This week international and Israeli solidarity activists along with members of PSP, joined farmers near the Susiya settlement to harvest their remaining olives after several of their trees were cut down by settlers. The farmers arrived to their land one week ago to find trees across several dunums of land had been cut down and left to die on the arid ground. A few days later, the owners of the land returned to clear the area and harvest what they could from the felled trees and remaining groves. The settlers of the South Hebron Hills, where Susiya is located, are some of the most … Continue reading

On Saturday, July 11, 2009, Members of Ta’ayush Movement, along with international supporters, continued their creative protest against a newly-constructed one-room outpost outside the illegal Israeli settlement of Susiya, which is built just above the Palestinian community of Susiya. This week, activists held a picnic next to the outpost, bringing a blanket, watermelon, and other summer foods, informing the Israeli military when they arrived that it was not a demonstration, but merely an outing.
Along with the construction of a “Palestinian outpost” on the land last month, the activists are attempting to bring light to the outrageous bias in Israeli policy; while the picnic was interrupted within … Continue reading

Saturday, residents of Susiya, a small community in the South Hebron Hills, were joined by members of Combatants for Peace and Ta’ayush, along with other international and Israeli activists, in an attempt to build their own structure next to a newly-constructed building on their privately owned land which was placed there by a group of right-wing ideological settlers from the Susiya settlement. More than 200 Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals marched from Susiya, carrying metal poles and material in the colors of the Palestinian flag.
The symbolic action was meant to illustrate … Continue reading

From 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 … Continue reading

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 … Continue reading

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 … Continue reading

from 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 … Continue reading

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 … Continue reading

A 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 … Continue reading

Today, 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 … Continue reading