38 persons lost their home, 21 of them children

(italian follows)

Khirbet ar Rahwa – On 1st of September 2014, during the afternoon, the Israeli army and the D.C.O. (District Coordination Office) entered into the palestinian village of Khirbet ar-Rahwa, in the South Hebron Hills, and demolished 3 houses (tents), 3 animal shelters and 3 toilettes. No demolition order was delivered for  these  structures.

All the demolished structures were built with simple materials. Ar-Rawha that is located in area C, has no access to electricity, to the water pipeline and to any kind of facilities and services.
The houses belonged to the Altal family and to the Jabaarin family. Because of the demolitions, 38 persons, 21 of them children, lost their houses. All the families are waiting for humanitarian aid.

The village of ar-Rahwa is surrounded by the settlement of Tene and the outpost of Havat Moor. This outpost received demolition order in 2000, but the D.C.O decided to not demolish any house until now. Also the outpost is connected with the electricity net and water pipelines, services that are denied for the Palestinians of ar-Rawha, who are the legal owners of the land where the settlement of Tene is located.

Photo of the incident: http://goo.gl/qpFBA7

Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004.

For further information:
Operation Dove, 054 99 25 773

[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]

UPDATE 1-09-2014 : L’IDF DEMOLISCE 9 STRUTTURE NEL VILLAGGIO DI KHIRBET AR-RAHWA

38 persone hanno perso la casa, di cui 21 bambini

Khirbet ar-Rahwa – Nel pomeriggio del 1 settembre 2014, l’esercito israeliano e la D.C.O. (Dicstrict Coordination Offeice) è entrato nel villaggio palestinese di Khirbet ar-Rahwa , situato nelle colline a sud di Hebron, e ha demolito 3 strutture abitative, 3 ricoveri per le pecore, e 3 servizi igienici. Nessun ordine di demolizione è stato consegnato agli abitanti del villaggio proprietari delle strutture.
Tutte le strutture demolite erano costruite con materiali semplici ferro, lamiera, tende.

Il villaggio di ar-Rahwa che è situato in area C,  non ha accesso alla rete elettrica, nè idrica, nè può accedere a nessuno dei servizi di base.
Le strutture appartenevano alle famiglie Altal e Jabreen. A causa della demolizione hanno perso la casa un totale 38 persone, di cui 21 bambini. Le famiglie colpite stanno ora aspettando aiuti umanitari.

Il villaggio di ar-Rahwa è circondato dalla colonia di Tene e dall’avamposto di Havat Moor. Questo avamposto ha ricevuto l’ordine di demolizione nel 2000, tuttavia la D.C.O. non ha mai deciso di rendere effettivo l’ordine o di demolire qualche struttura. Inoltre l’avamposto è connesso alla rete elettrica e idrica , servizi negati ai palestinesi del villaggio di Ar Rahwa, che tra l’altro sono i legali proprietari della terra su cui sorge la vicina colonia di Tene.

Foto dell’evento: http://goo.gl/qpFBA7

Operazione Colomba mantiene una presenza costante nel villaggio di At-Tuwani e nell’area delle colline a sud di Hebron dal 2004.

Per informazioni:
Operazione Colomba, +972 54 99 25 773

[Note: secondo la IV Convenzione di Ginevra, la II Convenzione dell’Aja, la Corte Internazionale di Giustizia e numerose risoluzioni ONU, tutti gli insediamenti israeliani nei Territori Palestinesi Occupati sono illegali. Gli avamposti sono considerati illegali anche secondo la legge israeliana.]

For the 9^th consecutive day, Israeli forces continued to practice a policy of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), especially in the West Bank.  This campaign included large-scale incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and brutal night house raids using tracker dogs and maltreating residents of houses by expelling them outside their houses, detaining them in one room or arresting them.  Moreover, Israeli forces turned many of those houses into military sites and deliberately damaged their belongings.  This campaign was accompanied by the use of excessive force against Palestinian civilians, who demonstrated against the Israeli forces.  In addition, the raid campaign targeted charities, health centers, media offices, schools, universities and currency exchange shops.  Israeli forces confiscated their contents as well as dozens of surveillance cameras.  Israeli forces also launched many airstrikes on training sites for armed groups and civilian objects in the Gaza Strip.

