Archive for the 'Susiya' Category
Palestinians Require Hospitalization After Settler Attack in South Hebron
June 25th, 2008From Christian Peacemaker Teams-Tuwani
On 24 June 2008, around 6:30, two Israeli settlers beat two unarmed Palestinian shepherds from Mantiquat Shi’bal Butum. The settlers came down from the nearby Israeli settlement outpost of Mitzpe Yair to an area where the shepherds, aged fifty-five and twenty, routinely graze their sheep. Armed with stones from the hillside, the settlers injured the ribs of the older shepherd and the eye of the younger. A Palestinian in the area called the Israeli police and ambulance, both of which arrived fifteen minutes after the beating.
The police spoke with the two settlers identified by the Palestinians as the attackers. They took the settlers’ ID numbers and issued police reports to the Palestinians present. However, the police took neither settler into custody.
At 7:30 p.m., the ambulance took both shepherds to the hospital in the nearby town of Yatta. Both have since returned home.
This incident marks the second violent attack on Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills in the last month. On 8 June, four masked Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian family of four in Susiya, beating the sixty-year-old matriarch of the family unconscious. The family videotaped the beating. Currently, there is a court case pending against the two settlers from Susiya in that case.
Demonstration Against the Expulsion of the People of Susiya
July 7th, 2007
On Saturday July 7, about 200 Israeli, international, and Palestinian people gathered in the Southern Hebron Hills to participate in an action against the eviction of the residents of Susiya. The day of solidarity was organized by Combatants for Peace and Ta’ayush. The land-thirsty settlement, which also stole the name Susiya, won a case in court on June 6 which legally allows the eviction of the area’s legal land owners. Because their land is considered “area C”, the Israeli state declared that the Palestinians are illegally squatting on the land they have lived on for centuries. One reason for this is because the Palestinians built their homes without permits after being evicted once before, and therefore the houses must be destroyed again according to the Israeli government.
After listening to speakers from Combatants for Peace and Ta’ayush, there was walking tour of the village. Participants passed through the Palestinians’ homes and fields while Israeli soldiers and border police started crowding the hill and valley bordering the settlement. The marchers drowned out their loudspeaker with songs and chants while the soldiers ordered them to leave the “closed military zone” which had been declared for the area. The order was ignored for some time and then the demonstration finished without incident.
Shepherds Reafirm Rights to Land in South Hebron
April 7th, 2007
Volunteers from PSP and Christian Peacemaker Teams and the Israeli Ta’ayush Movement accompanied farmers to their land in the areas of Im Neizil and Susiya today. The people in these small Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills have been the victims of violent attacks from Israeli settlers and have become dependent on international and Israeli accompaniment to work their land. In addition to the violent attacks which have deterred the Palestinian shepherds and farmers from going to work their land, they are also facing new legal challenges from the Israeli colonists aimed at confiscating their land. In Palestine, Palestinian owners must demonstrate that they are actively using land that they own. If the land is not worked for three years, the Israeli government can declare it abandoned and consficate it, usually to hand over to Israeli settlers. This has led to an absurd situation in Im Neizil. The Palestinians there are mainly shepherds who have been forced to plow land that is traditionally used as grazing land for the sheep. They are being forced to destroy grazing land by plowing it in order to demonstrate that the land is being used.
OCHA: South Hebron Farmers Face Economic Devastation
January 25th, 2007from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
2007 is set to be a particularly hard year for the Palestinian farmers of the South Hebron Hills, who have already had much of their land annexed by illegal Israeli settlements and face frequent violence and harrassment from Israeli settlers and the IOF.
OCHA states: “Over the last two years Hebron has suffered from drought and water scarcity. In 2006, the rains came two months late (end of December). Water for cisterns may be sufficient if there is additional rain (a minimum of 350mm is needed). So far average household cisterns (80m3) are half-full.
