29 oct 2014
Dozens of Israeli soldiers, accompanied by a number of military bulldozers, invaded on Wednesday morning the Khashm ad-Daraj and Um al-Kheir villages, east of Yatta town south of the southern West Bank district of Hebron, and demolished several structures. The soldiers also assaulted a pregnant woman, causing internal bleeding.
Coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements Rateb Jabour told the Palestine News Network that a large military force invaded Khashm ad-Daraj village, and demolished a cave, an external toilet, sheds and barns, and homes belonging to three residents identified as Mustafa Salem at-Tanbi, Ahmad Awwad at-Tanbi, and Eid at-Tanbi.
Soldiers also invaded Um al-Kheir village, east of Yatta, and demolished a clay oven used by the residents, and violently assaulted several Palestinians causing cuts and bruises.
Some of the wounded have been identified as Mo’tasem, Mousa, Tareq, Yasser, Amna, Maleeha and Suleiman al-Hathalin.
Jabour said the soldiers also attacked a pregnant woman, causing her internal bleeding before she was rushed to a local hospital.
The soldiers said settlers of the nearby illegal Karmiel settlement are “annoyed” by the wood smoke of the oven, adding that this is the third time the soldiers demolish the clay oven this week alone.
The attack led to clashes between the invading soldiers and local youths, and the soldiers attempted to kidnap a Palestinian but the residents managed to prevent the arrest.
Around 1200 Palestinians live in the Khashm ad-Daraj village, facing daily hardships due to ongoing attacks carried out by Israeli soldiers and settlers targeting farmlands, livestock, sheds and structures.
Earlier on Wednesday, the army demolished a home in Salah ed-Deen Street, in occupied East Jerusalem rendering eight family members homeless.
Coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements Rateb Jabour told the Palestine News Network that a large military force invaded Khashm ad-Daraj village, and demolished a cave, an external toilet, sheds and barns, and homes belonging to three residents identified as Mustafa Salem at-Tanbi, Ahmad Awwad at-Tanbi, and Eid at-Tanbi.
Soldiers also invaded Um al-Kheir village, east of Yatta, and demolished a clay oven used by the residents, and violently assaulted several Palestinians causing cuts and bruises.
Some of the wounded have been identified as Mo’tasem, Mousa, Tareq, Yasser, Amna, Maleeha and Suleiman al-Hathalin.
Jabour said the soldiers also attacked a pregnant woman, causing her internal bleeding before she was rushed to a local hospital.
The soldiers said settlers of the nearby illegal Karmiel settlement are “annoyed” by the wood smoke of the oven, adding that this is the third time the soldiers demolish the clay oven this week alone.
The attack led to clashes between the invading soldiers and local youths, and the soldiers attempted to kidnap a Palestinian but the residents managed to prevent the arrest.
Around 1200 Palestinians live in the Khashm ad-Daraj village, facing daily hardships due to ongoing attacks carried out by Israeli soldiers and settlers targeting farmlands, livestock, sheds and structures.
Earlier on Wednesday, the army demolished a home in Salah ed-Deen Street, in occupied East Jerusalem rendering eight family members homeless.
Today at approximately 1:30 PM in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), the head of security for the illegal settlements in the area attempted to destroy the property of a Palestinian man named Muhammad Knebi.
28th October 2014 | International Solidarity Movement | Khalil Team
Settlers have been destroying the newly built fence owned by Muhammad Knebi since October. The fence was built to protect the Knebi family’s olive trees. Settlers have made several attempts to cut and break down the fence.
This afternoon, the head of settler security arrived on Muhammad’s land with a small tractor. He was accompanied by several soldiers from the Israeli army in addition to another settler from a nearby illegal settlement. They came in order to remove the large stones that were put behind the fence poles for added support.
The settlers also cut the fence with scissors. Jawad Abu Aisha, an activist from the Palestinian group Youth Against Settlements that helped Muhammad build the fence, sat on a stone to prevent the settlers from moving it. Jawad was detained for his actions for around half an hour.
The previous day the owner, Muhammad Knebi, had filed a complaint against the constant destruction of his fence and was then told by the Israeli police that if the settlers tried to take down his fence again he should call the Israeli army and they would stop the settlers.
Earlier today, neither the Israeli police nor the Israeli army made any attempts to stop or arrest the settlers for trespassing on private property and for the destruction of Muhammad’s fence. The Israeli soldiers had already received orders to prevent the settlers from destroying and cutting the fence but they did nothing to stop them.
Photos at ISM official.
28th October 2014 | International Solidarity Movement | Khalil Team
Settlers have been destroying the newly built fence owned by Muhammad Knebi since October. The fence was built to protect the Knebi family’s olive trees. Settlers have made several attempts to cut and break down the fence.
This afternoon, the head of settler security arrived on Muhammad’s land with a small tractor. He was accompanied by several soldiers from the Israeli army in addition to another settler from a nearby illegal settlement. They came in order to remove the large stones that were put behind the fence poles for added support.