In an excessive use of force, on Friday, 20 June 2014, Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old Palestinian child in Dura, southwest of Hebron.  According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 01:00 on the aforementioned day, Israeli forces backed by military vehicles and accompanied by armored personnel carriers moved into Dura, southwest of Hebron, and stationed in a number of its neighborhoods. They deployed between the houses when dozens of Palestinian boys and children gathered in several parts of the town outskirts and threw stones and empty bottles at the Israeli soldiers.  At approximately 04:50, an Israeli infantry force comprised of around 300 soldiers deployed between the houses in Haninah neighborhood in the south of the town.  When they tried to pass through the main street to head to the area overseeing al-Ma’ajour neighborhood near the “Adoraym” military camp known as “the crazy camp”, a number of boys and children gathered to throw stones at them.  In response, the Israeli soldiers fired ceaselessly for 10 minutes sound bombs, tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets at the stone-throwers until an Israeli soldier appeared and fired live bullets indiscriminately at the demonstrators.  As a result, Mohammed Jihad Mohammed Doudin (14) was hit by a live bullet, which penetrated the right side of the chest and exited from the back.  He was then taken by a civilian vehicle to the Palestine Red Crescent Society clinic in the town, but he died upon arrival.

Hundreds of soldiers have occupied the land in front of the nearby Israeli military base with tents and military equipment and were scattered in groups around the villages to carry out the exercises.

During the training the Palestinian population suffered heavy restrictions on freedom of movement, the fields were damaged by military activities and shepherds were chased away with their flocks. Some of these reported that they were beaten by the soldiers.

During the night, the exercises were continued with the use of explosives and soldiers have gone even within the village, frightening the people further.

The villages of Jinba and Al Mirkez are within the Firing Zone 918 and, pending the decision of the Israeli High Court of Justice, are still under the threat of expulsion by the Israeli army.

Israeli military training is still in progress.

Dall’8 giugno fino ad oggi, un’esercitazione militare dell’esercito israeliano è in corso sulle terre palestinesi dei villaggi di Jinba e Al Mirkez, nell’area delle colline a sud di Hebron.

Centinaia di soldati hanno occupato con tende ed equipaggiamenti militari le terre di fronte alla vicina base militare israeliana e si sono sparpagliati a gruppi attorno ai villaggi palestinesi per svolgere le esercitazioni.

Durante il training la popolazione palestinese ha subito pesanti limitazioni alla libertà di movimento, i campi sono stati danneggiati dalle attività militari e molti pastori sono stati scacciati con le proprie greggi. Alcuni hanno riferito di essere stati aggrediti fisicamente dai soldati.

Durante la notte le esercitazioni sono continuate con l’utilizzo di esplosivi e i soldati si sono spinti anche all’interno del villaggio, spaventandone ulteriormente gli abitanti.

I villaggi di Jinba e Al Mirkez si trovano all’interno della Firing Zone 918 e, in attesa del pronunciamento dell’Alta Corte di Giustizia israeliana, sono tutt’ora sotto la minaccia di espulsione da parte dell’esercito israeliano.

L’esercitazione militare è tuttora in corso.

The At Tuwani village Women’s Cooperative together with Israeli women gave life to Two Neighbors: an against-the-odds business partnership that defies politics in favor of beauty, common sense, and shared economic benefit. The new project is leaded by a team made by Israeli women, Palestinian women and American men and women who founded the Center for Emerging Futures that holds gatherings for Israelis and Palestinians on the border between Israel and the West Bank. 

After spending time at a Global Village Square meeting organized by the Center for Emerging Futures, women from both sides of the conflict decided they would like to work together producing beautiful items which showcased their talents and heritage. They wanted to do this together, showing that Israelis and Palestinian women, who were tired of waiting for the politicians to declare peace, could work together now to improve their economic condition and demonstrate peaceful relations on a grass roots level.

http://twoneighbors.com

Every saturday, since one year and a half, Palestinians together with Israeli activists organise nonviolent actions to claim the right to return to their land in the South Hebron Hills, on which settlers from the Israeli illegal outpost of Mitzpe Yair have built greenhouses. The land is situated between the Palestinian village of Shi’b Al Butum and the Israeli illegal outpost of Mitzpe Yair.

This land is called Umm Al Arayes and it’s a Palestinian private propriety.  Demolition orders have been issued against the greenhouses by the Israeli District Coordination Office. The Israeli army declaration of lands as closed military zone impedes the Palestinians from accessing their land. Since 2001 the Palestinians in the area have faced restricted access to these lands.

Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills keep facing the Israeli occupation through the popular nonviolent resistance.

For more information about the area you can see also: http://tuwaniresiste.operazionecolomba.it/?s=Umm+Al+Arayes

2014-05-10: Isareli army and Border police preventing Palestinina from accessing their private land in Umm Al Arayes

Palestinesi continuano a lottare per la terra a Umm Al Arayes

Ogni sabato, da un anno e mezzo, palestinesi insieme ad attivisti israeliani organizzano azioni nonviolente per reclamare il diritto di accesso alla propria terra nelle colline a sud di Hebron, dove i coloni dell’avamposto illegale israeliano di Mitzpe Yair hanno costruito delle serre. La terra in questione si trova tra il villaggio palestinese di Shi’b Al Butum e l’avamposto illegale israeliano di Mitzpe Yair.

