New water tanks were needed to provide Palestinian inhabitants drinkable water.

(Italian follows)

November 21, 2014
At Tuwani – On November 20, the Israeli forces seized a tractor, its truck, four water tanks and three tanks’ bases from the Palestinian village of Susiya.
In the early morning DCO officers approached the Palestinian village to take pictures of the ongoing works to install four new water tanks. In the early afternoon DCO officers returned with Israeli army, police, two trucks, one of which with a mechanical arm.

The tractor and its truck, that carried water cisterns and their bases, were seized with the accuse of being used for illegal works, since Palestinians didn’t have permissions to install new water tanks. Tanks and bases were seized without any previous issued demolition order under the pretext that they were not yet installed on the ground.
Water tanks were geared of filters to provide drinkable water and were donated to the Palestinian village because of the lack of drinkable water that effects all the South Hebron Hills area.

The Palestinian village of Susiya is located in area C, under Israeli military and civil administration, and it is surrounded by the Israeli settlement of Suseya, the outpost of Suseya’s Ancient Synagogue and the military base of Suseya North. Around the settlement and the military base there are 26 wells and water cisterns that Palestinians are forbidden to use even if they are on Palestinian private proprieties. Even more, DCO doesn’t allow Palestinian residents of Susiya to connect to Israeli Makorot Company’s water pipes that run right through the Palestinian village and bring water from the settlement of Suseya to the outpost of Ancient Synagogue.

Palestinian residents of Susiya pay 35 NIS per cubic meter of tanked water, six times more than the nearby settlement, which is served by the network. Water consumption of Palestinians in Susiya is 28 liters/capita/day, significantly less than the 70 l/c/d consumed by an average Palestinian and well below the World Health Organization standard of 100 l/c/d. (source OCHA OPT)

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

Pictures of the incident: http://goo.gl/AUCv8x

[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.]

The Israeli forces violently assaulted the inhabitants of Um Al Kher village.

(Italian follows)

October 29, 2014

At-Tuwani – On October 29 Israeli forces demolished a total of four structures in the Beduin village of Um ad Daraj and a traditional oven in Um Al Kher beduin village. Men and women from Um Al Kher were assaulted by Israeli soldiers and Border Police officers, while they were peacefully trying to prevent the demolition.

At 7:40 am Israeli military forces broke into Um ad Daraj with two bulldozers. The IDF demolished a toilet, a shelter for the sheep, a cave used as home and a tinplated house, in which were living eight people.
At 9:00 am the Israeli forces arrived at Um Al Kher village and declared a “close military area” for internationals and Israeli civilians, subsequently pushed the international volunteers present to monitor the human rights violations far from the village, threatening them to be arrested. After that a bulldozer, escorted by Israeli army and Border Police went inside the village damaging a fence and an olive tree.
Palestinians inhabitants of Um Al Kher gathered in front of the traditional oven and tried to peacefully prevent the demolition. Israeli soldiers and Border Police officers attacked them, pushing violently away the women and shoving down a boy. After the aggressions the bulldozer destroyed the oven.

The traditional oven was already demolished, without any demolition order issued for it, on October 27 together with other six structures. On October 28, the oven was rebuilt by the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee together with the inhabitants of Um al Kher. (For more informations about the demolitions on October 27 you can see: www.tuwaniresiste.operazionecolomba.it ).
The traditional oven was rebuilt for the second time by Palestinians before the end of the morning.

Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills keep struggling in a nonviolent way to claim justice and defend human rights.

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

Pictures of the demolitions:http://goo.gl/VD2etW

[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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COMUNICATO STAMPA

L’esercito israeliano demolisce nei villaggi beduini di Um ad Daraj e Um Al Kher, nelle colline a sud di Hebron.
L’esercito israeliano ha aggredito gli abitanti del villaggio di Um Al Kher.

29 ottobre 2014

At-Tuwani – Il 29 ottobre l’esercito israeliano ha demolito un totale di quattro strutture nel villaggio beduino di Um ad Daraj e un forno tradizionale nel villaggio beduino di Um Al Kher. Uomini e donne di Um Al Kher sono stati aggrediti mentre tentavano di interporsi pacificamente alla demolizione.

Alle 7:40 le forze militari israeliane sono entrate ad Um ad Daraj con due bulldozer. L’esercito israeliano ha demolito un bagno, un recinto per le pecore, una grotta usata come casa e una casa di lamiera dove vivevano 8 persone.
Alle 9 le forze israeliane sono arrivate ad Um Al Kher e hanno dichiarato “area militare chiusa” agli internazionali e civili israeliani, di conseguenza hanno cacciato i volontari internazionali presenti sul posto per monitorare le violazioni di diritti umani, minacciandoli di arresto. A quel punto i bulldozer, scortati dall’esercito israeliano e polizia di frontiera sono entrati nel villaggio danneggiando una recinzione ed un albero d’ulivo.
Gli abitanti palestinesi di Um Al Kher si sono riuniti di fronte al forno tradizionale per tentare di interporsi pacificamente alla demolizione. Soldati e poliziotti israeliani li hanno attaccati, spingendo violentemente le donne e buttando a terra un ragazzo. Dopo l’aggressione il bulldozer ha demolito il forno.

