Tag: Tel Rumeida - Page 5 - International Solidarity Movement

Palestinian man successfully harvests olives for the first time in 14 years

20th October 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil team | Tel Rumeida, Occupied Palestine

Today in al-Khalil (Hebron) Hashem Azzeh, a Palestinian man living in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood was able to successfully harvest his olives, on a certain part of his land, for the first time in 14 years.

Hashem, and volunteers from ISM and CPT pick from his olive tree. Part of the illegal settlement can be seen in the background.

Hashem and his family live in H2 (the area of Hebron under full Israeli military civil and security control), right next to the illegal settlement in the heart of Tel Rumeida.

Since the year 2000, Hashem has applied for a permit from the Israeli authorities to harvest his own olive trees but has been either denied, or received “permission”, and had his olives stolen by Zionist settlers.

This year, Hashem received a permit to harvest six trees today, and along with his brother and activists from ISM and Christian Peacemakers Team – Palestine (CPT), he began to work on his land. Two colonial settlers soon arrived an attempted to convince the Israeli police and army present that Hashem´s land belonged to them and that he should not be picking olives on “their land”.

Despite the attempts to prevent Hashem from picking on his land, the group succeeded in harvesting all of Hashem´s olives in that area.

Transcript from the interview

For how long have you and your family lived here?

Actually my family is refugees and we came here near 1950 and my grandparents and parents, so three generations lived in this area here.

How many trees do you have?

In this field I have six olive trees one of it destroyed from there and removed totally. But from up there I have another 50 olive trees.

When did you last get a permit to pick your olives from your own land?

The settlers and the Israeli army have prevented us from taking our olives since 2000. I filed applications to take my olives; they gave us permit in the year 2007. In 2007 I said to my self even though I have this permit why wouldn’t the settlers come and attack us? So I invited international activists, ISM, CPT [Christian Peacemaker Teams] too. They came here and we started to pick the olives but the settlers came and started to attack us. The Israeli solders did not do anything for that and they took all of our olives. Last year in 2013 they gave us our permit at 8^th of October to harvest our olives, but the settlers came on the 3th of October and stole them. So we have not got any olives since 2000.

So this year I am so happy, this year we have the permit today 20^th of October and with the coordination with ISM we have managed to harvest the olives. I am so happy that I have managed for the first time to get the olives. I am so grateful for ISM and for CPT that came to help me get the olives.

Video: Free the bubbles

30th July 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

At approximately 1 pm on July 28^th, international volunteers made giant bubbles with Palestinian children to celebrate Eid, in Tel Rumeida, al-Khalil (Hebron).

Several settlers passed by in their cars and were visibly annoyed, and two stopped to complain to the Israeli soldiers present. At 1:30 pm, a group of settler youth started pushing Palestinian children who were playing on Tel Rumeida hill.

Several Palestinian women stepped in to prevent the violence. Shortly after this, more setter children and a settler woman, who identified herself as Tzippi, came down from the illegal settlement of Tel Rumeida and began aggressively photographing Palestinians.

Tzippi claimed that her children had been assaulted. She pushed several Palestinians and put her camera extremely close to several of their faces. One Palestinian girl tried to run away and Tzippi chased her up the street. Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers pushed Palestinians an attempted to force some of them into their houses. Eventually, Tzippi chased the Palestinian girl into her own garden. She was then joined by more settlers. An international volunteer blocked her path, by standing with his back to her with his arms outstretched. Soldiers then rushed into the garden and started shouting at Tzippi.

After a short time the Israeli police arrived. The settlers wrongly accused several Palestinians and the international activist of pushing them. These lies were contradicted by several videos that showed what happened and were shown to the police.

Nevertheless, five Palestinians and the international volunteer were arrested by the Israeli police. They were held for around seven hours, and interrogated. One of the Palestinians remained in handcuffs and leg chains throughout his detention.

Meanwhile, the settlers wandered around the police station pointing out Palestinians who they claimed had assaulted them. These Palestinians were all together in a room with no other Palestinians, and were either in chains or behind an interrogation desk in connection with this case. The “identification” process was therefore of no evidential value.

During his interrogation, the police told the international activist that the settlers were very angry and had filed a complaint about the bubbles. The police officer said that he was not taking that particular complaint further because, “it is not illegal for Palestinian children to play.” The police also accepted his account of the incident. However, they police nevertheless took the fingerprints and DNA of those who had been arrested and only released them subject to strict conditions.

The Roman tree

7th June 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

At approximately 1:00 pm on June 4th, a burning olive tree was located in the vicinity of Tel Rumeida, al-Khalil (Hebron). The Palestinian firefighters extinguished the fire with no assistance from the occupying Israeli military.