The late onset of the rainy season has had severe consequences for herders, affecting approximately 150,000 heads of livestock and 300,000 dunums of land. Not only will the grazing season be two months shorter but the quality of vegetation will be poorer as many seeds will not germinate. Animal health will deteriorate and herders will have to buy extra fodder. The price of fodder has risen by 35% (one ton of barley was NIS 850 in November and reached NIS 1,200 at the end of December) whilst at the same time the per kilo price of meat has dropped by 15% (from NIS55 to NIS40). Herders are sinking deeper into debt and the poorest, especially the Bedouins near Yatta, further into poverty. Many fear being forced out of business and not being able to pay off debts even if they sell all their herds.”
Fighting Expulsion: Susiya Villagers Demonstrate
January 13th, 2007
Over 300 Palestinian, international and Israeli activists joined the inhabitants of Susiya beduin camp in a demonstration against pending Israeli Supreme Court case where the Israeli government, in support of the Susiya settlers, are attempting to expel the Palestinians from their land. 4 buses of Israeli and international activists as well as Palestinians from several villages working with PSP marched around the edge of the Susiya settlement in defiance of their attempt to take their land.
The settlers have engaged in a campaign of terror against the Palestinians of Susiya for many years now, including putting toxic chemicals on the land, poisoning the water wells and beating the inhabitants during the night, all in their push to expropriate the small area of land still inhabited by the Palestinians. Now, the settlers are attempting to “legally” take their land. The Israeli army has declared a large area of the Palestinians’ land as a Special Security Area and the army has been given orders to “shoot to kill” any Palestinian who goes onto that land. At the same time, the settlers are claiming that the land rightfully belongs to them because the Palestinians have “abandoned” it by not cultivating it.
It is clear that the Israelis are using “security” as an excuse to increase settler real estate. As one Israeli activist said to an international PSP activist: “You are lucky you are here to see this. These [Bedouin] communities are very rare and unique and you may never see this one again.”
Settlers Attack Palestinians in Susiya
December 22nd, 2006A group of Israeli settlers from the Susia settlement attacked two Palestinians from the village of Susiya today. Aziz Musa and his brother, Muhammed Musa, were attacked by three settlers at about 10am when they were grazing their sheep. The settlers, who were carrying rifles and wearing masks, beat the brothers on their arms and legs, and then threatened them further and ordered them to leave the area. The settlers also beat several of the sheep before leaving and returning to the settlement.
Settler attacks are a frequent occurrence in this area, making it very dangerous for the Palestinian residents. PSP’s goal is to have a permanent international presence in Susiya to deter these attacks, which it had for several months over the summer, but the attacks have increased recently because there is currently no permanent international presence. The ultimate aim of these recurring attacks and intimidation from the settlers is to force the Palestinian residents of Susiya to leave their land so that the settlement can expand even more.
Settlers Occupy More Land, Destroy Olive Groves
October 26th, 2006Today, October 21, soldiers and settlers from Susiya settlement came with army- issued bulldozers and proceeded to destroy 150 Dunums (1 Dunum=1/4 acre) of olive groves belonging to the Palestinians. The groves belong to the families of Ashmasti, Abu Sopea and Asha Bin who live in Susiya bedouin camp. The families had planned to harvest these olives at the end of Ramadan, when they would be finished fasting and have more energy to work. Because of the economic crisis throughout Palestine, and the particularly difficult situation for small farming communities in this area which is the beginning of the Negev desert, the demolition of this land will have unbelievably devastating consequences for the people of Susiya, and their ability to survive through the winter, when they will have little or no income.
Susiya settlement is not more than 40 Dunums away from the camp. It started as a trailer camp over 10 years ago and, like many settlements, they were not at first supported by Israel. A group of Israelis decided they would go there and make new houses on this land, and eventually, when they brought enough people, the army would have no choice but to support and protect them. Today, Susiya settlement consists of many permanent houses which are protected by a constant military presence. Often times, when settlers go to attack the Palestinians, they do so with the accompaniment of one of these soldiers. They are currently constructing tents outside of this settlement to watch the Palestinian families and to annex more land for this illegal settlement.
