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Hebron Region
*On 12 February,
settlers from Kiryat Arba’ planted on portions of the land on Jabal Jales hill,
east of the city and near the settlement. One year ago, the Israeli authorities
issued an order to confiscate around 100 dunam on the hill. The land belongs to
the Ja’bari, Zaro and Liddawi families. The Palestinian owners of the land brought
the case in front of the Israeli Supreme Court, however the court has yet to
make a final ruling. The settlers therefore planted in violation of the Israeli
legal system in an attempt to create facts on the ground in advance of the court
ruling.
*On 13 February, the the
Israeli authorities began working on a settlement road in the Om Tal’ site,
near the Migdal Oz settlement to the north of the Palestinian town of Beit Ummar, in Hebron
District. The land belongs to the Abu Ayyash family. Issa Sulaibi, Chairman of
the Local Committee against the Separation Wall and Settlement project in the
town, stated that “200 dunam will be isolated inside the new road, and most of
this land is planted of olive and grape trees.”
* On 15 February, three
settlers from the settlement of Sosya to the south east of Yatta, cut 26 olive
trees. The land that was targeted by the settlers is located 200 meters to the west
of the settlement and belongs to the farmer Ahmad Ali Nawaj’a from the Palestinian
village of Sosya. This is not the first time that
the settlers have cut and uprooted trees in the area. Last year the settlers committed
many such aggressions. The Local Committee in Sosya village reports that the
aim of all attacks is to force the farmers to leave their land and to complete
the confiscation of this land for expansion of the settlement project.
*On 18 February, around
40 settlers from Ramot Yashai and other settlement outposts in the downtown of Hebron threw stones at Palestinian
residents who were walking in the main road near the outpost. Jinat Hashem Azza,
aged 14, was hit in the back with a stone and injured by settlers while she was
walking to her home in Tal Romeida, close to the outpost. Hashem Azza, the
uncle of Jinat, said “We went to the [Israeli] police station in the city to
make a complaint against the settlers, but they told us to come the day after and
they didn’t take the matter seriously.” On the same day, settlers from Sosya
settlement, south east of Yatta town, attacked the house of Khaleel Salama
Nawaj’a in the Palestinian village
of Sosya, located on the
north south of the settlement. Nawaj’a was injured in his face when five
settlers attacked him with stones. In another location, settlers from Kiryat
Arba’, to the east of Hebron
city, stoned some houses and shops in WadiHusain, to the south of the
settlement.
* On 19 February,
settlers from the Avraham Avino settlement outpost, and other outposts in the
downtown of Hebron,
renewed their attempts to demolish a wall of the Aqbat Mosque and other Palestinian
homes. The settlers have entered the mosque without permission many times. The
settlers brought a bulldozer, but Israeli soldiers tried to prevent them from
doing it. The aim of the settlers is to expand the outpost. During this action,
dozens of settlers threw stones at houses and at residents who came to protest
the settler’s actions. Six year old Ghandi Owewee was injured by stones that
the settlers threw at his family home. The Mayor of Hebron, Mustafa Natsha, stated
“what the settlers are trying to do in the downtown is very dangerous and it
makes the life of the people very difficult.”
*On 20 February, an Israeli
Army office issued an order to confiscate one dunam that is located near the
Karmi Tzor settlement, south of the Palestinian village of Beit Ummar.
The land belongs to Mahmoud Abid al-Rahman al-Hamid, who found the order on his
land. He reports “I went to work on my land, and there I found an order put on
the fence of the settlement. It was written in Arabic and Hebrew, and it came
under the number 167159. It was written that the Army will take possession of
the land for establishing a water station for the near settlement Karmi Tzor.”
Abdilhadi Hantash, from the Land Defense Committees in Hebron said that this is a target for the expansion
of the settlement. Eight dunam were confiscated last year.
* On 23 February, the Tayseer
Abu Aisha family in Tal Rumaida, near the outpost of Ramot Yashai, reports that
settlers from the outpost renewed their attacks against the family’s home. Two
days ago, the settlers from the same outpost beat 39-year-old Rima Tayseer Abu
Aisha, and a child, Raja Abu Aisha with stones. Both were injured in face and
hands.
*On 25 February, around
ten of settlers from the Beit Hadassa settlement outpost in the downtown of Hebron attacked two Palestinian
homes near the outpost, the homes belong to Mofeed Sharabatee and Jamila Shaladah.
Sharabati said that “the settlers came and tried to damage the doors of the
houses and they damaged the water pipes that supply water to both houses. It is
not the first time that the settlers attacked both houses…many times they did
such aggression and we know that they want to force us to leave our houses to
expand them for the outpost.”
*On 1 March, four
residents from the Palestinian village
of Samou’ in the south of Hebron, were injured by a
group of settlers from Shama’. The farmers were injured while they were working
their land near the settlement. The settlers tried to force the farmers to
leave the land. The farmers, who were injured with stones are Ramadan 70-year-old
Abu Kibash, 60-year-old Ali Salem Abu Kibash, 32-year-old Ahmed Abu Kibash, and
22-year-old Ali Ramadan. The settlers, numbered around 20, and some of them
were armed. A week ago, settlers from the same settlement killed seven goats in
the area belonging to the Abu Kibash family, by firing on them. The settlers claimed
that this land is part of the settlement.
*On 3 March, around 20
armed settlers from Beit ‘Ain settlement, west of the Palestinian village of Beit
Ummar, north of Hebron, threw stones at homes in the village of Saffa and some
of them opened fire on home of Aref ‘Adi, and stoned it, breaking windows.
