6.23.2010
6.19.2010
Burin: Continual Unchecked Settler Harassment
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Older buildings in a seemly quiet village.
A newer home in Burin
This past week, MPTers made a short visit to a friend in Burin, a village of over 2,500, located five miles southwest of Nablus. This visit was to show support for the friend, but also inform him that MPT is willing to help with the harvesting of the olives in the fall.
For many years, Burin has been subjected to hundreds of incidents a year of unchecked settler harassment from the illegal Israeli settlements of Yitzar and Bracha. Settlers enter the village to injure people, smash cars, cut electric lines, cut and burn olive trees, butcher village animals, and burn homes.
Burin is harassed by settlers from 2 settlements, Yitzar and Bracha, on nearby hills.
The friend MPT visited had been injured in a settler attach in February 2010. This injury put him in a Nablus hospital for a month and left him with several scars on his head. MPT was active in the village several times during the fall of 2009: spending the night nearby after settlers tried to burn a home under construction and viewed the aftermath of the destructive cutting of 95 ripe olive trees and later 30 olive trees. MPTers helped pick the ripe olives from the cut trees and later picked in an area near the cut trees.
[To read the blogs of MPT activity in Burin see:
http://mptinpalestine.blogspot.com/2009/09/burin-construction-site-threatened-by.html Sept. 09
http://mptinpalestine.blogspot.com/2009/10/burin-tree-massacre.html October. 09
http://mptinpalestine.blogspot.com/2009/10/burin-olive-harvesting-under-occupation.html Oct. 09
http://mptinpalestine.blogspot.com/2009/11/more-burin-settler-violence.html November 09
http://mptinpalestine.blogspot.com/2009/11/tree-planting-protest-in-burin.html November 09
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2172.shtml January 10
http://aljazeera.com/news/articles/34/IOF-Uses-Live-Ammunition-on-Burin-Demonstration.html Jan. 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnjqESWwDGY&feature=player_embedded#! Feb.10
6.18.2010
Haris: Planning Regime in the Westbank
Some of the most serious effects of the Israeli Occupation are the demolition orders by the Israeli government. Planning and construction in area C is governed by the 1966 Jordanian Planning Law, amended by an Israeli military order in 1971. The Jordanian law stated that almost all constructions need a permit, but the planning process is entirely in the hands of the Israeli settlements. The Israeli Civil Administration does not allow any Palestinian community to participate in the planning process, and it is staffed only by Israeli staff members. The military order established Special Local Planning Committees-SLPCs-only for Israeli settlements, which can obtain permits for their constructions.
The consequence of this military order is tragic for the Palestinian towns and villages, because almost 70 % of the West Bank is considered area C, where no Palestinian family or individual can obtain building permits. According to the official statistics, 95% of the demolition orders in the Jordan Valley and the rest of West Bank are issued in cases of constructing without legal approval.
MPT visited one family in Haris village, who received a demolition order a few days previous. The head of the family has been wheelchair bound for nine years. He was shot while trying to protect his children from the tear-gas thrown by Israeli Occupation Forces from a nearby street. His home, together with the homes of his brothers and other village inhabitants, are located in area C, and do not have building permits. Before they started to build their homes, they sought permission, but they were refused. Their choices were: to build without permission on their own land or to buy a piece of land in another location. They opted for the first solution and now they are starting to receive demolition orders.
The procedure is usually the same. An order is delivered. The family has three days to hire a lawyer and to submit the documentation proving the ownership of the land to a court. The court can decide to delay the demolition for one or two years , or an indefinite time or to start the demolition process.
This family were lucky, their protest was accepted and they can live in their home for an uncertain period, because they never know when another demolition order will be issued against them. [MPT was present April 2010 in Haris immediately following a demolition of a newly constructed home. See http://mptinpalestine.blogspot.com/2010/04/haris-home-demolition.html]
The head of the family considers this decision of the Israeli Occupation Forces as a defensive measure against the international criticism Israel has faced after the attack of the Freedom Flotilla. According to his views, if the international community increases the pressure on Israel, more houses will be demolished in the future in the West Bank. Or because Israel feels the pressure of the international community, it then applies pressure on the Palestinians.
