This week PSP began its annual farmer accompaniment program. Around dawn, international activists joined Beit Ommar farmers in harvesting grapes on land close to the illegal settlement of Kfar Etzion. In a busy but sucessful morning, volunteers assisted the famrers in picking and packing over fifty crates of grapes, which will be sold through the local farmers’ market.

Such accompaniments are neccessary as Beit Ommar farmers face the constant threat of harassment and violence from setllers and the Israeli military. Settlers regularly attack famrers trying to work in fields close to the five … Continue reading

This morning, Beit Ommar farmers arrived at their lands to discover that large areas of grape vines had been attacked by settlers from the illegal settlement of Karmei Tsur. The farmers immediately notified Mahmoud Ahmad Coql, who owns the destroyed fields.

In total, the settlers severed two dunums (two thousand square meters) of Mahmoud’s grape vines in fields near the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement.

Israeli authorities and the Israeli civilian police – upon seeing a number of Palestinians, press, and international activists – soon arrived on the scene accompanied by roughly twenty-five soldiers.

The shock of seeing so much of his work and livelihood destroyed overwhelmed Mahmoud, and … Continue reading

More evidence has emerged this week that Israel and its settlers are preparing to use extreme violence in response to peaceful Palestinian protests this Septemeber.

The International Middle East Media Center reports that extreme right-wing settler groups have prepared plans to attack peaceful Palestinian protests following the UN vote on statehood in Septemeber (original article here). In a chilling echo of the Israeli rhetoric used before the Cast Lead attacks on Gaza in 2008, an eight-page document urges settlers to “transform September from a threat to a historic opportunity to change the rules of the game”.

In this document, the settlers themselves acknowledge that the demonstrations are likely … Continue reading

30 July 2011: The popular committee of Beit Ommar called for a demonstration against terrorism in solidarity with the people of Norway. Palestinians – accompanied by international and Israeli activists – marched to the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement, which has confiscated land from several surrounding Palestinian villages.

The demonstrators, carrying balloons, were met by Israeli soldiers wielding automatic weapons. Several Palestinians gave speeches denouncing the terrorist attacks in Norway and the constant exposure to terrorism that Palestinians are faced with living under occupation.

… Continue reading

Soldiers from the settlement of Karmei Tsur detained two members of the Popular Committee on Friday, May 13. Ali Ayad Awad and his family had been on their land, some of which lies very close to the Karmei Tsur fence. A group of settlers arrived, yelling at them and throwing stones from within the settlement.

Popular Committee members Mohamed Ayad Awad and Ahmed Abu Hashem were informed of the harassment, and came out to the land where the farmers were trying to work. By the time they arrived, the settlers had gone, and instead, a group of soldiers from Karmei Tsur was waiting.

The soldiers detained both Ahmed Abu Hashem and Mohamed Ayad Awad. A half hour later, Popular Committee member Mousa … Continue reading

Around 12pm on Monday, March 21st, 2011, two Palestinian residents from the village of Beit Ommar in the southern West Bank were shot with live ammunition by an Israeli settler. The settler stopped his car on Route 60 as a funeral procession was moving towards the village cemetery and started firing indiscriminately into the crowd of mourners.

59-year-old Mohammad Ali Abu Safiyya was hit in the chest and is in critical condition in a Hebron hospital. 32-year-old Eyad Bassem Za’qiq was shot in his right thigh. The settler who shot the two men was not arrested.

Israeli Forces arrived on … Continue reading

On Saturday, March 12, 2011 at around 8pm, three bus loads full of Israeli settlers entered the village of Beit Ommar, breaking into at least two residences and beating the Palestinian occupants. The attacks seemed to be coordinated as part of other settler violence across the West Bank. Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in villages near Nablus, Ramallah, and Hebron.

In Beit Ommar, three buses of settlers from Bat Ayn and Kiryat Arba Settlements stopped on Route 60 near the entrance of the village. The settlers entered a residence close to the Israeli watchtower, breaking everything inside the house and smashing flower pots … Continue reading

Late Sunday night at around 10pm, on February 13, 2011, a large group of about 50 armed Israeli settlers attempted to enter the Palestinian village of Beit Ommar to harass residents. The settlers arrived in the area near the military tower at Beit Ommar’s entrance. Dozens of villagers, including activists with the Palestine Solidarity Project and the National Committee, also came to the area to defend their village. After a stand-off that lasted more than one hour, the Israeli Military ordered the settlers to leave the village.

On January 28th, 2011, another group of settlers from Bat Ayn invaded the area shooting live ammunition. 17-year-old Yousef Ikhlyal was shot in the head while working on his family’s … Continue reading

Throughout the week supporters around the world honored Yousef Ikhlayl, shot and killed on January 28 by settlers from the Bat Ayn settlement. Demonstrators in Jaffa and San Francisco carried signs with pictures of Yousef and handed out fliers explaining what had happened to him. Protesters in Chicago dropped a banner in his honor, and The Palestine Solidarity Campaing in Scottland honored Yousef at their annual conference. In Santa Fe, a presentation on Yousef drew over 150 participants.

Yousef Ikhlayl was shot and killed Friday, January 28, when 100 settlers from the … Continue reading

On January 29th, 2011, thousands of residents of Beit Ommar as well as from surrounding villages attended the funeral of Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl, the 17-year-old boy shot in the head by Israeli settlers the day before. Yousef was brain-dead in Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron before succumbing to his wounds early in the morning.

The Israeli military attacked the funeral around 12pm, shooting live and rubber bullets into the crowd as well as throwing sound bombs and tear gas. Over 40 people suffered from a range of injuries that included live gunshot wounds, none of which appeared serious.

After noon-time prayers an estimated 10,000 people carried Yousef’s body through the streets of Beit Ommar. The villagers also waved … Continue reading