Two Elderly Palestinian Farmers Brutally Attacked by Israeli Settlers in the Southern West Bank

On April 26th, 2009 at 1:15pm, Israeli settlers beat two elderly Palestinian farmers with stones and sticks while they were working their lands close to Bet Ayn settlement, located in the southern West Bank.  The attack occurred shortly after Israeli soldiers, having observed the two farmers, left the area.  They did not reappear even after the attack.

Both farmers are from the village of Beit Ommar, with lands in Saffa, close to the illegal Israeli settlement.  Abdullah Soleiby, aged 80, sustained two hair-line fractures and received ten stitches to the top of his head after three settlers held him down and repeatedly smashed his head with stones.  His brother, Hamad Soleiby, aged 72, was also beaten though he managed to put his brother on the back of a donkey and take him to the village, where he was briefly treated before being transferred to the hospital in Hebron.  

This is not the first time this family has been the victim of vicious attacks by settlers from Beit Ayn.  In 2006, Hamad’s head was also fractured by masked settlers while farming in the same area.

The day before on April 25th, Beit Ommar farmers accompanied by international solidarity activists, were able to work lands close to the settlement in the same area.  The army and settlers left the farmers alone, though two carloads of Israeli activists were prevented from entering the village earlier that day to take part in the action.

Nonviolent demonstrator killed in Bil'in by Israeli forces

For Immediate Release:

Friday, 17 April 2009: Demonstrator killed in Bil’in by Israeli forces.

A resident has been killed by Israeli forces during a demonstration. Basem Abu Rahme, 29 years of age, was shot in the stomach with a high-velocity tear gas projectile. He was evacuated to Ramallah hospital in critical condition, where he died of his injury. According to eyewitnesses, Basem was on a hill with several journalists to the side of other demonstrators. Soldiers opened fire from 40 meters, aiming directly with the tear-gas projectiles.

The tear-gas projectile, labeled “40 mm bullet, special/long range” in Hebrew has also critically injured American national, Tristan Anderson at a demonstration in Ni’lin on 13 March 2009 when he was shot in the head from 60 meters.

According Michael Sfard, the lawyer representing the village of Bil’in “The Israeli supreme court has ruled 3 times that the route of the Wall is illegal and needs to be moved. However, to date not a meter of the Wall has been rerouted. ”

Please Contact:
Mohammad Khatib (Arabic, Hebrew & English) 059- 891-4541
Abedallah Abu Rahma (Arabic & English) 059-910-7069
Michael Sfard (Hebrew & English) 054-471-3930 or 03-620-6947

For general information:
ISM Media office: 02-297-1824Sasha Solanas (Russian & English) 054-903-2981

Basem Abu Rahme is the 18th individual to be killed by Israeli forces during a demonstration against the Wall.

List of fatalities:

February 26th, 2004:Muhammad Fadel Hashem Rian, age 25 and Zakaria Mahmoud 'Eid Salem, age 28Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu.

February 26th, 2004:Abdal Rahman Abu 'Eid, age 17 Died of a heart attack after teargas projectiles were shot into his home during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu.

February 26th, 2004:Muhammad Da'ud Saleh Badwan, age 21Shot during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu. Muhammad died of his wounds on March 3rd 2004.

April 16th, 2004:Hussein Mahmoud 'Awad 'Alian, age 17 Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Betunya.

April 18th, 2004:Diaa' A-Din 'Abd al-Karim Ibrahim Abu 'Eid, age 23 Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu.

April 18th, 2004:Islam Hashem Rizik Zhahran, age 14 Shot during a demonstration against the wall in Deir Abu Mash'al. Islam died of his wounds April 28th.

February 15th, 2005:'Alaa' Muhammad 'Abd a-Rahman Khalil, age 14 shot dead while throwing stones at an Israeli vehicle driven by private security guards near the wall in Betunya.

May 4th, 2005:Jamal Jaber Ibrahim 'Asi, age 15 and U'dai Mufid Mahmoud 'Asi, age 14 Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Beit Liqya.

February 2nd, 2007:Taha Muhammad Subhi al-Quljawi, age 16 Shot dead when he and two friends tried to cut the razor wire portion of the wall in the Qalandiya Refugee Camp. He was wounded in the thigh and died from loss of blood after remaining a long time in the field without being treated.

March 28th, 2007:Muhammad Elias Mahmoud 'Aweideh, age 15 Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Um a-Sharayet - Samiramis.

March 2nd, 2008:Mahmoud Muhammad Ahmad Masalmeh, age 15 Shot when trying to cut the razor wire portion of the wall in Beit Awwa.July 29th, 2008:Ahmed Husan Youssef Mousa, age 10Killed while he and several friends tried to remove coils of razor wire from land belonging to the village.

July 30th, 2008:Youssef Ahmed Younes Amirah, age 17 Shot in the head with rubber coated bullets during a demonstration against the wall in Ni'lin. Youssef died of his wounds August 4th 2008.