* On 13 March, settlers
from various outposts in downtown Hebron
engaged in many attacks against Palestinian residents in different places in
the downtown of the city. Settlers from the Ramot Yashai outpost threw stones
at homes belonging to Hashem Azza and his brother Hisham Azza in Tal Romaida
near the outpost, and other settlers stoned and attacked some residents who
were walking in the main street. Nine-year-old Sahar Riyad Abu Hazza’ was
stoned and injured on his back. Another group of settlers from Avraham Avino,
in the center of the city, attacked workers of the Hebron Rehabilitation
Committee. The settlers want to prevent the workers from rebuilding a house in
the city. The settlers threw stones and empty bottles on workers who were consequently
forced to leave the location.
* On 16 March, settlers
from Ma’on and other settlements in the south hills of Hebron damaged seven dunam of planted wheat
by cultivating it. The land belongs to Daoud Husain from the village of Sosya.
The land that was targeted is located to the south of the settlement outpost
called Givat Ma’on. Hafiz Huraini, a member of the Local Council in the village
said “The settlers did this aggression
at the time there is a decision from the Israeli Supreme Court that gave to the
owner the right to work and invest in his land and prevent the settlers from
using it.”
*On 16 March, an
Israeli Army office issued an order to confiscate 830 sqare meters of land near
the settlement Road 60, to the east of the Palestinian town of Halhul. According to the Army officer, the
aim of the confiscation is to build a new watch tower to protect settlers who
drive on the road. The land belongs to Khaleel Mousa Abu Yousef from the Halhul.
Halhul Municipality resources stated that if
they will build this tower “More land will be confiscated, and the farmers will
not reach their land. We still didn’t know what the meaning of this tower is.” At
this time, there is already another military tower 250 meters to the north of
this land.
*On 19 March, hundreds
of settlers from Kiryat Arba’ and other settlements in the area took over homes
belonging to the Rajabi and Barad’yya families. The house is composed of three floors,
and the total area of the house is 3000 square meters. It is located on the Alras
site, to the west of the settlement. The settlers claim that they bought the
land which the house was built on, at the time the owners of the houses said
that they bought the land 15 years ago and never sold it to the settlers.
During their staying in the house, the settlers stoned many houses nearby and
they closed the main road that the resident use to reach their homes. Anyway,
the case now is in the court but the settlers continue their aggressions
against the residents. For example, on 21 March, settlers marched on the main
street near the house and stoned homes and residents, raising slogans against
Arabs like “death to Arabs.”
Nablus and the North of West
Bank
* On 13 February, a group
of settlers under the protection of the Israeli military entered the
Palestinian village
of Deir Nizam to the northwest
of Ramallah city. The settlers stoned some houses. On the same day, settlers
uprooted 50 olive trees belonging to Mahmoud Ahmad Nassa from the village. The
targeted land is located near the settlement of Hamish to the east of the
village. Local sources in the village said that for one month, Israeli soldiers
have prevented farmers from reaching their land and it appears that the land
will be confiscated to expand settlement road number 454 that leads to the
settlement.
* On 15 February, a group
of settlers from the settlement of Miskyut to the north of the village of Wadi Maleh, attacked shepherds from village.
These settlers forced the farmers to leave their land that is located near the
settlement and they took six goats. It is not the first time the settlers have attacked
the farmers there: on many occasions, settlers gave killed goats and sheep and
taken animals that belong to the farmers. They claimed that they are part of
the settlement.
* On 16 February, the
Israeli Army offices in Tulkarem issued an order to confiscate more land
located near Annab and Avni Haivits settlements in Tulkarem. The new order,
number 5-77T, is meant to expand the borders of the settlements. Suhail
Sulaiman, Chairman of the Local Committee against the Separation Wall in the West Bank, said that “The aim of this order is to take
more land and to establish fixed cameras around the settlements and it means
that the farmers will lose more land and trees. So, we and the owners raised
the issue to the Israeli courts to reject the order. The farmers have all
ownership documentation of the land.”
* On 24 February, the
Israeli authorities began leveling and damaging land near the settlement road leading
to the Bracha settlement, in the Nablus
district. The land belongs to Sulaiman Qassem Najjar from the village of Boreen,
south of Nablus.
Tens of trees were uprooted during the work, the aim of which is to expand the
settlement road.
*On 4 March, six armed settlers
from Gil’ad, near the village
of Tal in the Nablus
District attacked 65-year-old farmer Suliaman Abed Alazeez Hamed, while he was working
in his field with his wife. The place is located in Algharbi Wadi. Suliaman reports that the settlers came from
the settlement and told him to leave the place, when he refused they stoned him
in the head and injured him. He was taken to Rafidya hospital in Nablus for treatment.
*On 26 March, hundreds
of settlers from many settlements in the West Bank
and other Israelis engaged in a big march and came to stay for one day on land
where the Homesh settlement was located. The settlement had been dismantled in
2005, when the Israeli Government ordered the dismantling of four settlements
in the Jenin district. The settlers came under the protection of the Israeli military.
They chanted that they will come back to the place, and that the action is a protest
for the dismantling of the settlements. The settlers threatened that they will
rebuild the there. Boaz Hatestni, one of the organizers of the march, said that
“We will come back and there are 30 settler families ready to stay in Homesh.”
Saleh Hantooli, the mayor of the nearby Palestinian town of Selit
Daher said “During the march, the Army closed all the streets
between Tulkarem, Jenin and Nablus
and all the roads in the area that link the villages. They prevented the
farmers from reaching their fields in Jenin too. The settlers, during the march,
raised a lot of slogans like’this is our promised land’ and ‘death to Arabs’.”
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