Aqraba: 76% Land Loss
The town has constant clashes with the surrounding settlements, and these are more violent in the olive harvest season. Farmers are attacked when working on their lands and even when passing certain roads near their properties. Three years ago, the settlers kidnapped a man and killed another one. A few months ago, MPTers were told that two young men from Awarta village were killed on a road which borders the village land with Jitit settlement.
Settler contained-animal lots.
MPT visited the village and spoke with the Project Coordinator of the Union Agricultural Work Communities, agricultural Palestinian NGO. As he explained the goals and the achievements of this agricultural union, MPT realized this is not only a community development organization, but a very well organized form of resisting the occupation. The organization works mainly on the land declared area C, where already 18 buildings including a mosque received a demolition order. The organization tries to empower farmers with the knowledge, skills and competences necessary for them to cultivate their lands, which otherwise will be taken away by the Israeli settlements, if it is not cultivated and rehabilitated. The coordinator told MPT when they started their work in area C, an Israeli surveillance plane flew low over the area, took pictures about what are the Palestinians were doing and how. They are expecting new “visits” like this in the future, besides the regular “ inspections” already practiced by the Israeli Occupied Forces.
Terrace walls are built by hand, giving work to villagers and reclaiming the land.
Speaking about their achievements, the coordinator proudly explained that the work that they are doing has many benefits for the farmers, unfortunately no study has been made yet. Last year, 13 very poor farmers, whose land was taken, were provided green houses; 500 farmers in ten villages were trained and MPT could see how the unused land is being transformed in a fertile agricultural area.
This organization does not accept US AID. The European funders are very supportive of the approach and work of their organization, while the US has a different approach. Local volunteers who work with this organization first contacted MPT about the situation in Aqraba.
6.17.2010
Awarta: Lost half its land
Awarta, a village with a population of over 6000, lies about 5 miles southeast of Nablus. Originally the village covered 5000 acres; however, the illegal Israeli settlement of Itamar confiscated 3000 acres, leaving the village with less than half its land. The village may have burial sites for various rather obscure Hebrew prophets which has been the excuse for settlers to invade the village for prayers at the burial sites. The Israeli Occupation Forces [IOF ] then enter to protect the settlers. A recent agreement gave settlers the legal right to pray at the sites two nights yearly.
Part of Awarta is in area B [Palestinian civil authority and Israeli military control] and part is area C [full Israeli military control] under the Oslo Accords. No construction can be done in Area C, although families already live in the area. Water for the village is controlled by the Itamar settlement and villagers have to buy their water from the settlement.
Last fall, a man was killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces [IOF} as he was driving from his land where he no longer had Israeli permission to be. In March two young men from the village were killed. The information regarding the circumstances of their deaths changed often the first few days after their deaths. The location of their deaths changed – in the checkpoint near Awarta or in a field nearby, or in a field further away, or . . . The reason for killing them changed also – carrying metal to sell while passing though the checkpoint, in the field using a shovel against soldiers or . . . People from a nearby village toldMPTers were warmly welcomed in a visit with a member of the Awarta village council in the municipal building. MPT visits are made to inform authorities of the work of MPT and MPT’s availability to work in areas of risk - near settlements during plowing and the fall olive harvest, or during times when settlers or soldiers invade the village.
6.16.2010
Leonard Cohen - Anthem
This is my second blog entry as part of my training in technology for Palestine. This song speaks to my soul.
Cloe
6.14.2010
Peaceful March Through the Old City in Hebron
Al Khahil/Hebron is the only Palestinian city in which approximately 450 Jews live amidst the Palestinian majority. A Palestinian massacre of Jews occurred in 1929 and all those who survived, many of whom had been protected by their Muslim neighbors, left the city. After 1967, ten Jewish families returned in the city center, in order to preserve the Jewish presence and culture in the city which according to some radical views, belongs to the Jews.
