Beit Ommar farmers continue to challenge closed military zones in order to reach their lands

Saturday, 16th May 2009

On the morning of the 16th, Palestinian farmers from Beit Ommar village with lands in Saffa close to the illegal Israeli settlement of Bet Ayn, defied a closed military zone order issued by the army in order to work their lands. At around 7am, about a dozen farmers and their families accompanied by a large group of Israeli and international solidarity activists, went to their fields in a valley just below Bet Ayn settlement. Farming in this valley is often dangerous, as the villagers face harassment from settlers and the Israeli military.

The farmers picked grape leaves and used tractors to work the fields for about three hours before settlers started to gather at the top of the hill screaming, “death to all arabs.” Within minutes, a jeep of Israeli soldiers and border police arrived and showed a paper declaring the lands a closed military zone. An Israeli solidarity activist countered the order by showing the commander a copy of a ruling from the Israeli high court that states that it is illegal for the army to repeatedly declare closed military zones and deny farmers access to their lands. The commander ignored the court paper and told the farmers and solidarity activists to leave the lands before returning to his jeep. However, the farmers continued to work their lands in the area for about another hour before finishing with their work without interference from the army.

Sunday, 17th May 2009

On the morning of the 17th, two elderly Palestinian farmers returned to the valley accompanied by four international solidarity activists. In an unusual occurrence, the farmers were able to pick grape leaves for several hours without any threats from settlers or the army even appearing to prevent them from working.

Monday, 18th May 2009

On the morning of the 18th, farmers from Saffa attempted to work their lands at the top of the hill overlooking the valley, closer to the illegal Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion. Shortly after the farmers arrived, three settlers appeared and began to walk towards the Palestinian villagers shouting threats and telling them to leave the area. Fearing for their safety, the farmers returned to the village. However, they returned to the same area in the evening at around 4pm. This time, the farmers went out in a large group with women and children and they were also accompanied by four international solidarity activists. After about an hour of working the lands, two Israeli soldiers came down the hill from the settlement and declared a closed military zone. Yet the soldiers lacked the military order that makes the closed area official. After farmers and internationals told the soldiers that the closed military zone was not legal, the soldiers retreated to the top of the hill and watched the farmers until they finished their work about an hour later.

Israeli forces continue to declare farmers’ land a closed military zone

On Saturday, May 9th, farmers from Beit Ommar with lands in Saffa, close to the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit Ayn, were prevented from working their fields after Israeli forces declared the area a closed military zone. At around 9am, about six farmers and their families went to their lands accompanied by a dozen Israeli and international solidarity activists. After they were only in the fields for about ten minutes, a jeep of Israeli border police arrived. The police used a bullhorn to declare the lands a closed military zone and all of the farmers and solidarity activists were ordered to leave.

The farmers initially ignored the order and continued to work their lands. Three more jeeps with soldiers and border police arrived, and the soldiers approached the farmers in the fields. Israeli forces displayed an order from a military court that designated the lands off limits to their Palestinian owners. The farmers then decided to leave their fields and return to the village. As the farmers were leaving, several dozen Israeli settlers, most of them children, gathered at the top of the hill and repeatedly chanted, “death to all Arabs.” One settler was heard shouting, “I will go get a basket for your head,” in an apparent threat against one of the farmers.

For the past month and a half, the Israeli military has repeatedly declared village farmland close to the settlement to be a closed military zone. In addition to harassment from Israeli forces, the Palestinian farmers also face settler violence on these lands. On the April 26th, two elderly Palestinian farmers from Beit Ommar were beaten by thirty masked settlers on the farmers’ agricultural fields close to the 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.

Al-Ma’asara village continues demonstrations despite increased army repression

On the 8th of May, 2009, residents of the southern West Bank village of Al-Ma’asara conducted their weekly demonstration against Israel’s annexation barrier, despite increased repression from Israeli forces. At last week’s demonstration, five nonviolent Palestinian organizers were arrested, and they continue to be held in an Israeli prison. This Friday, Israeli soldiers created at least three flying checkpoints on the roads leading to the village in an attempt to stop participants from reaching the demonstration. Soldiers turned back all Palestinian cars and only allowed settler vehicles to pass. Five military jeeps and two police cars were also stationed at the entrance to Al-Ma’asara, much further into the village than during past Friday demonstrations. Israeli and international solidarity activists who were able to reach the village by going around the checkpoints were showed papers that declared the entire village a closed military zone.

Despite this repression, at around 1:15pm nearly fifty Palestinian demonstrators marched from the village towards the army. The villagers stopped in front of the soldiers waving Palestinian flags and chanting against the occupation. Approximately twenty Israeli and international solidarity activists gathered on the other side of the soldiers, but were prevented from joining the main demonstration. Two Israeli solidarity activists were handcuffed and detained in military jeeps after sitting down and refusing to leave when ordered by the army.

