No. 118

The IDF continues to block access roads to the cave villages in the South Hebron Hills area. On Saturday, 5th July, 2008, a bulldozer piled up earth to block Road 317 and the villages, preventing access by tractors or water tanks. An army officer, Major Amir Mula said: "I will not rest until all the entrances are closed". Now the access roads are closed to villages such as Jinba, Mufqara, Raqib, Qawawis, Sha’b ElButm, and others. This year there is a severe drought and water has to be brought to the villages.

No. 117

The Bsharat family lives in the Jordan valley. They tend their herds and grow corn on lands leased from Palestinians, inhabitants of Tamun and Tubas, near the settlement Ro’i. Some of the lands are situated east of the Alon Road. The army has dug ditches along the road to prevent Palestinians from travelling eastwards. At a certain place the army has placed a gate which opens three times a week. The gate does not prevent passage by foot. The army harasses shepherds in the eastern lands.

On Wednesday, 2nd July, 2008, two youths, Suleiman (15) and Mashhur (13) herded their family’s herds east of the Alon Road. Soldiers came and kidnapped the youngsters, taking them to a nearby army base. Calls to the army and police were answered with the claim that the boys’ whereabouts were unknown. At 01:00 a.m. the IDF sent an escort to accompany the father in his searches. Only in the morning did the soldiers release the boys, and they returned to their family. On Friday, Mashhur went out with the herd and was kidnapped again. This time he was released at midnight.   On Wednesday, 2nd July, 2008, police forces came to the Negev Bedouin village Wadi El-Na’am, and demolished three homes. Eleven people were made homeless, and a young couple now is unable to marry. The forces continued to Twayyel Abu Jarawal, where they demolished the entire village for the SIXTEENTH time, and took away all the people’s belongings.

Nr. 116

For many years settlers from Kiryat Arba have been attacking the homes of three El Ja’abari families in Wadi Nasara, situated between Hebron and Kiryat Arba. Ever since March 2007, when settlers occupied a nearby building, they have been regularly attacking the El Ja’abari homes in that building, too.

About a year ago, settlers torched one of the homes. On 6th and 7th June, 2008, settlers approached the El Ja’abari homes, threw stones and caused damage to the roofs of the three buildings. On 13th June, 2008, settlers from the occupied building invaded one of the nearby El Ja’abari homes. They cursed and tried to attack the family, but finally the family succeeded in chasing them out. The settlers’ attacks increase on Fridays and Saturdays.

According to the El Ja’abaris, calling the police does not help. The police always listen to the settlers...

The IDF has put a road block near the main road and prevents the residents from having access to the road.

— On Wednesday 25th June, 2008, a large police contingent came to the Bedouin village Bir Hadaj and demolished two homes. Nineteen people were made homeless.

Nr. 115

Settlers from Yizhar continue to harass their Palestinian neighbours. On Thursday 19th June, 2008, they were reinforced by settlers from other places. On Tuesday, 17th June, 2008 settlers from Yizhar had attacked the Palestinian village Burin and killed two donkeys.

Two days later, on Thursday, 19th June, 2008, police forces demolished a caravan at an illegal outpost of Yizhar. Settlers went out on a rampage to take revenge on Palestinians. They attacked two villages, A-Sira Al Qibliyya and Burin. A reinforcement of over 200 settlers, arriving by bus, started to throw stones at passing Palestinian cars and then went to attack both villages. Some of the marauders attacked inside the villages, and others went to torch the agricultural fields. Soldiers who were stationed there did nothing to stop the attacks. Only after approaches by human rights organisations did a reinforcement of soldiers arrive. The villagers tried to resist the attacks and reject the attackers with stones. The soldiers threw teargas grenades at the Palestinians and into Palestinian homes. Even when the settlers had been dispersed from the villages, for a long time afterwards the soldiers prevented the Palestinians from going to put out the flames in their fields.

Nr. 114

Muhammad Hamamra of the Palestinian village Husan worked in the settlement Beitar Ilit. He and Melissa (a young Jewish settler from Beitar Ilit) fell in love and decided to get married. With that in mind, Melissa converted to Islam. A month ago they got married in Husan and have been living there since. Settlers from Beitar Ilit attacked the village and claimed Melissa was kidnapped. They threatened that the army would come to take her back to the settlement.

On Thursday, 12/06/08, soldiers arrived in Husan, surrounded Muhammad & Melissa’s home, and took both of them away from the village.They were released the next day.

Nr. 113

For nearly thirty years the Israeli military establishment has been trying to evict the Palestinian population from the south Hebron hills. For that purpose, a large area was declared military zone, expulsions were carried out, cisterns filled with dirt and stones, homes demolished, settlements and outposts erected.

Now roadblocks are used.

On 05/06/08 the Israeli army created a barrier of rocks and soil on the road connecting Twane, a village in the south Hebron area, and Yatta, the regional central town, thus suddenly blocking the one road that enables the transport of water, fodder and other supplies to the cave dwellers’ villages in the area.

This year has been struck with drought, so a severe shortage of water and grazing vegetation has hit the area.

Nr. 112

The media reported on 19th May, 2008, that IDF soldiers killed a Palestinian youth, who tried to cross the Hawara checkpoint with explosives fixed in water pipes tied to his belt. A female soldier was even decorated...

The boy, Fahmi ’Abed ElJawwad Eldarduk, a ninth grade student, left home with two cellular phones and an earphone. To calm his father he told him he had already passed the Hawara checkpoint before he actually passed it. At about 19:30, after passing the carouselle (rotating gate), the soldiers ordered him to lift his shirt. The cellphone and earphone probably made them suspicious, and they shot him immediately. A Palestinian ambulance arrived after twenty minutes but was not allowed to get near. Only at 23:30 was it allowed to take away the dead body.

IDF soldiers dispersed other Palestinians there, with tear gas and stun grenades. Settlers threw stones, and the soldiers did not stop them. Whose story should we believe?

Nr. 111

The villagers of ’Asira ElQibliyya suffer from non-stop attacks on their village. The attackers are settlers from the settlement Yizhar and IDF soldiers. On Friday, May 16, 2008, after 2.00 p.m., some 25 settlers from Yizhar came to the outskirts of the village and started stoning houses, and torching the villagers’ agricultural plots. IDF soldiers who came did nothing to stop the settlers. Villagers who tried to stop the settlers’ invasion were shot at by the soldiers with rubber bullets and tear gas grenades. One water tank, standing on a roof in the village, was damaged by bullets. The settlers stole a donkey from the village. The next day they renewed their attacks. The IDF stopped them that time.

The villagers report that these attacks have been going on for six years now, approximately once a month. Lately, the attacks have taken place weekly on Friday or Saturday. In addition to that, at times the IDF enters the village late at night, takes control of houses, puts all their inhabitants in one room, while the soldiers take over the rest of it.

Nr. 110

A day at the DCL office (District Co-ordination & Liaison Office), Etzion District:

98 Palestinians arrived this morning (18th May, 2008) at the DCL office, some have been waiting since 5.30 a.m. By 12.30 p.m. only 23 had been allowed to enter. Whoever doesn’t succeed in being received by the end of the day will be sent home and have to try again tomorrow, which means having to start again in another queue.

A dental technician came last week, to renew his entry permit into Israel. The military clerk had asked him to come back with more paperwork. But the clerk didn’t know any Arabic, and the technician doesn’t speak Hebrew and hadn’t understood him, so had come back today, stood again in line, hoping that this time the clerk would be able to explain to him in Arabic what was required.

Three people came because they’d received a General State Security "summons" to attend an Investigation. One, a doctor who manages a medical organisation, was summoned to appear last Thursday, came for his appointment at the time which had been set, waited in line all day until 3 p.m., when he was told to return again on Sunday. Today he has been waiting since the morning and understands that again today he will not be received and will have to waste another whole work day tomorrow. Two other Palestinians tell us this is the third time they’ve come for investigation at the appointed time, but were always sent home in spite of having come. They are scared that if they fail to return, they’ll receive a night visit during which they’ll be taken away for investigation...

Nr. 109

The West Bank district of the Israeli Police Force is known for its failure to arrest and press charges against colonists (aka settlers) who commit crimes. Here is a recent example:

On Friday, May 2nd, 2008 , colonists from the Maon colony assaulted Palestinian residents and international activists in the village of Tuani, in the South Hebron hills. First soldiers tried to separate the two sides. Then colonists pointed to several Palestinians and accused them of stealing cherries. The soldiers also began to assault the Palestinians. Policemen who arrived at the spot arrested five Palestinians. When Palestinians and internationals approached the policemen in order to file complaints, and show them which of the colonists had hurt them, the policemen refused to accept the complaints and arrest the assailants.

Two Palestinians and two internationals had to be taken to hospital for further medical care.

Nr. 108

The Palestinian village ’Azzun ’Atme is situated between the Green Line and the separation barrier (See Don’t say # 89). The checkpoint that separates the village from the West Bank blocks a vital artery and is a constant source of harrasment to the village.

On 14/04/08 village children returned from a trip in four busses. Upon their arrival the soldiers prevented them from entering the village. The mayor of ’Azun ’Atme, who tried to talk to the soldiers, was shot with rubber coated bullets and wounded. Three other inhabitants who tried to come and take back the children were shot with live ammunition and wounded. Only after midnight were the children allowed to go back to their village.

On Saturday, 03/05/08, a woman, on her way back to her home village, went to the checkpoint, accompanied by her brother and five children. The brother intended to drive them home. At the checkpoint the brother was told to get out of the car and wait on the side. He spoke on his cellphone while waiting. The checkpoint commander called him over and started beating him. He was put in a jail cell at the site, where other soldiers beat him as well. His family took him back to the village and called an ambulance. The soldiers held up the ambulance for half an hour at the checkpoint.

