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, 2012. The reason for their arrests is unknown.

Night raids are an almost daily occurrence in Beit Ommar. Night raids typically target Palestinian minors, activists and organizers involved in popular resistance initiatives against the Israeli occupation. Israeli soldiers often fail to explain why the ‘suspect’ is being arrested. The detainees are usually taken to the Gush Etzion settlement, which houses a jail and interrogation center. ]]> http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2012/05/22/three-children-arrested-in-beit-ommar/feed/ 0 http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2012/05/21/weekly-demontration-in-beit-ommar/ http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2012/05/21/weekly-demontration-in-beit-ommar/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 11:36:51 +0000 PSP http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/?p=5450 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 farmers to work on their land. The demonstration was also in solidarity with Ahmad Abu Hashem, member of the popular committee in Beit Ommar, who was arrested during the weekly demonstration last Saturday.

In Beit Ommar today, soldiers began shooting teargas into the town at 9:30am. At 11am, they shot teargas at schoolgirls as they left school. The gas continued to pick up after a demonstration took place at 1pm, and continued to increase in intensity until about 5pm. The teargas was directed towards people’s homes, the Center for Freedom and Justice (where PSP activists were filming the soldiers), and at anyone walking through the streets. The teargas caused several fires near people’s homes, which were fortunately put out before any serious damage was done. One arrest was made: Hamidan Ahmad Abu Maria (age 17) was ambushed by soldiers and arrested while driving a tractor through the street to his farmland, and then was beaten by the soldiers.

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 leg some time ago, and the kicking inflicted great pain. The guards also beat him on the back with rocks. Then they broke a mirror and smashed a window in the JCB backhoe loader, leaving cracks in it, before breaking the front window in Walid’s car. All this happened while the six soldiers just stood by watching.

The settler guards also broke branches on 6-7 olive trees.

Walid is now afraid to work on his land alone. But if he is accompanied by others, among them a couple of internationals, he would feel safer. The settlers don’t tend to attack when this is the case.

A report from the UN shows a rise in settler attacks, with 411 documented incidents in 2011, 40 % more than the year before. Over 90 % of the complaints never lead to an indictment, proving there is no accountability and no justice.

The demonstration began with a march from the center of Beit Ommar to Karmei Tsur settlement, which was built on stolen Palestinian land. As soon as the demonstrators arrived near the settlement, about 30 heavily armed Israeli soldiers came to meet them. The soldiers beat the participants with their shields, batons and rifle butts. Many of the peaceful protestors were injured. Ahmad Abu Hashem, 46 years old, was arrested after being beaten and hit in the face by the soldiers. An international activist was injured after being caught in a headlock and dragged by her throat by Israeli soldiers while she was trying to protect Ahmad. Ahmad is the secretary of the Popular Committee in Beit Ommar. Two of his sons, ages 22 and 15, have been arrested in the past month. Arresting him and his family members is part of Israeli forces targeting the Popular Committee in Beit Ommar.

Yousef Abu Maria (age 38), the spokesperson for the Beit Ommar Popular Committee, was also injured, along with two other members of the Popular Committee: Mousa Abu Maria (age 34), who was hit in the forehead with a rifle butt, and Younes Arar (age 40), who was beaten on his legs with a baton. One of Ahmad’s sons, age 14, was severely beaten and kicked by the soldiers while on the ground. The demonstration ended with teargas being shot at demonstrators as they were leaving.

In Hebron, students from the Hebron district came together and marched in the center of town. Close to one thousand people were present with posters and flags, and youth from all the surrounding areas were present in the march.

In Beit Ommar, Israeli soldiers entered the town in the afternoon and occupied several people’s homes, firing teargas and rubber-coated bullets at the children in the street. In the evening, villagers marched in the town supporting Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla. Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla are both members of Islamic Jihad, and they are on the 71st day of their hunger strike. Their condition is critical, and the Supreme Court has recently denied their petition. Islamic Jihad has said that if any of the hunger strikers die, they will consider it as a political assassination and the truce between them and Israel will be broken.

Additionally, another 2000 or so prisoners are on their 21st day of hunger strike. The prisoners are protesting the torture and ill treatment they receive in prison, and demanding their legal rights (such as the right to a lawyer during interrogations) and an end to administrative detention. Under administrative detention, under which both Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla are being held, prisoners are kept without any charges against them and without trial, for a period of up to six months which can be renewed indefinitely. 320 people are now being held under administrative detention.

This week, men, women and children protested in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners, particularly with those on hunger strike. Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh are on the 68th day of their hunger strike, and are in grave condition. They are both held under administrative detention, and demand their right to a fair trial and better conditions. In today’s demonstration, many residents of Beit Ommar came with pictures of their imprisoned family members. Israeli soldiers broke the glass of one of the framed pictures, and threatened to arrest the 30-40 demonstrators who were present, claiming that it was a closed military zone. Palestinians responded that they were simply on their own farmland and ignored the orders to leave, and no arrests were made.

In total around 50 soldiers appeared during the demonstration, preventing the 20 or so activists from reaching the fence. The soldiers pushed the non-violent activists roughly onto barbed wire and rocky ground, and soldiers kicked activists in their legs while pushing them with their shields. An Isaeli activist, Kobi, was arrested during the demonstration after arguing with a soldier. He was released late last night without restrictions after the judge ruled that he had the right to freedom of speech and protest. Meanwhile, Hossein Alamy, the 14-year-old boy who was arrested from the Beit Ommar demonstration last month, is still in jail and has not been granted access to a lawyer during his interrogations.

Beit Ommar residents face daily harassment and arrests from the soldiers at the entrance of the town, disrupting their daily life and interfering with their ability to go to school, work, and other places.