from donkeysaddle projects

Nasser Nawajha takes his six-year old son Laith back to Nasser’s native village of Susya, in the South Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank. Nasser’s family, along with all the other families of Susya, were expelled from their village in 1986, when Israel turned it into an archaeological park. The villagers are, yet again, facing imminent expulsion from their homes and caves.

to Rachel, Vittorio, Tom, Angelo

(italian follows)

On June 13, in At Tuwani village, women and men from South Hebron Hills Popular Committee commemorated Rachel Corrie, Vittorio Arrigoni, Tom Hurndall and Angleo Frammartino, who lost their life in Palestine.

Placing a commemorative plaque near At Tuwani clinic, Palestinians also wanted to underline the importance of international presence and their support for the nonviolent popular resistance: a joint struggle carried on by Palestinians, internationals and Israeli peace activists.

During the opening of the commemoration, the mayor of At Tuwani village, the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee, the representative of woman of the area, Abu Qpeita, Luisa Morgantini and international groups spoke and declared their solidarity with the families of the victims.

Cindy and Craig Corrie (parents of Rachel Corrie in skype connection with the event), remarked their solidarity with the daily life resistance of the Palestinians.

As Kifah Adara, representative for the South Hebron Hills woman, said “Because we know the feelings of the victims’ mothers, our message for them is that we share with them this suffering and this feelings, because we are mother too. We are also here to remember the people that have been injured, or who are denied to enter in the country because of their involvement and activism. This action is the lowest that we can give back to them and to their families. We also don’t want to forget the role of internationals in increasing steadfastness and local daily resistance in this area. (…) our message to the occupation is that we do not want to stay in the valleys, we want to climb the top of the mountains”.

After the speeches, the people moved on Khelly hill, in order to open the Freedom Garden, planting olives trees.

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“COME PROMESSO NON VI DIMENTICHEREMO”

per Rachel, Vittorio, Tom e Angelo 

Il 13 Giugno, al villaggio di At Tuwani, donne e uomini del Comitato Popolare delle colline a Sud di Hebron hanno commemorato Rachel Corrie, Vittorio Arrigoni, Tom Hurndall e Angleo Frammartino, che hanno perso la loro vita in Palestina.

Costruendo una lastra commemorativa vicino alla clinica di At Tuwani, i e le palestinesi hanno voluto anche sottolineare l’importanza del supporto e della presenza internazionale per la resistenza popolare nonviolenta: una lotta condivisa portata avanti dai palestinesi, dagli internazionali e dagli attivisti israeliani.

Durante l’apertura, il sindaco di At Tuwani, il Comitato Popolare delle colline a Sud di Hebron, la portavoce delle donne dell’area, Abu Qpeita, Luisa Morgantini e gruppi internazionali hanno manifestato la loro solidarietà alle famiglie delle vittime.

Cindy e Craig Corry (genitori di Rachel Corrie che hanno fatto un intervento via skype) hanno rimarcato la loro solidarietà con la resistenza quotidiana dei e delle Palestinesi.

Come ha detto Kifah Adara, portavoce delle donne delle colline a Sud di Hebron, “dal momento che conosciamo i sentimenti delle madri delle vittime, il nostro messaggio per loro è quello di condividere il loro dolore perché siamo madri anche noi. Vogliamo anche ricordare le persone che sono state ferite o le persone a cui è stato negato l’acceso al Paese per il loro coinvolgimento e attivismo. Questo evento è il minimo che possiamo fare per le vittime e le loro famiglie. Non vogliamo neppure dimenticare il ruolo degli internazionali nel nutrire la determinazione e la resistenza quotidiana in quest’area. (…) il nostro messaggio all’occupazione è quello che non vogliamo rimanere nelle valli, noi vogliamo scalare la vetta delle montagne”.

Dopo gli interventi, tutte le persone si sono recate nella valle di Khelly per inugurare il Freedom Garden e piantare alberi di olivo.

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On May 16, Palestinians from South Hebron Hills and from different popular Struggle Committee of all West Bank, Israeli an international activists, gathered in Susiya village (that is suffering for the imminent eviction’s threat) in order to demonstrate their solidarity with the villagers.

The demonstration was also to remember the Nakba of 1948, when an estimated 700,000 Palestinians were expelled  from their own land and hundreds of Palestinians town and villages were destroyed.

