday Susiya will be part of a festival in the South Hebron Hills aimed at raising awareness about the situation of Masafer Yatta residents and stress their right to remain on their land [4]. In the words of Hafez Huraini, coordinator of the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee, “We will not give up.”
Sources:
[1] Strickland, Patrick O. “Palestine’s Front Line: The Struggle for Susiya.” Palestine Note RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2013.
[2] “Susiya: At Imminent Risk of Forced Displacement.” Susiya: At Imminent Risk of Forced Displacement – OCHA Factsheet (30 March 2012). N.p., Mar. 2012. Web. 27 June 2013.
9th June 2013 | Operation Dove | Umm Al Kheer, South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine
On Saturday June 8 an old Palestinian man from the village of Umm Al Kheer, Suleiman Aid Yameen Hadleen, was detained for more than three hours by the Israeli army while affirming his right to access his own land. In the last two days the soldiers denied the Palestinians from Umm Al Kheer the access to their own land until Sunday morning, without any official order.
Israeli forces chasing away Palestinian shepherds from the hilltop (Photo by Operation Dove)
The above-cited land is on a hill that belongs to Hadleen family. On the top of it the settlers of Karmel Israeli settlement in 2011 planted some olive trees and about two weeks ago built a small tent. Two days ago the settlers started to dig holes on the ground with the intention of planting more olive trees in a row that would go along the top of the hill, preventing Palestinians to enter the land behind it. That hill is crossed everyday by Palestinian shepherds, since it is the only way that takes to the valleys grazed by their sheep.
On Saturday June 8, three Palestinian shepherds with their flocks, together with other Palestinians, Israeli activists and international volunteers were chased away from the top of the hill by the Israeli army. Suleiman remained on the place in order to affirm the right to access his privately-owned land until he was brought into one of the army jeeps present on the place. According to his statement, he was blindfolded, beaten and driven around in different army jeeps. The soldiers also prevented him from praying. He was detained for more than three hours and left with no explanation in the Palestinian village of Ar Rakeez.
Umm Al Kheer is a Bedouin village in Area C (under Israeli civil and military administration) built in 1948. It is located nearby the Israeli settlement of Karmel built up in the beginning of the ’80s and still expanding. The village experiences periodic harassment from Israeli settlers and army.
Operation Dove maintains a constant presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.
Palestinian shepherd arguing with Israeli border police officers just before he was detained (Photo by Operation Dove)Israeli border police officers carrying away Suleiman Aid (Photo by Operation Dove)
31th May 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine
During the last week Israeli military presence has increased dramatically in the area which Israel designates as Firing Zone 918, in the occupied West Bank. In recent days, military vehicles and helicopters have been surrounding villages in the area, including an incident on Sunday, when a helicopter landed in the village of Jinba, terrifying the inhabitants. International accompaniment of children from Al-Fakheit primary school continued until yesterday, 29th May, which was the last day of school and the final exam for the children. The Israeli military had previously threatened to confiscate the jeep which takes the children to school, stating that it was in a “closed military zone”.
Al-Fakheit primary school (Photo by ISM)
On Wednesday 29th May, a group of armed soldiers came within close proximity of the school as the children were arriving for their exams. This made pupils and teachers extremely worried. The soldiers remained there until the end of the school day.
At the same time a large group of soldiers was camped outside of the nearby village of Jinba, where they appeared to be doing military training within only metres of the houses. The soldiers also stayed in Jinba during the night. The harassment of locals did not end with the intrusive presence of the Israeli military. Last Monday night, Israeli soldiers invaded Jinba and beat a shepherd from the village. Two more beatings of shepherds have been reported in the nearby villages of Mirkez and Halaweh, also in the “firing zone”.
Additionally on Wednesday, Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Ma’on tried to erect a tent on a Palestinian road linking the village of Tuba with At-Tuwani. Palestinians from nearby villages arrived to prevent the creation of yet another illegal outpost on their land. At the same time, the Israeli military demolished some settler structures in the illegal settlement of Ma’on, to partly comply with the court ruling about the illegal presence of settlers there. Later in the day, the settlers retaliated with a “price tag” attack, burning 5 acres of Palestinian wheat and barley crops.
On the same day the occupying forces, who are responsible for accompanying Palestinian children from At-Tuwani to their school – to prevent attacks by settlers – did not arrive, leaving school children at risk as they had to walk home alone pass the illegal settlement. In the past, Israeli settlers have violently attacked children on their way to school in this location. When international human rights observers asked the military commander why the accompaniment was cancelled, he answered that it was too dangerous for the soldiers, as they fear the settlers themselves (see also Operation Dove report here)
Soldiers near Al-Fakheit primary school (Photo by ISM)
The South Hebron Hills area has witnessed a lot of violence and oppression since the creation of Firing Zone 918 and the establishment of several settlements around it. There are twelve villages in Firing Zone 918, all of which have been threatened in the past with eviction and demolition in order to make way for a huge Israeli military training area, free of Palestinian villages. Eight remain under threat, with a temporary injunction by the Israeli Supreme Court having recently been extended in January 2013. The headmaster of the school in Al-Fakheit said “The Israeli authorities know it is illegal to evict people for military training, so they will try to make people’s lives very bad so they just leave. Then if we leave, they will use the land for settlements.”
The Israeli forces have stated that they wish to create a general military training area in Firing Zone 918. This would be a breach of the 4th Geneva Convention, which states that an occupying force should not destroy property unless it is “rendered absolutely necessary by military operations” – general military training is not deemed “absolutely necessary” in international law.