The demonstration continued with a “peace tour” in the beautiful Old Suk/market, but the protesters had to run not to be “soaked ” by sewage water coming from the roof of the buildings, thrown by the Jewish settlers who live above these streets. Settlers have thrown garbage, cans, bottles and dirt.
the Old City protect their
The demonstration ended with the safe arrival of the protesters in front of the separation gate, where new speeches and chants were expressed. Surprisingly, a smiling happy face appeared near where 4 armed soldiers had stood and near an Israeli soldier in a tower, who apparently protested with the Palestinians, but from the other side of the gate.
After two hours of peaceful protest, MPT and all participants dispersed safely, acknowledging that no violence occurred from any of the sides involved.
Is Israel Afraid of Children?
Asira al Qibliya has a long history of settler attacks. Like many of the Palestinian villages in the West Bank, the community lost a considerable amount of land, confiscated for the enlargement of Yitzhar settlement.the violent Yitzhar settlement
Settler attacks are a weekly routine; one of their main target is a Palestinian house situated on the village border. Israeli settlers - man, women and children - usually come during the day and destroy everything what they find on their way: houses, cars, agricultural tools. They are equipped with metal or wood sticks, and sometimes rocks. The army always accompany them, offering protection during the well-organized destruction of the Palestinian property.
For more information from a video made in the village, see the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kpcu4ASnuA
Villagers try to defend themselves with different non-violent tools, like fixing metal frames in front of their homes, to guard against rocks thrown by the settlers. But no prevention can save this small community, which already has serious numbers of boys arrested by the Israeli Army.In the past two years, eight young boys were arrested, and released after a short time, but another youth, aged 15, was killed while walking on the road.
MPT was alerted by villagers on the 10th of June, in the case of two young boys who were arrested and taken by the Israeli Occupation Forces the previous night. MPTers were told that approximately 120 soldiers came to arrest two young boys, aged sixteen and fifteen. At one home, they entered the home through the roof, wearing masks. The procedure used in these cases are usually the same: soldiers send the whole family out from the house in order to search the home. Very often they destroy the furniture or other home appliances, as in these cases, the front door and the refrigerator. The threatened family waits outside, children are crying, soldiers are screaming and behave very aggressively.
The soldiers asked for each boy`s ID, after that they chose their victims, they handcuffed and blindfolded them and took them away in army jeeps. The parents tried continuously to find out the reason for the taking into custody of their sons, but the only answers they got were: “Your son is an enemy of the Israeli state”and “We need to take him.” One parent remembered that two years ago, his son was playing with a paper plane in the fields when a soldier saw him. The soldier came down the hill and throw a tear-gas canister toward the boy.
At the time of writing, MPT found out that the two boys are in custody at Huwwara Israeli Military Camp, where they were provided with a lawyer by an Israeli human rights group. The family will need to pay legal fees.
[MPT wrote a human rights report about this incident which was then said to human rights organizations, particularly, the UN organizations.]
Nil''in: Brutal Response to Resistance
In 2003, other villages in this region led a nonviolent resistance struggle against the wall, holding daily and/or weekly demonstrations. Budrus became one of the first villages to successfully win an Israel court order to push back the apartheid wall to the Green Line.
In May 2008, when construction began again in Nil'in on the barrier fence and later the concrete wall, the village held 3 -4 demonstrations every week. Villagers were joined by international and Israeli peace activists. In response to the demonstrations the Israel Occupation forces [IOF] reacted with extreme violence, including firing massive amount of teargas from new weaponry mounted on jeeps. The weaponry consists of cannons capable of firing 10 - 15 tear gas canisters simultaneously.
Since 2008, 5 villagers have been killed including a ten-year old boy who was holding a flag in each hand and asking for peace. Many more have suffered injuries. In this same time period, 160 villagers have been arrested during demonstrations or in Israeli army night raids. These men have been jailed and imprisoned for different lengths of time. Eleven villagers are still in prison. In Nil’in in March 2009 Tristan Anderson, an American peace activist was shot in the forehead at close range with a tear gas canister. Tristan, who spent more than a year in an Israeli hospital, recently returned home to California, very incapacitated due to considerable brain damage.