The settlers also cut the fence with scissors. Jawad Abu Aisha, an activist from the Palestinian group Youth Against Settlements that helped Muhammad build the fence, sat on a stone to prevent the settlers from moving it. Jawad was detained for his actions for around half an hour.
The previous day the owner, Muhammad Knebi, had filed a complaint against the constant destruction of his fence and was then told by the Israeli police that if the settlers tried to take down his fence again he should call the Israeli army and they would stop the settlers.
Earlier today, neither the Israeli police nor the Israeli army made any attempts to stop or arrest the settlers for trespassing on private property and for the destruction of Muhammad’s fence. The Israeli soldiers had already received orders to prevent the settlers from destroying and cutting the fence but they did nothing to stop them.
Photos at ISM official.
The Israeli Jerusalem City Council demolished, Tuesday, a Palestinian home in Salah ed-Deen Street, in occupied East Jerusalem rendering eight family members homeless.
Sahar Sharif and her family were forcibly removed from their home, and were detained by the police, near their building, until the destruction of their home was completed.
The family was prevented from talking to anybody, while Israeli soldiers and officers surrounded the entire area.
The family lived in the 40 square/meter home since 1996, and received several demolition orders since then, but managed to delay the destruction through a lawyer, while Israel repeatedly imposed high fines reaching to more than 300.000 NIS in the last 17 years, the Maan News Agency said.
Sahar said that, two years ago, the family had to demolish a section of the building as ordered by the Jerusalem City Council, leaving them with one room to live in, until the police demolished the entire structure, Tuesday.
On Tuesday afternoon, the army kidnapped a Palestinian, identified as Jamal ‘Asaliyya, near the al-Aqsa Mosque, in the Old city of occupied Jerusalem, and took him to an interrogation facility.
The soldiers also handed three mosque guards warrants ordering them to head to a police station in the city for interrogation. The three have been identified as Arafat Najeeb, Ashraf Abu Rmeila, and Haitham an-Nammari.
Sahar Sharif and her family were forcibly removed from their home, and were detained by the police, near their building, until the destruction of their home was completed.
The family was prevented from talking to anybody, while Israeli soldiers and officers surrounded the entire area.
The family lived in the 40 square/meter home since 1996, and received several demolition orders since then, but managed to delay the destruction through a lawyer, while Israel repeatedly imposed high fines reaching to more than 300.000 NIS in the last 17 years, the Maan News Agency said.
Sahar said that, two years ago, the family had to demolish a section of the building as ordered by the Jerusalem City Council, leaving them with one room to live in, until the police demolished the entire structure, Tuesday.
On Tuesday afternoon, the army kidnapped a Palestinian, identified as Jamal ‘Asaliyya, near the al-Aqsa Mosque, in the Old city of occupied Jerusalem, and took him to an interrogation facility.
The soldiers also handed three mosque guards warrants ordering them to head to a police station in the city for interrogation. The three have been identified as Arafat Najeeb, Ashraf Abu Rmeila, and Haitham an-Nammari.
28 oct 2014
Yesterday, Israeli forces demolished a total of seven structures in the Bedouin village of Um al Kheir.
The structures demolished are, three houses made of concrete, a caravan donated by the United Nations (United Nations Human Rights Response Fund with the support of Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom) to be used as a home, a tinplated house, a tinplated kitchen, and a traditional oven.
The structures belonged to five families, with a total of thirty people affected. An Israeli activist and an international volunteer were brought and detained in Kiryat Arba Israeli police station. At 9:20 am a convoy of eleven Israeli army vehicles and two bulldozers reached the Bedouin village of Um Al Kheir. At 9:34 the bulldozers started the demolitions while Israeli soldiers, border police officers and DCO [District Coordination] officers kept Internationals and Israeli activists away from the village, declaring it a, “closed military area”.
Around 10 am the Israeli police arrested an international volunteer and an Israeli activist with the accusation of remaining inside the area. Both were released during the same day.
Um Al Kheir is a Bedouin village in Area C, under Israeli civil and military administration. It’s located very close to the illegal settlement of Karmel, established during the beginning of the ’80s and expanded in the recent years, especially in 2013. The village routinely experiences harassment from Zionist settlers and the Israeli army.
Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills keep struggling in a non-violent way to claim justice and to defend their human rights. The South Hebron Hills Popular Committee, together with international volunteers and Israeli activists, will soon gather to re-build the demolished structures in Um Al Kheir.
Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004. For additional photos, see original article at ISM official.
The structures demolished are, three houses made of concrete, a caravan donated by the United Nations (United Nations Human Rights Response Fund with the support of Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom) to be used as a home, a tinplated house, a tinplated kitchen, and a traditional oven.
The structures belonged to five families, with a total of thirty people affected. An Israeli activist and an international volunteer were brought and detained in Kiryat Arba Israeli police station. At 9:20 am a convoy of eleven Israeli army vehicles and two bulldozers reached the Bedouin village of Um Al Kheir. At 9:34 the bulldozers started the demolitions while Israeli soldiers, border police officers and DCO [District Coordination] officers kept Internationals and Israeli activists away from the village, declaring it a, “closed military area”.