Nr. 107

On Monday, April 7th, 2008, a youth named Sharif Bajes Farid Shatiya, crossed Road 557 with his family’s flock of sheep, on his way back to the village Salem near Nablus. Road 557 leads to the settlement Elon Moreh, and only Jews are allowed to use it. Sharif was 15 years old, and was the fourth shepherd to cross the road with his flock. A bus driver from the Dan Co-operative, called Arnon Shay, who was driving his bus there, hit Sharif and killed him. The impact of the hit was so strong that Sharif was flung a distance of 70 metres. Sharif’s donkey and five sheep died in the accident as well. Many more sheep were injured. The driver sped off and escaped to the settlement Elon Moreh. The Ariel settlement police arrested him and released him on bail.

The next day, Tuesday April 8th, 2008, a MachsomWatch activist at Taysir checkpoint heard a soldier serving in the Nahal (religious) unit, who was also a settler from Elon Moreh, describing the accident to a friend, shouting as he described how the day before a bus had killed "some little Arabush, what a laugh it was, what a show, with the boy smeared all over the road..."

Nr. 106

On April 15th, 2008, Hamed Nimr Khadatbh of Beit Furiq went to work in his family’s field near the settlement Hamra. He tried to return via the Hamra checkpoint, where he was prevented from returning; (being 15 years old he still does not have an ID). He had to use a longer bypass road. In the evening his family went to look for him, including on Hamra land, but did not find him. The next day Hamed’s father found his son’s dead body on the land of Hamra with signs of abuse. An Israeli police officer determined that the signs are those of murder. The family suspects that settlers from Hamra murdered their son.

In the last three years, settlers have murdered two other people from Beit Furiq, when they were working on their land near the settlement Itamar.

On Wednesday April 16th, 2008, police forces demolished a house in the Bedouin village Umm A-Namila (north of Rahat). They continued to the village Al-Ahabiyya, near Moshav Nevatim, where they continued to demolish two more homes and an extension to a house.

Nr. 105

One of the ways for settlers to take control of Palestinians’ land is to herd their flocks onto them. On April 8th, 2008, a 12-year old Palestinian boy was grazing his family’s flocks on their own land. A settler from Yair’s Outpost arrived with his flock, and beat and wounded the Palestinian boy. Soldiers came and gave medical first aid and evacuated the boy to Susya junction, from where a Palestinian ambulance drove him to a hospital in Yatta.

According to various reports, settlers often move from one outpost to another to escape police investigations.

This part is about the previous week

On Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008, police forces demolished a home in the Bedouin village Tarabin A-Sane’. Sixteen people were made homeless, without a roof over their heads. The police continued to Twail Abu Jarwal and demolished the entire village for the who knows what time (15th?).

Nr. 104

In the Fourth Geneva Convention - which deals with protecting citizens during war and while under occupation - occupied citizens are referred to as protected.

Five years ago, after a large attack and battle on the Worshippers` Way in Hebron, settlers attacked the home of Muhammad Nur Hamed Jaber and burnt it - and stole jewellery and valuable personal effects. The family locked the house, left their furniture and property inside - and went to live elsewhere.

On Thursday, March 20th, 2008, soldiers broke into the house and stayed there for four days, for security during the Purim holiday. This was the first time the army has used Jaber`s house. On Monday morning, after the soldiers left, Jaber called a smith to weld the door closed. During the night of the next Thursday, the house was broken into again - eyewitnesses identified the intruders as soldiers - who turned the house upside down and created a huge amount of damage.

Nr. 103

This time I’m sending Erela Dunayevski’s words verbatim. I apologise for the length, but those of you who’d like to understand the reality of the occupied territories will find a good description of it here.

Erela Dunayevski: TWO DONKEYS AND THE NEXT WAR

Friday, 21st March, 2008, Purim festival. Four of us – Ehud and I from Kibbutz Shoval, and our friends, Boaz and his son Amit, from Neve Shalom, visited Umm El-Kheir – a village situated in the South Hebron Hills. Right next to the Palestinian hamlet, there’s the settlement Carmel.

In spite of the fact that the settlement is situated on the land of Umm El-Keir, and there’s water and electricity in the settlement and not in the village, and that the grazing area for the flocks of Umm El-Kheir have shrunk due to the settlement, and that if anyone does anything that is considered forbidden by the Carmel settlers he risks his health and life, in spite of all that, ’Eid, a youngster from Umm El-Kheir, says he wishes they’d live together as good neighbours. He says all the trouble is made by two or three people of the settlement outpost, built in 2005. ’Eid says that his family knows a Carmel settler who is a good person, and that he has eaten with them, and when Carmel children throw stones towards Umm El-Kheir, he stops them. These things Ehud and I had heard before that day, the day when the case of the two donkeys took place. Listening to ’Eid, we thought maybe we could find this good person of the Carmel settlement and strike up a sort of communication, leading to calm. That’s why Ehud, Boaz Amit and I returned to Umm El-Kheir that Friday.

When we arrived, the men went to pray and the women stayed with us. We chatted in the visitors’ shed and then went to look around. While we were looking, two donkeys from Umm El-Kheir started walking towards Carmel. Quite quickly they passed the open area between the main settlement and the newer outpost. The women of Umm El-Kheir got worried, since it was dangerous for the villagers to get them back. I thought that we, being Jewish, could help them easily, and prevent another unnecessary conflict.

Boaz and Amit started to move the donkeys towards the village, while I stood at the road connecting the two parts of the settlement so the donkeys wouldn’t go towards the main settlement. Ehud stayed with the village women to calm them. After five minutes the donkeys returned, and we were happy to have been of assistance, and that no incident had taken place. But within those five minutes the Carmel security detail arrived, including one person on a quad-bike, who shouted at Boaz, that "if a donkey passes here again, it will be shot, including the person who comes to get it back". Boaz replied that "no one is going to be shot" but no one listened to him. We probably did not really understand what was going on.

Then the (civilian) security chief of Carmel arrived, with a female soldier who was on patrol in the area. Boaz went to the vehicle with his hand stretched out for a hand shake to introduce himself, and someone near the security chief shook his hand but did not say his name. Immediately they started shouting at us, calling us provocators, leftists, Jew-haters, leftist provocators, etc. I tried to explain about the donkeys, but only the soldier listened. When the security chief saw she was listening, he yelled at her to go and do her duty. The soldier was scared and left. Meanwhile a police car with three policemen arrived and another military vehicle with soldiers. The three of us (Boaz, Amit and myself) tried to explain but were constantly interrupted by the settlers. Amit tried to talk to some youngsters from Carmel who arrived disguised (it was Purim festival) but was threatened, while another youngster shouted at the police to detain us.

Amit asked the policeman (named Avner) why he let them to talk to him like that. Avner shrugged his shoulders. Boaz also tried to talk to some of the kids but this was interrupted by an older settler who called Boaz a Jew-hater. We didn’t change our subdued tone, while they only increased their violent tone. But there was no dialogue.

The policemen listened to the whole donkey ordeal and didn’t think much of it. Only that they were totally controlled by the settlers. They reported to the police commander of Kiryat Arba. Avner and Ofer the policemen told us they were helpless and constrained by their commanders’ orders. I told them that Jews should not say that they are "only obeying orders."

I was very stressed when they told us (it was noon) that we were being detained for interrogation, as I had to get back to my kibbutz for an important meeting regarding a client of mine. I tried to explain that to the police, but it didn’t help, they had to carry on this futile inquiry only because the police and military are controlled by the settlers. When we got to the police station we waited for an hour before we were interrogated. The investigator met first with Simcha, the settlement security officer and he filed a complaint. I again requested we be interrogated first so I could get back on time, but to no avail. Simcha is more important, or threatening, or it’s best to keep on good terms with him. Finally the investigator told us in our interrogation that we were being delayed so the police could protect us from the settlers.

They gave us the phone number of the senior investigating officer. That evening we used it, as a drunken settler of Carmel (these were Purim festival days) entered Umm El-Kheir to raise havoc. The Carmel settlers took him back before the police arrived.

To protect myself from the abyss of hatred, I hope that one day they’ll open their eyes and see. Until that happens we shall frequent Umm El Kheir trying to help them…

Erela.

Nr. 102

Some inhabitants of the South Hebron Hills were expelled from their villages in 1999, and in 2001, the Supreme Court of Justice, in an order overturning that expulsion, enabled their return. In spite of the court’s decision, the IDF and settlers continue to try to evict the inhabitants from their villages and land. Recurring home demolitions, expulsion of farmers from their land, and assaults on students on their way to school demonstrate that intention.

On Wednesday, 19 March, 2008, the IDF demolished 11 homes in the South Hebron Hills region. In Qawawis, two homes and a sheep shed were demolished and a residential cave was blocked up. In Yatir - three homes and a sheep shed were demolished. In Dirat - two homes. In Umm Lasifa - two homes. The next day, three settlers attacked two youngsters and a pregnant woman herding their flock near Twane. The same day settlers from Maon outpost attacked Palestinian kids from Tuba, while on their way to the school in Twane.

On Saturday, 23 March 2008, settlers attacked a Palestinian who was herding his flock in Qawawis.

Nr. 101

The co-operation between the security forces and the settlers, in the attempt to drive Palestinians off their land is examplified in the following cases:

— On Thursday, 13/03/08, a policeman (Captain Imran) attacked two shepherds from Umm El-Kheir (see Don’t say... #100). The police arrested two shepherds, and later released them in condition that they will not enter their own land!

— On Friday, 14/03/08, several shepherds, accompanied by internationals, went to herd their livestock in Harruba valley near Twane. After talking to settlers of Havat Maon, Israeli security forces arrived and attacked the shepherds and their company. The security forces ordered them to leave the area as it was declared a closed military area.

