At around 10pm on the night of the 11th August, the Israeli army once more invaded the town of Beit Ommar. Around eight jeeps and more than twelve soldiers entered the town and advanced along the main road, closing off the entrance to the village behind them, preventing residents returning to their homes.

The soldiers proceeded to fire dozens of rounds of teargas into highly residential areas, accompanied by concussion grenades and flares. Several families inside their homes suffered the effects of teargas inhalation and required medical treatment, some being taken by ambulance to hospital in … Continue reading

On the 29th of July, 2011 a large group of settlers was observed passing through the land of Beit Ommar and Surif. The group, which consisted of 40 settlers, 2 of whom were armed, and 4 soldiers, walked through farmland in Beit Ommar and crossed through the town of Surif.

They were observed by a group of residents from the towns as well as two internationals. Members of the group harassed residents as they passed through Surif, and briefly sat down near the entrance of a Palestinian house. They were seen carrying maps and taking pictures of the land and Palestinian homes.

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Demonstrators were assaulted in Beit Ommar today, as Israeli military forces attacked the village’s demonstration against the recent rapid expansion of building work in the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement.

Fifty demonstrators, consisting of local Palestinians, Israelis, and international solidarity activists marched from the village and attempted to protest at the nearby settlement fence. The protest was met by dozens of Israeli soldiers who prevented the Palestinians from marching across their own land. The soldiers proceeded to push numerous demonstrators to the ground. One Israeli had his ID taken by the soldiers and was later arrested, while another Israeli activist was detained. The soldiers then declared the area a Closed Military Zone, … Continue reading

On the morning of July 1, Palestinian farmers in Wadi Suweit, on the main road between the settlements of Ma’on and Suseya in the South Hebron Hills, were forced off their
land while they were plowing and preparing their land for cultivation. When solidarity activists arrived at about 8:30am, the scene was quiet, though there where about four military jeeps observing as the farmers worked. By 9 am, several settlers had arrived along several more Israeli military and police jeeps, totaling 14. The settlers stood on one side of thesoldiers screaming and threatening the farmers for an hour. Eventually the Israeli soldiers complied with the settlers demands and told the Palestinian farmers to leave the field.
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On the morning of June 26, Mahmoud Ahleia, a resident of Beit Ommar, was driving back into the town when Israeli soldiers stopped him at the entrance and questioned him about his car. Ahleia is a taxi driver, and although he has a taxi license, the soldiers told him that he needs to post a sticker which will identify his vehicle as a taxi, instead of a private car. Most of Beit Ommar is located in Area B, where the Palestinian Authority has jurisdiction over civil control. Thus, the Israeli soldiers who stopped Ahleia did not have legal precedence to do so.

The Israeli soldiers removed Ahleia from … Continue reading

On Saturday June 25, about 50 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists gathered in Beit Ommar to demonstrate against the Israeli Karmei Tsur settlement, which has annexed hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land. As demonstrators attempted to enter land belonging to Beit Ommar farmers, Israeli soldiers announced that the area was a closed military zone and said they would not allow anyone to pass. Several Palestinians and internationals then attempted to circumvent the military blockade. At this point, at least 6 soldiers assaulted Mohammed G., a 22 year old Palestinian man from Surif. During attempts to rescue him from the attacks, two international activists were also arrested. … Continue reading

On Tuesday, March 15th, 2011, hundreds of students and faculty from Hebron University marched from the campus to a rally before the City Center in a demonstration aimed to encourage a unity Palestinian party. Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and carried signs decrying both internal political jockeying and the divisive struggle between rival Fatah and Hamas groups, as well as calling for an end to the Israeli occupation.

The conflict between Fatah and Hamas has been at times violent and, more recently, a political battle to lay claim to the voice of Palestine. Many Palestinians blame the continued occupation by Israel on this fractured infighting; with a single, powerful voice, … Continue reading

On Saturday, March 12th, 2011, over three hundred women gathered together in the Palestinian village of Beit Ommar for conference organized by the Center for Freedom and Justice, with the support of the Palestine Solidarity Project. Among the participants were approximately 100 Israeli women solidarity activists and about 20 internationals. The 200 Palestinian women attendees came from Beit Ommar and from surrounding villages such as Surif, Al-Arroub Refugee Camp, Al-Jab’a, and Halhoul.
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The conference was a new step in a long-standing political cooperation between a group of Israeli women anti-occupation activists and Palestinian women from Beit Ommar area, which began last year with a highly-publicized campaign of Israeli women bringing Palestinian women to the sea and … Continue reading

On Friday, February 25th, 2011 at around 1pm, more than 1000 Palestinians, supported by Israeli and international solidarity activists, rallied in the city of Hebron to demand the opening of Shuhada street. Shuhada street was once one of the main economic and transportation hubs in Hebron, but now the street is completely closed to Palestinians and only Israeli settlers are allowed to use it.

This demonstration was particularly important as Israel, with the support of the United States, has increased settler expansion in the West Bank. The date chosen was also significant because it coincided with the anniversary of the massacre of 29 Palestinians inside the Hebron Ibrahimi … Continue reading

HEBRON (Ma’an) — Soldiers at a flying checkpoint on Route 60 north of Hebron shot and critically wounded a Palestinian citizen of Israel on Thursday night.

The Israeli military said events around the shooting were unclear.

Security sources identified the man as 28-year-old Jalal Al-Masri, and said he sustained a bullet wound in his head.

Officials said the Israeli report was that Al-Masri disobeyed orders of checkpoint soldiers and was fired on.

According to reports by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the military is investigating the possibilities that the driver either did not notice the flying checkpoint, or that he intended to harm soldiers and sped toward it.

Hours earlier in the northern West Bank, the Ya’bad Mevo Dotan checkpoint was closed and eyewitnesses said … Continue reading