Around 10 am the Israeli police arrested an international volunteer and an Israeli activist with the accusation of remaining inside the area. Both were released during the same day.
Um Al Kheir is a Bedouin village in Area C, under Israeli civil and military administration. It’s located very close to the illegal settlement of Karmel, established during the beginning of the ’80s and expanded in the recent years, especially in 2013. The village routinely experiences harassment from Zionist settlers and the Israeli army.
Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills keep struggling in a non-violent way to claim justice and to defend their human rights. The South Hebron Hills Popular Committee, together with international volunteers and Israeli activists, will soon gather to re-build the demolished structures in Um Al Kheir.
Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004. For additional photos, see original article at ISM official.
A large number of Israeli settlers of the Bruchin illegal settlement outpost built on Palestinian lands east of Broqeen town, west of the central West Bank city of Salfit, started bulldozing lands in an attempt to expand their illegitimate settlement.
The Palestine News Network (PNN) said the settlers brought bulldozers and started leveling the lands, and digging, while several Israeli soldiers were deployed in the area preventing the Palestinians from reaching it.
Palestinian Researcher Khaled Ma’ali said the Israeli government lately announcement its intention to expand Brochin settlement by constructing new units, part of the recently declared 550 new units to be built on agricultural lands belonging to residents of Broqeen, and Sarta village.
Bruchin settlement was built in 1999; it started just as a small illegitimate outpost, and kept expanding since then.
The expansion comes following a decision by the head of the Central Command of the Israeli military of the West Bank, Nitzan Alon, to upgrade the outpost into a settlement under the umbrella of the “Regional Council of Settlements.”
The Palestine News Network (PNN) said the settlers brought bulldozers and started leveling the lands, and digging, while several Israeli soldiers were deployed in the area preventing the Palestinians from reaching it.
Palestinian Researcher Khaled Ma’ali said the Israeli government lately announcement its intention to expand Brochin settlement by constructing new units, part of the recently declared 550 new units to be built on agricultural lands belonging to residents of Broqeen, and Sarta village.
Bruchin settlement was built in 1999; it started just as a small illegitimate outpost, and kept expanding since then.
The expansion comes following a decision by the head of the Central Command of the Israeli military of the West Bank, Nitzan Alon, to upgrade the outpost into a settlement under the umbrella of the “Regional Council of Settlements.”
27 oct 2014
Netanyahu to unfreeze WB settlements construction
Israeli forces, on Monday, demolished four Palestinian homes belonging to the al-Hazaleen family in the Hebron village of Yatta, in the occupied West Bank.
Ibrahim Hazaleen, who monitors settlement activity in the area said, according to Al Ray, that a large group of Israeli soldiers and a bulldozer stormed the village, demolishing four houses in the Yatta village which belonged to Eid Hazaleen and his sons and relatives.
Mr. Hazaleen noted that the demolition process comes one day after the Israeli Supreme Court rejected an appeal by residents, and confirmed that around 30 people are now homeless as a result.
Israel only rarely ever grants Palestinians permits to build in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Some 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures have been destroyed since Israel first occupied the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
The move was never recognized by the international community, but Israeli land seizures and other violations have continued unabated, ever since.
Furthermore, Israeli PM Netanyahu is to sign a deal with right-wing political party Habayit Hayehudi, to unfreeze West Bank settlement construction, Channel 2 revealed Sunday.
Netanyahu will hold a meeting with the party on Wednesday to discuss infrastructure development in West Bank settlements.
The Channel 2 report explained that the step comes as an attempt to relieve political pressure exerted on Netanyahu.
Habayit Hayehudi leaders, Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett and Housing Minister Uri Ariel threatened the PM with undermining the Israeli government coalition, unless Israel lifts the quiet freeze on building and planning processes in the settlements.
Netanyahu and the ministers will discuss the possibility of approving the paving of 12 new roads in the West Bank, water infrastructure in the settlements, building Israeli student villages, parks, and a promenade in Gush Etzion.
Also on the agenda is the renovation of the 'Cave of the Patriarchs' Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, new electricity infrastructure, settler demands to regularize illegal outposts, and the laying of groundwork in the settlements for future construction.
The Council of Jewish Communities in the occupied West Bank attempted to negotiate the construction of 2,000 homes, mostly in the settlement blocs, with the Prime Minister's Office, but Netanyahu reportedly hasn't accepted the demand.
Haaretz reported that, in their meeting with Netanyahu, last week, Bennett and Ariel demanded the PM resume construction immediately, and that he restart meetings of the Civil Administration’s planning committees, warning that if he doesn't accede, the party’s MKs may absent themselves from a no-confidence vote scheduled for Monday.
Furthermore, even if such a move doesn’t lead to a collapse of government, it would signal serious instability in the coalition.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid said he vehemently opposes large-scale construction in the settlements and the regularization of illegal outposts.
Carrying out the plan, at this point in time, would lead to a serious crisis in Israeli-American relations and harm Israel’s international standing, Lapid said.
In response to the Channel 2 report, the Labor Party issued a statement saying that Netanyahu is "selling all of Israel's diplomatic interests for a few more months on the prime minister's seat," and calling on both Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Lapid to resign from the coalition.