— On Saturday, several shepherds from Mufqara and Twane herded their livestock near the outpost Avigail. Soldiers and settlers demanded them and their Israeli and international company to go away. That day Israeli forces attacked Palestinian shepherds and their Israeli companions while they were herding their livestock on their land near Susya. They arrested two shepherds (claiming they attacked the soldiers. The video proved the opposite) and two Israeli companions. Israeli soldiers sweared at the Israelis and called them Nazis.

Nr. 100

The Hadhelin tribe were forced to leave their land and homes in Tel ’Arad in the south of Israel, in 1948.

Throughout the years they have bought land in the South Hebron hills region, and built their new village there: Umm El-Kheir. Today there are 80 people living in this village. In 1981 the colony of Carmel was built nearby and partly on their land. The inhabitants of Umm El-Kheir do not get construction permits, only demolition orders and demolitions. The settlement expands and new houses are built near Umm El-Kheir. Ever since these house were inhabited, the settlers have tried to expel their Palestinian neighbours. On Friday, 07/03/08, some thirty settlers attacked shepherds of the Hadhelin. They threw to the ground and wounded a 70-year old woman. Police and army forces were called to the spot. No culprit was arrested. On Sunday, 09/03/08, settlers attacked the shepherds again.

Nr. 99 Things everybody knows.

Now, as a war is waged in Gaza, and criminal attacks on civilian localities in Israel continue, I’ll write things which everybody knows, but tends to forget when succumbing to rage and hatred. Ever since the Beirut meeting of the Arab League in 2002, the Arab world has offered peace to Israel. Israeli governments have refused ever since. For some years, the President of Syria, Assad, has been calling on the Israeli government to return to the negotiation table. Israel refuses. The Geneva Initiative understandings showed that a Palestinian-Israeli peace could be achieved. One reason the Sharon government chose unilateral disengagement was to undermine the Geneva Initiative. Israel and the USA demanded the Palestinians to hold democratic elections. Such elections were indeed carried out, but unfortunately the wrong party was elected. Israel and the USA chose to boycott the Palestinian Authority. After Hamas took over Gaza, Israel started to negotiate with Abu Mazen, on condition that he would not come to terms with Hamas. For a long time, Hamas has offered Israel a ceasefire. Israel has refused that offer.

Nr 98

The co-operation between extremist settlers and the Government and the Municipality of Jerusalem, in settling Jews and pushing out Palestinians, is exemplified in the case of Silwan.

The Elad Association started taking control of houses and land in Silwan in 1991. It was given responsibility over the Jewish-owned land in Silwan by the Jewish National Fund (JNF). At the time, the association was interested in construction, even if Jewish antiquities were damaged. In spite of the fact that Elad was accused of damaging the antiquities in Silwan, the Jerusalem Municipality transferred responsibility for the antiquities and archaeological excavations to the association. The IDF takes educational tours in the place, conducted by guides from Elad. Taking control of Palestinian homes in questionable ways is accompanied by guarding them – the guards are fully financed by the State. Often, Palestinian houses threatened by demolition are purchased. Once purchased, not only are they not demolished, but additions are made to them! Nowadays, the association uses the archaeological excavations to close off areas from the Palestinian residents. The excavations are carried out under Palestinian homes, causing them damage. In a kindergarten large cracks were caused to the building because of the excavation underneath. Two weeks ago, five families appealed to the Supreme Court against the excavations carried out under their homes. The next day, in the late hours of the night, police came and arrested five people from the families.

Nr 97

The village Mashad is situated north-east of Upper Nazareth, and has a population of 6,900 residents. Before a huge land confiscation in the 1970s, they had owned 11,069 dunums (dunum=1000 sq.m), of which they managed to retain only 7,300. Only 830 dunums have been zoned for residential construction. Housing problems have forced residents to move to the village Reina or even to Upper Nazareth. On 14th June, 2007 bulldozers of the Ministry of Interior and the Israel Lands Administration came to the village and uprooted olive trees in plots they claimed had been confiscated in 1976 (64 dunums). The landowners replanted their trees, and erected a protest tent in which they and other villagers lived. On 15th January 2008, they left, hoping the government had given up. On the same day, police with tractors came to the plots and uprooted 400 olive trees.

Nr 96

The IDF’s efforts to expel the Bedouin residents of El Hadidiyya continue. Hadidiyya is located in the Jordan valley (see Don’t say #s 57 and 69). On Wednesday, February 6th, 2008, the IDF demolished homes and animal sheds belonging to four families. Thirty-four people, mostly children, were made homeless. On the same day, the IDF demolished the homes and animal sheds of five Palestinian families in Jiftlik in the Jordan valley. Nearly forty people were thus made homeless.

On Tuesday, 5th February, 2008, police forces arrived in Twayyel Abu Jarawal in the Negev, and demolished the village’s tents for the fourteenth time.

Nr 95

On January 24th, 2008, Muhammad and Mahmud Sabarina entered a yeshiva in the settlement Kfar Etzion and tried to attack the people there. The two men were killed in the ensuing fight.

On Friday, February 1st, 2008, the IDF passed their bodies on to the Red Crescent, which then handed their bodies over to their families in Beit Umar for burial. The large funeral procession left the mosque in Beit Umar and moved towards the town’s cemetery. On approaching the gate that blocks the entrance to Route No. 60 - and the town’s cemetery - IDF soldiers stationed nearby opened fire on the people who had come to pay their last respects. They used live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets, gas and stun grenades. No warning was given.

The families and some other people managed to get to the cemetery using a bypass road. Then IDF soldiers arrived and at gunpoint told them to bury their dead quickly and leave. Other soldiers entered the town and started shooting live ammunition, gas, and rubber-coated bullets, and pursuing youngsters who threw stones at them.

Fourteen of the town’s residents were wounded.

Nr 94

The co-operation between the state and the settlers in efforts to expel Palestinians from their villages and lands in the South Hebron Hills area, continues.

The following case serves as an example:

The Shinirans lived in Arab Susya. In the mid 1980s, the IDF expelled the residents, because the site was declared a national archaeological site. The Shiniran family then settled on its land, outside the village, some 2,5 kms west of the settlement Susya. In 2000, settlers started to attack the family, trying to forcibly expel them. In 2001, the army expelled all Palestinians of Susya, including the Shinirans. An interim Supreme Court order facilitated their return. Attacks on the family started anew. In March 2006, fifteen masked settlers arrived and evicted the family from its hilltop homes. The family filed a complaint with the police. The police "had to" close the case for lack of proof.

Nr 93

Two months after the end of the olive harvest, in most places, Palestinians were able to harvest their olive trees. However, we know of four places in which they could not harvest because of settler aggression, in spite of appeals to the DCOs.

Palestinians of the village Karyut could not harvest, fearing settlers of the settlements Shvut Rachel and Esh Kodesh.

Palestinians of Jit were attacked by settlers of Havat Gilad and could not harvest their olives.

Palestinians of Bani Na’im, in that part of their land surrounded by the security fence of the settlement Pnei Hever, were not permitted to enter and harvest their olives.

A Palestinian by the name of Khalifa Da’ana of Hebron, whose land is surrounded by the security fence of Giv’at Harsina, was permitted entry only on 18th January 2008. There was already nothing left to harvest. The following day settlers arrived and stoned his home. When he tried to photograph them, his camera was confiscated by soldiers. Only after human rights’ workers intervened was it returned to him.

Nr 92

In parallel with the establishment of outposts, settlers start controlling land which they do not own, some of it owned by Palestinians, and some classified as "state land". The Civil Administration (IDF) makes no particular effort to stop them. For example, in August 2007, an area of about 20 dunums (dunum = 1000 sq.m) was prepared for cultivation near the settlement Nahliel, some of which land is privately owned by Palestinians. A complaint to the Civil Administration led to a declaration that the activities were illegal. In October 2007, the Civil Administration issued an order for activities to cease. In December 2007, it was discovered during a survey that the plot had already expanded to become 100 dunums in size.

Nr. 91

I’ll make a short confession: I’ve been involved for over ten years in the struggle against the policy of home demolition, and never ever have I heard of humans being referred to in such a way. The case relates to some ten buildings of about 200 people of the Jadua’ family, of the Jahalin tribe, living in a part of the village ’Anata annexed to Jerusalem by Israel in 1967. The Jerusalem Municipality decided to demolish their homes and evict the people. To that end, the demolition order was issued for demolition of "environmental hazards, waste and rubbish".

Nr 90

Refusing to grant construction permits as well as-home demolitions are tools in the-demographic war waged by the State of Israel-and the Jerusalem Municipality against the Palestinian population-annexed-in 1967.

In 2007 the Ministry of the Interior and the Municipality demolished 84 Palestinian homes in areas that were annexed to Jerusalem in 1967. Some 500 people became homeless.

Two demolitions are especially interesting to note because of their timing: The day following the Annapolis event, the Jerusalem Municipality demolished the home of ’Ali Abu Sirhan, in-the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sawahra. 12 people lost their home.

On Christmas Day, 25/12/07, the Municipality demolished the home of ’Awiwi family. Seven people were made homeless.

Nr 89

The Palestinian village ’Azun Atme is situated west of the separation barrier in a fenced enclave. About 3,000 people live in the village. Nearly 4,000 dunums (dunum = 1000 m^2) were stolen from the village for the settlements Sha’arey Tikva and Oranit. A further 500 dunums were confiscated for the fence. The village is left with 7,500 dunums.