(italian follows)

Il 16 maggio i palestinesi delle Colline a Sud di Hebron e di vari Comitati di Resistenza Popolare da tutta la Cisgiordania, assieme ad attivisti israeliani e internazionali, si sono radunati a Susiya (che è sotto minaccia di demolizione) per manifestare la loro solidarietà verso gli abitanti di questo villaggio.

La manifestazione è stata fatta anche in ricorrenza del memoriale della Nakba del 1948, quando circa 700,000 Palestinesi furono espulsi dalla propria terra e molte delle loro città e villaggi distrutti.

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

(Italian follow)

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.

Palestinian shepherds claim the right to access their own land in the South Hebron Hills

(Italian follow)

On April 1, in the morning, a group of Palestinian shepherds from the villages of At Tuwani, Al Mufaqarah and Tuba gathered in Meshaha Hill, a Palestinian land, which the illegal Israeli outpost of Havat Ma’on is trying to annex. The settlers and the Israeli army harassed the shepherds, but they succeeded in grazing their flocks and collecting herbs in that area all the morning long, claiming, in a nonviolent way, the right to access their own land. In the same area, several Palestinians have been arrested by the Israeli forces and attacked by settlers in the last few weeks.

Pastori palestinesi rivendicano il diritto di accesso alle proprie terre nelle colline a sud di Hebron

La mattina del 1 aprile un gruppo di pastori palestinesi provenienti dai villaggi di At Tuwani, Al Mufaqarah e Tuba si è riunito sulla collina di Meshaha, terra palestinese oggetto di tentativi di annessione da parte dell’avamposto illegale di Havat Ma’on. I coloni e l’esercito israeliano hanno cercato di fermare i pastori che, però, sono riusciti a pascolare le greggi e raccogliere erbe nell’area per tutta la mattinata, rivendicando così, in maniera non violenta, il diritto di accedere alle proprie terre. Nelle scorse settimane, in questi luoghi, numerosi palestinesi sono stati arrestati dalle forze israeliane e attaccati dai coloni.

Israeli activists attacked by masked settlers in Havat Ma’on

(Italian follow)

March 28, 2015
At Tuwani – South Hebron Hills, West Bank

On March 28, some Israeli activists from Ta’ayush have organized an action in order to protest against the attack of masked settlers to a six years old child, that was injured last saturday. This afternoon, they were walking near the Israeli illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on when some masked settlers came out from the outpost and start throwing stones toward them with slingshots. No activists were injured. When the Israeli police arrived a Ta’ayush activist filed a complaint against the settlers. In the last few weeks the settlers from the same illegal outpost harassed and attacked Palestinian people many times.

Coloni mascherati di Havat Ma’on attaccano attivisti israeliani

28 marzo, 2015
At Tuwani – Colline a sud di Hebron, Cisgiordania

Oggi, 28 marzo, alcuni attivisti israeliani di Ta’ayush hanno organizzato un’azione per protestare contro l’attacco subito lo scorso sabato da una bambina palestinese di soli sei anni. Questo pomeriggio, mentre gli attivisti stavano camminando nei pressi dell’avamposto illegale di Havat Ma’on alcuni ragazzi coloni, mascherati, sono usciti dai boschi e hanno iniziato a lanciare pietre contro di loro con le fionde. Nessun attivista è stato ferito. All’arrivo della polizia israeliana uno degli attivisti ha sporto denuncia. I coloni dello stesso avamposto illegale sono stati protagonisti nelle ultime settimane di diversi attacchi contro adulti e bambini palestinesi.

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

(Italian follows)

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.]

PRESS RELEASE

Arrests and violence against Palestinians resisting settlers’ expansion in the South Hebron Hills

Israeli forces arrest two Palestinians and four Israeli activists near Mitzpe Yair illegal outpost

(Italian follows)

October 19, 2014

At Tuwani – Saturday October 18, two nonviolent actions organized by the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee took place in the South Hebron Hills area, claiming the right of Palestinians to access their own lands. The first in the area of Umm Al Arayes, located near the Israeli outpost of Mitzpe Yair; the second in the area of the Palestinian village of Susiya, located close to the Israeli settlement of Suseya. Both Palestinian-owned lands are under threat of dispossession because of the illegal settlements’ expansion.

