Tag: South Hebron Hills - Page 19 - International Solidarity Movement

Military exercises in firing zone 918, Massafer Yatta

by Team Khalil

23 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Massafer Yatta, Occupied Palestine

On Monday 21st January over 100 soldiers from the Israeli army held training exercises in the firing zone 918 in Massafer Yatta, also known as South Hebron Hills. The exercises continued throughout the day on Tuesday 22nd January. The Israeli military set up tented encampments near to two Palestinian villages, Mirkez and Jinba. Live fire could be heard in the area until late on Monday evening and on Tuesday.

Israeli occupation forces erected a large tent midway between the army base camp and Jinba. Another large tent was erected in the valley between Jinba and Mirkez, also several groups of soldiers of around ten, camped near the two villages in small tents or ‘bivvi bags’. These camps, some of them less than 50 metres away, surrounded the village of Mirkez, other camps were in front of Jinba and on the hill towards Hallawi. A large military truck was parked on the road near to Mirkez and jeeps and humvees drove around the area. Soldiers constantly walked from one camp to another over the fields where crops have been planted for sheep to graze.

Residents in Mirkez complained about interference from the soldiers when taking their sheep out to graze, being told they could not bring their sheep close to the soldiers. One resident of Mirkez said soldiers had thrown stones at their sheep hitting three of them, he also complained of being a prisoner in his own village unable to move freely. Residents of Jinba expressed similar sentiments saying there were soldiers camped in front of the village and settlements behind.

On Monday afternoon international volunteers talked to an officer at the camp between Jinba and the army base. When asked what the army was doing, the officer said the soldiers were being trained in how to deal with the cold conditions and that they would be there for a week. The officer went on to say they would not enter the villages and the actions of the army were nothing to do with the Palestinians. The international volunteers said the residents were worried by how close the camps were to the villages, especially Mirkez. The officer said that they were thinking of moving one of the camps for this reason. On Tuesday, the only discernible difference was the army truck had moved from the road near Mirkez but soldiers were still camped in the same place where the truck had been.

The presence of the Israeli army holding these exercises in the firing zone 918 is causing worry and distress to the Palestinians living there, as well as disruption to daily life. On Monday afternoon around 15 people were standing in the fields by a fire in front of Jinba concerned for the village and their families. At least one person from the village did not go into work in Yatta on Tuesday in order to protect his loved ones and livestock. The people of Jinba and Mirkez are unable to access and work their lands during such exercises. The sound of live gunfire throughout the day causes anxiety and at night disturbs sleep. The gunfire lasted until after 10 pm on Monday night.

Background

The so called firing zone 918 is an area of 30000 dunams in Massafer Yatta (also known as South Hebron Hills). Declaring it a “closed military zone”, the Israeli army uses the area for the training of its soldiers. There are 12 Palestinian villages within the area and around 1000 Palestinian inhabitants. Currently eight villages are under the threat of eviction. There has been ongoing harassment of the Palestinian residents of the area.

On 16th November 1999 the Israeli military forcibly removed over 700 cave dwellers, eighty-three families, from their caves in the South Hebron Hills, because the Israeli family said they needed the area for a military firing range (designated as a closed military zone for training, or “firing zone 918”). The soldiers confiscated and put the belongings of the Palestinians into military vans. They demolished scores of caves, cave entrances, and wells. Flocks of sheep were scattered. The people and their flocks had to spend the cold winter away from their caves. The people resisted by going to the Israeli High Court. On 29th March 2000 the villages won a partial, temporary victory, when the Israeli High Court ruled that residents who had signed on to the lawsuit in the Israeli High Court could return to their cave homes and land, pending a decision of the case. Finally the High Court decided that all residents could return. (In: Arthur G. Gish: At-Tuwani Journal: Hope & Nonviolent Action in a Palestinian Village, Herald Press, 2008)

For more information on firing zone 918 see also here. Sign a petition calling for abolishing the firing zone here.

Soldiers exercising near Jinba and Mirkez villages

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)

Israeli forces demolish in two villages, damage a crucial road in South Hebron Hills

22 January 2013 | Operation Dove, At Tuwani, Occupied Palestine

On 21st January the Israeli army demolished a building in the village of Ar Rifa’iyya and a water cistern in the village of Hawara. The army went on and damaged the only road that connects the village of At Tuwani and the nearby villages with the city of Yatta in South Hebron Hills. The three villages lie in Area C.

At around 8.30 am two bulldozers and three vehicles from the District Coordination Office (DCO) raided in the village of Ar Rifa’iyya, escorted by five Border Police vehicles. They demolished one house, belonging to Amed Mohammad Jaber Amor and his family consisting of 20 people. His brother Sabbri declared that the house was demolished twice previously because it is three meters outside the village master plan.At 9 am the Israeli forces moved to Hawara village, where they destroyed one water cistern belonging to Musa Abu Aram. The cistern was full of water. This is major damage as water supply in this area is particularly critical. The two villages are located along the road 317.

