April 2, 2014

At Tuwani – On April 2 the Israeli army together with some Border Police and District Coordination Office (DCO) officers demolished six shelters made of concrete in the Palestinian village of At-Tuwani.

At 9:20 am a convoy made up of one bulldozer, two army Jeeps, three Border Police vehicles, and two DCO cars entered the Palestinian village of Al Mufaqarah. The convoy passed through and reached the hills surrounding the gravel road that connects the Palestinian village of Al Mufaqarah to the village of At Tuwani. The area is Palestinian private land, cultivated with wheat and olive trees. On those fields the Palestinian owners from At-Tuwani in the past three years had built shelters made of concrete, in order to have a backing place during the harvest seasons when Palestinian families work hard for entire days under hot sunbeams.

Under the directions of DCO officers six shelters were demolished by the bulldozer; two of those were already completed and two others still under construction. On March 2, a DCO officer had come to the area and took pictures of the shelters but no demolition order was delivered.

At 10:10 am the convoy left. Palestinian inhabitants of Al Mufaqarah, the owners of the shelters, B’tselem operators and international volunteers were present on the place.

At-Tuwani and Al Mufaqarah villages are located in Area C, under Israeli military and administrative control. That means that all the constructions must be approved by the Israeli administration. Israel denies Palestinians the right to build on the 70 percent of Area C, which is about the 44 percent of all the West Bank, while within the remaining 30 percent a series of restrictions are applied in order to prevent Palestinians from the possibility of obtaining permits (source: OCHA oPt).

While the Palestinian and Bedouin villages of Area C suffer from Israel’s ongoing policy of demolitions and threats, the nearby outposts and settlements continue to expand. The Israeli illegal outpost of Avigayil since three years has been expanding in south-east direction with new houses and a fence that annexes always more Palestinian land. The Israeli illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on is always expanding despite continuos complaints from Israeli activists and International volunteers who fornish proofs of the works. The Israeli settlements of Ma’on and Karmel are expanding in particular since the Israeli government’s planning commitee approved the construction of 5170 new units in West Bank settlements in the spring of 2013. In the beginning of February 2014 a new fence was built around the south-eastern side of Ma’on, annexing even more meters of Palestinian owned land.

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

Pictures of the incident: http://www.operazionecolomba.it/galleries/palestina-israele/2014/2014-04-02-six-shelters-demolished-by-the-israeli-forces-in-the-palestinian-village-of-at-tuwani-south-hebron-hills/
Video of the incident: available soon on www.tuwaniresiste.operazionecolomba.it

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.

On March 24 Palestinian families and kids coming from the villages of At Tuwani, Ar Rakeez, Al Mufaqarah, Tuba, Maghayir Al Abeed and Susiya gathered at the school of At Tuwani to celebrate local traditions.

Dabke dance

Traditional song and dresses

The Freedoom Theatre performing

(Segue versione in italiano)

March 21, 2014

At Tuwani – On March 20, four settlers from Havat Ma’on illegal outpost attacked, in two different places at the same time, two internationals and seven Palestinian shepherds while grazing flocks on their own land. The settlers were armed with a gun and slingshots.

At 9.58 am a settler with a gun chased two Palestinian shepherds away, while grazing between the Palestinian village of Tuba and Havat Ma’on Israeli illegal outpost. He first shouted at the shepherds and then ran after them for more than two kilometers. The harassment  lasted for about one hour, when the shepherds finally arrived to Tuba.

In the meanwhile, at 10.03 am three settler teens fired a petard from the outpost in order to scare the Palestinians who were in Meshaha valley. About 15 minutes later the Israeli Police arrived to the place and spoke to the settlers and the Palestinian shepherds. The police allowed the latter to graze in Meshaha valley, south side of the outpost.

At 10.40 am a masked settler and two children went to the same valley and attacked five Palestinian shepherds, three men and two women. By using slingshots, the attackers threw stones against the shepherds and the internationals, for about five minutes. During the assault the settlers entered Palestinian private land. At a later stage the Israeli police arrived to the place and the attackers ran away. The policeman saw them going back to the outpost but did not try to stop them. One of the Palestinians attacked told the police the event adding that a settler with a gun was still chasing away a Palestinian shepherd from Tuba, on the other side of the outpost. The Israeli police moved to the village of Tuba together with the Palestinian and an international volunteer, while the rest of the Palestinian shepherds successfully grazed their flocks in Meshaha valley until around 12.20 am.

