Operation Dove: Israeli army fails to protect Palestinian children

According to a new report released by Operation Dove, Israeli authorities have been increasingly intransigent in their obligation to protect Palestinian children from settler violence in the South Hebron Hills this school year. The mandatory Israeli military escort that is supposed to ensure that Palestinian children arrive to school safely failed to walk with the children 95% of the time since the school year began in September. Soldiers and police also behaved aggressively towards Palestinians, forcing a pregnant women to spend 30 minutes at a flying checkpoint, for example, and aided settler harassment of Palestinians.

Palestinian schoolchildren in the West Bank from the village of Tuba. They face settler violence on their way to school. The Israeli army is supposed to escort them to school but is remiss in this duty (photo: flickr/delayed gratification)

The month of December was characterized by increased Israeli military and police actions against the Palestinian communities of the South Hebron Hills. Several demolition orders were delivered to the community of Susya, including against a school, water tanks and trees. During a non-violent demonstration in the same village, a Palestinian male child was arrested. In some cases, as in the village of At- Tuwani, soldiers harassed  local Palestinians, threatening and prohibiting them from calling the  international volunteers of Operation Dove. There were random checkpoints and inspections, sometimes in the middle of the night, such as occurred in Umm Fagarah. In one case, soldiers stopped a car carrying a pregnant woman and sick child at a flying checkpoint outside of At-Tuwani; soldiers forced the family to remain there for more than thirty minutes. This month also saw Israeli settlers perpetrate violence against Palestinian property, destroying six olive trees.

Problems with the military escort of school children from Tuba and Maghayr Al-Abeed

During December, the Operation Dove team registered 20 days of school. Although the military escort arrived on time, only in a few cases did the soldiers walk with the children, as mandated.

While the escort arrived on time in December, it has been late 54% of the time since the beginning of the 2011-12 school year in September, causing students to lose more than 13 hours of school.  The soldiers did not walk with the children along the path in almost 95% of the cases, such that the children’s safety was not guaranteed. Since the beginning of the current school year, the soldiers refused to walk with the children in over 73% of the mornings. Furthermore, the soldiers did not escort the children already from the beginning of the path in over 47% of the cases, waiting instead for the children to come to them. .

In the afternoons, the children were forced to wait 4 hours and 32 minutes in total for the army to escort them back home. In nine cases the children were forced to wait  for more than five minutes, in three cases for over 30 minutes and in one case the children waited more than one hour. Since the beginning of the current school year, the escort forced the children to wait 50% of the time in order to return home. The soldiers refused to walk with the children in 75% of the time and did not fully complete the escort to the end of the road in the 80% of the school days, leaving the children alone on a dangerous stretch of the path.  (the remaining 20% of the times of missing data).

In the afternoon of December 1^st , while children were walking to school, a settler with his sheep crossed the road, forcing the children to halt. A soldier left the jeep and spoke with the settler. After a few minutes the soldier returned to the jeep and the children continued their walk, followed by the escort.

On December 20^th, , a marathon was conducted on Road 317, and several army jeeps were patrolling the area. Following conclusion of the marathon and one hour late, the military escort arrived at the gate to accompany the children. The escort returned back soon, probably it left the children before the barns, without complete the patrol.

In the afternoon of December 27^th, two soldiers arrived for the afternoon escort by foot and without a jeep. They waited for the children on the top of the hill, forcing the children to walk unescorted along a dangerous stretch of the path.

Soldiers and police aggression

In the morning of December 3^rd during a demonstration in the village of Susiya village, a demonstration organized by Susiya residents and Palestinians from neighbouring villages, a Palestinian boy was arrested. Some fifty people, including men, women, children and Israeli and international peace activists, had been walking  with flags and chanting slogans for peace along a road blocked by the Israeli army. The work to improve the road conducted by local Palestinians is considerate illegal by the Israeli administration. The peace activists arrived at the block of land that was hindering movement on the road and began working to clear the way, accompanied by the singing of protest from women and children.

With the arrival of the Israeli army numerous children walked toward the soldiers, singing and waving flags. Soldiers subsequently arrested a Palestinian boy child who they claim to have damaged a truck with a flag. In an attempt to prevent the arrest,  an international peace activist was hit in the face by a policeman’s elbow.

