Palestine Solidarity Project » Susiya

After Settlers Destroy Olive Trees, Activists Join Farmers to Harvest

PSP — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:58:14 +0000

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 right-wing ideologically extreme in all of the West Bank. They have maintained a constant flow of economic destruction, violence, and harassment against the local Palestinian population while consistently trying to illegally expand and expropriate privately-owned land. When the farmers complain to the Israeli security forces, who are in charge of the area, they do nothing, and refuse to interfere when they see Israeli settlers trespassing on Palestinian land.

Picnic in Susiya Disrupted By Israeli Soldiers, 1 Arrested

PSP — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:58:25 +0000

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 5 minutes and one Israeli activist with Ta’ayush was arrested while another was detained but later released, the outpost, which has been in the area for months and is certainly more illegal than a picnic, even under Israeli law, has not been removed.

“We’ll Build Our Own Outpost”

PSP — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:35:06 +0000

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 the disparity between the treatment of Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the same area. When the activists began putting together the temporary structure, Israeli soldiers and border police almost immediately ordered the area a closed military zone, though they did nothing to remove the group of approximately 20 settlers who had gathered on the hilltop. The structure was erected for only a few moments before soldiers rushed the group, tearing down the structure and grabbing several activists, though they were not arrested.
Corresponding with a widely-televised speech by American President Barack Obama in which he emphasized the need for the removal of illegal outposts, activists and Palestinian residents demonstrated on Saturday that while the Israeli military certainly has the means to demolish the structures, they only have the will to destroy those which are constructed by the legal owners of the land: Palestinians.

Palestinians Require Hospitalization After Settler Attack in South Hebron

PSP — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:53:49 +0000

From Christian Peacemaker Teams-Tuwani

On 24 June 2008, around 6:30, two Israeli settlers beat two unarmed Palestinian shepherds from Mantiquat Shiâ€™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 settlersâ€™ 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

PSP — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 11:51:30 +0000

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

PSP — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 10:20:10 +0000

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.

Today, while shepherds were plowing land in Im Neizil, other shepherds were accompanied by international and Israeli activists as they brought their sheep to graze near an illegal Israeli outpost near Susiya. The settlers contacted the Israeli army and demanded that the Palestinians be forced to leave, though the land is clearly Palestinian. Four army jeeps, including one police jeep, arrived and spoke with both the settlers and the Palestinian shepherds. In a relatively rare move, the Israeli Army confirmed that the land was rightfully Palestinian and the shepherds would be allowed to stay. In a third area near a military base, also near Susiya, Israeli activists convinced the soldiers that the Palestinians also had the right to plow the land there as well.
In all, shepherds and farmers successfully accessed land that was often-off limits in three areas; demonstrating their rights to the land.

OCHA: South Hebron Farmers Face Economic Devastation

PSP — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 07:24:09 +0000

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: â€œOver 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.â€

Please see previous reports on Susiya, Imneizil, and Tuwani for information on the impact of settlement expansion and violence on the people of this area.

http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/category/hebron-district/

Fighting Expulsion: Susiya Villagers Demonstrate

PSP — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 09:22:33 +0000

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.”

*****
At the end of the demonstration about 10 settlers approached and began shouting and trying to attack the peaceful demonstrators. Israeli activists intervened and there were no injuries.

Settlers Attack Palestinians in Susiya

PSP — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 15:00:40 +0000

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 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

admin — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 21:20:01 +0000

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 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.

In the past, these settlers have destroyed many crops belonging to the people of Susiya. A little over 1 year ago, settlers and soldiers came to demolish an olive grove, only to plant new olive trees on this same land they had just stolen. Recently, a group of settlers from the camp made bread from poisonous water and fed it to a flock of sheep belonging to the Palestinians. They have stolen trees, fruits, vegetables and animals. They attack these families on a regular basis. The families have tried calling lawyers, police, and the Israeli army, but no action has ever been taken on their behalf. When Abu Khalil was stabbed one month ago, no one was charged with the incident. This story continues.

The olives that were destroyed today were ripe, plump and ready to be picked. Now, the crops these families were depending on are gone, and with it, any possibility of future harvests as this land is now stolen by the settlers, who will, with the support of the Israeli army, claim it as their own and prevent Palestinians from going on it. We believe they will use this as some type of farming land for themselves, as is customary when settlements use this strategy to annex more land. Once they have occupied the land, the Israeli government rarely orders them to return it, and it usually is seen as an extension of the settlement.

PSP will continue to follow this situation.