Israeli forces, on Monday, demolished four Palestinian homes belonging to the al-Hazaleen family in the Hebron village of Yatta, in the occupied West Bank.
Ibrahim Hazaleen, who monitors settlement activity in the area said, according to Al Ray, that a large group of Israeli soldiers and a bulldozer stormed the village, demolishing four houses in the Yatta village which belonged to Eid Hazaleen and his sons and relatives.
Mr. Hazaleen noted that the demolition process comes one day after the Israeli Supreme Court rejected an appeal by residents, and confirmed that around 30 people are now homeless as a result.
Israel only rarely ever grants Palestinians permits to build in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Some 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures have been destroyed since Israel first occupied the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
The move was never recognized by the international community, but Israeli land seizures and other violations have continued unabated, ever since.
Furthermore, Israeli PM Netanyahu is to sign a deal with right-wing political party Habayit Hayehudi, to unfreeze West Bank settlement construction, Channel 2 revealed Sunday.
Netanyahu will hold a meeting with the party on Wednesday to discuss infrastructure development in West Bank settlements.
The Channel 2 report explained that the step comes as an attempt to relieve political pressure exerted on Netanyahu.
Habayit Hayehudi leaders, Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett and Housing Minister Uri Ariel threatened the PM with undermining the Israeli government coalition, unless Israel lifts the quiet freeze on building and planning processes in the settlements.
Netanyahu and the ministers will discuss the possibility of approving the paving of 12 new roads in the West Bank, water infrastructure in the settlements, building Israeli student villages, parks, and a promenade in Gush Etzion.
Also on the agenda is the renovation of the 'Cave of the Patriarchs' Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, new electricity infrastructure, settler demands to regularize illegal outposts, and the laying of groundwork in the settlements for future construction.
The Council of Jewish Communities in the occupied West Bank attempted to negotiate the construction of 2,000 homes, mostly in the settlement blocs, with the Prime Minister's Office, but Netanyahu reportedly hasn't accepted the demand.
Haaretz reported that, in their meeting with Netanyahu, last week, Bennett and Ariel demanded the PM resume construction immediately, and that he restart meetings of the Civil Administration’s planning committees, warning that if he doesn't accede, the party’s MKs may absent themselves from a no-confidence vote scheduled for Monday.
Furthermore, even if such a move doesn’t lead to a collapse of government, it would signal serious instability in the coalition.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid said he vehemently opposes large-scale construction in the settlements and the regularization of illegal outposts.
Carrying out the plan, at this point in time, would lead to a serious crisis in Israeli-American relations and harm Israel’s international standing, Lapid said.
In response to the Channel 2 report, the Labor Party issued a statement saying that Netanyahu is "selling all of Israel's diplomatic interests for a few more months on the prime minister's seat," and calling on both Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Lapid to resign from the coalition.
Israeli bulldozers have been working for several days on Palestinian-owned lands to expand settlements and build roads in towns near Salfit city, local sources said.
Palestinian activist in settlement affairs Khaled Ma'ali was told by farmers that bulldozers belonging to Jewish settlers were leveling their lands near Rababa settlement, west of Deir Istiya town, and the industrial settlement of Burkan, southwest of Hares village.
Ma'ali also reported that he saw bulldozers working on a vast tract of land belonging to the family of Ali Souf in Hares village.
The family stated that it had not received any notification telling them about Israel's intention to seize the land or been allowed to reach the land or make any objection.
The activist also noted that Ariel settlement still dump thousands of cubic meters of sewage every day in the western valleys of Salfit, leading to the contamination of Beir and Matwi valleys and the nearby lands.
In another incident, the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) notified a few days ago Mahmoud Annajjar of its intention to demolish his cattle farm in Musafer Yatta village in Yatta town at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
Musafer Yatta is one of eight villages in Yatta town whose residents are threatened with displacement.
http://english.palinfo
Palestinian activist in settlement affairs Khaled Ma'ali was told by farmers that bulldozers belonging to Jewish settlers were leveling their lands near Rababa settlement, west of Deir Istiya town, and the industrial settlement of Burkan, southwest of Hares village.
Ma'ali also reported that he saw bulldozers working on a vast tract of land belonging to the family of Ali Souf in Hares village.
The family stated that it had not received any notification telling them about Israel's intention to seize the land or been allowed to reach the land or make any objection.
The activist also noted that Ariel settlement still dump thousands of cubic meters of sewage every day in the western valleys of Salfit, leading to the contamination of Beir and Matwi valleys and the nearby lands.
In another incident, the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) notified a few days ago Mahmoud Annajjar of its intention to demolish his cattle farm in Musafer Yatta village in Yatta town at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
Musafer Yatta is one of eight villages in Yatta town whose residents are threatened with displacement.
http://english.palinfo
24 oct 2014
The Israeli Minister of Internal Security Yitzhak Aharonovich said that sanctions would be imposed on the light rail attack suspect's family in Silwan in East Jerusalem.