After about 45 minutes the demonstration ended and the detained activists were released. Villagers continue to demand that the five arrested Palestinian organizers be released without charge or trial.

Israeli soldiers break Hebron resident's arm, enter two shops

4 May 2009

On Monday, the 4th of May, a Hebron resident's arm was broken by two soldiers in the old city. 49-year-old Mohammad Hashem Borqan was on his way to pray at the Ibrahimi Mosque at around 5:30am. As he went through the checkpoint at the entrance to the mosque, two soldiers started beating and kicking him. Mohammad fell to the ground, breaking his arm. After the beating the soldiers ordered him to leave the area, and he was forced to take himself to the hospital.

Additionally, at around 2:00pm that same day, seven Israeli soldiers entered at least two Palestinian handcraft shops in the old city of Hebron near the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit Romano. They harassed the shop-keepers, and told them that they were not checking all of the shops in the area, just the ones they felt were "dangerous." The soldiers brought tape measures with them, and measured the entrances to the doors and the lengths of the room. The soldiers also took pictures of the shops, as well as the items on sale. They also took down the details of the shop-keepers' ID cards and asked them such things as where they lived and how many children they had. The soldiers left both shops after around 45 minutes.

Reports from settler violence in the Nablus region

I took the following report for the ISM website about violent Israeli settlers in the Nablus region.

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12 Palestinians injured after settler rampage in Urif village

24 April 2009

At around 5pm on Friday, the 24th of April, nearly 30 masked settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Yizhar rampaged through the Palestinian village of Urif, southwest of the city of Nablus. The armed settlers first gathered at the boys’ high school in the village and proceeded to break doors and windows with metal sticks and farm tools. They then moved towards the center of the village and began to beat Palestinian residents. The settlers also shot at the water tanks on top of the roofs of residences, damaging several. Villagers soon gathered in the streets in an attempt to defend themselves. The settlers opened fire on the villagers with live ammunition.

At this time, the Israeli military arrived and also began shooting at residents with rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition. Israeli forces also prevented ambulances from entering Urif to treat the wounded, and villagers were forced to evacuate the wounded in private cars. Most of the wounded were taken to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. At least 12 Palestinians were injured from weaponry used by settlers and the military. Among the injured include:

Maher Ghassan Safadi, shot in the shoulder with a live bullet

Noor Mustafa Safadi, shot in his leg with a live bullet

Ibrahim Rahdi Sabah, shot in his head with a rubber bullet

Issam Majah Safadi, shot in his hip with a live bullet

Mahmoud Abdel Rahim Safadi, shot in his foot with a live bullet

The father of one of the injured describes the routine violent behavior from Yizhar settlers:

I’m afraid from the continued settler attacks. The settlers from Yizhar are racist and very violent. The settlers also continue to uproot our olive trees and the army does nothing to stop them. The world must act to secure our lands from this violent harassment.

Attacks from settlers from Yizhar on surrounding Palestinian villages is increasing. On the 27th of April, 17-year-old Mohammad Farraj from Madama village was shot in the shoulder by a settler from Yizhar as he was working his lands.

Five Palestinian farmers and two internationals detained while trying to work lands near Israeli military camp

I was one of the internationals detained in the report I wrote below for the ISM website.

30 April 2009

On the 30th of April, five farmers from the village of Asira ash-Shamaliya and two international solidarity activists were detained while trying to farm their lands close to an Israeli military camp.  Asira ash-Shamaliya is a Palestinian village north of the city of Nablus.  An Israeli military camp was built more than ten years ago on the mountain between the village and Nablus.  Lands close to the military camp belong to several Palestinian farmers, who until recently have been too afraid to access their lands due to constant army harassment.

At around 9pm, the five farmers and solidarity activists arrived at the fields with a tractor, a donkey, and a horse.  As soon as the farmers appeared, an army jeep drove up along the military road which connects the camp to nearby Checkpoint 17.  Three soldiers got out and ordered the farmers and internationals to give them their IDs.  The farmers were told to tie up their animals, as they were going to held for a long time.  The farmers and internationals were then detained along the side of the road for more than half an hour, before being ordered into a jeep.

The seven detainees were driven several kilometers away to the illegal Israeli settlement of Shavei Shomron.  The jeep stopped at the entrance to the settlement and the internationals were told that they could leave, but that the Palestinians would be detained for several more hours alongside the road.  At around 12:00pm, the farmers were given back their IDs, and the internationals and Palestinians returned to the village in a public taxi.  Before leaving, the army told the farmers that it was forbidden for them to return to their lands without permission from the DCO.  However, the DCO frequently withholds permission for Palestinians to access their lands close to Israeli settlements or military camps, which are built on stolen Palestinian land.