At 11.30 am the police car arrived to Tuba and after five minutes the policeman reached the settler who chased the Palestinian shepherds away. The settler was still close to the Palestinian village. The policeman inquired one of the Palestinians, Ahmed Jundiya, and the settler. After that both of them got in the police car and were driven to Kiryat Arba police station. The two filed a complaint against each other: the settler maintained that the shepherds were on Israeli land and Jundiya proved, thanks to his camera provided by B’tselem organization for human rights, that he was chased away while grazing his flock on Palestinian land.

The Israeli police decided to investigate more in order to define within three months whom that land belongs to. Jundiya could come back home at about 4.30 pm.

Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills face the Israeli occupation with the popular nonviolent resistance.

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

Pictures of the incident: http://www.operazionecolomba.it/galleries/palestina-israele/2014/2014-03-20-settlers-from-havat-ma-on-attacked-palestinian-shepherds-in-two-different-places-at-the-same-time-in-the-south-hebron-hills/

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].

At-Tuwani – On November 10, the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee (SHHPC) and the At  Tuwani school built a tent near the village of At Tuwani.  This tent was funded by the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem; in it the schoolchildren from Tuba and Maghayir Al Abeed will be able to wait the Israeli army escort during the winter and the rainy days. Indeed, children from these South Hebron Hills villages, aged 6 to 16 years, need a military escort to protect them from the several attacks that they have suffered since 2001 by settlers of Havat Ma’on on the route to the school. The army escort was established in November 2004 by “Children Rights Committee” of the Israeli Knesset. 

This is the third time that the SHHPC built the tent: first time was on March 16, the second on March 17. In these two times, Israeli police and army stopped the works and dismantled the tent. On March 17 they dismantled it and confiscated the construction materials, also (see more: http://www.operationdove.org/?p=944).

The tent is a real need for the children from Maghayir al Abeed and Tuba. Indeed, from the beginning of the school year (August 25), the children waited for the escort to come back home on the 67% of the school days, for a total of about 20 hours.

On October 23, Palestinians children from Tuba and Maghayir Al Abeed, with the solidarity of their schoolmates, teachers, the SHHPC, the Freedom Bus artists, Palestinian, Israeli and international activists, protest against the settler violence and the negligence of the Israeli army escort.  In contravention of the protective mandate of the escort, since the beginning of this school year, soldiers didn’t walk with the children during the escort, failed to complete the path on 94 % of the cases, leaving the children exposed.

This situation of exposure to violence and lack of security compromises children’s fundamental right to education. The Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills proved yet again to be strongly involved in claiming their rights (included the right to education for their children) and resisting the Israeli occupation, choosing the nonviolent way.

Press Release of the incident: http://snipurl.com/280gnp9

PRESS RELEASE

Israeli army invaded South Hebron Hills village of At Tuwani overnight 

Access roads to the village were blocked and soldiers broke into Palestinian houses

(Italian follows)

October 7, 2013

At Tuwani – Large Israeli military forces broke into the South Hebron Hills village of At Tuwani Sunday night and surrounded it. The army blocked accesses to the village and searched numerous Palestinian homes, finding nothing.

At 7.10 pm At Tuwani inhabitants informed Operation Dove volunteers about shooting that occurred near the Havat Ma’on outpost. From the Palestinian home located closest to Havat Ma’on, the volunteers noticed that headlights from the outpost were shining light on the entire Humra valley, located beside it. The volunteers then saw several people walking in the valley, flanked by military jeeps.

At 7.40 pm several flares were shot from various positions around At Tuwani, as Israeli military jeeps and soldiers on foot began to approach the Palestinian village from three different directions. At the same time five settlers and three soldiers entered At Tuwani. The soldiers left the settlers alone, who checked the area using headlights. The settlers were from Mitzpe Yair, Avigayil and Havat Ma’on, all Israeli outposts located in the South Hebron Hills area.

