Alternative Information Center - Settler Violence Report 22

Bottles and metal objects where thrown by settlers in the direction of Palestinian cars, shops and houses in downtown Hebron, in the areas of Sahlah, Shuhada street and Hesba (the old market) injuring Palestinians.

Bilal Jamal Hanafi, 25 years old from Beit Furik village, was beaten up by settlers from the Itamar settlement near Nablus. Bilal was wounded in different places of his body. An eyewitness reports that the settlers attacked Bilal with stones and sticks while he was working in the field. Eventually the settlers forced him off his land by threatening him with a weapon. The area where this incident occurred is the same place where Farid Nasasra was killed and many others injured by gunfire fired by settlers in the month of October last year.

Several settlers from the Susya settlement forced residents of the Yatta village, east of Hebron, to leave their land, which at the time they were cultivating.

The Israeli Authority began to put up new mobile houses outside the settlement of Dugit, north of Beit Lahya, (north of Gaza) to expand the settlement.

Many settlers from the H2 area in Hebron damaged part of the El- Na'eem Hammam (bath) placed in Shuhada Street. The settlers are calling to take over the Hammam owned by Samir Mounir Kasrawi.

Settlers from the H2 area in Hebron attacked a fourteen year-old child, Nassar Abu Hadid while he was on his way home. He was wounded in the head from metal sticks and was taken to the Aliya Hospital were he was admitted in serious condition.

A settler from Psagot settlement opened fire in the direction of a group of children playing in the playground of El-Hashimiyya School. Osama Hassan Yousef was wounded in his leg and was hospitalized.

A settler from Pisgat Ze'ev, north of Jerusalem attacked and beat Mohammad Ibrahim Ghenaim, 48 years old. Mohammed lost his left eye from wounds caused by a metal object thrown in his face. The Settler left him bleeding. Some Palestinian workers found him and took him to the Sankt Yousef Eye Hospital.

The Israeli Authority continued to level land and damage trees in the Beit Lahya area north of Gaza near the Dugit settlement. They damaged 80 dunums planted with orange and lemon trees and damaged 3 greenhouses.

Bulldozers began to level land and uproot trees in the Deir Estiya village in the Salfit district in order to establish a new settlement point. According to the mayor of Deir Estiya, Nafis Mansour, 10 dunums planted with olive trees were damaged. The land belonging to the Awwad and Abu Fares families is located near the Nevim and Bakir Settlements. The settlers have put up 3 new caravans.

2 Palestinians where injured and hospitalized after an attack by settlers on the land of Beuara, east of Hebron. This land has repeatedly been taken over by settlers from the nearby settlement. When the owners of the land came to defend it the incident developed to hand clashes between the two parties. After 2 hours soldiers came and forced the Palestinians to leave and the settlers to stop, yet the settlers brought 4 caravans and a water supply tank to the area.

Hundreds of armed settlers celebrated a Jewish feast in the area of H2 in Hebron, calling slogans against Arab. The settlers entered the Ibrahim Mosque and the military Governor responsible for the area issued a statement proclaiming the mosque closed for Palestinians during the feast. During the celebration, many Palestinians, including some journalists, were attacked by the settlers. A closure was imposed on the Palestinians in H2.

Armed settlers from the Tel Rumaida settlement in H2 cut the fence of 2 dunums of land belonging to Wa'el Sharabati. The settlers damaged the agriculture, attacked and beat the two sons of Wa'el, Husam and Hasem, 8 and 10 years old. The incident happened while the soldiers where watching passively.

Settlers from Itamar settlement leveled land belonging to families from the `Awarta village east and north of the settlement. The settlers brought electricity supplies and water pipes to the area and were guarded during the leveling. According to Palestinian resources, the number of housing units in this settlement has double in a year.

Settlers from Susya Settlement prevented Palestinian farmers from working on their land in Umm El- Arish. Hand clashes erupted between the two parties and one Palestinian from Al- Hushiyya family from Yatta was beaten seriously.

Settlers from Givat Kharsina settlement in the area of Hebron attacked Palestinians and prevented them from working on their land. 3 agricultural tractors where damaged.