The Israeli news website Ynet reported Friday that minister Aharonovich said that the house of Abd al-Rahman al-Shaludi would either be sealed or demolished.
Aharonovich's statement came during his visit to the the family of an Israeli child who was killed during the incident.
A lawyer for the Addameer rights group told Ma'an that the Israeli intelligence informed al-Shaludi’s father during interrogation that his son's body would be delivered "late at night" and that only 20 members of his family could be present.
Police say al-Shaludi, 21, drove his car at high speed into a group of pedestrians, killing a three-month-old baby and wounding six other people in what police described as a "hit-and-run terror attack."
After the car stopped, al-Shaludi tried to flee but was shot by police, later dying in hospital from his injuries.
Al-Shaludi's mother Inas Sharif, 42, said she was unsure what happened.
"I cannot say if it was on purpose or just a simple car accident," she told reporters at her home.
"If it was really an attack, why didn't he have explosives in his car -- or even just Molotov cocktails?"
Only hours before the incident, she had taken her son to the doctor who had advised him to see a therapist after days of exhibiting signs of mental exhaustion.
The Israeli news website Ynet reported Friday that minister Aharonovich said that the house of Abd al-Rahman al-Shaludi would either be sealed or demolished.
Aharonovich's statement came during his visit to the the family of an Israeli child who was killed during the incident.
A lawyer for the Addameer rights group told Ma'an that the Israeli intelligence informed al-Shaludi’s father during interrogation that his son's body would be delivered "late at night" and that only 20 members of his family could be present.
Police say al-Shaludi, 21, drove his car at high speed into a group of pedestrians, killing a three-month-old baby and wounding six other people in what police described as a "hit-and-run terror attack."
After the car stopped, al-Shaludi tried to flee but was shot by police, later dying in hospital from his injuries.
Al-Shaludi's mother Inas Sharif, 42, said she was unsure what happened.
"I cannot say if it was on purpose or just a simple car accident," she told reporters at her home.
"If it was really an attack, why didn't he have explosives in his car -- or even just Molotov cocktails?"
Only hours before the incident, she had taken her son to the doctor who had advised him to see a therapist after days of exhibiting signs of mental exhaustion.
23 oct 2014
According to Israeli sources, the state has completed a plan, in the works since April of 2013, to impose its sovereignty over occupied Area C.
Local sources say that Israel intends to put this plan into effect in November, to coincide with the Palestinian efforts in the United Nations.
The Palestinian bid to end the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation will be discussed in the Security Council in the second half of next October, after the end of American Congress elections scheduled in the 4th of the coming November.
See related: New Composition of UN Security Council, Prospects for 2015
Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency notes that the occupied West Bank was divided into A, B, C areas as a part from the interim agreement of Oslo. This division was meant to be temporary, allowing a gradual transfer of power to the Palestinian Authority, to otherwise become a permanent arrangement in place for 21 years.
The Israeli plan considers Area C, which represents 60% of West Bank territory under full Israeli control -- with some180 thousand Palestinians living there -- to be independent from the rest of West Bank.
Furthermore, Palestinians are prevented from any construction or development actions in 70% of this area,under a pretext of its categorization as official "State Land" or " Closed Military Zones".
The Israeli state also refuses to recognize the majority of the villages in this region, and prevents any expansion or development.
See also: Bennett Proposes to Demolish Wall and Annex Area C
Local sources say that Israel intends to put this plan into effect in November, to coincide with the Palestinian efforts in the United Nations.
The Palestinian bid to end the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation will be discussed in the Security Council in the second half of next October, after the end of American Congress elections scheduled in the 4th of the coming November.
See related: New Composition of UN Security Council, Prospects for 2015
Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency notes that the occupied West Bank was divided into A, B, C areas as a part from the interim agreement of Oslo. This division was meant to be temporary, allowing a gradual transfer of power to the Palestinian Authority, to otherwise become a permanent arrangement in place for 21 years.
The Israeli plan considers Area C, which represents 60% of West Bank territory under full Israeli control -- with some180 thousand Palestinians living there -- to be independent from the rest of West Bank.
Furthermore, Palestinians are prevented from any construction or development actions in 70% of this area,under a pretext of its categorization as official "State Land" or " Closed Military Zones".
The Israeli state also refuses to recognize the majority of the villages in this region, and prevents any expansion or development.
See also: Bennett Proposes to Demolish Wall and Annex Area C
Israeli violations negatively impacting olive industry
Israeli authorities confiscated 20 dunams (approximately 5 acres) of Palestinian-owned land, today near the Jewish settlement bloc of Ariel, in the northern occupied West Bank. A UN official has noted that ongoing Israeli settler violence and imposed access restrictions continues to adversely affect the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians.
Israeli bulldozers in the Palestinian village of Haris, near the Barqan settlement, on Thursday, began razing some 20 dunams of agricultural lands, while dozens of Israelis from nearby Ariel came to participlate in destroying the fields.
Local resident Muhammad Suf told Ma'an News Agency that the lands belonged to his grandfather Ali Abed Daoud Jaber Suf, from Haris, near the Khillet Habiba area, just north of the Barqan settlement.
