Alternative Information Center - Settler Violence Report 70

- On 17-18 July, settlers from Kiryat Arba' and other outposts held provocative marches in the old city of Hebron. Zakariyya Jaber who lives in the old city reports that some 100 settlers, some of them armed, marched in the main street between Kiryat Arba' and Al-Haram in the evening for two nights. During this time they chased residents and forced them to leave the street. They also shouted "Death to the Arabs," ?Yes for Killing Palestinians? and similar racist slogans. During their marches the settlers stopped near Palestinian houses, especially in the Sahla Quarter, and stoned them. This for example happened to the Al-Muhtaseb house. The marches took place under the guard of the Israeli army.

- On 20 July, settlers from the Ramat Yishai outpost in Tel Romayda renewed their attacks on resident houses bordering the outpost. They stoned the house of the Abu Eisha family. Raja' Abu Eisah, 16, was injured in the back while she walked with her mother near their house. In the following day settlers from the same outpost cut the fence of the house and they burned five grape vines that belong to the Abu Haikal and Sam'an families

- On 20 July, the settlers' from the Ma'on settlement, east of Yatta, brought 4 mobile houses to expand an outpost west to the settlement. Settlers from Bney Hever, south east of the Bani Na'eem village in eastern Hebron, brought 3 mobile houses to expand the outpost which was recently established 300 meters to the east of Bney Hever settlement. Abed Elhadi Hantash, of Hebron?s Land Defense Committee explains that ?the new houses that were added south of Yatta to two outposts testify to a systematic colonial planning; more land is bound to be confiscated in the area in the coming weeks."

- On 23 July, settlers from the Etniel settlement, south of Hebron, cut 30 olive trees owned by Rasmi Mohammed Huroosh and Mohammed Ali Huroosh from the town of Yatta. Rasmi reports that this came after three days of burning fields near the settlement. These aggressions take place in order to expand the settlement and confiscate more Palestinian land which is otherwise a crucial source of income. ?We know that the settlers policy is to force us leave our land in southern Yatta for a big settlement project in the area they plan to erect.?

- On the evening of 25 July, tens of settlers engaged in march in the old city of Hebron. During the march they stoned some houses near Al-Haram. The settlers made several aggressive rounds in many streets in the city.

- On 29 July, settlers from the Ramat Yishai outpost renewed their attacks in Tel Romaida. They stoned residents in the street near the outpost. Reema Tayseer, 30, was injured in many parts of her body. She was hospitalized for treatment. Reema reports that "the attacks happened in the sight of the soldiers who didn't stop the settlers. We are facing such aggressions nearly every day in Tel Romayda to make terrorize and make our life impossible as well as to force us out of our houses (that are located inside the outpost?s fence). This is not a secret; the settlers told us this tens of times." During the same day settlers from Kiryat Arba' attacked houses in Bayar Mahawer south of the settlement. The houses belong to Ghassan and No'man Da'na.

The Salfeet Distrect

- On 27 July, settlers from the Ma'aleh settlement started to level and damage tens of dunams in the land of the Sarta village, west of Salfeet. Mohamed Sarsour, Chairman of the Local Council, reports that ?the objective of the new confiscation of land and uprooting of the trees is to expand the settlement of Ma'aleh and build there additional sections and houses. According to this plan, some 100 dunams will be further confiscated and hundreds of trees will uprooted. The land belong to the Sarsour, Sa'eed, Musaleh, Salah and Besher families. Hundreds of people will loose their income in this already difficult situation whereby residents lost their work in Israel and Jerusalem."

- On 20 July, five goats were killed when settler from the Nokdeem settlement, southeast of Bethlehem, ran over them near the main street in the Za'tara village. Salameh Wahsh, owner of the goats, explains that the settler ran away to the settlement after the killing.

- On 17 July, Israeli personnel from what is called the "Engineering Unit" in the Civil Administration marked and placed signs on 3000 dunams of land in the Artas village south of Bethlehem city. The land is located in Abu Zenaid, Khalit Nahleh and Khalit Guton, south of the village. The aim of the confiscation is to build the Apartheid Wall around the Efrat and Ezion settlements. Khaled Azza, of the local Palestinan Authority, reports that" the majority of the land is planted of grape vines and olive trees, hundreds of families will loose their land and income; in addition hundreds of dunams will be inside the Wall according to the Israeli plan. If this land is going to be confiscated according to the placed signs, ten villages will find themselves separated from Bethlehem city."

- On 25 July, the army issued nine demolition orders to families in east Yatta. The claim is that they were build illegally. The houses belong to Ibraheem Tebna, Ali Hadaleen, Salman Tebna, Mohammed Sowaileh, Khalil Hadaleen Sulaiman Bodoor, Mohammed Hadaleen and Abeallah Tebna. Some 100 individuals live in these houses. They will be made homeless if the orders materialize. The owners say that the brutal act is part of the policy of forcing Palestinians out of the south Hebron area.

- On 24 July, army bulldozers uprooted 30 olive trees in the Hableh village south of Qalqelya city in the northern West Bank and in doing so damaged water bibs upon which 50 dunams of land in the area between the city and Hableh village depend. The leveled land belong to the Nasser and Abu Amsha families. Two months ago, the army issued a confiscation order for some 300 dunams in the area to build tunnel on the main street that links Qalqelya and Hableh.

- On 28-29 July, the Civil Administration in the Hebron District issued orders to confiscate 1000 dunams in Kharas, Beit Rosh and additional villages west of the city for the Apartheid Walll. Issa Abu Jaraesh, of Kharas?Local Council reports that "the orders that were given to the residents in the village mean that some 5000 dunams will be confiscated. This land is located east of the Green Line and belongs to hundreds of families from the village and neighboring villages including Soreef, Noba and Beit Ola.? Abu Jaraesh adds that ?the owners of the land were given seven days to contest the orders. In Beit Rosh Tehta, the Local Committee Mr. Mohammed Hassan reports that ?army officers came to the village and visited the land that is intended to be confiscated. Some thousand dunams will be confiscated for the Wall and all of the land is located in the east of the Green Line.

- On 28 July, tens of dunams were leveled and damaged, hundreds of grape vines and olive trees were uprooted in Sheikh Ijleen, south of Gaza city. The bulldozers and tanks arrived came from the Nezarim settlement. The leveled land belong to the Shamalkh and Dalol families.