On April 29, the Israeli Authorities placed an “Area A” sign in the beginning of the street that crosses the Bypass Road 317 and links the village of Tuwani with the village of Al Birkeh.

(italian follows)

Il 29 aprile, le autorità israeliane hanno collocato un cartello di “Area A” all’inizio della strada che incrocia la Bypass Road 317 e collega il villaggio di Tuwani con il villaggio di Al Birkeh.

Hundreds of Israeli settlers enter in the Palestinian village of Al Birkeh

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In the early afternoon of April 7, several hundreds of settlers,  escorted by Israeli army and police, gathered at the entrance of At Tuwani village and entered the Palestinian village of Al Birkeh.

Israeli settlers blocked the road that connects the village to the city of Yatta all the day long, restricting the freedom of movement of the Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills area.

In these days of Passover, a large number of settlers walked in Palestinian lands, harassing and scaring Palestinian people in their daily life activities.

Centinaia di coloni israeliani entrano nel villaggio palestinese di Al Birkeh

Nel primo pomeriggio del 7 aprile alcune centinaia di coloni si sono riuniti all’entrata del villaggio di At Tuwani, entrando poi, scortati dall’esercito e polizia israeliani, nel villaggio palestinese di Al Birkeh.

I coloni hanno bloccato la strada che collega il villaggio alla città di Yatta per tutta la giornata, limitando, in questo modo, la libertà di movimento dei palestinesi nell’area delle colline a sud di Hebron.

In questi giorni in cui si festeggia la Pasqua ebraica, un gran numero di coloni israeliani si è spinto all’interno delle terre palestinesi, spaventando gli abitanti dei villaggi e impedendo loro il normale svolgimento delle attività quotidiane.

Four Palestinians arrested for harvesting herbs in the South Hebron Hills

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March 18, 2015

At Tuwani – On March 17,  around 4 pm, Israeli soldiers detained a group of 10 Palestinian young men that were harvesting seasonal herbs in a Palestinian land near to the Israeli illegal outpost of Mitzpe Yair. After one hour the Israeli police arrived and arrested four of the Palestinians, taking them to Kiryat Arba police station.

March is the month in which Palestinians harvest this kind of herbs. Since the settlers, supported by Israeli forces, are attempting to annex the Palestinian land, even the simple activity of collecting herbs become dangerous, especially when the fields are located near to the Israeli settlements and outposts.

In the last two weeks International volunteers witnessed several settler’s attacks, army harassment and even arrest against Palestinians harvesting herbs on their own lands.

Quattro palestinesi arrestati nelle colline a sud di Hebron per aver raccolto erbe

18 Marzo 2015

At Tuwani – Il 17 Marzo, alle 16 circa, soldati israeliani hanno detenuto 10 giovani palestinesi che stavano raccogliendo erbe nelle proprie terre vicine all’avamposto israeliano illegale di Mitzpe Yair. Dopo averli trattenuti per un’ora, all’arrivo della polizia, quattro dei ragazzi sono stati arrestati e portati alla stazione di polizia di Kiryat Arba.

Marzo è il mese in cui questo tipo di erbe vengono raccolte, ma per i palestinesi anche un’attività semplice come questa può diventare molto pericolosa. I coloni israeliani, con l’appoggio dell’esercito e della polizia, tentano continuamente di annettere le terre palestinesi, in particolar modo quelle vicine alle colonie o agli avamposti, scacciando i palestinesi quando questi provano ad accedervi per lavorarle, o come in questo caso anche solo per raccogliervi erbe.

Nelle ultime due settimane i volontari internazionali sono stati testimoni di diversi attacchi da parte dei coloni e tentativi di arresto da parte dell’esercito israeliano a danno dei palestinesi che lavoravano all’interno delle proprie terre.

Israeli military escort fails to guarantee safe passage to children attending school in At Tuwani village

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March 10, 2015

At Tuwani – On the afternoon of March 9 the Israeli military escort failed to arrive in At Tuwani village to escort the schoolchildren from Tuba and Maghayir al Abeed Palestinian villages home on the road between Ma’on settlement and the illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on. International volunteers made multiple calls to the army but were told that the soldiers could not be reached.  After waiting for 45 minutes the children decided to take the long path home with the internationals.

On this occasion the children arrived home safely, at about 3:00 pm.  However, about 30 minutes later as the International volunteers were returning to At Tuwani on the same path they witnessed three settler children attacking Palestinian children who were collecting herbs on Palestinian land near Havat Ma’on. The settler children had their faces covered, and one was using a slingshot to fire stones at the Palestinians.  The Palestinians moved away, and there were no consequences for the settlers.