According to Ma'an, the seizure and destruction of Palestinian agricultural resources comes on the same day that Palestinian officials working in coordination with the local Committee Against Israel's Separation Wall and the Settlements announced that they had succeeded in saving 15 dunams of land from confiscation, just a few kilometers away, in the southwestern part of the Ariel settlement bloc.
A statement from the Salfit governorate said that the land, located in the village of Bruqin, had been under threat since its owners were served with an evacuation order, in 2013, which stated that the land was Israeli state property.
Representing the Committee Against Israel's Separation Wall and the Settlements, lawyer Alaa Mahajna manged to prove that the land was privately-owned Palestinian property that has been under constant cultivation by the owner.
Israeli authorities retracted the confiscation decision and officially recognized the land as private property.
OCHA official James Rawley stated, Thursday, that the ongoing settler violence, in conjunction with recurring access restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on Palestinians, with regard to olive groves, continues to negatively impact their lives and livelihoods.
According to WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency, Mr. Rawly (along with members of the diplomatic and donor community, the Ministry of Agriculture, and representatives of humanitarian organizations) visited the towns of al-Janiya in the Ramallah governorate, as well as Biddu in the Jerusalem governorate, today, where community representatives and olive farmers detailed the adverse effect that continued settler violence and access restrictions to their groves have had on their lives and livelihoods.
UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reportedly briefed the delegation on programs which are specifically dedicated to supporting al-Janiya and Biddu as productive olive-producing communities along others in the West Bank.
Mr. Rawly said that the annual olive harvest is a vital economic, social and cultural component for the Palestinian livelihood, because “nearly half of all cultivated land in the occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt) is planted with olive trees.”
Olive-growing communities located between the apartheid wall and the 1967 borders, as well as in the vicinity of West Bank Israeli settlements, face serious challenges in maintaining and harvesting their olive crops. “This undermines livelihoods and increases dependency on aid,” a statement from the OCHA read.
Rawly called for immediate action in support of Palestinian olive farmers to ensure protection from settler attacks; accountability for their violence; the lifting of restrictions on land access; and support to olive producing communities.
He additionally warned that the ongoing neglect would lead to severe damage to the olive sector in the West Bank as, according to OCHA statistics, the olive oil industry constitutes 25% of Palestinians agricultural income.
In the period between 2006 to the end of September 2014, OCHA recorded over 2,300 settler-related incidents which resulted in Palestinian casualties or property damage in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
In 2013 alone, nearly 400 incidents of settlers’ violence against Palestinians in the oPt were accounted for by the OCHA.
Meanwhile, in the period from 2009 to the end of August 2014, nearly 50,000 fruit-bearing trees -- mainly olive trees -- were reported damaged or destroyed in such incidents.
Furthermore, approximately 150 Palestinian communities share land located between the Wall and the 1967 borders, with only 50% of the farmers allowed access to their land during the harvest, season in the last four years, revealed OCHA statistics.
On October 10th of this year, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) reported that an olive farmer, Mahmoud Eid along with his wife and three children were attacked by a group of Israeli settlers from ‘Giv’at Ya’akov’.
The family, present on its land near the village of Burin, to the south west of Nablus, was attacked by five male settlers. According to the ISM report, the settlers threw rocks at the family while Eid tried to protect his loved ones by covering them with the canvas usedto collect fallen olives.
Subsequently, the settlers physically attacked him, hitting him in the chest, stomach, head and foot, badly bruising him.
Mr. Eid's story is just one of many in which Palestinian civilians suffer from either severe physical injuries, loss of property, produce and trees or other forms of economic disenfranchisement.
WAFA correspondence further reports that a group of Israeli settlers recently broke into a privately owned Palestinian area of land near Tulkarem, in the northern occupied West Bank, where they stole 10 large sacks stuffed full of olives.
The farmer had left the crop about two days ago, after being assaulted by illegal Israeli settlers.
Since the beginning of the 1967 occupation of the West Bank, Israel has confiscated hundreds of thousands of dunums by declaring it state land.
Israeli authorities in 1968 banned Palestinians from registering their lands and subsequently took advantage of previously low rates of land registration to confiscate areas currently or previously in use by locals but not registered as such.
The confiscated lands are then used to construct Jewish-only settlements on the land, while further confiscation often uses the pretext of the settlements' security.
Israeli authorities confiscated 20 dunams (approximately 5 acres) of Palestinian-owned land, today near the Jewish settlement bloc of Ariel, in the northern occupied West Bank. A UN official has noted that ongoing Israeli settler violence and imposed access restrictions continues to adversely affect the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians.
Israeli bulldozers in the Palestinian village of Haris, near the Barqan settlement, on Thursday, began razing some 20 dunams of agricultural lands, while dozens of Israelis from nearby Ariel came to participlate in destroying the fields.
Local resident Muhammad Suf told Ma'an News Agency that the lands belonged to his grandfather Ali Abed Daoud Jaber Suf, from Haris, near the Khillet Habiba area, just north of the Barqan settlement.
