In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, January 21, more than 50 Israeli soldiers invaded Beit Ommar, entering several homes and ransacking them. In the home of Muhsen Awwad, soldiers broke the window in the front door and tore open furniture. His 35 year-old son Mohammed Awwad was then arrested. Soldiers also took 800 shekels from the home before leaving. Three other men were also arrested during the raid which lasted for over 5 hours. The others arrested were Allam Bregeith, Jamal Ibrahim Ikhlayl, and Mohammed Soleiby. All four men were taken to Gush Etzion settlement prison. Beginning at 6 am, and lasting for over 2 hours, at a time when many residents were … Continue reading
In Sheikh Jarrah this Friday, January 15, Israeli and international solidarity activists attempted to converge and march on the street of Sheikh Jarrah where the Ghawi and Hanoun families have been living in tents since their eviction from their homes to allow right-wing settlers to move in, in August 2009. The Israeli police refused to give a permit for the march this week, citing the music concert by Palestinian hip-hop group DAM the night before as being “enough”. Participants still insisted on their weekly demonstration and gathered near the entrance to the street which had been closed off by large numbers of police officers. After approximately 20 minutes of holding signs and chanting, the police declared the … 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
From Christian Peacemaker Teams
At Tuwani – On the morning of Thursday 7 January, 2010, Israeli soldiers attacked and injured Palestinian shepherds from the Musa Raba’i family, as they grazed their sheep in Humra valley, near the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. The soldiers also attacked the internationals accompanying the shepherds and broke a video camera. Before leaving the area the soldiers arrested one of the shepherds, Musab Musa Raba’i.
At around 10:30am Palestinian shepherds were grazing their sheep on privately owned Palestinian land when they saw Israeli settlers observing them from the outpost of Havat Ma’on. A short time later an Israeli army jeep came to the area. After stopping to speak with one of the settlers, three … Continue reading