Settlers from the Tel Rumaida Settlement in the H2 area of Hebron opened fire in the direction of Palestinian houses and shops. Baruch Marcell led a group of settlers attacking the houses and shops of Nabil Shuwaiqi, Jamil Abu Aisha and Emran Shawar.

In the H2 area in Hebron Abir Hosni Zayed, 17, was wounded in his eye by stones thrown by settlers.

Ayoub Suleiman Edriss, 55, was taken to the `Aliya Hospital in Hebron after a settler threw stones at him.

Dozens of settlers attacked Palestinian cars on the Mukhmas Road east of Ramallah and closed the main road for two hours.

Hassan Ali Ibra, 35 from Qalqilyya, was wounded seriously in his head and taken to the Etahr Hospital in Nablus after he was attacked and beaten by settlers on at the Nablus- Qalqilyya Road.

During the night settlers attacked a number of Palestinian houses in Shuhada and Issahlah neighborhoods in Hebron. The windows of 3 houses where broken.

Settlers from Neve Daniel put up a checkpoint on the Hebron-Bethlehem main road and threw stones at Palestinian cars. 13 Palestinians were injured slightly and 12 cars' windows were broken. The road maintained closed all day.

During the night settlers from Bitar Alit attacked the village of Hussan, attacking houses located near the bypass road. The mosque was also attacked. 3 Palestinians were injured.

Settlers from Burkan, near Hares in the Salfit area, burned about 20 olive trees belonging to families from Hares.

Tens of settlers from Tapuah Settlement entered Yasouf village and damaged the glasses of 5 houses belonging to Samer Rashid, Yousef Saleh, Mohammed Ahmed Hussan, Kamal Farhan and Samer Motaweh. The houses were damaged by bullets.

The Israeli Authority established a new settlement point on the land of Deir Istiya Qarawit bini Hassan in the Salfit area. Settlers from the nearby Nevim Settlement brought 10 caravans. According to Palestinian sources tens of armed settlers visited the area the day before.

Some Israeli engineers made a survey on the land belonging to Ya'bud and Tora towns, in order to open a new settlement road there. The length of the planned road will be 9 kilometers and the width 25 meters, consequently tens of thousand of trees will be uprooted. This land belongs to the Hamaresha, the Hamdan and the Zeid families.

Bulldozers started to open a new Bypass road in the Jenin Area. The work has begun specifically in the Murihah area which belongs to 20 persons from the Ya'bud and Burdua villages. This Road will link between the Dotan and Kitir settlements. The road is planned to extend 25 kilometers and will be 25 meters wide.

Tens of Settlers from the Bitar Alit settlement attacked Palestinian houses in the Hussan village near the bypass road leading to the settlement.

During the day, a group of settlers apprehended a Palestinian man named Abed Kader Awda Hamamra, 30 years old. Around seven settlers gathered around him, beating him by stones on his head. While he was bleeding from his wounds they pulled him to the ground still beating him. Later they fired 4 bullets in both the upper and lower parts of his legs. Abed was taken to the hospital where medical sources classified his injuries as very serious.

According to eyewitnesses around 100 settlers from the Bitar Alit settlement attacked the houses in Hussan village near the bypass road leading to the settlement. The settlers not only use stones but also shot toward the houses. The incident took place around 1 AM without any soldiers interfering. Mohammed Esaoul, 25 was wounded in his leg. He was taken to the Beit Jala Hospital where his case was determined as serious.

Following the killing of a settler from the Itamar settlement near Nablus, a number of incidents took place: Settlers from Itamar gathered in the streets of Nablus and attacked Palestinian cars. Settlers from the `Elet settlement near Al-Lubban Sharqiah village in Ramallah area attacked a number of Palestinian cars. According to an eyewitness a Palestinian teacher named Monjed Daher was attacked by stones while he was driving to work at the A-Ram school. He and the four other passengers in the car were all wounded and their cases are classified as serious. A car from the Palestinian Housing Ministry was attacked wounding the two passengers, Fadwa El-Masri and Etisam Aasem. They where both employees of the Ministry.