Il forno era già stato demolito, senza che venisse consegnato nessun ordine di demolizione ufficiale, il 27 ottobre insieme ad altre sei strutture. Il 28 ottobre il forno era stato ricostruito dal Comitato Popolare delle Colline a Sud di Hebron insieme agli abitanti di Um Al Kher (per più informazioni sulle demolizioni del 27 ottobre vedere: www.tuwaniresiste.operazionecolomba.it)

I palestinesi delle colline a sud di Hebron continuano a lottare in modo nonviolento per reclamare giustizia e per la difesa dei diritti umani.

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

Foto delle demolizioni:http://goo.gl/VD2etW

[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.]

By Amira Hass, Haaretz, May 21 2014

Officer tells Knesset committee method used to reduce illegal construction, Palestinian population in Area C; Habayit Hayehudi MK urges crack-down on international groups who assist construction.
Military training in live-fire zones in the West Bank is used as a way of reducing the number of Palestinians living nearby, and serves as an important part of the campaign against Palestinian illegal construction, an army officer revealed at a recent Knesset committee meeting.

On August 5 the Israeli Border police demolished a vineyard cultivated by settlers on Palestinian-owned land near the settlement of Suseya. Palestinian residents of the nearby South Hebron Hills village of Susiya filed a court case about one year ago, complaining about this trespassing. Thanks to attorneys from Rabbis for Human Rights, the court ruled that the settlers had until August 1 to evacuate the Palestinian-owned field.

Demolition of the vineyard was conducted by approximately fifty Border Police officers, two bulldozers and a truck that took away vineyard remnants. Palestinians watched the scene from the village, satisfied as they were regaining their land but worried about possible hate crimes (“price tag attacks”) by settlers. Palestinian crops in and surrounding the village have in fact often been the target of settler violence during the summer of 2012.

Il 5 agosto la Border Police israeliana ha smantellato una vigna coltivata da coloni su terra di proprietà palestinese vicino alla colonia di Suseya. Gli abitanti palestinesi dell’adiacente villaggio di Susiya (colline a sud di Hebron) avevano infatti intentato una causa circa un anno fa, protestando per l’ingiusta appropriazione. Grazie alla collaborazione con avvocati dei Rabbini per i Diritti Umani, il caso si è chiuso a favore dei palestinesi: la corte ha deliberato che i coloni avrebbero avuto tempo fino al 1 agosto per liberare il campo di proprietà palestinese.

La demolizione della vigna è stata operata da circa 50 ufficiali della Border Police, due bulldozer e un camion che ha provveduto a portare via i residui. I palestinesi hanno assistito alla scena dal villaggio, soddisfatti per la riappropriazione della terra ma preoccupati per possibili atti di vendetta da parte dei coloni. I campi palestinesi intorno al villaggio, infatti, sono stati spesso bersaglio di violenze da parte dei coloni durante l’estate del 2012.

The portable bathroom, which was installed for the use of a handicapped man, violated an order against illegal construction by settlers, the Civil Administration said.
Chaim Levinson – Ha’aretz – Jun.23, 2013

The Civil Administration last week confiscated a portable toilet that was serving a handicapped person in a Bedouin village in the West Bank, claiming that it violated the order forbidding the movement of mobile structures without a permit.
The incident occurred in Um al-Kheir in the South Hebron Hills, which is near the settlement of Carmel. Last month, one of the village residents decided to set up a toilet for his brother, who had suffered head trauma and until now has been urinating and defecating in a nearby stream bed. The man dug a cesspit and placed a tin structure with a toilet on top of it. The structure was donated by ACF International, a humanitarian organization that provides emergency food, water and sanitation aid.

7 marzo 2013

At-Tuwani – Il 6 marzo 2013 l’esercito e l’amministrazione civile (DCO) israeliani hanno consegnato venti ordini di fermo dei lavori nella comunità palestinese di Khallet Athaba’, nella “Firing Zone 918”, colline a sud di Hebron.

Intorno alle 9 il DCO, scortato da una camionetta dell’esercito, è entrato in Khallet Athaba’ e ha consegnato venti ordini di fermo dei lavori. Questi ordini riguardano quattro cisterne per la raccolta dell’acqua, quattro case (tre in muratura e una casa-tenda), due tende, tre servizi igenici, tre stalle per le greggi e altre quattro piccole costruzioni. I proprietari faranno appello per evitare che gli ordini di fermo dei lavori vengano convertiti in ordini di demolizione.

Nel villaggio palestinese vivono cinque famiglie e circa cinquanta persone. Pressoché tutte le costruzioni del villaggio sono ora sotto minaccia di demolizione e sono colpite tutte le cinque famiglie.

