Alternative Information Center - Settler Violence Report 63

? On April 1, a group of settlers from many outposts in the old city of Hebron attacked a shop near Alharam Al-Ibrahimi that belongs to Shawkat Fakhori. The settlers entered the shop and damaged products. Shawkat says ?this attack is meant to force me to close the shop which I recently re-opened according to the last military order to re-open shops in the old city after a full year of closure.? About one hundred shops are still closed in many parts of the city.

? On April 3, three armed settlers from Susya attacked Jaber Hammad Nawaj?a, 75, and his wife Sara, 60. The settlers attacked him using their hands and stones. Jabber was taken to medical center in the village for treatment. On April 2, an armed settler attacked three other residents from the same family in the area. Nawaj?a reports: ?we face routinely this kind of aggressions that aim at forcing us to leave our land located near the Susya settlement. The settlers claim that it is a closed zone and part of the settlement?s land. If they continue their actions and the army allow them to do so, we will lose our land and livelihood from both our livestock and agriculture.? In the last few months, it becomes clearer that the settlers from many settlements and outposts in the South Hebron region increase their attacks against tens of families to prevent them from using their lands. The residents report that this increase of settlers violence followed the military announcement of January 2004 that thousands of Dunam of land south of Yatta are closed military zones 5 months ago.

? On April 4, about 20 settlers from Beit Hadassa attacked Qurtoba elementary school for girls in Al-Shohadaa? Street. The settlers threw stones at the student and the school. The student Shurog Seder, 11, was injured in her neck and was taken to the close clinic. The principal of the school called the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) to help the student to go back to their homes. At the same time, other groups of settlers from the Admot Yishai outpost (Tel Romeyda) stoned Abu Haikal and Abu ?Asha houses near the outpost.

? On April 10, settlers from the Avraham Avinu outpost in the old city of Hebron seized control over the Agbat mosque and placed there beds and furniture. The mosque was transferred to become the home of Zionist Jewish settlers. Imad Hamdan, director of Hebron Rehabilitation Committee reports: ?it is grave violation against the indigenous residents. The army does nothing to prevent the aggression despite the requests by our and other organizations in the city to stop this violation. This means that the illegal take-over is part of the comprehensive policy in Hebron to force the residents to leave their homes in the old city in order to facilitate more for space for the settlers to go ahead with their colonization of the city.? Several organizations in the city, like the municipality and Wagf, issued many statements against this action and called Israeli authorities to force the settlers to leave the mosque. This is a very dangerous move to seize holy Muslim sites.

? On April 11, settlers from Susya, south of Yatta and Hebron, damaged 14 Dunams of wheat that belong to Mohammed Nawaj?a from the village of Susya. Mohammed reports: ?the settlers came to the land with their livestock that ate and damaged crops in my land which is located 150 meters west of the settlement?s fence.? Nawaj?a added that this happened after a full week of attacking his and other families by settlers from the Susya.

? On April 11, settlers from the outpost Beit Hadassa in the old city of Hebron attacked Qortuba School in the night and broke three windows. During the day, settlers from the same outpost chased a student in Al-Shohadaa? Street and stoned them. The student Raja Abu ?Asha says: ?the settlers stoned tens of students who left the school on their way home. Soldiers did niot bother to intervene.?

? On April 13 and 14, settlers from many outposts in the old city of Hebron attacked many houses and residents in the city. Suleyman Matariyya reports: ?tens of settlers, some of them armed, attacked many houses in the old city. My face was injured by a stone. In these same attacks Rami Matariyya, 22, and Jamal Matariyya, 33, were both injured in their heads by stones and taken to a local clinic for treatment. The houses of Mu?taz and Nidal Ja?bari were attacked by settlers and three windows were broken. These actions took place in midnight.?