In Umm Al Arayes, at 9 a.m. Palestinian owners of the land accompanied by Israeli activists and international volunteers gathered to claim the right to access their land. The Israeli forces already present on the place immediately stopped the participants and declared the area as “military closed”, preventing anyone to access it. Israeli police arrested two Palestinians and four Israeli activists with the charge to have been in the forbidden area. Last Saturday, during a similar nonviolent action, Israeli activists were brutally attacked by settlers from Mitzpe Yair (video of the incident: http://goo.gl/qFE3fX).

Since 2001 the Palestinians have faced restricted access to these lands. In the past weeks, in response to a legal petition filed by Palestinians’ lawyer, the Israeli Court forced the settlers to dismantle several greenhouses they illegally built on that same land.

In Susiya, at 10 a.m. Palestinian owners, accompanied by Israeli activists and international volunteers, marched on their land to make pressure against the settlement’s illegal expansion. For the third saturday in a row Palestinians dismantled the tent built illegally by the settlers where they used to gather every afternoon preventing the owners to graze on the land and use the well. At 11:10 a.m. Israeli army declared the area as “military closed” and started to violently push away Palestinians and activists, as they were peacefully resisting the evacuation of the area while Israeli settlers were standing there.

In both nonviolent actions Israeli forces prevented the Palestinian owners to access their lands allowing Israeli settlers to grab those lands and illegally build structures on them.

Nevertheless, Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills keep struggling in a nonviolent way to claim justice and to stop the ongoing appropriation of Palestinian land.

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

Pictures of the actions: http://goo.gl/dPcT2u

[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

Arresti e violenza in risposta alla resistenza palestinese contro l’espansione delle colonie, colline a sud di Hebron

L’esercito israeliano arresta due palestinesi e quattro attivisti israeliani vicino all’avamposto di Mitzpe Yair

19 ottobre 2014

At Tuwani – Sabato 18 ottobre, il Comitato Popolare delle Colline a Sud di Hebron ha organizzato due azioni nonviolente per rivendicare il diritto dei palestinesi ad accedere alle proprie terre. La prima nell’area di Umm Al Arayes, vicino l’avamposto israeliano di Mitzpe Yair; la seconda nell’area del villaggio di Susiya adiacente alla colonia israeliana di Suseya. Entrambe le terre di proprietà palestinese sono sotto minaccia di esproprio a causa dall’espansione illegale delle colonie.

Ad Umm Al Arayes, alle 9 del mattino, i proprietari palestinesi, insieme ad attivisti israeliani e volontari internazionali, si sono riuniti per reclamare il diritto di accesso alla loro terra. L’esercito israeliano, già presente sul posto, ha immediatamente fermato i partecipanti dichiarando “area militare chiusa”, impedendo a chiunque di accedere al terreno. La polizia israeliana ha arrestato due palestinesi e quattro attivisti israeliani con l’accusa di essere all’interno dell’area interdetta. Sabato scorso, durante un’azione nonviolenta analoga, gli attivisti israeliani sono stati brutalmente attaccati dai coloni di Mitzpe Yair (video dell’incidente: http://goo.gl/qFE3fX).

Dal 2001 i palestinesi hanno affrontato le limitazioni nell’accesso a questi terreni. Nelle scorse settimane, in risposta ad una petizione presentata dall’avvocato dei palestinesi, la corte israeliana ha obbligato i coloni a smantellare diverse serre che avevano costruito illegalmente sugli stessi terreni.

A Susiya, alle 10 del mattino i proprietari palestinesi, accompagnati degli attivisti israeliani e da volontari internazionali, hanno marciato sulla loro terra per fare pressione contro l’espansione illegale della colonia. Per il terzo sabato di fila, i palestinesi hanno smantellato la tenda costruita illegalmente dai coloni ed utilizzata ogni pomeriggio impedendo ai proprietari del terreno di pascolare nell’area ed usare il pozzo. Alle 11:10 l’esercito israeliano ha dichiarato “area militare chiusa” ed ha iniziato a scacciare con violenza i palestinesi ed gli attivisti che stavano resistendo pacificamente allo sgombero, mentre alcuni coloni israeliani sono rimasti nell’area in questione.

Durante le due azioni, le forze israeliane hanno impedito ai proprietari palestinesi di accedere alla loro terra, permettendo invece ai coloni israeliani di appropriarsene e costruirci illegalmente strutture.

Ciononostante i palestinesi delle colline a sud di Hebron continuano a lottare in modo nonviolento per reclamare giustizia e fermare la continua confisca illegale di terra palestinese.

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

Foto delle azioni: http://goo.gl/dPcT2u

[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.]