Khallet Athaba’ si trova nell’area di esercitazioni militari 918 e sta attualmente affrontando il rischio di evacuazione, come altri sette villaggi dell’area (Isfey, al Fakheit, al Majaz, at Tabban, Jinba, Mirkez and Halaweh). Questa area designata dall’esercito israeliano è situata nelle colline a sud di Hebron e include dodici villaggi palestinesi e circa 1300 persone. Il 19 luglio 2012 lo Stato d’Israele, seguendo le istruzioni del Ministero della Difesa, ha presentato all’Alta Corte la richiesta di evacuare otto di questi villaggi per necessità militari, dichiarando che i 1000 abitanti non sono residenti permanenti. Gli abitanti dell’area hanno presentato due petizioni all’Alta Corte e ora stanno aspettando la risposta dello Stato.

Secondo un report scritto dall’OCHA oPt lo scorso agosto (L’impatto umanitario delle aree dichiarate da Israele come “Firing Zone” in Cisgiordania), “I residenti delle aree di addestramento militare sono tra i più vulnerabili in Cisgiordania”. Questi soffrono la mancanza di servizi ed infrastrutture e affrontano violazioni dei diritti umani come maltrattamenti dai soldati o restrizioni di accesso e movimento all’interno dell’area. “Queste condizioni contribuiscono a creare un ambiente oppressivo che genera pressione sulle comunità palestinesi perché abbandonino queste aree”.

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

Foto dell’incidente: http://snipurl.com/26jvt6l

6 febbraio 2013

At-Tuwani –  Il 5 febbraio 2013 alle ore 10.30 circa il DCO (District Coordination Office, la sezione dell’esercito israeliano che governa a livello amministrativo i Territori Occupati palestinesi di area C) e l’esercito israeliano hanno consegnato un ordine di demolizione esecutivo nel villaggio palestinese di Tuba. L’ordine è rivolto ad una tenda usata come abitazione e ad una casa, appartenenti ad Ahmed e Nasser Ali Awad. Le due strutture sono abitate da tredici persone, di cui undici sono minori. L’ordine di demolizione consegue ad un ordine di fermo dei lavori consegnato il 3 settembre 2012 (vedi l’ Update). I palestinesi avranno tre giorni di tempo per presentare ricorso riguardo quest’ordine.
Alle 11.30 circa il DCO e l’esercito israeliano hanno consegnato un ordine di fermo dei lavori nel villaggio palestinese di Khallet Athaba rivolto a un pozzo di proprietà della famiglia Dababsi.

Aggiornamento legale sulla situazione legale del villaggio palestinese di Susiya, dei Rabbi for Human Rights

Last Thursday we came to the Supreme Court to protect the future of Susya (Press Release, ndr), from both demolitions and violence. Read the outcome of the legal discussion. Thanks to everyone who distributed the call for help (thousands of letters were sent to President Shimon Peres asking for his assistance) and who came to the Court!

The Supreme Court published its interim decision today on the future of the Palestinian village of Susya [31 Jan 2013]:

Regarding the petition of the far-right organization Regavim calling for demolition of the village, the court decided – in accordance with attorneys Avital Sharon and Quamar Mishirky-Asad of RHR, who represent the village – to grant an extension of 90 days, to allow for the preparation of a plan for the southern section of the village. The state has never provided suitable planning for Palestinian Susya – as it must – and that the planning system which determines the fate of Palestinians in Area C is a military system that does not represent the residents (it is as if the Palestinian Police were to plan Israeli towns without involving Israelis in the process). Granting the possibility of submitting plans by civic parties in dialogue with the villagers is the least that can be expected in terms of justice and fairness.

In the petition that RHR submitted on behalf of the Susya residents, against the methodical blockage of access to their lands, the court gave the state 90 days to detail its plans in that regard. In paragraph 1 of the decision the court directs the state to address in detail to each plot around Susya, and in the absence of a court decision, to provide a date by which the investigation will conclude.

Quamar Mishirky Asad: “Overall it’s a positive ruling, under the circumstances. You have to understand that the attempt to push the Palestinian villagers of Susya into the town of Yata, far from their livelihood – their fields – demonstrates a readiness to trample human rights in favor of an unofficial political policy to annex parts of Area C – annexation without Palestinians. Any political program must be subject to the principles of human and civil rights.”

Rabbi Arik Ascherman: “The truth is that we, Israeli society, are judged on our use of the monopoly of force to determine the fate of Palestinians; of those unrepresented among the judges of the Supreme Court or the planning commissions that determine their future. How can we be a country that twice expelled families from their homes in Susya, pressed them until they lived in caves, destroyed those caves, and then issued demolition orders for anything they built with a roof? Nathan the prophet told David that the king himself was the man who had stolen the poor man’s allegorical sheep. When the ruling comes out, the people will now if we are the analogous state. King David recognized himself in the story. If we recognize who we are today, maybe we will succeed in becoming who we want to be tomorrow.”

A Brief History of Palestinian Susya: In the 1980’’s the original village was designated an archaeological zone and cleared of its residents with no alternative accommodations; entry by Palestinians was barred, not even as visitors. With no choice the uprooted villagers moved to their nearby fields. All buildings deemed illegal are the result of forced expulsion, as is the destruction of the caves in which most of the villagers lived until 2001 (which is what forced them to set up tents). For more extended history please click Here!