Alternative Information Center - Settler Violence Report 50

Hundreds of settlers came to Hebron during the Tabernacles Feast. They marched in the streets of the city, rioting, especially the old city that was under curfew since October 12 and during the feast. The settlers? attacks were:

o On October 14 during a big march that the settlers held in the streets of the city, when close to the settlement Admot Ishai, settlers started attacking the Palestinian houses. The house of Hana?a Abu Haykal was stoned and 38 windows were smashed in three apartments. JAmeel Abu Haykal, 12, was injured in his shoulder.

Hana?a says that the assault happened at day time while soldiers stood aside without trying to stop the assaults, while they couldn?t leave the house because of the curfew.

o Settlers attacked several houses in Wadi El-Nasara area during marches of hundreds in the old city of Hebron. On October 8, at about 11 at night, tens of settlers stoned several houses smashing their windows. The houses are owned by Eimad Da?na, Samih Da?ana, Kamel Al-Botti, Abd-El-Jaleel Da?ana, Ahmad Jaber, Sa?ed Da?na and Abd Jaber.

Samih Da?na say that while they were under curfew, hundreds of settlers came from Qiryat Arba?in a march in the street beside our houses, escorted by tens of soldiers. At some point they started stoning our houses without any real attempts of the soldiers to stop them.

The settlers also set two caravans on a land that belongs to Mahmod Al-Botti Jaber. The army took off the caravans but brought a bulldozer that worked on parts of the land.

On October 12, settlers attacked the same area in the same way.

On October 11, residents of Jaba'ah, southwest of Bethlehem in the area of Kfar-Etzion settlements, were attacked while picking olives from the villages orchards.

Tens of settlers attacked the residents using stones and sticks and pointing guns towards them, ordering them to leave the area. The residents believe that the settlers came from the settlements of Kfar-Etzion.

During the assaults Fauzi Al-Tos, 25, was injured in the head, hands and back, as settlers threw hem to the ground and hit hem. Musa Al-Mashaa?la, 39, was also injured.

During the event, army and border police forces came and ordered the residents to go back to their homes without taking their harvest, and then they chased the people into their homes and put curfew for four hours.

Hilal Masha?leh, an activist in defending lands in the village, says that the settlers attacked the residents and took all the bags with the harvested fruits, and they were prevented to gather the fruits that were not gathered by then. The residents were prevented from entering about 2000 Dunams in deferent areas in the village, especially in the east and west.

In the next morning, a settler that claimed that he is the mayor of Kfar-Etzion was standing at the only entrance of village and telling the residents that they can?t go to their fields and pick the olives without a permit.

Few weeks ago settlers razed about 50 Dunams of the lands of the village. By these actions most families of the village will lose almost the only income source, as they are deprived from going to work and unemployment rates are so high.

Nablus Region and north of the West Bank

With the beginning of the olive harvesting season, farmers became the main target for settlers? assaults, the same as the settlers have been targeting them in the last three years during this season.

o On October 10, Musa Hindi, 65, and some of his family members from the village Tel, south of Nablus, were attacked in the way from his fields that are close to the outpost Gila?ad. He says that he was going to his home with some neighbors after harvesting the olives, and they had the fruits with them carried on a donkey when four armed settlers riding on horses stopped them, and tried to take the olives, but when they couldn?t, they pushed the donkey to the nearby valley, causing the loss of the olives.

o About 20 farmers from Deir Sharaf, west to Nablus, were attacked by the army while they were picking olive in their fields that are close to Shavi Shomron. The farmers were detained and led to the settlement were they were informed that they can?t come to the lands again due to its closeness to the settlement.

o Residents of Beit Forick, south of Nablus could not reach their lands that are close to the settlement Itamar to pick the olives. A?atef Hosny, mayor of the village, says that the settlers were organized in groups of 10-15 and spread around the fields preventing the farmers from reaching their lands. He also said that the settlers were seen picking olives from the lands close to settlement.

o In some villages, the army told the farmers that they could pick the olives at specific times to avoid settlers? harassments. O?rsan Ibrahim, Mayor of the village Borin, south to Nablus, said that the army told him that they will allow the farmers to pick the olives in lands close to the settlements Bracha and Yitzhar, for three days only, to prevent settlers? harassment. He said that it usually takes the farmers three weeks to pick the olives, and that the settlers are afraid that their lands became under control of the settlers that works one hand with the army.

o The residents of the village Dier El-Hatab, east of Nablus, say that the army forbade them from reaching their lands that are close to the settlement Alon Moreh. Naser Eshtieh, a farmer, says that tens of soldiers attacked the settlers and forced them to leave their lands, and told them that they could pick the olives only in Saturday, October 18, during the Shabbat.

o Ahmad A?bas, mayor of the village Kufur Qadom, west to Nablus, says that the army gave a military order to the council that prevents the farmers from reaching their lands that are close to the settlement Qdomim before October 22, and who ever goes to his lands will be arrested.

o The army closed the Iron Gate that is a part of the apartheid wall at the Beit Amreen junction in the south of Qalqilia. Ibrahim A?tmawi, mayor of A?zon village, said that closing the gate at this time prevents hundreds of farmers from the villages A?zon, Beit-Amreen and Senerya from reaching thousands of Dunams of olive orchards that are close to the settlement Sha?reh Tekva.

o The army has been preventing farmers from Dahiat-El-Shwekeh, north to Tolkarem, from reaching their lands that are close to Bat Hefer (an Israeli township near the Green Line). Zuheer E?isa, a farmer who owns 20 Dunams of olive orchards, says that the soldiers detained him and his family few days ago when they were on their way to pick olives from their land in that area and forced them to go back, claiming that this is a closed military zone.

Land confiscation and the Separation Wall

On October 1, Israeli bulldozers began working on opening a new settlements road that will connect Kharsina settlements, in the North of Hebron, and road #60 east of Hebron. Abd El-Hadi Hantash, member of the Land Defense Committee in Hebron, says that the planned road will be 300 m long and 10 m wide and will enclose about 200 Dunams that will be trapped between the settlement and the road that will be confiscated de-facto.

The settlers of Kharsina have took over tens of Dunams to expand the settlement during the last two years and there are many cases being tried in Israeli cases about them.

On October 9, the Civil Administration delivered a military order of confiscating 67 Dunams of land to create a ?security built? around Kharsina settlement. The confiscated lands belong to Sultan, Al-Ashhab and Jaber families. The order informed the owners that they will be allowed to use the land for agricultural uses only, and only by coordinating with the army. The residents have only ten days to contest the order.