Afterwards the military convoy and bulldozers stopped at the entrance to At Tuwani village, where they damaged the road connecting the villages in Massafer Yatta area to the northern city of Yatta. At first they destroyed part of the little wall built alongside the road. Secondly they piled these ruins on the street, causing travel obstruction. The local council representative declared that they had never received a demolition order for that street. He added that the council appealed to the Israeli Civil Administration in order to receive a work permission for the street, but no answer was ever received.

“The aim of demolitions is to expel us from here and to take us to the other side of 317 road”, said Sabbri M. J. Amor from the village of Ar Rifa’iyya, “Nevertheless, we will rebuild this house again. Palestinian resistance is like the grass: it gets dry, but when it rains it grows back.”

Background

The policies enforced by the Israeli authorities in Area C restrict the possibility to access to basic needs for the residents and prevent development of Palestinian communities. An OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territories research demonstrates that “in some communities, families are being forced to move as a result of Israeli policies applied in Area C. Ten out of 13 communities recently visited by OCHA reported that families are leaving because policies and practices implemented there make it difficult for residents to meet basic needs or maintain their presence on the land.”

Most of Area C has been designated as military zones and for expansion of Israeli settlements, severely constraining the living space and development opportunities of Palestinian communities. While it is virtually impossible for a Palestinian to obtain a permit for construction, Israeli settlements receive preferential treatment in terms of allocation of water and land, approval of development plans, and law enforcement.

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.

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

Demolished house in Ar Rifa’iyya village

Volvo bulldozer demolishing cistern in Huwara village

Bulldozer blocking the entrance to At Tuwani village — Volvo bulldozer blocking the entrance to At Tuwani village

Earth obstruction at the entrance to At Tuwani village

More photos can be found here.

This must be the place – Campaign for the abolition of “Firing Zone 918” in South Hebron Hills

This must be the place. Sign the petition here.

PETITION

In the southern West Bank (oPt), in the South Hebron Hills, there exists an area called Masafer Yatta. The area encompasses some 1000 inhabitants and twelve Palestinian villages: Tuba, al-Mufaqarah, Isfey, Maghayir al Abeed, al-Majaz, at-Tabban, al-Fakheit, Halaweh, Mirkez, Jinba, Kharoubeh and Sarura. According to the Oslo Accord this is defined as Area C, under complete civil and military control of Israel. . However, already in the early 1970s. Israel declared the area as ‘Firing Zone 918’, a closed military zone.

In 1999 Israeli military forces, accompanied by Civil Administration officials, expelled the inhabitants living within Firing Zone 918, destroying Palestinian-owned private property in the process. The residents petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice, which issued a temporary injunction allowing people to return back to their homes and forbidding the state to expel them until a final decision in the matter was rendered. Notwithstanding, life for Palestinian communities in the area worsened because of settlement expansion in the area and ongoing settler violence. Moreover, Israel’s military and civil administrations carried out demolition orders and delivered stop working orders to area residents, preventing the construction of new houses and the renovation of existing ones.

In April 2012 the Israeli High Court resumed deliberations in the case. On 19 July 2012 the state, following instructions from the Ministry of Defense, submitted a detailed notification to the Court claiming the Petitioners are not “permanent residents” of the firing zone area and hence have no right to live there. On 7 August 2012 the High Court ruled that the state’s announcement constituted “a change in the normative situation” and consequently the specific petitions “were no longer relevant” and thus dismissed. A new petition was then submitted by Palestinian residents of the area and on 16 December the High Court of Justice will render a decision. If the Court rejects this new petition, residents of eight of the twelve villages in Firing Zone 918 will be evacuated and their homes and villages demolished.

Israel claimed that following the 2006 Lebanon War, its security needs increased and that troops now require additional ongoing training and more firing zones are needed, including Firing Zone 918 in the Masafer Yatta area.

However, this Israeli military requirement has no direct relation with the occupation because it refers to general army trainings; as such and according to international law, it is not a ‘military necessity. This means that the planned Israeli measures of eviction and demolition of eight villages within Firing Zone 918 would be unlawful; They are not permitted under the Hague Regulations and would constitute grave breaches of the IV Geneva Convention as according to international law, ‘military general training’ cannot for any reason be considered as a military need.

