On Saturday, March 31, 2012, Palestinian, Israeli and international activists held the weekly demonstration in Beit Ommar, by the fence separating the town from the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement. Karmei Tsur is built on stolen Palestinian land and makes it impossible for the farmers of Beit Ommar to access parts of their land. The settlement is highly secured by military forces and fences. Today’s demonstration was in honor of Land Day, which was yesterday, March 30, and in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strikes.

Israeli soldiers started throwing sound bombs at the demonstrators within the first five minutes of … Continue reading

On Sunday, March 25, 2012, four international activists from PSP went to Ofer military court to follow up on the eight Beit Ommar youths who were arrested recently. They were warned ahead of time by Israeli activists that the security at Ofer military court tend to do their utmost to keep others from entering. Thus, despite being registered to attend the hearing, the PSP activists were made to wait outside for nearly an hour, missing the entire session.

Going through security, the Israeli security guards asked each person if they spoke Hebrew, then if they spoke Arabic. The first of the internationals to go through was an American woman. She answered the questions, admitting that she spoke no Hebrew, but she … Continue reading

On Saturday, March 24, 2012, Palestinian, Israeli and international activists held a demonstration in Beit Ommar against the Karmei Tsur settlement. Karmei Tsur is built on stolen Palestinian land and makes it impossible for the farmers of Beit Ommar to access parts of their land. The settlement is highly secured by military forces and fences. Today’s demonstration was against the settlement, and against any further encroachments on Palestinian land. It also marked the 38th day of Hana Shalabi’s hunger strike in protest of her administrative detention. Additionally, demonstrators protested the recent arrests of 8 minors from Beit Ommar, to be followed up in Ofer … Continue reading

On Sunday, March 11th, 2012, Israeli forces entered Beit Ommar and arrested four youths during a night raid. Those arrested were:

Bilal Mahmoud Awad, age 15
Amer Shawkat Alqam, age 16
Ahmad Isa Saleiby, age 16
Mohamad Jewdat Ady, age 14

Night raids are a frequent occurrence in Beit Ommar, to create fear in the community and to discourage people from resisting the occupation. Residents of Beit Ommar are frequently arrested with no charges held against them, and usually have to pay fines between 1000 and 4000 shekels in order to be released.

To donate to help pay the support costs associated with the arrest of Beit Ommar residents, see: http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/donate/

On Wednesday March 7th, 2012, Israeli soldiers entered the Palestinian village of Beit Ommar and arrested six residents. The soldiers started searching houses and looking at different cars parked in the area. After a while they decided on the car they wanted, which belonged to a longtime unarmed resistance activist in the village. One soldier broke the window of the car with his gun, exploded a sound bomb inside the car, opened the trunk and another soldier searched the trunk of the car. They then attached the car to their jeep and moved it to the military watchtower which is located at the entrance of the village. Later, a tow-truck moved the car from the watch-tower to … Continue reading

On Tuesday February 21, 2012, Israeli Forces raided the Palestinian village of Beit Ommar and raided several homes, arresting three youth between the ages of 14 and 17. According to the Popular Committee in Beit Ommar, the occupation forces arrested three people; Mohammad Ahmed Khalil Abu Hashem (14 years old) Mohab Samir Mehanna (16 years old), and Mohammed Jamil Saadi (17 years old). The boys were taken to the illegal Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur which is built on land belonging to Beit Ommar residents. When one of the detainees was being taken from his home, his father Ahmad Abu Hashem, was beaten by soldiers as he tried to convince them to let his son Mohammad put on … Continue reading

Over the course of the past week, the Israeli army has arrested eight Palestinians from their homes in Beit Ommar, a village in the southern West Bank. Israeli Forces raid the village almost every night, often making arrests and ransacking homes. The raids have often targeted Palestinian minors, and activists and organizers involved in popular resistance initiatives against the Israeli occupation. The arrested from this week include two children under the age of 18.

During one of the raids this past week, the soldiers broke into several residences at 3am. The Palestinians were taken from their homes without any explanation given as to why they were being arrested. They were taken away in … Continue reading

Three youngsters arrested in another night-raid in Beit Ommar.
Munib Jahed Alqom (18)
Rami Ibrahim Haled Sabarna (20)
Sayed Mohammed Mahmoud Awad (17) were arrested from their houses at 3:00 am in the morning November 27rd, 2011.

Many arrests have occurred lately.
Thaer Ahamd Abu Hashem, 23
Iyad Alami, 23
Abed Helail, 41, Mohammad Yousef Bahar 17 years old, and Ahmad Mahmoud Sohaibe 20 years old
Yousef Ahmad Halil Abu Hashem, Ahmad Abu Hashem,
Munib Jahed, 17, Nadim Khalil, 21, and Fares Al-Owewy, 25.

The previous night-raid was a couple of days ago. Report here

Munib was arrested only a few weeks ago. Now … Continue reading

Beit Ommar 14.th October 2011. At about three o’clock in the morning three persons were arrested in a late night millitary raid in Beit Ommar; Abed Helail aged 41, Mohammad Yousef Bahar 17 years old, and Ahmad Mahmoud Sohaibe 20 years old.
No reason was given for the arrests.

Several arrests have occured in Beit Ommar the last few weeks. Report here

Two days ago the soliders arrested Yousef Ahmad Halil Abu Hashem. Report here

The army raids in Beit Ommar have … Continue reading

Beit Ommar 11th October 2011:

Yousef Ahmad Halil Abu Hashem was arrested along with his father, Ahmad Abu Hashem, at 02:30 Tuesday morning in the old city of Beit Ommar. Ahamd Abu Hashem is an active member of the popular committee in Beit Ommar.

The Israeli army came to Ahmad Abu Hashem’s house in the middle of the night with more than a hundred soldiers, seven jeeps and two buses, including three dogs. The soldiers used a ladder to climb the wall, and established a command point on the roof, after having broken open the front door of the house on the ground floor.

All family members were made to lie on the floor, while the soldiers brought in … Continue reading