15 August 2011, Alternative Information Center (AIC) המרכז לאינפורמציה אלטרנטיבית
http://www.alternativenews.org (Israel)
Ahmad Jaradat, Nikki Hodgson, Alternative Information Center (AIC)
During the months of May and June, settler attacks against Palestinian civilians continued, with most of the attacks targeting agriculture land in the northern West Bank.
The attacks, including damage to agriculture property, burning of olive trees and destruction of wheat crops, appear to be systematically targeting land near settlements, and many Palestinian farmers fear that the settlers are organizing attacks in order to confiscate land for the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Numerous attacks also occurred in Hebron, resulting in at least three Palestinians needing medical attention, including a six-year-old boy.
Hebron and South of West Bank Region
On the afternoon of May 3, at least ten settlers from the different outposts in downtown Hebron attacked a number of Palestinian homes located on Martyrs Street (Al-Shuhada Street) in the Old City. Some of the settlers were armed. An eyewitness, Neif Da’na, reports that the settlers threw stones at homes and also residents who happened to be walking or working nearby. They targeted the home of Al-Sharabati and some shops were also attacked. Resident Mofeed Sharabati said, “This is not the first time the settlers from the outposts in the city attacked our houses. Such attacks often happen and we informed the Israeli military officers in the city, but there has been no change.”
On May 7 at noon, settlers from the outpost of Ramot Yashai in downtown Hebron tried to arrest two children on Martyrs Street (Al-Shuhada Street). According to many eyewitnesses, around 20 settlers--most of them youth-- stopped Marwan Mufeed Sharabati (6 years old) and Waad Zaidan Sharabati (7 years old) and tried to take them away. When the families intervened, a number of Palestinians gathered and came to rescue the children, a physical fight occurred between the settlers and the residents. During the fight, six-year-old Marwan was beaten by the settlers and subsequently taken to Alya Hospital in the city. The soldiers who later arrived asked both the settlers and the residents to go away, but they refused to record the case when the Sharabati family asked them to document the event.
On May 10, settlers the from Beitar Ilit settlement in the western Bethlehem District damaged and uprooted 80 new olive trees belonging to the farmer Naji Shosha from the village of Hosan. The targeted land is located near the settlement and was burned by settlers several years ago. The settlers also damaged the fences around his property. Shosha said, “From time to time the settlers attack my land. They don’t want me to plant or rehabilitate it because they want to confiscate it. Since last year I have presented three complaints and appeals to the Israeli Civil Administration in the Bethlehem District against the settlers’ aggressions. The officers there promised me they would stop them, but it seems no real procedures have been taken to prevent the settlers from their attacks.”
During the afternoon of May 15, a group of settlers from the Kiryat Arba settlement, East of Hebron, attacked the Is’afan family home with stones and Molotov cocktails. Their home is situated near the settlement and the family was forced to crowd into one room of the house to avoid injury from the attack. Jamal Is’afan reported that some of the furniture was burned because of a fire set by the Molotov cocktails. The Is’afan family informed the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), which came and documented the case. Some of the previous attacks have even happened in the presence of TIPH. The Is’afan family added that their house has been attacked many times and it has become “the objective of the settlers to force us to leave this area because it is very close to the settlement buildings and they wish to confiscate it and include it as part of the settlement.”
On May 21, 21 year-old Hebron resident, Azmi Ek-Shouyokhi, was injured when a settler chased him and drove into his car while they were driving. Ek-Shouyokhi reported that “the settler pursued me while I was driving my car on the bypass road, south of Hebron. When I discovered that he wanted to attack me, I tried to drive quickly and escape to a side road. However, the settler followed me and tried to force my car off the road. Some other settlers with him got out from the car and attacked me with their fists and stones. Palestinians nearby informed the ambulance officers in Hebron, who came and took me to Al-Ahli Hospital.”
On June 9, settlers from Kiryat Arba burned around 20 dunams of olive trees on Jalis Hill, near the settlement. The Hebron Municipality Fire-Brigades came and extinguished the fire. The targeted trees belong to the Irmaila, Ja’bari and Al-Jamal families.
On June 14, settlers from outposts in downtown Hebron stoned Palestinian homes on Martyrs Street ( Al-Shohada Street). Resident Abed-Elrahman Salaima reported to the AIC that more than 40 settlers, some of them armed, stoned his house and two other homes belonging to Idrees Zahida and Ali El-Nazer. He added that the soldiers who were near the checkpoint didn’t stop the settlers, despite being informed of and also witnessing the attacks.
On June 18, eight settlers from outposts in downtown Hebron attacked 21-year-old Inas Hisham Abo Halawa. Inas reports that “in the afternoon while I was walking to my home in Tel-Romaida, near Al-Shuhada Street, eight young settlers stopped me and for no reason, began beating my back and face with their hands and stones. I was injured and taken to the hospital and spent two days there for treatment.”
Nablus and Northern West Bank
On May 3, a group of settlers from the Itzhar settlement in the southern Nablus District entered the village of Hawwara at midnight and attacked the Secondary School for Boys. They burned the room that is used for prayer in the school. The Israeli army arrived and recorded the case. The day previously, settlers entered the village of Karyout, east of Nablus, and began demonstrating and shouting slogans against Arabs in the streets of the village. The Israeli army, which forced the villagers to stay home for three hours until the demonstration ended, protected the demonstrators.