[Demonstrators carried the Palestinian flag and the Irish flag - in honor of the Rachel Corrie, Irish ship of the Flotilla.]
The huge Israeli settlement is in the distance, up from the wall and the barrier land.
Friday, June 11th, MPTers met with the Nil’in villagers, Israeli peace activists and other internationals in the fields just behind the village for the Nil’in Demonstration against the illegal apartheid wall. After noon prayer in the field, the demonstrators marched toward the wall carrying Palestinian flags and the Irish flag for the Rachel Corrie ship from the Freedom Flotilla. The soldiers were positioned behind gate of the 3-storey concrete wall. This concrete wall completed last year, was constructed in front of the wire barrier fence put up in 2008.
Within a short time, volleys of powerful tear gas caused the demonstrators to move back and westward along the wall. MPTers experienced the tear gas more powerful than ever before. The soldiers seemed to be shooting the canisters at people and not in an arch. Since the Israeli naval raids on the Freedom Flotilla, Israelis, but particularly Israeli settlers seemed to have become more nationalistic and more fearful. A small group of settlers from the nearby settlement stood about ½ miles away, sang songs and shouted at the demonstration in support of the army encouraging them to kill Palestinians. After less than hour there was less action so one of the leaders asked the MPTers to hike back to the village through the fields, a safer route than the main path used sometimes by army jeeps after a demonstration.
[Volleys of potent tear gas filled the area with smoke. Cloud formeds and stayed in the area about 30 seconds, but it took minutes to recuperate from one, even at a distance.]
[Note the distance between the electrified fence and the cement wall and the loss of olive groves.]
This man showed MPT some footage of 2008 demonstrations when villagers first began to demonstrate against the new wall. There was face to face contact with Israeli soldiers who responded violently to the nonviolent resisters, including children.
The man then showed MPT a scar where he had been hit by a tear gas canister. He said, “I was ashamed to tell my son [10 years old] that this was done to me by an Israeli soldier. I did not want my son to hate the Israeli soldier who had hurt his father. I do not want my son to see Israeli soldiers as the enemy. I want us to live in peace, as people of peace.” Later when he has the opportunity to do so, he said this to an Israeli soldier during a demonstration. The soldier’s reaction was to shoot more tear gas. He then said to the soldier, “You do not understand what I said now, but maybe someday you will."
6.10.2010
Urif: Hundreds of Olive Trees burned
(The burning of the olive trees took place near the Yitzar settlement)
MPTers visited the Palestinian village of Urif to gather information on a huge fire which burned hundreds, perhaps as many as 500, olive trees, almond trees, grape vines and fig trees to the west and north of the village on June 2nd. The fire, set by settlers from Yitzar, an illegal Israeli settlement, began about 11:00 a.m. It was first noticed by the stone quarry workers in the quarry below the olive groves, but not in direct sight of all of the grove.
When the villagers heard the fire announced through the village mosque loudspeaker, all came to fight the fires. The local Palestinian Civil Defense fire truck came with men to fight the fire, but the distance of the fire from the road, the delay in spotting the fire and the size of the area set afire resulted in a large area being burned. To the untrained eye of the MPTers, it seemed like fuel such as gasoline may have been spread over parts of the area, since on one hillside only parts of the hill were burned.
When the villagers heard the fire announced through the village mosque loudspeaker, all came to fight the fires. The local Palestinian Civil Defense fire truck came with men to fight the fire, but the distance of the fire from the road, the delay in spotting the fire and the size of the area set afire resulted in a large area being burned. To the untrained eye of the MPTers, it seemed like fuel such as gasoline may have been spread over parts of the area, since on one hillside only parts of the hill were burned.