A gate in the fence leading to the rest of the West Bank is opened between 6am to 10pm. The village market, once frequented by the inhabitants of the area, had to close because passage is denied to people who do not reside in the village. On the night between Friday and Saturday, December 14, 2007, a woman with labor pains arrived at the gate accompanied by her mother and husband. They asked the soldiers to help them pass through quickly. The soldiers called an army patrol to let them through. While waiting for the patrol to arrive she gave birth at the gate.

Two months ago there was a similar case. A woman in labor arrived, asked to be let through, but eventually had to return to give birth at home.

In February 2007 a person injured in a tractor accident arrived. The soldiers delayed his passage through the gate and he consequently died from loss of blood.

Nr 88

Administrative detention (ie imprisonment without trial) negates a person’s liberty, and his basic right to defend himself against accusations. This procedure enables the authorities to detain people without trial, based on classified information, for an undetermined period of time. Today there are nearly 900 Palestinians under administrative detention.

W.A. is a journalist from the newspaper "Palestine". He has been detained since June 2007, and his term has been extended until May 2008. During his detention he has been in solitary confinement, without that fact being made known to his family or lawyer.

S.R. was sentenced to imprisonment in March 2002. On finishing his sentence, in October 2004, he was transferred to administrative detention, where he has remained until today. The authorities claim that he runs terrorist activities from the prison. He has no means of communication with the outside world. A.L.S. was arrested following testimony by a collaborator suffering from mental illness. The collaborator stated that A.L.S.’s brother taught him to prepare bombs on his return from Kuwait. He was arrested in November 2004, underwent tough interrogation for a month, and then put in administrative detention. The brother was detained as well, and then released. A.L.S. is still in prison. So far eleven administrative detention orders have been issued against him (the orders must be renewed every few months). The authorities have prevented the three detainees from receiving any visits.

On Tuesday, 11th December, 2007, police forces demolished 15 homes of Bedouins in the Negev. In Twail Abu Jarwal, they demolished four tents and four tin shacks. In addition, they demolished seven more homes, near El Sara, Tel ’Arad, Abu Tlul Ashab, Bir El Hamam, El Bat and two homes in El Madbah.

Nr 87

In 1986 the IDF expelled Palestinian Susya farmers - sixty families - from their village. The reason given was that they lived near an antiquities site, which had been declared an official site. They were given no alternative. Some went to live on their agricultural land, while some went to live in Yatta. In 2001, they were again evicted, but returned under an order of the Supreme Court. Since then, they have suffered from continuing harassments of the Jewish settlers of Susya, who want to drive them off their land.

Yasser is one of the original Susya residents. After the eviction, he moved to Yatta. He continued to return to work his land; he owns an olive grove. On Thursday, 6th December, 2007, a resident of Palestinian Susya found that 32 of Yasser’s trees had been cut down, presumably by settlers from a nearby outpost, where they had celebrated the lighting of the third Hanukka candle.

Nr 86

The attacks by the IDF on Azzun continue. Almost daily, soldiers enter the village, throw stun grenades, and provoke students when they get out of school (see ’Don’t say’ nr 84). Often they impose a curfew on the village.

On 23rd November, 2007, the soldiers attacked human rights activists-who tried to document their activities. On 27th November, the IDF entered the village, shot three pupils on their way home, wounding them, including one who was seriously wounded. After that, they searched a house for a wanted person, shot inside the house and caused-bad damage. They arrested two youngsters of the family and beat them. After interrogation they released one of them, and detained the other. At that point, they again beat up human rights activists who tried to document their actions.

Nr 85

— The prisoner Amana Muna is on hungerstrike to protest against her imprisonment conditions and the abuses of the gaolers: beatings, solitary confinement, fines, prevention of visits of family and attorney, to name but a few.

For a while she was the spokesperson of the security prisoners, and then was punished for their actions as well. For 14 months she has been in solitary confinement in harsh unhygenic conditions. There are many cockroaches and other insects in her cell. She was transferred to Kishon detention centre when Neve Tirtza prison (the women’s prison) underwent renovations. She hoped for better conditions and stopped the hungerstrike. Soon she discovered that nothing had changed so she started the hungerstrike again. She was brought in a wheelchair to her lawyer’s last visit.

— On Wednesday, 21st November, 2007, the state again demolished Bedouins’ homes in the Negev, on this occasion in the village ’Abda. Two homes and half of another home were demolished. Two families and a single person living alone – a total of 13 people – were made homeless.

Nr 84

— For three months now, IDF soldiers have been provoking pupils at the school in the Palestinian village ’Azzun (some 10 km east of the Green Line). Almost daily, the soldiers arrive with a jeep near the school, before it ends. If any pupil throws stones, they impose a curfew on the whole village. Two weeks ago, two stun grenades were thrown into the school yard during studies. On 9th November, the soldiers caught a boy, beat him up, and took him for arrest. The next day they entered an internet cafe, where they beat and arrested four youngsters. On 13th November, they announced that they would use live ammunution on children throwing stones.

On Sunday, 18th November, an IDF jeep entered the school yard, stopping at the main building. Teachers who went out to ask the soldiers to leave were threatened with weapons aimed at them. The villagers suspect that the provocations are being made to prove to the Supreme Court a security need for construction of the "fence" there, that will block the exit of Road 55.

— On Thursday, 15th November, 2007, police forces demolished two houses in the Bedouin village Tel-’Arad. One had just been built and was still uninhabited. The other was home to a family of eight people. The police also demolished the home of seven people, in the Bedouin village El-Za’arura, and another uninhabited house there.

Nr 83

— The village El-Nu’eman (Mazmuriyya) is in an odd situation. After the 1967 war, Israel annexed the village to Jerusalem. Its inhabitants were mistakenly registered as residents of Umm A-Tale which was not annexed to Jerusalem. Instead of correcting that bureaucratic mistake, the state is exploiting it to evict the inhabitants from their homes.

The trouble started in 1992. Inspectors from the Ministry of Interior informed the residents that they must not build new homes or expand those already built. In 1993, Israel imposed a closure on the Occupied Territories, in effect until today. The inhabitants of El-Nu’eman became illegal dwellers in their own homes. In 1996, their children were kicked out of their school in Umm Tuba (a village annexed to Jerusalem) on the pretext that they were not Jerusalem residents but rather of the Occupied Territories. The villagers receive no municipal services from the municipality of Jerusalem, except for large fines for unrecognised construction. In 2006, the authorities demolished two homes in the village. In 2003, work started on the separation fence there, which blocks the villagers’ connection and access to Bethlehem; the road to Jerusalem was previously blocked, before then. Every entry or exit from the village is dependent on the whim of Border Police units. Visitors are prevented from entering.

— The Israeli government continues its war against its Bedouin citizens in the Negev. On Wednesday, two homes were demolished in the village Bir El-Hammam. A widow with six children, and a couple with two kids, were rendered homeless. In El-Grayn, a house was demolished which had been home to six people. In El-Zarnuq, a home for a newly-wed couple was demolished.

Nr 82

— The Israeli government treats its Bedouin citizens as if they were herds of cattle. It moves them arbitrarily from where they live to other places, and then does not recognise those villages where they live. When the Bedouin carry out their basic right to have a roof over their heads, the state criminalises them. And then it wants to move them once more, to townships.

— Wadi ElNa’am has 5,000 residents. Some lived there before the state was established, some were moved there in 1953. In 1976, the national toxic waste dump, Ramat Hovav, was created near the village, on the other side of the road. In 1985, a power station was built inside the village (despite which, the village has not benefitted). In the 1990s, munition factories were built in Ramat Beqa; these plants are the greatest danger to the villagers. Recently, the state has been negotiating with the inhabitants to move them somewhere else. During the negotiations, the police demolished eleven homes on Thursday, 1st November, 2007. Seven were homes of newlyweds and the others were intended soon to be inhabited.

— The Bedouin village A-Sar was built before the State’s independence. Whenever the industrial zone at Emeq Sara has been expanded, those Bedouin residents living nearby have been kicked out.

On Thursday, 1st November, 2007, the police demolished four homes in A-Sar.

Nr 81

There are 400 residents in the Palestinian village Jalud, a village which once owned 16,000 dunums (dunum = 1000 sq.m.). Israel stole 12,000 dunums which are now used by the settlements Shilo, Shvut Rachel and Achia, and the outposts Adei Ad and Esh Kodesh. One tough case is that of Fawzi Ibrahim ’Abed Haj Muhammad. He once owned 12,000 dunums of land and most has been taken, while much of the remaining land is situated between those settlements or near them, and so he cannot reach it. Any time he or anyone from his family has tried to cultivate the land, he or she has been attacked by settlers who have driven him away. Each year he is required to prove ownership of his land. Last Saturday (27th October, 20007) when his family went to harvest the olives on one of the plots, they were attacked by settlers. When the army arrived, it demanded proof of ownership. Until the inquiries are completed, the family is forbidden from entering the land and harvesting the olives. Settler attacks have, for some years now, prevented Fawzi from entering most of his land.

Nr 80

— The mercy days of Ramadan are over. The demolitions are back. Wednesday, 24th October, 2007, police forces arrived at the village Twail Abu Jarwal (near Goral junction in the Negev) and demolished it, yet again. They arrived with lorries and tractors and loaded the demolished tents so the inhabitants will not be able to use them again. The State does not have any place to house the residents. When the victims are Bedouin citizens of Israel that fact is not enough to prevent the demolition.

— After having finished with Twail Abu Jarwal the police went to the protest tent of Nuri ElUqbi. Nuri demands that his tribe, ElUqbi, can return to its land, a few kilometres south of Rahat, as they were promised when the IDF evicted them in 1951. Nuri was arrested, and his tent and equipment were taken. A few hours later he was released.

