Ahmed Abu Hashem (46 years old), a member of the Beit Ommar Popular Committee, was arrested on May 12th, 2012 from the weekly peaceful demonstration in Beit Ommar against settlements, next to Karmei Tsur settlement. Ahmed is the father of eight children, and is the only source of income for his family. Ahmed has a piece of land, about 3 dunams (3000 square meters), adjacent to Karmei Tsur settlement. The settlement is illegal according to international law under the 4th Geneva Convention. The Palestinian land near the settlement has been planted, uprooted and cut by settlers, and replanted again many times. It is a constant effort for Palestinians to … Continue reading

On Saturday, May 26th, 2012, locals together with more than 35 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists (from the USA, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, and Chile, amongst others) built a third single story prefabricated building in the village of Um Faqara (Al Mufaqara, South Hebron Hills). Most of the walls of the new house were finished. The event in Um Faqara has become a weekly occurrence following the erecting of a new mosque and a house in previous weeks. The construction of the three new structures was organized by the Popular Committee and activists with the aim of peacefully resisting the Israeli occupation by affirming the right to live of the … Continue reading

On Saturday, May 26, 2012, about 30 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists gathered together for the weekly demonstration in Beit Ommar against the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement. The demonstration took place close to the fence surrounding the settlement in front of an area where they are constructing new settler homes. Soldiers blocked the path of the demonstrators and quickly began beating them and pushing them with their shields. Some soldiers began kicking demonstrators, including children, in the legs while pushing them with their shields. Soldiers swore and insulted the demonstrators, trying to provoke them. At the end of the demonstration, a fire broke out near the olive and fruit trees, … Continue reading

On Wednesday, May 23, 2012, Israeli forces entered Beit Ommar and arrested seven people during a night raid, the second one in two nights. We expect many more night raids before the end of the month, as the Israeli military rounds up those who participated in demonstrations on Nakba Day and in solidarity with the Palestinian hunger strikers earlier this month. Those arrested last night were:

Alaa Fahmy Za’aqiq, 32 years old
Hamad Ahmad Abu Maria, 20 years old
Jihad Ahmad Abu Maria, 25 years old
Yousef Ali Said Sabarna, 19 years old
Nasr Ali Said Sabarna, 27 years old
Hossam Sabr Zaml Abu Maria, 16 years old
Mohummad Wajee Ahmad Abu Maria, 19 years old

Night … Continue reading

In the past twenty-four hours, three male Palestinian children have been arrested in separate raids by Israeli soldiers in Beit Ommar.

Jowad Muhammad Jameel Za’aqiq (15 years old) was arrested at around 5pm on Monday, 21 May, 2012. He was helping his father tend to his family land when the arrest took place. His father asked the soldiers present why his son was being taken. He was informed that Jowad (his son) had been seen throwing stones.

Muhannad Mershad Awad (12 years old) and Alaa Yousef Mohammad Abu Maria (14 years old) were both arrested from their respective family homes in night raids at around 2am on Tuesday, 22 May, … Continue reading

On Saturday, May 19th, 2012, locals together with more than 30 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists (from Norway, the USA, Britain and Italy, amongst others) built a single story prefabricated house in the village of Um Fagara (South Hebron Hills). The event was organized by the Popular Committee and activists with the aim of peacefully resisting the Israeli occupation by affirming the right to live of the community of Um Fagara.

Um Fagara is in area C, under both Israeli military and administrative control. It has been subject to a range of evacuations, abuse and demolitions by the Israeli military in recent years. On 24 November, 2011, the … Continue reading

On Saturday, 19 May, 2012, protesters from Beit Ommar together with Israeli and international activists gathered for the weekly demonstration against the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement. They tried to reach the fence separating Palestinians from their land which was illegally seized under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Around twenty-five heavily armed Israeli soldiers prevented the demonstrators from approaching the settlement fence, forcibly pushing two members of the Popular Committee in Beit Ommar down from the road onto a lower terrace. The soldiers beat the participants with their shields.

The demonstration is protesting against the illegal settlements all over the West Bank which is built on stolen Palestinian land, making it impossible for … Continue reading

On Sunday, May 20th, 2012, around fifty thousand Jews marched to the Old City in Jerusalem to celebrate ‘Jerusalem Day’. The march celebrated the 45th anniversary of the ‘recapturing’ of East Jerusalem in 1967 (a culmination of the ‘Six Day’ War).

Sections of highway 60 around Beit Ommar were closed so that around five hundred settlers could cycle to Jerusalem for the march. Highway 60 connects Beit Ommar with the rest of the West Bank. Amidst an extremely heavy presence of soldiers and police the main entrance to Beit Ommar was also temporarily closed, almost completely halting Palestinian life as a result.

Many of the settlers shouted ostentatiously … Continue reading

Today, May 15, 2012, Palestinians are remembering the 64th anniversary of the Nakba. In Arabic, “nakba” means “catastrophe,” and it refers to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, which was accompanied by the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians from their homes. Many Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes, while others fled when they heard the news of massacres in nearby villages, such as Deir Yassin and Tantura. More than 450 Palestinian towns and villages were depopulated by Zionist forces, and most of them were razed to the ground to prevent the return of the Palestinian refugees. Many refugee families still carry the keys to the homes that … Continue reading

On Friday, May 11th, 2012, two Palestinian farmers were attacked in Beit Ommar by Israeli settlers from Karmei Tsur.

Walid Sabarna and Ibrahim Abu Maria were working on their land 150 meters from the settlement, when two security guards from the settlement accompanied by six soldiers approached them at 5 pm. The guards asked the farmers what they were doing here, and they gave the obvious answer: working on their land. The guards responded that this was not the case, but that the land belonged to them and that the farmers should go away.

They then attacked Walid, beating and kicking his right leg. He had an operation on this … Continue reading