At 8.10 pm two international volunteers went to the entrance of At Tuwani, where they found eight military vehicles. Israeli soldiers were stopping Palestinian cars, searching them, body-searching all the male passengers and taking the vehicle keys. Two army jeeps remained there to block the road and did not allow anyone to enter the village while six jeeps entered At Tuwani. In total five Palestinian-owned cars with about eleven men, three women, an elderly person and a child were stopped. The soldiers allowed the people to return home after more than two hours.

In the meanwhile, soldiers broke into Palestinian homes in At Tuwani and searched them, frightening the inhabitants and in some cases threatening to arrest Palestinians and internationals who were filming the events. The Israeli army searched the local mosque, five homes -one with just women inside- and two stables, without finding anything.

At least ten army and two Border Police vehicles invaded the village, in addition to numerous soldiers on foot.

The reaction of At Tuwani inhabitants demonstrates how they are strongly involved in using nonviolence as a way to resist the Israeli occupation: all village residents demonstrated solidarity in the homes invaded by the soldiers;; some residents were filming the developments; the women made pressure on the soldiers, who ran after them, to open the road. Finally, some Palestinians invited soldiers to drink tea while they were breaking into their houses.
The absence of aggressive behaviors toward the soldiers and the constant presence of cameras substantially contributed to a decrease in the level of violence.

The Israeli army left At Tuwani village at 10.30 pm, providing no explanation about the military operation to the internationals and the local inhabitants.

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

Pictures of the incident: http://snipurl.com/27y2is8

Video of the incident: available soon

[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.]

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On September 22, three masked settlers from Havat Ma’on outpost (Hill 833) chased away internationals and then damaged two olive trees in Humra valley.

Twenty-two are the Palestinian olive trees destroyed and damaged in Humra valley since August 2013.

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Il 22 settembre tre coloni mascherati dall’avamposto di Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), hanno prima inseguito alcuni internazionali e poi hanno danneggiato due alberi di ulivo nella valle di Humra.

Sono 22 gli ulivi palestinesi distrutti e danneggiati in questa valle da agosto 2013.

One of the ten olive trees destroyed in Humra valley

On September 8 a Palestinian noticed some olive trees cut in Humra valley, that is located beside Havat Ma’on (Hill 833) Israeli outpost. Later Operation Dove volunteers and a Bt’selem operator went on the place to document the incident. They found 10 olive trees destroyed during the night, belonging to Ibrahim Rabai.

During the afternoon the Israeli Police came on the place of the incident and At Tuwani inhabitants filed a complain.

In the last 30 days a total of 18 olive trees have been seriously damaged in that valley.

The number of Palestinian-owned trees uprooted and damaged in the South Hebron Hills area since January 2012 now rises to 177, the majority of which are located in the Humra valley.

Olive trees are an essential resource for the Palestinian community in the South Hebron Hills area, and their damage results in substantial economic losses for local residents.

Pictures: http://snipurl.com/27rv9r4

Altri dieci ulivi distrutti in Humra valley, At Tuwani

L’8 di settembre un palestinese ha notato alcuni ulivi tagliati nella valle di Humra, situata accanto all’avamposto israeliano di Havat Ma’on (Hill 833). In seguito i volontari di Operazione Colomba e un operatore di Bt’selem sono giunti sul posto per documentare l’incidente e hanno trovato 10 alberi di ulivo distrutti durante la notte, appartenenti a Ibrahim Rabai.

Nel pomeriggio la polizia israeliana è giunta sul luogo dell’incidente e gli abitanti di At Tuwani hanno sporto denuncia.

Negli ultimi 30 giorni un totale di 18 ulivi sono stati seriamente danneggiati in quella stessa valle.

Sale a 177 il numero di alberi d’ulivo palestinesi sradicati e danneggiati nell’area delle colline a sud di Hebron da gennaio 2012, la maggior parte dei quali si trova nella valle di Humra.

Gli alberi d’ulivo sono una risorsa essenziale per le comunità palestinesi delle colline a sud di Hebron, e il loro danneggiamento provoca una notevole perdita economica per gli abitanti locali.

Foto: http://snipurl.com/27rv9r4