The Israeli Occupation Forces were called by the village authorities and came, but did nothing. This is due to the fact that civil offences should be investigated by the Israeli police since the Israeli army does not have jurisdiction over these matters. In other incidents with settlers, the army comes and watches only or detains or arrests villagers who may or may not react to the settlers.
MPT was told by one Village Council member that other types of incidents also happen frequently. About six months ago the bulldozers and other equipment at the nearby stone quarry were burned by Yitzhar settlers.
One year ago the village school was also attacked by Israeli settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar, injuring 23 persons . MPT interviewed the Village Council President in the spring of 2009 shortly after the school incident in which live bullets were used by settlers. (See: http://mptinpalestine.blogspot.com/2009/05/urif-live-ammunition.htmlThe village authorities called the media when the recent fire occurred in the olive grove, but the response was minimal . Perhaps this was because of attention on the Freedom Flotilla or because there would be no action when they came. Several other villages in the area have had incidents with settlers which will eventually be recorded by various national and international organizations.
The member of the village council expressed that there was little the village could do because the Israeli military does little, the media is not always responsive, and villagers are punished severely if they retaliate. A village nearby responds with regular nonviolent demonstrations; Urif does not have demonstrations.
No Water for Bedouin Communities in Jordan Valley
The segregation process continued with issuing massive demolition orders in the Jordan Valley, targeting mostly herding communities. According to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the main target of demolitions in Jordan Valley affected the Bedouin population of the area, living in “firing zones” of the Israeli Army. Most of these demolitions occurred in the context of forced eviction of these communities, who lived in these areas well before they were declared as closed territories.
MPT visited the northern part of the Jordan Valley, southeast of Tubas. Our guides were two Palestinian volunteers who work with a local NGO in aiding the herding communities from the valley. The first outstanding experience was not allowing MPTers to pass through the checkpoint, because there is only one checkpoint where internationals can pass, far away in the south. Together with their guides, MPTers decided to choose a very “uncommon” way of passing a border line, a walk about a half mile through the creek bed of a former river, hiding themselves under the green vegetation, and trying not to be observed by the soldiers. They successfully reached their car and headed toward their destinations, Bedouin families living in tents, near their simple animal shelters. The living conditions and stories of the families MPT visited were similar.
Fenced off water tank
As a consequence, the occupied Jordan Valley looks like a patchwork puzzle of yellow Palestinian fields next to dark green fields belonging to the settlements. The settlements achieve their wealth and income using stolen lands and water resources. 
This situation was visible when MPTers reached an area where on one side of the hill the settlers cultivated their land and had grapes, olive trees and green houses, and on the other side of the hill it was an abandoned and damaged Palestinian green house, useless because of the lack of water.
The last stop in our tour was visiting an abandoned old building, which hopefully will serve as a school for those children who have to go 7 miles by foot and through a checkpoint to the nearest school. Our guides hope that with the help of local and international donors, this dream would be achieved in the near future.
this ruined house was a nice hotel in the pastMPT also observed with sadness the ecological disaster of what has happened in the Jordan Valley: pumping out the water by the settlements for their own usage left rivers without water, once a flourishing desert resort hotel, with palm trees and flowers is now a place where cows are trying to find shade under the remaining palm trees.
ecological disaster
6.09.2010
Al Walaja: Encircled by the Wall
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http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/al_walaja_map.jpg
Before 1948 Al Walaja was one of the largest villages in the southwest of Jerusalem. During the 1948 War Israel captured the northern part of the village, expelling the villagers and confiscating 65% of their land. These Al Walaja refugees went to refugee camps in other countries and in Palestine, but some lived in nearby caves eventually building homes on the village’s land that remained in the West Bank, after the 1948 War, creating a new Al Walaja.
After the 1967 War, the Israelis expanded the borders of Jerusalem and annexed Jerusalem to Israel. The northern part of the village taken in 1948 was included in the Jerusalem border expansions, but the new Al Walaja residents did not know that their lands were also annexed and that they should have been provided with Jerusalem IDs. From 1967 to 1985, all of Al Walaja was ruled by the Israeli Military Authority which governed the West Bank. During this time no services (water, electricity) were provided from either the Military Authority or the Jerusalem Municipality.