Questa terra è chiamata Umm Al Arayes ed proprietà privata palestinese. Contro le serre sono stati consegnati ordini di demolizione dal Ufficio di Coordinamento Distrettuale dell’Amministrazione Civile Israeliana (DCO). Ai palestinesi è impedito l’accesso alla propria terra in quanto dichiarata dall’esercito israeliano “zona militare chiusa”.

I palestinesi delle colline a sud di Hebron continuano ad affrontare l’occupazione israeliana tramite la resistenza popolare nonviolenta.

Per maggiori informazioni riguaradanti l’area potete vedere anche: http://tuwaniresiste.operazionecolomba.it/?s=Umm+Al+Arayes

The only family who still lives permanently in the South Hebron Hills Palestinian village of Bir Al Idd is under the continuos threat of Mitzpe Yair and Nof Nesher illegal Israeli outposts.

On May 7, in the early morning, International volunteers filmed an Israeli settler grazing his flock on Palestinian owned cultivated fields. As said by Palestinian witnesses, the Israeli shepherd has been going on that land almost every morning in the last two weeks. The owners of the land are Bir Al Idd inhabitants and the area is military closed to Israeli citizens.

Harassments and episodes of violence against the Palestinian inhabitants of Bir Al Idd are nearly daily. On March 28 the family was deprived of their only source of energy, as the settlers damaged solar panels. For more information about this incident and Bir Al Idd you can see also: http://tuwaniresiste.operazionecolomba.it/?p=3096

The military closed area to Israeli citizens

Bir Al Idd ancora sotto minaccia

L’unica famiglia che vive ancora permanentemente nel villaggio palestinese di Bir Al Idd, nelle colline a sud di Hebron, è continuamente minacciata dai coloni degli avamposti israelini illegali di Mitzpe Yair e Nof Nesher.

Il 7 maggio, la mattina presto, volontari internazionali hanno filmato una colono israeliano mentre pascolava il suo gregge su campi coltivati di proprietà palestinese. Come riportato da testimoni palestinesi, il pastore israeliano è andato su quella terra quasi ogni mattina nelle ultime due settimane. I proprietari della terra sono abitanti di Bir Al Idd e si tratta di un’area militare chiusa ai cittadini israeliani.

Gli episodi di violenza contro gli abitanti palestinesi di Bir Al Idd sono quasi quotidiani. Il 28 marzo i coloni hanno danneggiato un sistema di pannelli solari e la famiglia è stata privata della loro unica fonte di energia. Per maggiori inforazioni sull’accaduto e su Bir Al Idd potete consultare anche: http://tuwaniresiste.operazionecolomba.it/?p=3096

(segue versione in italiano)

April 14, 2014

At Tuwani – On April 11 an international volunteer was attacked and injured by Israeli army, while coming back from accompanying Palestinian shepherds near Susiya.

The Palestinian village of Susiya is surrounded by the Israeli settlement of Suseya, the outpost of Suseya’s Ancient Synagogue and the military base of Suseya North, where the Palestinian shepherds were nearby grazing. The Palestinian inhabitants of Susiya are struggling through the nonviolent popular resistance in order to gain the right to access their own lands and to live a dignified life.

At 14:10 pm, two international volunteers were leaving the place after having accompanied four Palestinian shepherds to graze on their own lands. They had just got in the stopped car on the street that connects Susiya and Yatta (where two other internationals were waiting for them), when two Israeli soldiers arrived from the military base and intimated them to get out from the car.

While the group was standing near the street, two army vehicles approached. As soon as the second vehicle arrived, the soldiers got immediately out from the jeep. The commander and four more soldiers physically blocked one international and tried to grab his camera, to handcuff him and to put him into the jeep, tugging at him and beating him. In the meanwhile other soldiers blocked the other volunteers, preventing them from taping as best the aggression that lasted for 13 minutes.

Because of the attack, the international volunteer was injured. He had a bleeding wound on his elbow and he received a hard blow on the lower abdomen, whereby the intervention of the ambulance was needed. The soldiers also tried to block the doctors to prevent the injured to get into the ambulance, until the Israeli Police came and gave the permission to leave.

The volunteer attacked was hospitalized in Yatta and the other three were detained in Kiryat Arba Police station and released after five hours. The Police held all the videos of the incident to investigate on it and the three internationals were given expulsion orders from South Hebron Hills area for 14 to 16 days.

Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004.