According to Ma'an, the seizure and destruction of Palestinian agricultural resources comes on the same day that Palestinian officials working in coordination with the local Committee Against Israel's Separation Wall and the Settlements announced that they had succeeded in saving 15 dunams of land from confiscation, just a few kilometers away, in the southwestern part of the Ariel settlement bloc.
A statement from the Salfit governorate said that the land, located in the village of Bruqin, had been under threat since its owners were served with an evacuation order, in 2013, which stated that the land was Israeli state property.
Representing the Committee Against Israel's Separation Wall and the Settlements, lawyer Alaa Mahajna manged to prove that the land was privately-owned Palestinian property that has been under constant cultivation by the owner.
Israeli authorities retracted the confiscation decision and officially recognized the land as private property.
OCHA official James Rawley stated, Thursday, that the ongoing settler violence, in conjunction with recurring access restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on Palestinians, with regard to olive groves, continues to negatively impact their lives and livelihoods.
According to WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency, Mr. Rawly (along with members of the diplomatic and donor community, the Ministry of Agriculture, and representatives of humanitarian organizations) visited the towns of al-Janiya in the Ramallah governorate, as well as Biddu in the Jerusalem governorate, today, where community representatives and olive farmers detailed the adverse effect that continued settler violence and access restrictions to their groves have had on their lives and livelihoods.
UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reportedly briefed the delegation on programs which are specifically dedicated to supporting al-Janiya and Biddu as productive olive-producing communities along others in the West Bank.
Mr. Rawly said that the annual olive harvest is a vital economic, social and cultural component for the Palestinian livelihood, because “nearly half of all cultivated land in the occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt) is planted with olive trees.”
Olive-growing communities located between the apartheid wall and the 1967 borders, as well as in the vicinity of West Bank Israeli settlements, face serious challenges in maintaining and harvesting their olive crops. “This undermines livelihoods and increases dependency on aid,” a statement from the OCHA read.
Rawly called for immediate action in support of Palestinian olive farmers to ensure protection from settler attacks; accountability for their violence; the lifting of restrictions on land access; and support to olive producing communities.
He additionally warned that the ongoing neglect would lead to severe damage to the olive sector in the West Bank as, according to OCHA statistics, the olive oil industry constitutes 25% of Palestinians agricultural income.
In the period between 2006 to the end of September 2014, OCHA recorded over 2,300 settler-related incidents which resulted in Palestinian casualties or property damage in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
In 2013 alone, nearly 400 incidents of settlers’ violence against Palestinians in the oPt were accounted for by the OCHA.
Meanwhile, in the period from 2009 to the end of August 2014, nearly 50,000 fruit-bearing trees -- mainly olive trees -- were reported damaged or destroyed in such incidents.
Furthermore, approximately 150 Palestinian communities share land located between the Wall and the 1967 borders, with only 50% of the farmers allowed access to their land during the harvest, season in the last four years, revealed OCHA statistics.
On October 10th of this year, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) reported that an olive farmer, Mahmoud Eid along with his wife and three children were attacked by a group of Israeli settlers from ‘Giv’at Ya’akov’.
The family, present on its land near the village of Burin, to the south west of Nablus, was attacked by five male settlers. According to the ISM report, the settlers threw rocks at the family while Eid tried to protect his loved ones by covering them with the canvas usedto collect fallen olives.
Subsequently, the settlers physically attacked him, hitting him in the chest, stomach, head and foot, badly bruising him.
Mr. Eid's story is just one of many in which Palestinian civilians suffer from either severe physical injuries, loss of property, produce and trees or other forms of economic disenfranchisement.
WAFA correspondence further reports that a group of Israeli settlers recently broke into a privately owned Palestinian area of land near Tulkarem, in the northern occupied West Bank, where they stole 10 large sacks stuffed full of olives.
The farmer had left the crop about two days ago, after being assaulted by illegal Israeli settlers.
Since the beginning of the 1967 occupation of the West Bank, Israel has confiscated hundreds of thousands of dunums by declaring it state land.
Israeli authorities in 1968 banned Palestinians from registering their lands and subsequently took advantage of previously low rates of land registration to confiscate areas currently or previously in use by locals but not registered as such.
The confiscated lands are then used to construct Jewish-only settlements on the land, while further confiscation often uses the pretext of the settlements' security.
22 oct 2014
Haaretz Hebrew newspaper published an internal European Union document that defines several of the EU’s “red lines” regarding Israeli actions in the West Bank that could threat the possibility of the two-state solution. The EU’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, is set to relay the message to Israel over the issues which raised the EU’s concerns, the newspaper revealed.
In recent weeks, a series of discussions have been taking place in the EU’s headquarters in Brussels between the ambassadors of the 28 member states over the European response to Israeli appropriation of 4,000 dunums in Gush Etzion in the West Bank and even more since the push forward in planning for additional constructions in Givat Hamatos.
During these discussions, which ended last weekend, it was decided to relay a sharp message to Israel in the name of all EU members, focusing on the Israeli moves which create a “focused and increasing threat to the possibility of the two-state solution.”