In 1985, the Jerusalem Municipal Court issued orders to demolish homes in Al Walaja stating lack of proper permits from the Jerusalem Municipality. With these orders, the villagers learned that their land had been annexed to Jerusalem. A residents committee was formed to defend the land, to organize demonstrations, to hire a lawyer and to appeal for the cancellation of the demolition orders. Since 1985 more than 33 homes have been demolished in Al Walaja and more than 100 people were left homeless. Most of these people left the village, as refugees for the second time. Since 1990, the Israelis have issued demolition orders for another 55 homes. Persons whose homes are under order of demolition pay monthly fines for having a home without a permit. When homes are demolished, the family must pay the demolition costs.
Since 2004, the Israelis have increased pressure on the village arresting, convicting and imprisoning scores of people, The Israeli High Court declared that the Israeli Occupation Forces must cease their campaign of arrests, but that residents must provide proof of presence on the land in 1967 and therefore the right to stay on the land. Residents cannot provide the needed documentation, such as electrical bills and water bills, because these were never provided by any Israeli authority. Arrests and imprisonments have continued. At one time bus drivers were issued huge fines for driving their routes in the village. At times, all exits to the village were blocked and people had to walk many miles to leave the village.
The village fought back by getting an urban planner to design a master plan. Previous Israeli maps were gotten to show that homes were present in certain areas before and since 1967. Residents are encouraged by the Israelis to seek Jerusalem IDs which would then be a statement of acceptance of the Jerusalem annexation.
The elementary school in Al Walaja for 300 children was in 3 rented homes and very inadequate. About a year ago a new school was completed with donations from the villagers and their labor, but it is without a permit and could be demolished.MPT has visited this village a couple times a year since 2007. In the last two years, but particularly in the last few months more and more land has been bull dozed, a wall put up, settlement homes constructed, roads built and land prepared for the 3-storey concrete wall. Any land that is empty will be taken for settlement housing. It would seem that Israel is making a tremendous effort to enlarge as many settlement areas as possible before Obama really enforces the no settlement policy.
MPTer visited a family with a beautiful new home not yet completely constructed. The man had worked in Israel so he speaks both Arabic and Hebrew and was visiting with a young Israeli activist. As MPTers drove into his yard, they passed an archeological crew digging under the protection of an armed guard. To prove that land was Israel in ancient times, archeological digs are done. This crew folded their tent and left before MPT.
The man with the new home had retired, planted a small garden and had fruit and olive trees descending down the mountain. His family gravesite was a bit further down the hill. This week, soldiers of the Israeli Occupation Forces will accompany the bull dozers which will destroy his garden and trees and level an area in order to build a wall. This wall will be a continuation of the three storey wall around Jerusalem. His family burial plot will be on the other side of the wall. In time the whole village of Al Walaja will be encircled with this high wall and have only one exit.
t
MPTers and the family they had visited in Beit Sahour were invited to a delicious meal by an Al Walaja family they have visited over the years. This family had begun to add on a room to their home. They have now only 2 small bedrooms and need one more. This building is being done without a unattainable permit, so could “invite” demolition. This family has helped various families rebuild a home that has been demolished – collecting money from other villagers and organizing workers.
The family told us that now there are daily interactions with the soldiers. They said, “You can say that we are living with the soldiers.”
The family has very intellect children. What is their future? How will they be able to go to the university? How can they return to their village, be safe and earn a living? But most of the preoccupation now is with the here and now and wondering if the demolition order will come in the morning or the next week.
Added on June 10th: Please view these videos on YouTube to see the destruction of the olive trees and the protest.
Heartbreaking video of devastation Tuesday June 8th at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
And the action and arrests on Wednesday June 9th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
And here is a report from Palestine monitor with great photos
http://www.palestinemonitor.