Nr 79

— Even after the withdrawal from the Gaza strip, Israel still controls the area’s entries and exits. Today there are 6,400 Gazans who want to leave the strip for various reasons, and Israel is preventing them from doing so. Amongst them are 680 who are students wanting to study abroad. Gaza has become a prison.

— Wissam Ghazi Abu Jawa finished his BSc (chemistry) studies at the Islamic University in Gaza in 1998. He decided to continue his MSc studies, in environmental studies. In 2001, he was admitted to the Israeli Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, but the IDF prevented him from attending. In 2003 he was admitted to the University of Goettingen, for environmental studies. Again, his exit was prevented by the IDF. In 2006 he was admitted to the University of Nottingham. Again the IDF interfered. He tried again in 2007 and the IDF, yet again, prevented his exit.

The Israeli authorities do not claim any "security" danger as to Mr. Abu Jawa.

Nr 78

— On the night of 1st October, 2007, at around 01:30 a.m., an IDF force entered the Palestinian village Dir Istya in the Salfit region. The soldiers searched a few houses and arrested three youngsters.

— And here is a description of what happened in one of the houses: the soldiers threw stones at the door and windows of the house. They broke a window and damaged the door and the surrounding wall. When the father opened the door, four soldiers entered and started beating him, his wife, and their 22-year old daughter. Their 19-year old son they tied up, and took to a military vehicle a few hundred metres away. They beat and assaulted him on the way. The rest of the family, eight people, were removed from the house. Four soldiers then searched the house, which they did whilst damaging and destroying the contents and generally "trashing" the home.

Nr 77

Settlers from Maon farm in the South Hebron Hills don’t stop attacking their Palestinian neighbours. On Friday, 28th September, 2007, two shepherds from the cave village Mufaqra went out with their herd. Four international human rights activists accompanied them. At 07:00, 15 settlers appeared, coming from the direction of Maon farm. Three of them covered their faces and started to attack the shepherds and their accompaniers. They threw stones and threatened the lives of the shepherds and their group. One of the attackers snatched a video camera from the hands of a human rights activist. The police and the army arrived only after 40 minutes. One of the human rights activists filed a complaint at the Qiryat Arba police station...

Nr 76

— Settlers from the area of Havat Maon, in the South Hebron Hills, continue to attack Palestinian residents of Tuba, in order to expell them from their village and land. On Sunday, 23rd September, 2007, in the late afternoon, ten settlers entered Tuba and started to attack the villagers. For nearly an hour, they threw stones at them, their homes and property, and hit a woman and her son. At 17:30 human rights activists summoned the police to the village. The police only arrived at 19:30, long after the attackers had left.

— On Tuesday, 25th September, 2007, clerks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs again came to the village of Twail Abu Jarwal, and delivered demolition orders to all the houses there.

— Meanwhile, the Green Patrol has demolished, again, the tent of Nuri ElUqbi. Since Nuri started his protest on his village land, the authorities have demolished his tent numerous times. Nuri is determined to continue his struggle so his people regain their land.

Nr 75

Discrimination against Palestinian Israeli citizens also occurs in the policies and conditions of imprisonment.

David Ben Shimol (an Israeli Jew) was convicted of the murder of one person and the wounding of tens of others, after he had fired a LAU missile at a bus full of Arab passengers. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. After some time, his sentence was reduced to 24 years, and then further reduced to 17 years. (In Israel, it is the President who determines the period of imprisonment after more than five years, in the case of life imprisonment). He was released after serving 11 years, after a third of his term was reduced, as usual, due to good behaviour.

Muhammad Mansur Ziada (a Palestinian Israeli citizen), of Lod, 51 years old and father of seven, is in prison for life after throwing a hand grenade at a bus full of soldiers. The hand grenade did not explode and no damage or harm occurred. Ziada has already been in prison for 18 years, and his term has not been reduced.

Mukhles Ahmad Murghal (a Palestinian Israeli citizen) is in prison for the same reason as Ziada. He was sentenced to life, and his term later commuted to 40 years. He has been in prison for 18 years.

Ami Popper (a Jewish Israeli citizen) was sentenced to seven life sentences for the murder of seven Palestinian workers and the wounding of 14 others. His term was commuted to 40 years. During his imprisonment he has married and had 5 children. Every day he goes to study in a yeshiva or goes to work. He often takes holidays and is allowed to talk freely on the phone.

Muhammad and Mukhles cannot use the phone, and when relatives visit them, physical contact is denied. They have never once had a vacation.

Nr 74

The village Qawawis is situated in the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank. In 2003, following pressure from settlers and the army, the residents had to leave their village. Settlers invaded the village. After the settlers were removed, the original residents returned.

It looks as if the efforts of the Israeli government and settlers from the nearby illegal outposts are succeeding. With the help of the ’law,’ homes have already been demolished twice in Qawawis — four homes a year ago and four more homes, four months ago. The demolitions and settler attacks have forced the villagers to leave. Now only one elderly couple lives in Qawawis, and their home is threatened by demolition. The rest, 25 people, now stay outside Qawawis.

A few hundred metres to the east is another village, named Sha’ab ElButum. North of it, is an illegal outpost Avigayil and to the south, the illegal outpost Mitzpe Yair. Once Sha’ab ElButum is besieged from the west, from the Qawawis side, its chances of survival are dim.

Nr 73

Jayyous village is situated about 6.5 kilometers east of the Green Line, and is inhabited by 3,700 people. They own 12,800 dunams of land (a dunam = 1000 square meters). The separation fence that was built near the village separates it from most of its land: 8,600 dunams.

The fence has an access gate to its lands, but 34 of the village inhabitants cannot go through for security reasons, and a further 70 for bureaucratic reasons.- The land was registered under the name of their grandfather, during the time of Jordanian rule. Those whose name does not include that of their grandfather, i.e., their full name includes their given name, their father’s name, their grandfather’s name and their family name, are forbidden from passing through the gate to their land. It is stipulated that the crops may be sold neither in Israel nor in Nablus, but must be marketed only to nearby villages.

Six wells in the area, between the fence and the Green Line, supply water to several Palestinian localities. Three water pipes were planned to carry water from these wells to the village.- However, in 2003 the civil administration halted these plans by denying permission to proceed. The village therefore suffers from a water shortage.

Nr 72

The Ja’abaris of Hebron own a plot of land near the police station of the settlement Kiriat Arba. It does not prevent the Kiriat Arba and Hebron settlers from invading the Ja’abaris land and attacking the family and their home (See Don’t say… # 54). All the complaints filed at the police have not brought about the arrest of the attackers. Even a supreme court ruling that forbids the entry of settlers into the area (except for emergency) have not stopped the situation.

Because of the destruction the settlers caused in the area, Israeli peace activists arrived on Friday, 31/08/07, for a joint work day with the Ja’abari family, to prepare the land for growing crops. Upon arrival they found out that a "summer camp" for the settlers’ children took place there. The settlers attacked the peace activists, stole the agricultural tools, and disturbed the work. The police asked the deputy commander of Hebron for help in removing the settlers. He refused, saying, "we have to live with these people afterwards". The night before, settlers stoned the house of the Ja’abari family.

Israel continues its war against its Bedouin citizens of the village Tawail Abu Jarwal. On Thursday, 30/08/07, police forces arrived and demolished for the 10th time all the tents of the village.

Nr 71

For many years, the farmers of Sinjil, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, have suffered harassment at the hands of settlers who come from the settlements of ’Eli, and outposts in the vicinity.

Ibrahim’s family own a 20 dunam (dunam=1000 sq. m) vineyard. Every August for the last four years, settlers from the Givat HaRoeh outpost have shown up at the time of the harvest. Sometimes they steal the grapes, and sometimes they simply throw them on the ground. In either case, Ibrahim and his family don’t enjoy them. Two years ago, the police caught settler girls who had arrived and destroyed all the fruit. This did not serve as a deterrent. Two weeks ago, the settlers arrived once again and ruined the harvest.

Nr 70

Checkpoint arbitrariness isn’t always a matter of life and death.

On Friday, 17th August, 2007, Safa Fuqaa of the Palestinian village ’Ein ElBida (in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley) went to Tubas, to be dressed and made-up for her wedding. On her way back to her village, she arrived at Tiyasir checkpoint at 12:00 noon. All those waiting at the checkpoint made way for her as they could see that she was a bride on her way to her wedding. The soldier told her to get out of the car and go through the pedestrian pass, equipped with a carousel. Alas, she could not have passed through as the width of the carousel is a mere 54 centimetres. Too narrow for her dress. Safa had to leave Tiyasir checkpoint and drive 70 km further to Hamra checkpoint where she was permitted to pass without going through the carousel there.

The carousel in Tel Aviv Central train station is 90 cm wide.

Correcting an error: The IDF did not demolish two irrigation pools in Bardale, as was mistakingly reported last week. Our apologies.

Nr 69

The war being waged by the Israeli army against Palestinian civilians continues. On Wednesday, August 8, 2007, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) demolished four houses and two water storage pools in Palestinian villages located in the West Bank section of the Jordan Valley. The IDF demolished a pool in Bardala where these pools are used for drinking and agriculture.

The army then headed for Sahel Libqeya, where they demolished two more homes. From there, they went on to Frush Beit Dajan where they destroyed another water storage pool. In Jiflik the army demolished a home and removed another one which they transported by truck to an unknown destination.

On August 12, the IDF demolished four metal shacks near Humsa, southeast of Israeli settlement Ro’i. Residents of El Hadidya had built these shacks after demolition orders were received for their entire village. [Here was originally added, but later revoked: On the same day the IDF demolished two additional water storage pools in the village of Bardala.]

Nr 68

Means used to push Palestinians out of the West Bank Jordan Valley include either the delineation of closed military zones, or home demolitions, or arrests, or deprivation of water supply.

