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

On Saturday, January 7th, 2011, several dozen Palestinian villagers from Beit Ommar, supported by Israeli and international solidarity activists, continued their weekly demonstrations on lands close to the illegal Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur. Karmei Tsur one of three settlements built on land belonging to Beit Ommar residents. This week, the demonstrators got closer than usual to the settlement houses, just a few meters from the fence.

Israeli Forces, heavily armed, became nervous and began shoving the nonviolent activists, pushing several to the ground. Unlike in previous demonstrations, no sound bombs or tear gas was used to disperse the crowd, probably … Continue reading

HEBRON (Ma’an) — A shepherd sustained facial injuries on Thursday, December 29th, 2011, when Israeli soldiers threw sound grenades at him during clashes near Hebron, a local official said.

Israeli forces raided Beit Ommar and briefly detained and attacked several locals, popular committee spokesman Muhammad Awad told Ma’an. Soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs after residents came to defend their relatives, he added.

Ayed Mahmud Abu Maryeh, 42, was guarding his sheep when soldiers fired sound grenades at him, Awad said. He was taken to Hebron Hospital with minor injuries to his face, Awad said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the incident.

On Dec. 9, a 28-year-old man was killed when soldiers fired a tear gas canister at his … Continue reading

On Saturday, December 11, 2011 around 40 Palestinian villagers in Beit Ommar held their weekly demonstration land close to the Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur. The villagers were joined by a group of Hebron University female students and they were also supported by Israeli and international solidarity activists.

This week’s demonstration decried the murder of Mustafa Tamimi, a 28-year-old Palestinian activist from the village of Nabi Saleh, who was shot in the face from close range with a tear gas canister fired by Israeli Forces during an unarmed demonstration two days before. Mustafa died of his wounds early … Continue reading

Surif November 29th.2011.
Today Israeli soldiers appeared in Jamal and Ibrahim Mohammad Abed Al Khadi`s land to inform them that 12 dunums of their land will be confiscated within two weeks. There is a well on this land. The farmers were told that the well will be demolished along with the fence, and that the land with young olive trees will be bulldozed.

The Israeli government want the land for their own use. The land is 4-5 kilometers from the Green line, which means the occupant is annexing a lot more land from the Palestinians.
When the apartheid fence is completed, the land will … Continue reading

November 29.th 2011, Maroan Ahmad Khamis Saharna was working on his fields in Hatta behind Beit Ula. Saharna was working with his tractor just outside the apartheid wall in area C. Suddenly soldiers arrived. Both the farmer and his tractor were arrested because the soldiers claimed that the fields are in a closed military zone.

Often farmers that own land in area C need special permits to harvest and work in their land. Many of them experience lot of harassment from both settlers and soldiers.

From Electronic Intifada:

On 24 November Israeli occupation forces demolished two homes, a mosque and a barn, killing livestock, and arrested two young women in the village of Umm Fagarah, in the South Hebron Hills in the occupied West Bank.

The incident was caught on video by Operation Dove, an Italian organization that has maintained a presence in the area since 2004.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILiVe1WPafA

The description of the video states:

At 10 am two bulldozers arrived in the village, escorted by five military vehicles. Without showing any demolition order, the army demolished two houses, a mosque, a barn and a structure containing the generator.

Forced to kneel

During the video, two young Palestinian women can be seen being forced to kneel on the … Continue reading

On November 15th, 2011, six Palestinian activists were arrested for boarding Israeli settlement buses in the West Bank district of Ramallah. The activists, calling themselves the Freedom Riders, drew inspiration from the 1961 Freedom Rides in the United States, in which young black and white civil rights activists challenged the segregated transportation system across southern states.

Settler buses run by the companies Egged and Veolia, connect Israeli settlements which are built on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank, and deemed illegal under International Law, with cities within Israel proper. Palestinians are not allowed to ride these buses, one of many separate … Continue reading

At 2:30am on the morning of November 12, 2011, PSP activist Iyad al-Alami was arrested from his residence in Beit Ommar by Israeli Forces.

Iyad is 23-years-old, and is an active member of the National Committee in Beit Ommar, as well as the Palestine Solidarity Project. In recent years, Iyad has been arrested two times before. Eyewitnesses saw 5 jeeps of Israeli soldiers conduct the early morning raid. Iyad was seen blindfolded and handcuffed as he was being led to an army jeep.

Iyad is studying engineering at Hebron’s Polytechnic University. A … Continue reading

On November 9th, 2011 at around 1:30pm, Palestinian residents of Beit Ommar were harassed by a group of settlers accompanied by Israeli soldiers. The attack occurred in an area of the village not far from the illegal settlement of Bat Ayn, one of the most ideologically colonialist and dangerous settlements in the West Bank.

The Israeli soldiers accompanied the settlers on the back roads towards Beit Ommar, only a few kilometers from the settlement. The settlers then proceeded to set fire to three Palestinian cars, and two of them were totally … Continue reading