As an occupying state, Israel is legally responsible for providing adequate services and aid for those living in the occupied territories, however this responsibility is often neglected.

The burnt tree is one of many in the area to be considered part of the “Roman Trees”, said to be thousands of years old.

Near where the fire started, a plastic fuel canister with the word “diesel” written in Hebrew was found.

When the Palestinian farmer who owns the land contacted the Israeli police, they claimed that video footage did not show a vandal starting the fire. When the farmer asked if the Israeli police would consider opening an investigation, he was simply told no.

This is only the latest in an ongoing plot to destroy olive trees and crops in Tel Rumeida in order to construct a military road through the area.

Action alert: Letter writing campaign against criminal activity in Tel Rumeida

19th May 2014 | International Solidarity Movement | Occupied Palestine

The Israeli occupation uses many methods to take over land – from settlements and military camps to the nature reserve and political treaties. However, the Abu Haikal family of Tel Rumeida in Al-Khalil (Hebron), faces a much more unexpected enemy: archaeologists. Currently, the family home is completely surrounded by an Israeli archaeological excavation – there is only one gate into the property, which can be shut at any time, leaving the family isolated from the surrounding city.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologists – many of whom live in the surrounding illegal settlements – began digging in Tel Rumeida on Janury 5th, 2014. They claimed they were looking for the graves of Jesse and Ruth, figures from the Hebrew Bible. The IAA has also stated their intent to turn the area into a ‘Biblical Archaeological Park’, depending in what the dig turns up.

(Above text written by the International Women’s Peace Service).

Since the IAA began the dig in Tel Rumeida, the Abu Haikal family have been subject to threats, violence, and general criminal activity on their own land, such as plans to destroy or move an ancient olive tree belonging to the family.

Feryal and Arwa Abu Haikal sitting under their olive tree, trying to protect it from damage or destruction (photo from https://www.facebook.com/groups/Save.telrumeida/).

Video from the Christian Peacemaker Team in Palestine

Now the family are calling out for a letter writing campaign to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The letters should complain about the criminal activity in Tel Rumeida and demand that the IAA intervene and put a stop to these breaches of law.

The IAA have an online form for contact on their website, so please write your own letter or copy the one below.

http://www.antiquities.org.il/contact_us_eng.asp

* * * * * * *

Mr. Shuka Dorfman, director
Israel Antiquities Authority,

Dear sir,

I was shocked to hear reports of officials and workers of the Israel Antiquities Authority being involved in criminal activities in Tel Rumeida, Hebron. Apparently they have been involved in criminal damage to neighbouring properties, trespass, assault on international observers and damage to cultural heritage.

Emmanuel Eisenberg appears to believe that he is above the law. He has been filmed making racist comments and issuing threats to the Palestinian residents of the area. For the IAA to retain any credibility I would think you would need to discipline him and hold him to account.

This criminal activity and damage to cultural relics strengthens the perception that many people hold that IAA’s activities in Tel Rumeida are not guided by principles of scientific archaeology but are a political ploy to enable extremist Jewish settlers to steal more land from Palestinians, which is contrary to international law.

I trust you will act speedily in this matter before any more property is damaged, trees destroyed or people injured.

Yours sincerely

Fighting for the history of Tel Rumeida

17th May 2014 | International Women’s Peace Service | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

At first glance, the presence of an archaeological site seems quite positive, or at the very least harmless, however a quick look at the politics surrounding the Tel Rumeida excavation shows that this is far more sinister than a simple historical inquisition.

Under the Oslo Accords, the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) must coordinate all of their work in the West Bank with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. In Tel Rumeida, Palestinian officials have been denied entry.

IAA archaeologists – many of whom live in the surrounding illegal settlements – began digging in Tel Rumeida on January 5th, 2014. They claimed they were looking for the graves of Jesse and Ruth, figures from the Hebrew Bible. The IAA has also stated their intent to turn the area into a ‘Biblical Archaeological Park’, depending on what the dig turns up.

While no uniquely Jewish artifacts have been found, Palestinian officials confirmed that the settler-archaeologists have destroyed several Muslim graves that were found on the site. Residents of Tel Rumeida have reported that IAA employees are also in the process of bulldozing an ancient Canaanite retaining wall. For them, the deliberate annihilation of non-Jewish history in Hebron is anything but innocuous.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority has been a tool for settlement expansion and land grabs in the West Bank for a long time, including the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan, the town of Khirbet Susiya, and other settlements within Hebron. The strategy is simple: Archaeologists enter an area and search for signs of uniquely Jewish history. When a site or artifact is discovered – or possibly fabricated – the area is declared to be an integral part of the ‘Jewish State’. To ‘protect’ the land, a settlement is built on top of the site, driving away the Palestinian owners.

Video courtesy of Christian Peacemaker Teams