Moreover if a firing zone for general military trainings is established under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), in no case could expropriations and movement restrictions be justified in the twelve villages located within Firing Zone 918. According to Article 46 of the Hague Regulation, private property must be respected and cannot be confiscated, which includes the destruction of private property for establishment of a firing zone. Under these circumstances, Israel’s planned destruction of the villages with the purpose of using Firing Zone 918 would constitute a clear violation of the Article. 53 of the IV Geneva Convention and would amount to a grave breach according to Article 147. Finally, in the matter of prohibition of forcible transfer, IHL does not differentiate between permanent and non-permanent residents as the Israeli legislation does. Forcibly displacing any of the inhabitants or any community of the twelve villages (either for general military trainings or for their purported lack of building permits) is a violation of Article 49 of the IV Geneva Convention and constitutes another grave breach to Article 147. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), since 1967 Israel has designated about 18% of the West Bank as a closed military zone for the purposes of military training (not including the closed military areas around Israeli settlements, all the lands located between the Separation Wall and the Green Line), rendering the areas effectively off limits for Palestinians.

Firing Zone 918 violates fundamental basic human rights. Its abolition would be a step toward promoting access by Palestinian inhabitants of the area to:

the right of a dignified life;
freedom of movement;
right to private property;
right to education;
right to work;
right to medical care;
freedom of worship.

Given these circumstances, we strongly demand:

Annulment of the Israeli Ministry of Defence decision to evacuate the area;
Abolition of the entire Firing Zone 918;
Respect for the rights and dignity of Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills.

Promoters

Popular Struggle Coordination Committee
South Hebron Hills Popular Committee
Operation Dove – Nonviolent Peace Corps of Association “Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII”
ISM – International Solidarity Movement
CPT – Christian Peacemaker Teams
Ta’ayush
Alternative Information Center
Comet-ME

Get the pdf of the Petition: NoFiringZone918-PETITION

South Hebron Hills: 19 arrested in 24 hours including a mother and her 18 months old child [includes video]

19 January 2013 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Israeli border police arrested today 10 Palestinians and five Israelis, including three women and a child, in the area of Um El-Arayes. Four were arrested yesterday.

Today, Saturday, dozens of Palestinian residents accompanied by Israeli activists, arrived at their lands in the area of “Metzpeh Yai’r” outpost built on the lands of Um El-Arayes in South Hebron Hills. Israeli soldiers immediately declared the area a closed military zone and pushed the activists off the land. In the process, they arrested ten Palestinians and five Israeli activists. Yesterday, Friday, four Palestinians were arrested in the same area.

The nineteen arrestees included four Palestinian women, as well as a mother and her 18 months old child, three minors and an elderly man in his 80s.

The last few months have seen an escalation in the Israeli military’s policy to expel Palestinians and control access to their private lands in the South Hebron Hills. This is contrary to the Israeli High Court and Military Legal Advisor’s claim that they will facilitate easy access by Palestinian landowners to their lands.

Israeli military bulldozers rampage across the South Hebron Hills

by Team Khalil

14 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Israeli military bulldozers destroyed four homes in a morning of mayhem in the South Hebron Hills. The demolitions were carried out by plain clothed officers accompanied by 15 Border Police and two bulldozers.

At 8 am Monday 14^th January the house of Shoib Hathaleen in the village of Um Al Kheir was demolished by the Israeli occupation forces bulldozers. Eight people lived in the house, four adults and four children. Shoib has had a stroke and is unable to speak. The family were able to remove their possessions and pile them up next to the rubble of their home. The house had a demolition order put on it three years ago and on this morning the Israeli military turned up unexpectedly to wreak havoc on this refugee family. Their status as refugees means that the Red Cross who visited the family shortly afterwards has to check with the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNWRA) before supplying them with basic aid such as a tent for shelter from the cold.

From Um Al Kheir two Israeli army bulldozers drove to an area called Shakia, near to the village of Hawara, between Um Al Kheir and Al Dereit. This is a rural area and the houses are spread far apart across the hills. The two bulldozers, acccompanied by Israeli army jeeps and plain clothed officers possibly from the District Coordination Office (DCO) driving in white pick up trucks drove around the area leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

At 9:45 am the next house to be demolished belonged to Ziad Makhamri.Ziad lives in this house for four to five months a year in the spring. Ziad owns a hundred sheep and lives in the house when his flock grazes on the lands around the house which he owns, the rest of the year Ziad lives in the village of Birl Ed. The family recieved a phone call to say the Israeli army were demolishing their house. They turned up to see the house lying in ruins. “The family were given no notice and no reason as to the destruction of their house, there was no demolition order on the building,” a family member Jamille Makhamri, a vetenary doctor said. “This is area C, we did not have a permit to build the house but the Israelis don’t ever give permission to build,” he added. Area C is under full Israeli civil and military control and permissions for Palestinians to build on the lands they own is very rarely granted.

At 10:45 am the home of Waleed Saljbor’s family was destroyed. And at 11:10 am the family of Mohammed Ali Issa Atayet, comprising of fifteen people including children, found themselves homeless as the Israeli occupation forces bulldozed their home.

The Israeli military targeting civilian housing in the middle of winter, leaving people to fend of the bitterly cold weather with little more than the clothes they are wearing, can only be described as acts wonton destruction carried out against farmers who work the land, and refugees.

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)