“The EU considers the preservation of the two-state solution a priority,” the document reads. “The only way to resolve the conflict is through an agreement that ends the occupation which began in 1967, that ends all claims and fulfills the aspirations of both parties. A one state reality would not be compatible with these aspirations.”
The document said that construction in the Givat Hamatos neighborhood, beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem would jeopardize the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. The EU “cautions the Israeli government not to move ahead with tenders and construction. Such a development would constitute one more grave “fact on the ground” which would be liable to crucially prejudge the outcome of peace negotiations,” the document reads.
The document said construction in E1 area would also jeopardize the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state, and added that it has already publicly and strongly opposed plans for E1’s development.
“The EU strongly urges Israel to put its plans of expelling 12,000 Bedouin from their lands on hold and search for other solutions together with the concerned populations and the Palestinian Authority. The EU underlines that implementing those plans may amount to a serious breach of International Humanitarian Law (IV Geneva Convention),” the document reads.
The document also addressed al-Aqsa Mosque issue, saying that attempts to challenge the status-quo have led to instability in East Jerusalem and increased tensions.
A top European diplomat noted that EU states consuls in East Jerusalem and in Ramallah planned to hold a joint tour in al-Aqsa Mosque, but aborted their plans following instructions from Brussels, fearing Israel would consider such a visit a provocation.
According to the document, the EU ambassador in Israel was instructed to clarify to the Foreign Ministry director and to the national security advisor that the EU is interested in holding “thorough discussion” on these and other issues related to the occupied Palestinian territories.
“…There is a legitimate expectation to have a constructive dialogue with the Israeli authorities on measures from their side which may impact on our assistance and its ultimate objectives of creating a sound enabling environment for economic and social development in the occupied Palestinian territories and contributing to create the conditions for a viable Palestinian state,” the documents reads.
According to Haaretz, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has followed the EU preparations to up the tone against Israel for several weeks. In discussions held over the issue in the ministry on Tuesday the expectation was floated that the message relayed by the EU ambassador would be the opening shot ahead of new European sanctions against the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
“The negotiations the EU is offering are really the hearing before the sentence,” a senior official in the ministry said.
“We have a feeling they’re expecting us to reject the offer for negotiations and give them an excuse to push the sanctions against us, or that we’ll agree in any case to negotiations in which we’ll discuss which sanctions will be leveled,” he added.
In recent weeks, a series of discussions have been taking place in the EU’s headquarters in Brussels between the ambassadors of the 28 member states over the European response to Israeli appropriation of 4,000 dunums in Gush Etzion in the West Bank and even more since the push forward in planning for additional constructions in Givat Hamatos.
During these discussions, which ended last weekend, it was decided to relay a sharp message to Israel in the name of all EU members, focusing on the Israeli moves which create a “focused and increasing threat to the possibility of the two-state solution.”
“The EU considers the preservation of the two-state solution a priority,” the document reads. “The only way to resolve the conflict is through an agreement that ends the occupation which began in 1967, that ends all claims and fulfills the aspirations of both parties. A one state reality would not be compatible with these aspirations.”
The document said that construction in the Givat Hamatos neighborhood, beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem would jeopardize the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. The EU “cautions the Israeli government not to move ahead with tenders and construction. Such a development would constitute one more grave “fact on the ground” which would be liable to crucially prejudge the outcome of peace negotiations,” the document reads.
The document said construction in E1 area would also jeopardize the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state, and added that it has already publicly and strongly opposed plans for E1’s development.
“The EU strongly urges Israel to put its plans of expelling 12,000 Bedouin from their lands on hold and search for other solutions together with the concerned populations and the Palestinian Authority. The EU underlines that implementing those plans may amount to a serious breach of International Humanitarian Law (IV Geneva Convention),” the document reads.
The document also addressed al-Aqsa Mosque issue, saying that attempts to challenge the status-quo have led to instability in East Jerusalem and increased tensions.
A top European diplomat noted that EU states consuls in East Jerusalem and in Ramallah planned to hold a joint tour in al-Aqsa Mosque, but aborted their plans following instructions from Brussels, fearing Israel would consider such a visit a provocation.
According to the document, the EU ambassador in Israel was instructed to clarify to the Foreign Ministry director and to the national security advisor that the EU is interested in holding “thorough discussion” on these and other issues related to the occupied Palestinian territories.
“…There is a legitimate expectation to have a constructive dialogue with the Israeli authorities on measures from their side which may impact on our assistance and its ultimate objectives of creating a sound enabling environment for economic and social development in the occupied Palestinian territories and contributing to create the conditions for a viable Palestinian state,” the documents reads.
According to Haaretz, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has followed the EU preparations to up the tone against Israel for several weeks. In discussions held over the issue in the ministry on Tuesday the expectation was floated that the message relayed by the EU ambassador would be the opening shot ahead of new European sanctions against the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
“The negotiations the EU is offering are really the hearing before the sentence,” a senior official in the ministry said.
“We have a feeling they’re expecting us to reject the offer for negotiations and give them an excuse to push the sanctions against us, or that we’ll agree in any case to negotiations in which we’ll discuss which sanctions will be leveled,” he added.