December 28th, 2008:Arafat Khawaja, age 22 Shot in the back with live ammunition in Ni’lin during a demonstration against Israel's assault on Gaza.

December 28th, 2008:Mohammad Khawaja, age 20: Shot in the head with live ammunition during a demonstration in Ni’lin against Israel's assault on Gaza. Mohammad died in the hospital on December 31st 2009.

Please support my friend Yousef!

Yousef is a good friend of mine, please support him if you are able.

Palestinian Peace with Justice Activist Imprisoned! Urgent Help Needed!

Yousef Abu Maria has been a tireless organizer with the Palestine Solidarity Project, an organization dedicated to nonviolence and solidarity as a means of confronting the Israeli Occupation. He is well known and respected in his hometown of Beit Ommar, as well as by other Israeli and international anti-occupation groups.

Yousef has paid a high price for his activism. In the last 3 years alone he has been arrested 4 times, all for his work as a social justice and anti-occupation activist. He has been constantly harassed and his family, including two small children, terrorized by the Israeli military, who have taken him from his home in the middle of the night. Once, he was “accused” of “hosting internationals”, another time he was held for a month in administrative detention before being released on an appeal. He has not been charged or tried in any of these cases, and has come out of prison each time with new ambition and commitment to the liberation his people.

Now Yousef needs YOUR help

Three weeks ago Yousef was once again taken from his home in the middle of the night. He was handcuffed and a hood was put over his head as he was transferred to a jail in a nearby settlement. He was prevented from having any interaction with other prisoners and has not been allowed contact with his family. A meeting with his lawyer was prohibited and he was moved to an “interrogation facility” which is infamous as a torture center used by the Israeli security services. After nearly a week in prison, he was brought before a judge who allowed a continuation of his “interrogation” for 13 days. He has not been charged with anything.
Yousef has a brilliant team of dedicated lawyers working diligently on his case and are our best chance at bringing Yousef home. But to do it, we need YOUR HELP. Yousef is the third member of the PSP coordinating committee to be imprisoned this year and our legal costs are astronomical. In order to continue to provide Yousef with the best possible legal defense, we are in need of funds.

Please Dig Deep
We are all feeling a financial pinch during these difficult times. It is now, more than ever, that we need the donations, small and large, from all of our supporters. No donation is too small. If everyone who receives this message finds a way to donate $25, $35, or $50, we will meet our needs and continue to show our support for Yousef and all the people who are risking their freedom in their fight for rights, dignity, and a free Palestine.

To Make A Donation
Via Paypal on our website: http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/donate
Or via check to our U.S. Address made out to: PSP-NY
And mailed to: PSP-NY
P.O. Box 24281Santa Fe, NM 87502

Israeli forces impose collective punishment on Saffa village following attack on settler youth

April 2, 2009, Israeli forces have imposed collective punishment on the village of Saffa, following an axe attack in a nearby settlement that left one Israeli child dead and another injured. At around 1:30pm, dozens of soldiers entered the village, declaring a 24-hour curfew and preventing residents from leaving their homes. Israeli authorities have said that the military operation was in response to the attack on the settler children, which occurred in the settlement of Bet Ayn, located adjacent to Saffa. However, the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits acts of collective punishment against civilian populations.



After the curfew was declared in Saffa, Israeli forces began conducting several house-to-house searches. Hundreds of men, and boys over the age of 15, were forced into the village mosque where they were questioned by Israeli intelligence officers and had their ID cards checked. At this time, at least three villagers were placed under formal arrest and taken away in army jeeps. Israeli jeeps periodically drove through Saffa and the nearby village of Beit Omar, firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Dozens of Palestinian youth resisted this army incursion, at times responding to the invasion by throwing stones at the jeeps.

The army also took up position in three village residences, in two cases forcing their inhabitants to leave the house altogether without their possessions. Israeli flags were planted on the roofs of these houses. Soldiers occupying the houses told residents that they were positioning themselves in the village to protect Saffa from settler reprisals. Yet the curfew, road closures, arrests, house occupations, and military presence are clearly meant to punish the entire village for what happened to the two settler boys.


The Israeli army also used military bulldozers to close the roads leading into Saffa in at least three places. The villages of Beit Omar and Surif also experienced closures on their main roads in the form of earthmounds. The military gate at the entrance to Beit Omar remained closed for more than 24 hours. The closing of roads in these three villages affects around 30,000 residents. Additionally, several hours after the attack on the settlement, a checkpoint was installed on the main road between Bethlehem and Hebron, just in front of the village of Halhul. Traffic quickly backed up as hundreds of cars had to undergo security checks.



On the following day of April 3rd, a large military presence still remained in Saffa, and most roads in the area continue to be closed. At around 9am, villagers removed an army earthmound between Beit Omar and Saffa. The army returned to build the roadblock again, only to clear the road a few hours later and build a new roadblock on another street. All three houses continued to be occupied by soldiers, though the residents who have been forced to leave their homes have been allowed to retrieve some of their personal belongings.