This is the fifth time since the start of 2015 that the Israeli military has failed to escort the schoolchildren from the Palestinian villages of Tuba and Maghayir al Abeed.  On each occasion the children have traveled the long path, which passes near the outpost of Havat Ma’on.  As the presence of masked settler youth on March 9 shows, this path is also dangerous, and the children are forced to expose themselves to the possibility of settler violence in order to move between their homes and their school in At Tuwani village.

La scorta militare israeliana non garantisce la sicurezza dei bambini che si recano a scuola nel villaggio di At Tuwani

10 Marzo 2015

At Tuwani – Nel pomeriggio del 9 Marzo la scorta militare israeliana non si è presentata al villaggio di At Tuwani per accompagnare a casa i bambini dei villaggi palestinesi di Tuba e Maghayir al Abeed sulla strada che passa tra colonia di Ma’on e l’avamposto illegale di Havat Ma’on. I volontari internazionali hanno chiamato ripetutamente l’esercito ma è stato detto loro che la scorta non era raggiungibile telefonicamente. Dopo aver aspettato 45 minuti i bambini hanno deciso di percorrere la strada lunga accompagnati dai volontari internazionali.

In questa occasione i bambini sono tornati a casa senza conseguenze, all’incirca alle ore 15. Ciò nonostante, circa 30 minuti dopo, i volontari internazionali, che stavano tornando a casa per la stesso sentiero, sono stati testimoni di un attacco da parte di tre bambini coloni ai danni di bambini palestinesi che stavano raccogliendo delle erbe nelle terre palestinesi vicino all’avamposto di Havat Ma’on. I bambini coloni avevano il volto mascherato e uno di loro usava una slingshot per lanciare pietre ai palestinesi. I bambini palestinesi poi si sono spostati e non ci sono state conseguenze per i coloni.

Questa è la quinta volta dall’inizio del 2015 che la scorta militare israeliana non accompagna i bambini dei villaggi palestinesi di Tuba e Maghayir al Abeed. Ogni volta i bambini hanno dovuto camminare per la strada lunga, che passa vicino l’avamposto di Havat Ma’on. Come la presenza dei coloni mascherati il 9 Marzo ha dimostrato, la strada è pericolosa, e i bambini sono costretti ad esporsi alla violenza dei coloni per potersi muovere tra la loro casa e la scuola nel villaggio di At Tuwani.

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On February 11, in the morning, Israeli soldiers and police arrested one man on the bypass road (317) near the village of Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills, and then raided the nearby village of Jawwaya. The man who was arrested had obvious signs of violence, including blood and a scratch on his face, and was probably injured during the arrest. While this man was arrested on the road, Israeli army and police raided Jawayya, where they damaged a tent used by villagers for the storage of livestock food. The soldiers slashed the walls of the tent, probably with a knife.

Around 7:30 am, a family from Jawayya called international volunteers and told them that there were soldiers in Jawayya village. As the volunteers were walking to Jawwaya on the bypass road (317) they saw a police vehicle next to two other cars, which had damaged wheels and flat tires. When the volunteers arrived at the vehicles they saw one man on the ground near one of the vehicles at the side of the road. He was blindfolded and handcuffed with his hands behind his back, and he appeared to have been beaten on the face and mouth. The soldiers loaded the man into one of the vehicles with damaged tires and the soldiers then drove all of the vehicles away.

At around 8:20 am, two international volunteers arrived in the village of Jawwaya, where Israeli soldiers and police were searching houses and tents, probably looking for another man. One of the soldiers attacked one of the volunteers, and then attempted to steal a camera from another. According to Palestinian witnesses, soldiers and police slashed large holes in a tent used as a shelter for the food for the animals and they fired shots into the sky in order to intimidate the inhabitants of the village. At about 8:45 am the soldiers and police left Jawwaya.

Israeli forces attacked the participants by stun grenades, tear gas, water cannon and physical violence

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January 24, 2015

Susiya – South Hebron Hills, West Bank

On January 23, during an action organized by the Al Mubadara party and the South Hebron Hills Popular Resistance Committee, claiming the right of Palestinians to access their own land near Susiya village, Israeli forces attacked Palestinians and Internationals activists by stun grenades, tear gas, water cannon and physical and verbal violence. During the action, the Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians.

