Ibrahim Muhammad Biss’s curiosity was slightly piqued when a car driving slowly along Route 60 came to a halt in front of him and his group of friends at the entrance to the Aroub refugee camp just north of Beit Ommar on a Thursday in early June. 16-year- old Ibrahim, who lives in the camp, was waiting for traffic to pass so he could cross the street to enter the Aroub Agricultural College. Assuming the driver was stopping to ask the boys for directions, Ibrahim watched as the middle-aged man lowered the window.

Instead of an inquiring foreigner, Ibrahim found himself facing an Israeli settler pointing a handgun at … Continue reading

This morning at 10am a settler driving north on route 60 stopped his car outside the Agricultural School and University of Arroub and in front of the Arroub Refugee camp, just north of Beit Ommar. He stopped, got out of his car, and fired several live bullets into the air, prompting students on one side of the street to begin shouting at him and others across the street to throw stones at the car. He then turned and shot two students standing in front of the entrance to the school. Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Bis, 19, was shot in the stomach and back, Mu’atez Mousa Benat, 17, was shot … Continue reading

The small village of Al Libban (Libban al Sharquia) sits in rolling hills planted with olive trees, approximately half way between Ramallah and Nablus. The villagers are simple fellahin – farmers – growing wheat and fruit in addition to their olive trees. The pride of the village is the central mosque, an impressive, large structure, built in 1977 and the only mosque currently in operation.

That was, until the night of Tuesday 4th May when fire gutted the mosque’s interior, destroying carpets, furniture, numerous Korans and the building’s fixtures and fittings. The visitor now witnesses a scene of total devastation. The blackened walls, floor and ceiling have a nighmarish quality and it is hard to imagine that this was once a … Continue reading

Sa’ed Ahmed Abu Maria is just 6 years old and is a normal Beit Ommar kid who loves riding on his dads tractor. He was shot in the leg with a plastic coated steel bullet Wednesday afternoon by an Israeli settlement security guard who took offense at his father plowing the land his family have farmed for generations next to the Karmei Tsur settlement. Sa’ed is the son of Ahmed Abu Maria, a member of the Beit Ommar National Committee.

No reason can be found that might have provoked the settler into shooting young Sa’ed.

No warning was given that the guard was about to open fire. The wound … Continue reading

Though pouring rain and even hail fell throughout the West Bank yesterday, demonstrations against land confiscation, the Annexation Barrier, and settler expansion in East Jerusalem continued on Friday.

In Nabi Saleh, which has been demonstrating for several weeks against a move by settlers from the nearby Halamish settlement to take over a a spring and other privately-owned Palestinian agricultural land, several dozen residents, along with Israeli and international solidarity activists, again marched from the village towards the land being annexed by the right-wing settlers. They were confronted by Israeli forces, who used tear gas, sound grenades, and rubber-coated steel bullets to deter the crowd. The army then invaded the village, using a jeep-mounted tear-gas launcher that shoots … Continue reading

Today, January 28, at approximately 10:30am Israeli soldiers and representatives of the Civil Administration (the liason body between the Israeli military and Palestinian civilians) approached farmers from the ‘Adi and Soleiby farmers in the Saffa area of Beit Ommar and handed them a military order that stated their intention to uproot trees the farmers had planted two weeks ago as part of PSP’s massive replanting Saffa project. The order stated that the farmers had planted these trees on Israeli-owned state lands and they had 48 hours to appeal in Israeli civilian court.

Lawyers with Rabbis for Human Rights, who also supported and participated in the re-planting Saffa campaign investigated the issue and found that the Israeli government claimed it had … Continue reading

Three farmers from the Soleiby family, Jabber Soleiby, 42, his brother Hassan, 37, and cousin Fathi Soleiby, 42, were working their land in the Wadi Abu Rish area of Saffa, just under the Bat ‘Ain settlement early this morning when a crowd of approximately 40 settlers descended on them from the settlement, throwing stones, some with slingshots. The farmers fled the area, fearing they would be harmed. All three men, sons of Mohammed Soleiby and Abdullah Soleiby, know all too well how dangerous large crowds of settlers can be: Abdullah Soleiby, 82, had his skull fractured in April, 2009 by settlers who attacked him and his brother, holding Abdullah down as they bashed his head in with stones.

Israeli … Continue reading

This Friday another village added a demonstration to the regular mix across the West Bank: Nabi Saleh in the Ramallah district had a demonstration of over 300 people who managed to block the road near the Halamish settlement, which has stolen land from the village and continues to encroach on village agricultural land. More than 20 people were reportedly injured by rubber-coated steel bullets, including veteran popular resistance leader Ayed “Abu Ahmed” Morrar, from Budrus. The group was also assaulted by settlers from Halamish, who threw stones and fired live ammunition in the direction of the demonstrators, who despite the violence of the settlers and soldiers, managed to block the road for more than 2 hours.

In Al-Ma’asara a … Continue reading

Today, Nabil Ibrahim Abdul Majid of Al-Jab’a village (northwest of Beit Ommar) and another man were herding their sheep in land near the Bat ‘Ayn settlement, which is situated between Al-Jab’a and Saffa/Beit Ommar. They were approached by a settler “security officer”, a private Israeli resident of the settlement who is armed and supported by the Israeli government. The settlers insisted the shepherds were on settlement land and must leave. When the shepherds refused, clearly on Al-Jab’a agricultural land, one of the “Security officers” pulled out a handgun and shot Nabil in the shoulder. Israeli civilian police and military arrived shortly after the shooting and took Nabil, said witnesses.

The Israeli military confirmed there was a “confrontation” … Continue reading

On December 20, 2009 at 9am four farmers from Beit Ommar, Mohammed Ikhlayl, ‘Ayed Ikhlayl, Kalil Ikhlayl, and ‘Ali Nayef, were plowing their agricultural land approximately 700 meters from the Bat ‘Ayn settlement, alone. Suddenly, they were shot at four times from inside the settlement. No one was hit but Israeli soldiers arrived shortly after, acknowledging that they knew settlers had shot at the farmers, and demanding that the Palestinians leave in order to “avoid problems”. The farmers refused, and remained on their land for another 2 hours before they were finally forced to leave by the Israeli soldiers. At no time did the Israeli soldiers, in theory in charge of security for the area but … Continue reading