Settler Violence and Occupation Watch: Report III
October 28th - November 2nd, 2000
On October 28: Building of the Havat Ma'on settlement near Yatta was
renewed by settlers with four caravans, after it was removed 10 months
ago according to a decision by Barak to remove a number of small
settlement in the Occupied Territories. Settlers from Alon Moreh prevented Ahmad Abu Shutayya
of the village of Salem from working on his land. When he refused to
leave they attacked him with stones and injured him. On October 29: Tareg Sadok (aged 15) and Mahmoud Sadog (aged 17) were
injured and hospitalized after settlers from Rahil settlement (near the
village of Garyout south of Nablus) threw stones at their car and
damaged the front glass. At 10 PM, the village of Hares was attacked by settlers
who fired into the village houses. During the clashes that followed the
settlers fired live ammunition and injured Three Palestinians: Murad
Hasan Saleh (aged 20), Muhsen Jaber (aged 21) and 'Azeez Ahmad (aged
25). In addition to the attack, the settlers also cut the water pipes
supplying water to the village. At 5 AM, a settler vehicle arrived at the main entrance
of Augusta Victoria hospital in East Jerusalem. One settler stepped out
of the car and with an automatic gun opened fire directly at the
Palestinians who were present at the yard. One man, hospital guard
Mousa Mahmoud Hazrallah (aged 36), was injured in the shoulder. Seham Mohammed (aged 30) from the village of Baitillo
was run over by a settler from Nahli'el west of Ramallah while she was
out walking with her daughter. The settler ran away and she was left
with head injuries. On 30 October: Settlers attacked Palestinian cars on the road between
Ramallah and Nablus, damaging the glasses of several cars. A student on
his way to Al- Najah University, Waleed Kareem Salameh (aged 20) from
Bait Sahour, was injured in the head by stones the settlers threw. He
was transported to Al-Ittehad hospital in Nablus, where his condition
is considered to be serious. In the morning, three armed settlers from Itzhar
settlement made their way to the fields near Hawwareh and began cutting
trees. When Palestinians approached the fields to try to stop them the
settlers opened fire from a short distance and injured Tayseer Hasan
Sulaiman (aged 46) in the chest. He was transported to hospital, and his condition is serious. Dozens of settlers participated and fired weapons at
Palestinians in the clashes that took place in Hebron, coming from the
settlements of Beit Hadasa, Tal-Rumaideh and others. About 20 people
were injured in these clashes. Ziyad 'Aed Khulail (aged 28) from Bait Ommar was injured in the hand after a settler shot him on the road to Hebron. The lawyer Mohammed Shaheen from Hebron was injured
after settlers from Otniel settlement south of Hebron attacked his car
on the road between Hebron and Dahareyya. Five other cars belonging to
Palestinians were attacked on the same road. This day marks a week since settlers from Houmash cut
the water pipes that supply water to the village of Selit Daher near
Jeneen. On October 31: The Hebron Municipality addressed an urgent letter to the international community and all international
organizations. The Municipality called upon them to take urgent action
and pressure the Israeli government to bring to a stop the violations
against more than 30 thousand Palestinians living in downtown Hebron,
who have had a curfew imposed on them since the beginning of the
clashes. This leaves them vulnerable in the face of constant settler
actions against them, many of which take place during the night and
include attacks on houses, damaging cars, firing weapons etc. On 1 November: At 2 PM, about 100 settlers stopped their cars on
bypass road 60 in the west of Al- Khader. They opened fire on
Palestinian houses located near the road (in Area C) and proceeded to
enter some houses with the cooperation of the Israeli army, especially
in the south of the town. This is the reason for the escalation later
that day as military clashes took place in the town. As a result of
these clashes 4 Palestinians were killed and at least 20 injured (7 of them seriously). 2 soldiers were killed and 3 injured. Settlers from Itzhar settlement near Nablus opened fire
on farmers from the village of 'Oreef while they were gathering their
crop of olives in the fields. Sa'eed Abd-Elhadi Safadi (aged 18) was
injured in his neck and Faleh Mohammad Safadi (aged 36) was injured in
his leg. Both were hospitalized and according to medical sources Sa'eed
was in critical condition. On 2 November: During the night, settlers uprooted about 100 olive
trees in the village of Beta. This action is not the first of its kind-
farmers were attacked by settlers and trees were uprooted in the area
ten days earlier. Ma'ad Ahmad Amarneh (aged 20) and Ali Hussein Tu'ameh
(aged 17) from the village of Guffen near Toulkarem were attacked on
the main road to the village by 6 settlers and sustained head injuries.
Ma'ad said: "While I was driving home after a day's work with Ali, an
Israeli jeep stopped in my direction so I was forced to stop my car.
Then four settlers left the jeep, approached my car and called to us to
step out of the car while directing automatic weapons at us. When we
left the car they attacked both of us in the head and other places,
until many Palestinians came and the settlers ran away." Both Ma'ad and
Ali were taken to Toulkarem hospital. Jamal Khabaisa (aged 55) was injured in the head after
settlers attacked his car on the road near the village of Hawwara. He
was then taken to hospital. This incident took place in the presence of
Israeli soldiers who did nothing to stop the settlers' actions. In Hebron, settlers from Qiryat Arba attacked Arab
houses located near the settlement and destroyed some windows. The
damaged houses belong to: Abu Sammer Da'na, Kareem Ja'baree, Fadil
Jaber and Yaggen Jaber. A settlement road link between Mourag and Gush Kateef
in the Gaza Strip was opened by the Israeli army. For this purpose, a
700 meter road, the army confiscated and leveled about 70 dunams
planted with olive trees. The land belongs to Abu Duhair, who set up a
protest tent in the place.
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