For years Said, from the village Fasail in the Jordan Valley, has herded his flocks on the village’s pasture. At about mid-day he would take the flocks to the village spring, situated near the village. A few months ago the army declared the spring (the village water source) and surrounding area as a closed military zone, and entry of Palestinians was forbidden. Said continued to bring his flocks daily to the spring. Mekorot - the Israeli government water carrier - dug a well in the location and erected a fence around it. On 24th July, 2007 Said herded the flocks on the way to the spring, outside the fence of the well. The guards of Mekorot arrested Said, and accused him of entry into the fenced area. A military tracker brought to the scene found that Said did not enter the fenced area. Nevertheless, policemen who were brought in arrested Said so that he would tell them who entered the well... After four days he was released, having paid NIS 1500.

Nr 67

Settlers continue to take lands that does not belong to them.

The Hushiyya family of the West Bank town of Yatta owns land between the settlement Susya and the outpost Mitzpe Yair, in the South Hebron Hills area. On 5 July 2007 they discovered that settlers from Susya are tending a plot belonging to the family. The owners filed a complaint with the police, and the police notified them that they would bar settlers from entry to the land. Despite this, the settlers continued to work the land day and night. They built a hut, inside which armed settlers are staying, preventing the owners from entering.

On Friday, 27 July 2007, at night, the settlers planted vines on the plot. Robbing land can be done on Shabbat...

Nr 66

Wednesday, 18th July 2007, was dedicated by the Knesset to study the problems of the Bedouins in the Negev. Among the important declarations that day were those made by the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Construction and Housing: both said they want to cease demolition of Bedouin homes in the Negev.

On Thursday, 19th July 2007, police forces arrived at the village Twail Abu Jarwal, and demolished all the houses and tents there for the ninth time. From there they continued to Wadi El Na’am, demolished a house there, and then to Khirbet El Watan where they demolished another house. The inhabitants of Twail Abu Jarwal have nowhere to go. The state does no offer them any alternative, but it does not-stop the state from demolishing their homes.

Nr 65

Prof. Stacy Krainz, a US citizen, directed the English department of the Arab-American University in Jenin for three years, and taught there. Every month or every three months she had to leave the country to have her visa renewed. In September 2006 she went to Jordan for visa renewal but, on return, her visa and re-entry were denied. And so the Arab-American University in Jenin lost a teacher and a manager. Further attempts to re-enter in October and November 2006 were denied. No security claim was made against Prof. Krainz. After the involvement of the American Consulate in East Jerusalem she was allowed to return in March, but only to collect her belongings and then leave.

Many teachers in the university’s English Department are foreigners, who fear that Israel will prevent them from continuing to work at the university. This would leave 272 English students without many of their teachers.

Nr 64

Settlers from Maon, in the South Hebron Hills, never cease trying to expel the Palestinian farmers from their land and villages.

Two weeks ago, the settlers put up a tent on a hill called Um Zeitun, between Maon and the Palestinian hamlet Tuba. The army didn’t evacuate the settlers. Then settler attacks against the Palestinians increased. They have attacked farmers and inhabitants of Tuba and Palestinian shepherds from Um Lasifa. The Palestinians approached international human rights activists to defend them by non-violent methods, and since then activists have increasingly stayed at Tuba and Um Lasifa. A week ago, when Tuba shepherds were herding their flocks nearby, settlers stoned them for two hours. Calls for the army and police were only answered after a long delay. The security forces arrived but did nothing to arrest the attackers. A few days ago, when the international activists left Um Lasifa, they passed near a military jeep. The soldiers hooted the jeep’s horn and the settlers then started to attack the Palestinians. Was there collaboration between the soldiers and settlers?!

Nr 63

A method for creating new settlements in the occupied territories is to create huge municipal areas for existing settlements, and then build new "neighbourhoods" connected to the existing settlements by roads. The Palestinian inhabitants of Qaryut, between Ramallah and Nablus, are denied by the IDF from reaching some of their agricultural land some 10 minutes from the village, because of just such a road between two "neighbourhoods" of the settlement Eli. They are forced to use a long and bad road that takes them more than an hour, and cannot go there by tractor, although the Supreme Court ordered the army to enable the Palestinians to cultivate their lands (June 2006). At the end of April 2007, after co-ordinating with all relevant army functions, a date was agreed when the Palestinians would be allowed to cross the road to cultivate their land. A day before, a military post was burnt. At night, the army raided Qaryut, beat up the inhabitants and shattered windows. The next day the army refused to let the farmers cross the road to cultivate their land. New attempts for an agreement on a new date were answered by strange claims - some of which were advanced by the settlers - that the farmers should use donkeys instead of tractors, or that the land had been purchased by Jews. The bottom line is that the farmers still cannot cross the road.

Nr 62

In 1956 the state moved the Abu El Qi’an Bedouin tribe to ’Atir, from their land, which constituted 2879 dunums (one dunum=1000 sq.m.) in the Shoval area. The state refuses to recognise their rights on the land to which it had forced them to evacuate.

Demolitions in the Negev have now reached a new record. After negotiations until late night, today, 25th June, 2007, about 2000 policemen arrived, accompanied by trucks, containers and bulldozers, at two locations of Abu El Qi’an in ’Atir. They evacuated the contents of all the houses - about 30 - and then demolished the homes. They demolished the water tanks as well. The contents of the homes were taken for storage in Ashdod. About 300 men, women and children have been left with no shelter, food and property, and no alternative habitation.

The state wants them to move into the townships it has designated for Bedouins. But it demolishes their homes before there are plots ready for them. The state has plans to build an exclusively Jewish locality in place of the village of the Abu El Qi’an tribe, named Hiran.

Nr 61

The inhabitants of the villages Beit Furiq (about 15,000) and Beit Dajan (about 5,000) suffer restrictions and special prohibitions. At Beit Furiq Checkpoint – located between Nablus and Beit Furiq – the Israeli army allows only the residents themselves passage to the two places, while other Palestinians are prevented, including immediate family members. The army has committed itself in the Supreme Court to keep the checkpoint open 24 hours a day and allow a normal fabric of life. But in actual fact, this checkpoint is usually closed after 8 or 9 p.m.

On April 20, 2007 a woman from Salem village married in Beit Furiq. The bride’s parents and other relatives were not allowed to attend the wedding in Beit Furiq.

A few months ago, a woman in labor reached Beit Furiq checkpoint at 2 a.m. The driver hooted and yelled to the soldiers to please open the barrier. Only 20 minutes later, when the birth had already begun, the driver risked opening it himself and continued with her to a Nablus hospital.

A Nablus physician operated a clinic in Beit Furiq. Once a week he would drive out to the village to treat patients there. Because he is a Nablus resident, the soldiers have been preventing him from passing. After several such failed attempts, the doctor has closed his clinic.

Nr 60

In 1991 Israel stole 780 dunums (one dunum = 1000sq.m.) of the land of Bil’in, claiming that the land was not cultivated-(used communally for pasture). The Appeals Committee approved the-theft, except for five plots of land where the owners were able to prove that they had indeed cultivated the land. The stolen land was used to extend the settlement Modi’in-Il’it. However, the Civi Administration, the settlers and the construction companies were not bothered by the legal ownership of their land by Bili’in inhabitants. They started to build, illegally, the settlement East Matityahu on that privately owned land as well. Following Supreme Court petitions, the Civil Administration was forced to mark the five privately owned plots. Authorisation of the construction and zoning plans was conditioned on demolition of all that had been built on that privately owned land. The construction company "Green Park" demolished a construction it had started to build on one of the plots, but left in place its supporting infrastructure. The Palestinian landowners brought a tractor to uncovered what was left. Shortly after beginning the work, security forces arrived and stopped it. It was agreed that the people and tractor would leave the land. After the tractor-left, the security forces stopped it and expropriated it. The landowners complied with all Civil Admininistration demands, paid NIS 5428, came for interrogation, and yet the tractor was not released. I wonder why ?!

Nr 59

Starting in January 2007, Palestinian complaints about abuse from a soldier named Kobi started to arrive. Kobi is stationed in the Taysir checkpoint. He showed his penis and pissed near the legs of Palestinian women who had been taken from cars for a check. He beat and humiliated Palestinians going through the checkpoint and delayed them for no reason, for very long periods of time. After complaints, Kobi was removed from the checkpoint. After two days he returned. For a while another soldier accompanied him. It did not help. The abuse continues; Kobi especially abuses teachers. He beats them. Yesterday he took female teachers from a car, and demanded that they lift their dresses to see what’s underneath. Now another soldier, Raviv, accompanies him with the beatings. All demands to remove him go unanswered.

Nr 58

The village Ertas is south of Bethlehem, with 4000 villagers, who own 4000 dunums (dunum=1000 sq.m.) of land. About 1000 dunums will be located on the other side of the separation fence now being built by Israel, east of the settlement Efrat, some 12 Km from the Green Line. The fence is meant to go around two planned Jewish neighbourhoods, east of Efrat. A ditch is being built as well, for the sewage pipeline of Efrat. The sewage is planned to go to the other side of the fence, to the land of the Abu Sway family of Ertas. 570 dunums of their lands may be polluted, as well as Ertas’ water sources.

On 20/05/07 bulldozers ruined the family’s apricot plantation. The army used force to evacuate activists, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals from abroad, who non-violently tried to prevent the uprooting.

Nr 57

The Bedouin village El Hadidiyya in the Jordan Valley is almost empty. There used to be 130 people living there. The Supreme Court accepted the State’s request to evacuate the inhabitants from their village. Most saved themselves the trauma of having their homes and animal sheds demolished and left by themselves.