On May 3, a settler from the ‘Ale settlement south of Nablus attacked farmers working their land near the settlement. Farmer Radi Farhan Ahmed Issa, 45, was beaten by the settler, a man by the name of Koren who is known to the farmer because he frequently attacks local residents. Issa says that “we got permission from the Israeli Civil Administration to enter our land because it is located close to the settlement and we need permission to enter. When we entered the land in the morning and started working, Koren came. He was armed and took a knife to the wheels of our tractor. Then he pointed his gun at us and asked us to leave or he will shoot. We went to the soldiers nearby and showed them the permissions and told them what happened, but they didn’t care. Now we will follow the case on the legal level.”
On May 9, around fifteen settlers from the settlements in the northern West Bank entered the Secondary School for Girls in Al-Sawiya village to the south of Nablus District at night. The settlers painted and wrote racist slogans against Arabs on the school walls. Ahmed Sawalha, Director of Education Office in southern Nablus, reported that “this school has been targeted many times in the last years and in general there is an increase in settlers attacks against schools in the Nabuls District by settlers. The attacks usually occur at night and are detrimental to the education process.”
On May 14, settlers from Itzhar stoned a car belonging to Wael Abbas while he was driving on the main road near the settlement. The front windshield shattered and Wael’s face was injured from the shattered glass. His wife, who was also with him, was injured when a stone hit her in the head. Both were taken to the hospital in Nablus.
During the afternoon of May 22, around 20 settlers from the settlement of Tapuah in the Salfeet District attacked several women from the Yasouf village, east of Salfeet. The event happened while the women were driving back to their homes. When they reached the Za’tara road, they saw around 15 settlers, some of them armed, and an army vehicle. The settlers then proceeded to throw stones at the women’s car. Ahlam Adnan Harb, one of the women who was in the car, said that “the settler threw stones at our car and broke one of the windows. The soldiers who were at the site didn’t stop them. The driver of the car drove away as quickly as possible to avoid the stones.”
On May 30, dozens of settlers from the settlements in the north of the Ramallah District tried to enter the Senjel village at night. The settlers stoned several homes located near the perimeters of the village. The residents gathered to stop them and a physical fight broke out between both sides. Israeli soldiers arrived and fired tear-gas at the residents. The event continued for two hours, during which several individuals were affected by tear-gas and the windows of homes were shattered.
On May 30, settlers from Itzhar burned agricultural land belonging to families from the Madama village. The targeted site is called Al-Sha’ra and around 27 olive trees were burned. The Chairman of the Local Council in the village, Ihab Al-Qat, reported that “when we heard about the event we called the fire brigades in the Palestinian Civic Defense, and they were able to extinguish the fire. It is important to mention that this is not the first time settlers from this settlement have burned or uprooted trees in this place. Any time they attack, we know they are trying to prevent the farmers from reaching their fields and trees and thus make it easier for settlers to annex or confiscate the land for the settlement.”
During the night of May 30, over 1000 settlers from many settlements in the West Bank entered Joseph’s Tomb to the east of the city of Nablus. Under the protection of the Israeli army, the settlers were led by a number of Jewish religious leaders. The Tomb is in Area A and according to the Oslo Accords, the settlers do not have the right to be in the area. However settlers, in cooperation with the Israeli army, regularly visit the area to pray. During these times, the settlers also attack nearby Palestinians homes, frequently targeting homes in the Balata refugee camp and Iskar village. They usually stone homes and shout racist slogans. The soldiers then declare the area a military zone and impose a curfew on the nearby villages and camps until the settlers leave.
On June 9, settlers from Halmish near Ramallah damaged three dunams of wheat by spraying chemical substances on land belonging to the farmer Fadil Abdilhameed Tamimi from the village of Diar Nitham. According to the Land Defense Committee Director in the village, Safi Tamimi, this land was attacked last year in a similar manner.
In the evening of June 16, ten settlers from Itamar in the southern Nablus District burned 15 dunams of planted of olive trees belonging to farmers from the Rojeeb village. The land is located in Barakat El-Marah and belongs to Hafez Sulaiman Idwaikat and Ahmed Hafez Idwaikat. Local sources said that when the villagers found out what was happening, they immediately went to the area and saw some 10 settlers fleeing the scene.
In midday on June 17, settlers from settlements in the northern Ramallah District burned around 35 dunams of wheat belonging to farmers from the Al-Mughair village. The owners informed the Israeli Civil Administration about the event, and Israeli soldiers and army officers later arrived to record the event. They promised to open an investigation but the owner commented that “we do not believe them because, in our experience, they promise a lot when these things happen and then no legal actions are taken against the settlers.”
On June 30, around 30 settlers--most of them armed--from Itzhar burned 40 dunams of olive trees belonging to farmers from the villages of Karyout and Boreen. Local resources said that the settlers arrived at noon and burned the land located near the settlement. A Palestinian Fire Brigade came from Nablus and extinguished the fire. During this time the settlers threw stones, trying to prevent the brigades from reaching the area.
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