For further information:
Operation Dove, 054 99 25 773

[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]

On 30 March 1976, thousands of people belonging to the Palestinian minority in Israel gathered to protest Israeli government plans to expropriate 60,000 dunams of Arab-owned land in West Bank. In the resulting confrontations with Israeli police, six Palestinians were killed, hundreds wounded, and hundreds jailed. In the intervening years, those events have become consecrated in the Palestinian memory as Land Day.

After years of military rule and political docility, Land Day 1976 was the first act of mass resistance by the Palestinians inside Israel against the israeli policy of expansion of the land.

In the Palestinian village of At Tuwani the South Hebron Hills Popular Commitee organised a nonviolen action that consisted in planting olive trees in front of the Israeli settlemen of Ma’on and the Israeli illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on. The Commitee was joined by 30 students from Yatta University, toghether with professors and the principal. The action took place around 11 am and at 11:50 am an army jeep arrived on the place. Four soldiers prevented Palestinians from getting close to the fence that protects cherry trees fields. This land is Palestinian owned, but was cultivated by settlers with cherry trees since the creation of the Israeli outpost in the year 2000.

30 marzo: Giorno della Terra

Il 30 marzo 1976, milioni di persone appartenenti alla minoranza palestinese in Israele si sono runite per protestare contro il piano del governo israeliano di espropriare 60,000 dunams (1 dunam sono 1000 metri quadri) di terrenno di proprietà palestinese in Cisgiordania. Come risultato degli scontri con la polizia, sei palestinesi rimasero uccisi, centinai feriti, e centinaia incarcerati. Negli anni a venire, questi eventi sono stati ricordati nella memoria palestinese con il Giorno della Terra.

Dopo anni di legge militare e docilità politica, il Giorno della Terra 1976 è stato il primo atto di protesta di massa da parte dei palestinesi in territorio israeliano contro la politica israeliana di espansione del territorio.

Nel villaggio di At Tuwani il Comitato Popolare delle Colline a Sud di Hebron ha organizzato un’azione nonviolenta piantando alberi d’ulivo di fronte alla colonia israeliana di Ma’on e all’avamposto illegale di Havat Ma’on. Al Comitato si sono aggiunti 30 studenti dell’Università di Yatta, insieme ai loro professori e al preside. L’azione è iniziata alle 11 e alle 11:50 è arrivata sul posto una camionetta dell’esercito israeliano. Quattro soldati hanno impedito ai palestinesi di avvicinarsi alla rete che protegge campi di ciliegi. Questa terra è di proprietà palestinese, ma è stata coltivata con alberi di ciliege dai coloni israeliani da quando nel 2000 è sorto l’avamposto.

Settlers from Israeli illegal outposts damaged Palestinian’s solar panels and cultivated lands

March 28, 2014

At Tuwani – In the evening of March 26, Israeli settlers damaged some solar panels, only electricity power sources for the Palestinian village Bir Al Idd. The same day, during the early afternoon, Israeli settlers grazed their flock on Palestinian-owned wheat fields, damaging the harvest.

At 2.18 pm International volunteers noticed a flock grazing on Palestinian-owned fields in  Kharrouba valley, close to the south-west side of the Israeli illegal outpost Havat Ma’on, in the South Hebron hills. The flock was apparently unattended, until when, after ten minutes, an Israeli settler from the outpost got close the herd and walked away with it. Later, the Palestinian owners reported the facts to the Israeli police. At 3.02 pm the police arrived at the place and questioned Palestinians and International volunteers, taking from them pictures of the Israeli settler while he was grazing the flock. After that, the police officers went inside the outpost.

Around 6 pm, Israeli settlers damaged photovoltaic system that supplies power to the Palestinian village of Bir Al Idd (South Hebron hills area), hitting it repeatedly. Near the village are located the Israeli illegal outposts of Mitzpe Yair and Nof Nesher. The morning after, Comet-Me members, who placed the system during the 2010 (Comet-Me is an Israeli-Palestinian no-profit organization specialized in providing sustainable energy sources and drinking water systems to isolated communities) arrived on the place in order to verify the damages. At 9:59 am an Israeli policeman and a soldier reached them in order to carry out surveys and listen the testimony of a Palestinian. Later, the complaint of the Palestinian was formalized.

During the late 90s , the Palestinian families of Bir Al Idd were forced to leave the area because of the continuos violence of Israeli settlers. After a Rabbis for Human Rights’ appeal submitted to the Israeli High Court of Justice, on January 2009 the Bir Al Idd residents’ return was allowed.
Now only one household of the 50 residents lives permanently in the village; the others were forced to leave because of several violences that took place since April 2013. In April, August and November 2013, Israeli settlers from Mitzpe Yair attempted to block the only access road to the village. On January 2014, two Israeli settlers prevented Palestinian residents from reaching the village, threatening them.