It’s the third time these people have been evacuated. In the 1970s they were evacuated from their original habitation, east of Road 90, for security reasons. The second time, in the 1990s, the Supreme Court accepted the State’s request to evacuate them. Now the High Court has concurred with another request. The pretext now has been zoning and construction laws, according to which land earmarked for agriculture cannot be used for residence. The second pretext was the security needs of the settlers of Roi. The inhabitants of El Hadidiyya were offered a move to Khirbet ’Atuf, more than 7 km north of their land, beyond the settlement Roi and Road 80; but in order to get to their grazing lands they have to cross Road 80 and pass the settlement Roi. Furthermore, the IDF has dug two deep ditches east of Khirbet ’Atuf to make the way to the Jordan valley even more difficult.

The Roi settlers were not bothered by the State for building their settlement in an agricultural zone, unlike the Bedouin El Hadidiyya residents. In this way "security needs" and zoning and construction laws are used to expel Bedouins and settle Jews. And who will take care of the security of the inhabitants of El Hadidiyya?

Nr 56

The separation fence separates between the Bil’in village and 60% of its agricultural land. A gate in the fence enables the farmers to go to their land. The supreme court issued an interim order according to which the farmers should be permitted through 24 hours a day. The IDF soldiers think otherwise. Waji has a herd of goats. He is forbidden from going through with his goats since January 2007. Often the soldiers permit passage only between 0700-0900. Landowners and workers that are not residents of Bil’in are not permitted to go through. Ashraf Abu Rahme uses the gate a lot. Almost every time the soldiers abuse him. On Thursday, 3/5/07, he was delayed at the gate for three hours for no reason. In the evening, when he wanted to go back, the soldiers detained him at the Macabim road block, and realesed him after five hours (at 0100 AM) near the Ni’ilin roadblock.

Nr 55

The state of Israel doesn’t cease in its war against its citizens living in Tawil Abu Jarwal. Their crime is that they are Bedouins born in the Jewish state. A week ago the inhabitants were given demolition orders. Today, 09/05/07, at 09:30, police forces arrived and demolished all 30 huts and tents in the village. This is the sixth time that the police have demolished the village. The state doesn’t offer any alternative, but that doesn’t prevent them from demolishing homes, especially when Bedouins are concerned.

At the same time the tent and car (used for living in) of Nuri El’Uqbi were confiscated. For more than a year now, Nuri has been demonstrating on his family’s land, not far from Tawil Abu Jarwal, so that the state will keep its promise given to the El’Uqbis when they were driven off their land in 1951. They were promised that they’d be able to return within six months.

Nr 54

The Ja`abari family of Hebron is often harassed and attacked by settlers of Kiryat Arba who have built an illegal outpost on the Ja`abaris` land, named Hazon David. All the Ja`abaris` complaints to the police about the settlers have not been handled.

On Friday, 27/04/07, the settler Moshe Butra arrived in a white jeep near the house of Abdel Karim Ja`abari. He used a road that goes through the family`s land, and which the supreme court declared forbidden to be used by settlers, except in emergency. The settler got off the jeep and started attacking Uday Ja`abari, one of Abdel Karim`s sons. `Ala, Uday`s brother, came and pushed the settler away. `Abdel Karim and Suleyman Ja`abari came and evacuated `Uday and `Ala. As they were leaving, Moshe Butra started shooting at them. During the entire event the Palestinians were not armed with any weapon.

Soldiers and police who arrived arrested the father and his son Ala. After nine days the son was released, but the father is still under detention. The trespassing, shooting and attacking settler, Moshe Butra, was not arrested. The police did not collect the cartridges as evidence. One of the soldiers even gave the settler a new magazine full of ammunition.

Nr 53

On Friday, 27/04/07, Israeli and international human rights activists came to accompany a few Palestinian farmers of Bani Na’im, on their way to their land, in order to cultivate it and herd their livestock. The land is about a kilometre away from the settlement Pnei Hever. For four years the farmers have not used the land for fear of those settlers. The settlers arrived immediately and started attacking the farmers and their accompaniers. The main attacker was a person by the name of Dov, who hit people with his club, aiming especially at camera owners. The soldiers who arrived showed friendliness towards the attackers and did not stop them. Afterwards more police and border units arrived. The border units ordered the Palestinians to leave. The human rights activists who were hurt filed complaints at the Kiryat Arba police station, while settlers also laid complaints against the activists. At the police station it was clear who’s the boss, the settlers are on friendly terms with almost everybody and feel at home there.

The suffering of the residents of Jinba, South Hebron Hills, does not cease. Now it’s time for harvesting the wheat and barley, in the hope of sustaining them. The IDF sent its soldiers for manoeuvres on their land. The armoured vehicles destroyed the crops just before their harvest...

Nr 52

When Israel occupied the West Bank, Abu Hashem owned 28 wells and 8,000 dunums of land (one dunum=1000 sq.m) in the Jordan Valley. He employed nearly 1000 workers. Now his four sons are left with only 70 dunums of land between Marj Naja and Bardale. They have one well. Most of the family’s land is situated between Highway No. 90 and the Jordan river and has been proclaimed a closed military zone which the family cannot access. The IDF also forbids them to bring workers from the West Bank to work on their land. Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinian workers from West Bank villages work daily in the nearby Israeli settlements of the Jordan Valley.

Nr 51

The village ’Izbat-a-Tabib is situated 7 km east of Qalqilia, with a population of nearly 300 people. Most of the inhabitants are refugees from the village Tabsur near Ra’anana. Following a settler’s complaint about stone throwing while passing near ’Izbat-a-Tabib, army forces entered the village on Friday, 13/04/07 at 20:00, and declared a curfew. Road blocks were erected to prevent entry or exit. The soldiers searched twenty houses - about half of the village - and turned their inhabitants outside. Twenty five adults and fifteen children - some four or five years old - were forced to stand in line with their faces to the wall on the main street of the village in the dark. The village mukhtar tried to talk to the millitary commander but was refused permission.

The villagers were told that if anyone throws stones in future, the whole village will be punished, collectively, irrespective of who did it.

Nr 50

# Hussein and ’Ali own some land between Twane and Tuba, South Hebron Hills area. Unluckily, it is situated near the settlement Maon Farm. For a few years they didn’t dare to cultivate it, fearing the settlers. In December 2006 they came, accompanied by human rights activists, and sowed their land, Hussein’s 18 dunums (dunum = 1000 sq.m) and ’Ali’s 14 dunums. The barley they sowed grew until 14/03/07, when settlers came, ploughed Hussein’s and ’Ali’s plots and destroyed the crops.

# Settlers again attacked children of the village Tuba, in the South Hebron Hills, returning home from school in Twane village. On Saturday, 07/04/07, while the children were returning from school, the army escorted them until the road block near the chicken pens in the Maon settlement. They continued from there alone. Some settlers ambushed them 250 metres away. When the children arrived, the settlers beat them, snatched their bags, and destroyed their books and other learning materials.

Nr 49

The settler Ya’akov Talya, of Talya farm in south Mt. Hebron, never stops trying to expel his Palestinian neighbours from their homes and land. In 2001 and 2003 he and settlers from the outpost Mitzpe Yair expelled the Palestinians of Umm Hamita, Shalalet Daaef, Umm Likuas and Bir El-Id. Some returned only after the court’s intervention.

In mid-March 2007, and again two weeks later on Tuesday 03/04/07, Ya’akov Talya was involved in events at the Yatir roadblock, situated between the village Umm Nazal and the village lands. He demanded the soldiers prevent shepherds of Umm Nazal from reaching their lands. The soldiers complied.

Nr 48

The municipality of Jerusalem never ceases demolishing the homes of Palestinians in the eastern part of the city, annexed after the June 1967 war.

On Tuesday, March 20th, the municipality demolished two homes.

Suud Sanaq lives with her son, two daughters and her granddaughter in a home that was built next to the old family home, on family land at French Hill. Her granddaughter stays most of the time in hospital for treatment of brain and kidney tumors. The family’s lands were expropriated after the June 1967 war (except for the area of the old family home). Now the new home has been demolished.

One of the ways used to prevent construction by Palestinians is to declare land as "frozen green space" in which construction is forbidden.

That is the case of the land of the Abu Snenehs in Wadi Qadum. Having no other alternative Ali Abu Sneneh built his home without a building permit.

He used to live there with his mother, wife and six children. The Jerusalem municipality demolished his home.

On the hill above them you can see two settlers’ houses – Kidmat Zion…

Nr 47

Khaled Daoud Fakaah (aged half a year) died at ’Atara roadblock, while the soldiers were checking his parents’ papers and those of the driver who was taking them to a Ramallah hospital. They were arriving from Kufr ’Ein (a village northwest of Ramallah), at 12:45 on the night of March 8, 2007. The father, Daoud Fakaah, told the soldiers that his son had a medical emergency due to breathing difficulties. He requested that they be permitted to proceed immediately to the hospital, where Khaled was already being treated for his breathing problems. The soldiers leafed through the documents and checked the car for about twenty minutes, but in the meantime the father discovered that his son had died.

They were traveling from Kufr ’Ein to Ramallah - both Palestinian localities within the occupied territories.

Nr 46

Around noon, 26/02/07, ’Anan El-Tibi climbed his roof, in Nablus, to fix the water system in his house. His son, Ashraf, a volunteer paramedic, heard that the army was looking for a youngster in a neighbouring house. So he climbed on to the roof to warn his father of possible shooting. When he reached the roof he was shot in the arm. His father went to help him and then he was shot too. The father was injured in the head and neck. Ashraf tended his father’s wounds and called an ambulance. Some soldiers entered the house and one of them identified himself as the shooter. No one in the family was armed or wanted by the army. After a while the soldiers allowed the father to be lowered from the roof to the ambulance; however, they delayed the ambulance for an hour and a half. They bandaged the son. The father died.