Nablus and north of West Bank

? On the evening of March 27, around 30 settlers from Eli, south of Nablus, attacked the Az zawiya School for Girls. The school is located near the main road between Ramallah and Nablus. Eyewitness Isma?el Abed Allah reports: ?7 cars full of armed settlers came and opened fire in the air to force the people to leave and then entered the school and classes. The settlers left towards the Eli settlement after the army jeeps arrived at the scene. When we entered the school we saw many windows and doors damaged.? At the same day, around 40 settlers from Shilo, south of Nablus, some of them armed, attacked tens of residents cars on the main road between Nablus and Ramallah. The driver Mohammed Suwwan reports: ?when I reached the checkpoint near Hawwara I saw tens of settlers in a march or a demonstration in the street and tens of Palestinian?s cars stopped in the street because it was impossible to drive on. The settlers were simply blocking the street. I stopped my car like everybody else and was forced to wait until the end of the march. At this point the settlers began to stone our cars. Many windows were broken and my own car was severely damaged. The soldiers at the checkpoint did nothing at all to stop this settlers aggression?.

? On the night of March 29, two settlers attacked the house of the Domaidee family, located near the main street in the Huwwara village. One window was brokeb. Abed al Rahman Domaidee reports ?at 9 pm a settler car stopped on the street, two armed settlers came out and stoned the windows of my house. They also shouted racist curses against Arabs. In the following day I built a wall between the house and the street to avoid such attacks. The settlers then came and demolished the wall. I went to the Israeli Military center in the area to file a complaint. The officer asked me to give him the names of the settlers, because according to him he could not deal with the issue without it. But how can I know their names? I left the office knowing that the Israerli army will never help me.?

? On April 1, tens of settlers from Shave Shomron attacked a bus owned by the Alwaleed Buses Company on the way between Nablus and Jenin. Five of the bus windows were broken and a child was injured. Raja Daraghma, 40, explains: ?we took the bus from Nablus to return home to our villages west of the city. There were some 50 people in our bus, my son Mohammed, 2, included. Three settlers from Shavey Shomron settlement began to stone the bus while on the main road opposite the settlement, my son was injured in his head by pieces of broken glass. He was then taken to the Rafidya Hospital in Nablus for treatment.?

? On April 12, two armed settlers from Elon Moreh entered some houses in the village of Azmut east of Nablus. The settlers opened fire in the air and took a horse belonging to Ra?eq Subaih. Subaih explains: ?few months ago I bought the horse that cost me 4000 NIS. On 12 April two armed settlers from Elon Moreh entered some houses in Azmut, they opened the fire in the place and took away my horse, I followed them, and they went to Elon Moreh. It is not the first time that the settlers commit such thefts. They attack our village many times and including farmers in their fields.?

? On April 14, five armed settlers from Qedumim prevented many farmers from Kafr Qaddum from reaching their land for work. The land is located near the settlement. Farmer Abe El-Hameed Ishtaiwee reports: ?while myself and many other farmers were working in our lands, five armed settlers arrived and pointed their guns in our faces. They forced us to leave our land. This happened in front of the soldiers who were at the scene and did nothing to stop the settlers.?

? On April 13, three armed settlers from Tekoa?, south of Bethlehem, attacked the shepherd Imad Mahmoud Abu Ramis from the village Tuqu while he was shepherding his livestock in his land near the settlement. The settlers stoned his livestock and forced him to leave. They claimed that this land belongs to the settlement. Imad reports that in the last few months the settlers increased considerably their violence against the local residents in and prevent many families from cultivating and using their land.

Land Confiscations and Take over

? On April 14, the army leveled and damaged some ten Dunams of land belonging to the residents of the Qarawat Bani Zeid village, northwest of Ramallah. It is very likely that a new military center in the area is going to be established. During the work, dozens of trees were uprooted.

? On April 14, settlers leveled 15 Dunams of land west of the Ma?n settlement, south of Yatta. The land belongs to Saber Hurainee who reports: ?the ?reason? for the confiscation of my land is to expand the outpost of Havat Ma?on (the Ma?on farm) near the settlement Ma?on. This happened three days after the Israeli army instructed the local council to survey the number of residents in the village and other villages south of Yatta.?

? On April 14, bulldozers leveled tens of Dunams in the land of Kafr ?Ein, west of Ramallah, during work for the construction of the Apartheid Wall. Hundreds of olive trees were uprooted.