The Palestinian boy was grabbed by three police officers  and taken away in an army van, which sped toward a woman who was attempting to stop the arrest. Furthermore, an elderly woman was yanked and pushed by a solider in this action..

On December 6^th, the District Coordination Office (DCO) delivered 14 demolition orders for 14 structures in the village of Susiya,  included against homes and 2 water tanks. The stop working order for the school (which includes the road leading to the school, 4 toilets, a water tank and several trees) became a demolition order on December 25^th.

In the evening of December 7^th at 9.30 pm, a family from the Palestinian village of Al Raakez called the international volunteers of Operation Dove. Two volunteers arrived to find six  Israeli soldiers searching around an empty house near the village. The six  soldiers subsequently approached a village home,  inspecting all nearby structures and questioning the four owners, two of whom were women. After checking a nearby house, the soldiers went to the abandoned village on the hill behind Al Raakez. The Israeli soldiers eventually went toward the Palestinian village of Umm Fagarah, where they checked the mosque under construction and afterwards went to a family to inspect the area around their house. The Israeli soldiers spoke with a local Palestinian man and finally left around 11 pm. The soldiers told the Palestinian that they were looking for weapons and drugs.

On December 10^th, around 11 am, Palestinians called Operation Dove after six settlers from the nearby settlement of Havat Ma'on arrived at their house.

Four soldiers harassed the Palestinians, threatening to arrest them if they were not allowed to enter the house. After that came a border police jeep and a DCO car. One settler came closer to the village and a border policeman went to speak with him. The Israeli army soldiers pushed the settlers inside Havat Ma'on outpost. At 11.04 am a police jeep arrived as did three Israeli activists who spoke with Israeli soldiers. When the situation quieted down, the police left At-Tuwani.

On the afternoon of  December 16, internationals saw an Israeli army jeep and a police jeep heading towards the Palestinian village of Umm Fagarah. Along the way they stopped a car with two people inside, asking for documents. After few minutes they left and stopped near the mosque in the village of Umm Fagarah. The policemen checked a car parked alongside a house-tent, asking for the driver's identification.

On December 20^th at noon the Israeli army closed the road that connects At-Tuwani to the Palestinian city of Yatta at the intersection of road 317 for an Israeli race from the settlement of Karmel to the settlement of Suseya along the Israeli road. A military hummer and four border policemen stopped in the middle of the road at the entrance of At-Tuwani village, while two soldiers placed stones on the road to Al-Birqueh. After a few minutes, an army jeep joined the two soldiers. Around 12:30, four women from At-Tuwani crossed the road and  the soldiers stopped them and checked their bags. A short time after that, soldiers stopped a van, one car and one tractor (for a total of 10 people and a child) and one car with two people inside. After 1 pm soldiers stopped two vans and a car (including a woman, 15 teachers, and 6 children) and, after that, another three cars and a tractor. At 2:10 pm, the runners finished their race and the soldiers left.

(As this report includes only people identified through photographs and videos, the total number of people checked by the Israeli army is greater than stated here).

Finally, at 2.07 pm, one military jeep went to escort to home the children from Tuba and Magyar Al Abid, who were waiting from 1:15 pm.

Checkpoints

In the month of December, the Israeli army held a number of flying checkpoints where the road to At-Tuwani connects with road 317.

On December 9^th soldiers put a nail grill on the street and a stop sign. They waited for twenty minutes but, when no cars came, they left. The same occurred on the morning of December 10.

On December 11^th the soldiers stopped a car with 5 people inside (2 men, a pregnant woman and 2 children). All of them got out from the car except one of the children, who was sick. The soldiers said that they were waiting the Israeli police because the car was not allowed to pass. While the family stood on the side of the street, the soldiers stopped other two cars, both with two men inside, for just a moment to check them. Two internationals and a Palestinian from B'Tselem spoke with the soldiers who let the family go at 4.07 pm, after more than 30 minutes.

Also see the above-mentioned incident during which soldiers shut down a road and erected a flying checkpoint so that Israelis could hold a race from one settlement to another.

Settlers' harassments and aggressions