At around 11 a.m. about 150 people, after they got together in the Susiya village, tried to reach a Palestinian-owned land between the Israeli army base and the Israeli settlement of Suseya in order to plant olive trees. Immediately the area was declared a closed military zone by the Israeli army, but nevertheless the demonstrators tried to arrive to the land. After 20 minutes, Israeli soldiers arrested the first Palestinian, only because he removed soldier’s hand from his breast. Few minutes later the soldiers arrested a second Palestinian. The large part of the demonstrators reached the land and started to plant the olive trees. Immediately, Israeli soldiers and policemen pushed the crowd back, in direction to Susiya village. During their charge, the Israeli forces used stun grenades and tear gas, pushing and attacking the people and arrested other two Palestinians.
At around 12.45 p.m. the participants got together on the hill of Susiya village and slowly went away from the Israeli soldiers and policemen while they were throwing tear gas and using the water cannon.

In the last five days in the South Hebron Hills area the violences by the Israeli army increased. Operation Dove registered six episodes of direct violence or harassment to Palestinians. On January 19, the soldiers killed a sheep in the Tuba village area, while they were chasing away a flock owned by Palestinians. On January 20, Israeli soldiers arrested a 14 year-old Palestinian, while he was grazing a flock near Maghayir Al Abeed village. In the same day, the Israeli army demolished 4 structures in the Ar-Rifa’iyya village.

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

Pictures: http://goo.gl/jCidYm
Video: http://goo.gl/ctjy0N

[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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January 6, 2015

At-Tuwani – South Hebron Hills, West Bank

During the last school-week, the Israeli military escort failed three times in accompanying the schoolchildren from the South Hebron hills villages of Tuba and Maghayir Al Abeed.

In order to reach the school of At-Tuwani, the Palestinian children, aged between 6 and 17 years, usually walk, accompanied by an Israeli military escort, through the shortest route (about 20 minutes) that passes between the Israeli settlement of Ma’on and the outpost of Havat Ma’on (Hill 833). This route is the main road linking their villages and At-Tuwani and it is dangerous for the children since they frequently suffer from the attacks and harassment of the settlers.

On January 4, the schoolchildren waited for the escort until 7:53 a.m. but the soldiers didn’t show up. The children had to attend an exam at 8:00 so, in order to not lose additional time, chose to go through an other longer path, in which they were attacked several times in the past. International volunteers accompanied them in place of the Israeli soldiers.

On December 31, the children arrived at the designated escort meeting place at 10.30 am in order to be accompanied from At Tuwani to Tuba, but the Israeli military escort wasn’t there. The children waited in the winter morning for the army until 11.45 a.m. The children chose to go through the very dangerous shortest route between Ma’on settlement and Havat Ma’on outpost without any escort.

On December 28, the schoolchildren arrived at the designated escort meeting place at 11.08 am, but the army wasn’t there. The children waited for the army until 11.45 am. After that the children chose to go home through an other longer path, but not less dangerous, accompanied by International volunteers in place of the Israeli escort.

In this half school year (from 24 August 2014 to 4 January 2015) Operation Dove volunteers, who monitor the Israeli military escort, collected the following data: on a total of 170 cases, six times the children were not escorted on their trip from and to school. In contravention of the protective mandate of the escort, in this half school year on 98,53% of the cases (on 136 of 170 recorded cases in which the volunteers monitored the military escort) the Israeli soldiers failed to fully complete the escort, not walking until the end of the settlement. Furthermore in this period on 23% of the cases the escort refused to walk with the children, as establish the agreement between the DCO and At-Tuwani major. On 49,4% of the mornings, the children were late to school by more than 5 minutes due to escort delay. The children lost 9 hours because of late or missing military escorts. On 54,1% of their school days, the children had to wait more than 5 minutes after school for the military escort. In the afternoons, the children waited it a total of 22 hours.

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

Pictures: http://goo.gl/F9Y2VA

[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.]

Haaretz, by Chaim Levinson Dec. 9, 2014

Settlement analyst says the areas marked are in the Jordan Valley or near settlements; Civil Administration calls claims baseless

The Civil Administration has in recent years earmarked 35,000 dunams (8,650 acres) of land currently defined as military firing zones to expand settlements and outposts, according to a settlement-tracking researcher’s analysis of its figures.

Dror Etkes has analyzed the extensive geographical information in the hands of the Civil Administration and says it shows that the administration has been surveying and mapping the old state lands recently, although these are firing zones. Since 1999, a Civil Administration team – known as the “blue line team” – has been using advanced digital methods to reaffirm the boundaries of the state lands. So far, 260,000 dunams have been mapped throughout the West Bank – 35,000 dunams of which are in firing zones.