Nr 45

On Wednesday morning, March 7, 2007, the representatives of Israel Land Administration (ILA) accompanied by police and tractors, arrived to the village Tawil Abu Jarwal. They pulled out all the residents from their tents and shacks, and demolished the village for the fifth time.

25 families were left homeless.

This time all the debris was loaded on lorries and taken away, including the sheep sheds.

The State has not offered a housing alternative for the inhabitants of Tawil Abu Jarwal, but this does not prevent them from demolishing their homes. Having no other alternative, the villagers have started rebuilding their village again…

Nr 44

Every day Naim goes from his vilage, Urif, to the Huwara checkpoint, to sell bagels.The soldiers order him away from the the checkpoint, so as "not to disturb them". Sometimes they even throw his merchandise on the ground.

Naim and his family used to own about 370 dunums near Yitzhar settlement. Israel confiscated the land after the family refused to sell it. 624 dunums owned by Palestinians are now taken over by Yitzhar. When Naim tried to approach his land in order to harvest his olives, he was arrested and sentenced to 11 months in prison. Other Palestinian landowners were shot at. Having no other source of livelihood, he sells bagels...

Nr 43

Settlers continue to invade Palestinian-owned shops in Hebron. Most of the media reports dealt with the invasions of shops in the wholesale market; however, just a few metres away, in the vegetable market invasions have been goign on for a long time. After the massacre perpetrated by Baruch Goldstein in the Patriarchs’ Cave, the army closed the market, and prevented any access of Palestinians there. The settlers took advantage of this, broke into the shops from behind and started building flats inside them, even opened a branch of the religious youth movement Bney-Akiva. Following the shop owners’ complaints, a few policemen and civil administration personnel arrived with search warrants. To the protest of the settlers they found out that the settlers live there illegally.

Nr 42

On the 12th of February, 2007, a settler woman, accompanied by eight children, arrived to the land of the Abu Haykal family in Tel Rumeida.The settler broke through the fence in order to enter. A soldier arrived but did nothing to evacuate them. The police also arrived, but only after 40 minutes. After a long argument the settlers agreed to leave. Then they turned into Wad ElHariya St., which is in the Palestinian controlled area (H1), and where other young settlers were stoning a Palestinian-owned shop. There were soldiers and policemen in the area. The settlers claimed that two Palestinian children stoned them. The Palestinian children were arrested immediately. One of the children with the settler (from the previous event) started to attack a human rights activist that was filming the whole event. A policeman that stood near him did not react. A Palestinian child went nearby, trying to bypass the commotion. One of the settlers’ children pointed at him accusing him of throwing stones. The child was arrested immediately. The human rights activist testifies that the child did not throw stones at all. Not a single settler nor their children were arrested for their actions. The soldiers even forced the shopkeepers to close their shops. After five hours the Palestinian children were released from the arrest.

Nr 41

Mahmud ’Ali was born in Dir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, seventy years ago. He married in 1957. In the 1960s, before the Occupation, he went to the USA, where he received citizenship. After some time, he brought his wife and children to the USA. In the 1970s, his wife and children returned to their village, Dir Dibwan. Mahmud then used to visit his family once a year for a month or two. Since his retirement he tried to prolong these visits. The Israeli authorities forced him to go to Jordan every three months and return with a new visa. His wife is seventy years old, is ill and needs his help. About a year ago, the Israelis told him he’d have to wait for a year until he’s permitted to return. On January 20, 2007, when he tried to enter the West Bank from Jordan, Israel refused to grant him a visa and his entry was refused. The village Dir Dibwan is in Area B, which is under Palestinian civil control, but Israel controls entry and exit from it.

Nr 40

The municipality of Jerusalem hasn’t stopped demolishing homes in the Palestinian villages annexed to it after the war of 1967. Since the beginning of this year, the municipality has demolished 9 Palestinian homes. One of the cases that was carried out in bad faith is the case of Hamed El Amas in Sur Baher. The local planning committee had authorised this building, and had recommended to the regional committee that it be granted a licence. The municipality knew that the house had received authorisation by the local committee, but nonetheless sent its men and heavy machinery to demolish the house over a period of two days. It was a four storey building that had been intended to house eight families.

Nr 39

The Al-Nasasra tribe lived on their land before the establishment of the State of Israel. In 1980 the state built the town Kseife near them. They are listed as residents of Kseife, receive municipal services from Kseife and participate in the municipal elections. The town wishes to integrate them and their land as a neighbourhood of Kseife. Now the state wants their land. They have been offered NIS1000 per dunam (=1000 sq.m.) and half a dunam for habitation in the town. They refuse, because they want to live on their land as farmers. Now the Ministry of Interior has pasted demolition warrants on all the 100 houses of the Al-Nasasra.

N2 38

The Jahalin tribe were expelled in the early 1950s from Israel to the West Bank - then under Jordanian rule - some settled east of Jerusalem. Now the state wants to expel them. Israel intends to build the separation fence so that it surrounds the settlement Ma’ale Adumim and other settlements. In the enclave there will be 30 locations where the Jahalin live, only one of them on the fence route. The rest, some 3000 people will be inside the enclave. They don’t disturb the fence trajectory, none the less, the state intends to evacuate the Jahalin from their homes.

Nr 37

In the early 1980s the inhabitants of Tuba were evicted. Tuba used to be where the settlement Maon Farm is today. The people of Tuba settled nearby, about 1,5 Km away. They were expelled again in the big expulsion of 1999, and returned under a supreme court warrant. The inhabitants of Tuba suffer from harrasments of settlers who want their lands. Following settlers attacks they stopped cultivating their lands in Wadi Zeitun near the cattle yard in the settlement Carmel. Passage through Wadi Zeitun is difficult as well (eg going to the town Yatta) as the settlers threaten them with weapons.

Nr 36

On Tuesday, 09/01/07, a police force, accompanied by representatives of the ministry of interior and Israel land administration, arrived to the village Tawil Abu Jarwal, of the Talalqa (near Goral junction in the Negev) and demolished all the houses of the village, 21 houses. About 100 people are left homeless.It’s the fifth time the state demolishes in the village. The country has no housing solution for the tribe but it does not prevent it from demolishing their houses.

Nr 35

The town Beit Umar is situated between Beit Lehem and Hebron. There are 14,500 residents. It used to have 30,250 dunums. (dunum=1000 m^2). Some of it’s lands were stolen for nearby settlements: Kfar Etzion: about 625 dunum, Migdal Oz: almost 2000 dunum, Karmei Tzur: about 500 dunum. More theft is pending: the separation wall will take 6000 dunums from its lands. The bypass road El-’Arub-Beit Umar will take further 1200 dunum.

In an invasion to Beit Umar at the beginning of the intifada 139 houses in the town were damaged, and further property.

Since the occupation the army demolished 18 houses, claiming they were built illegaly, and further 11 houses were demolished on security grounds.

Nr 34

The Palestinian inhabitants of the villages that were annexed to Jerusalem don’t get the same municipal services as the Jewish inhabitants. They get priority in demolitions. The municipality makes getting a building permit so difficult, that the mission of building a house with a permit is (almost) impossible. Last year, the municipality and the ministry of interior, demolished some 66 houses of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Nearly 400 people were made homeless. On Wednesdy, 27/12/06, inspectors of Jerusalem municipality demolished a building of three flats that belongs to Der’i family in Issawiya.

In one of them lived seven people and the other ones were to be inhabited soon.Since 2000 the municipality demolished 24 houses in Issawiya. An attempt by the residents to create a construction plan, that will formalize the construction in the village, does not help in stopping the Jerusalem municipality from demolishing their houses.

Nr 33

The settlers of Hebron don’t stop harassing their Palestinian neighbours. On Sunday, 17/12/06, 40 settlers invaded the olive grove of the Abu Haikals, in Tel Rumeida area, and had a picnic there. They were escorted by 15 soldiers.

When several Palestinian children arrived, on their way from school to their homes, the soldiers did not let them pass. Human rights activists called the police which responded that they can pass on their land on their way home, but the policemen that arrived refused to help the children pass. The approach to the DCO did not help either. A human rights activist, a woman aged 75, that demanded the soldiers and the policemen to help the children through, was arrested. In the end the children had to go in another, roundabout way. The settlers left the land of Abu Haikal after three hours. Not even one settler was arrested.

That morning, settlers threw stones at a Palestinian teacher on her way to school and injured her. Some settlers threw stones, apples and eggs on Palestinian children on their way to school.

No. 32

Wahib Muslah was rennovating an ancient building in the village Kafr A-Dik. On Thursday, 15/12/06, 11:00 in the morning, some IDF soldiers entered the building and fired a few shots. Then they told the rennovators that they were looking for some kids that threw stones at them. Then Wahib came out of the room in which he worked, on the second floor.

As he was standing at the top of the staircase the soldiers shot and killed him. No threat whatsoever was made towards the soldiers.

Wahib Muslah left a pregnant wife and four children, the youngest being six months old.

No. 29

The illegal outpost Migron is situated east of Ramalla, about 2,5 km from the settlement Kochav Ya’akov. It was established in May 2001 on private land owned by Palestinians from Burka and Dir Dibwan.Today there are 250 settlers in the outpost, living in 60 caravans and two buildings.

The state declared the outpost illegal. Warrants were issued against the construction of all the buildings and demolition warrants for some.However, according to the Sasson report, the ministry for construction and housing spent NIS 4,325,000 in infastructure and public buildings in Migron. The Israeli electric Company connected it to power supply, and Mekorot, the National Water Company, to running water. Access road was paved. All the approaches of the landowners and "Shalom Achshav" (Peace Now) movement to the authorities did not help in evacuating the settlers. A supreme court petition is pending.