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Settlers' Attacks

Hebron Region

? On 15 June, settlers from Qiryat Arba?, east of Hebron, continued their attacks on Palestinians who were walking in the main street in Wadi Huseen, west of the settlement. An eyewitness reports that 5 young settlers chased the children. The settlers stoned the residents. In the last three weeks settlers? attacks increased in the place. Families living near the street think that the settlers? actions are part of comprehensive policy to prevent them from using the street like what is happening in the neighboring street of Wadi El-Nasara. In the last two nights, three members of Hamed Abu Eisha were beaten by settlers from the Admot Yishai outpost (Tel Romeyda). Hamed Abu Eisha reports that the settlers stoned his house which is located inside the fence of the outpost.

? On 17 June, settlers from Qiryat Arba? renewed their attacks on houses in Wad Huseen. The settlers stoned the houses of the Sayyouri and Ja'bari families. On 26 June, settlers from the same settlement stoned the houses in Wadi El-Nasara south of the settlement; the settlers also prevented Ahmad As'ad Jaber and his family from entering their land. Ahamd Jaber reports that "settlers threw stones on me and my family while we were working in our land and forced us to leave. I told the soldiers who were in the near military station but they did nothing to stop the settlers.?

Nablus and North of West Bank

? On 13 June, 7 armed settlers from Qedumim, east of Qalqiliya, attacked farmers in the area called Makayel near the fence of the settlement. The settlers told the farmers that the land is theirs. The land is planted with wheat. Farmer Nooh Abu Dayya reports that "after the settlers forced us to leave our land, some followed us and stopped me and my relative Awad Abu Dayya. They then took all the wheat we had and scattered it on the ground. They left only after they pointed a gun to our heads and threaten us that if we come again they will shoot us. It is now the harvest season and I have 40 dunams planted with wheat there; hundreds of additional dunams belong to many families from my village Kufr Qaddum near the settlement. If we can?t reach our land, we will lose our crops this year which is an important source of income for us."

? On 14 June, 15 settlers from the settlement Elkana in the Salfit district burned 70 olive trees that belong to many families from Az Zawiya village. The popular committee against the settlement project in Salfit Nisfat Khafesh reports: ?the trees that were burned are west of the village where work on leveling the land is held these days preparing for the Wall.? The bulldozers started the Wall work in the land around the village on 7 June. Taleb Raddad, mayor of the village, says that ?30,000 dunams are going to be isolated because of the Apartheid Wall.?

? On 21 June at 11 pm, the Army imposed a curfew on eastern Nablus, when 40 settlers came to the Joseph Tomb. The settlers came from the Elon Moreh settlement. Hashem El khaled reports that settlers shouted racist slogans against Arabs. The curfew was lifted in the morning.

Land Confiscation

? Israeli bulldozers continue to level the land east of Bethlehem for opening a new settlers? road between the illegal Har Homa settlement, south of Jerusalem, and settlements southeast of Bethlehem. The first part of the road which is in the final stages will isolate villages such as Al-Nu?man. The second part of the destructive work is going to ghettoize many villages to the east and make a separation zone between more than 8 villages and the city of Bethlehem in the west.

Khaled Azza, General Director of the Land Defense in the local PA Government says that ?by finishing this project thousands of dunams will be confiscated and the road will circle Bethlehem from three directions (north, east and south) while ultimately linking it to the west (bypass road 60). The problem of the new road is that it is very close to the houses in many villages. This necessarily means deadly limitation on the development of theses villages."

? On 17 June, the Army issued new order confiscating some 800 dunams that belong to families from Wadi Salqa in the Gaza Strip. The land is located on both sides of the settlement road leading to the Kisufim settlement. Ahmed Abu Haddaf, one of the land owners, reports: "the soldiers gave me the order which was signed by Dan Harel, the army officer of the southern region. The owners were ?granted? 7 days to contest the confiscation. We try to do it through some human rights organization in Gaza but the army started the work in the place before the end of the legal process.?

? On 21 June, the Army distributed 25 demolition orders in the village Arab Ar Ramadin, 30km south of Hebron, in the pretext of illegal building. The buildings include houses, medical units and reservoirs. These orders were given after 3 days of systematic demolition of 3 houses in the village based on the same pretext. The Army gave the owners 3 days to contest the order. The houses belong to the Woraidat, Anani, Hamed, Zagharneh, Azazmeh, Amer, Qaiseyya, Shu'oor and Abu Zaid families.

The Local council chairman, Hasan Zaghari, reports: ?this time the orders covered many places in the village, especially those near the Green Line where the Eshkolot settlement is located and where the houses are near the new settlement road." Zaghare adds that 100 residents will be homeless if the orders will be implemented. It is essential to bear in mind that 3 houses were already demolished in the village in 3 June and that 2 additional orders were issued 10 days ago. The Land Defense Committees in Hebron confirmed that there is a relationship between these orders and the coming Separation Walls in southern Hebron as well as the expansion of the neighboring two settlements of Sensanah and Eshkolot.

? On 21 June, the Army started working on preparing the land in the village Al-Badhan, northeast of Nablus, for the establishment of a new military center and checkpoint. Five dunams of olive trees were already leveled.

? On 21 June, the army demolished 1 house and 2 shops in 'Ein Jewaiza in Walaja village west of Bethlehem. The house belongs to Radwan Hajajela and the shops belong to Mohmoud Abu Kheyara. Adnan Atrash, member of the Local Council, says: ?the house demolition in ?Ein Jewaiza is to force the residents to leave; we are facing such a policy already 20 years since the Israeli government illegally annexed this area to Jerusalem. Now the army issued orders to confiscate thousands of dunams of lands for the Separation Wall and to build new settlement according to Israeli sources."

? On 25 June, the army took over some 60 dunams of agricultural land in the Al-Salam village, southeast of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. Bulldozers leveled the land. The aim of this brutal act is to expand the Morag settlement to the west. In the following day settlers from Morag fenced the confiscated land and built on it 20 green houses. The lands belong to the Masri, Duhair,Malalha and Attar families. Ibraheem Ghanem, a resident of the village says: "the confiscation of this planted land means that tens of residents will lose their income. Akll of this is taking place at the same time that the Israeli government is speaking about withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.?

? On 28 June, the army demolished two trade structures in the Idhna village, west of Hebron. The soldiers invaded the villages in the morning and imposed a curfew; the structures were located in the northern entrance of the village near the bypass road. They belong to Afeef Tumaizee. The soldiers also handed Talib Ali a demolition order and ordered him to demolish his house. Otherwise they will do it. In the last two months the army distributed 16 demolition orders in the same place.

? On 30 June, the Civil Administration in the district of Hebron informed many families from Beit Kahil, west of Hebron, that the Israeli army will uproot 700 olive trees in the land near the Tarkumiya Military station and checkpoint. According to the army officer in Hebron, the reason for the uprooting is security necessities. The trees belong to the Asafreh, Zuhoor, Atawneh, and Salameh families.