On Saturday June 25, about 50 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists gathered in Beit Ommar to demonstrate against the Israeli Karmei Tsur settlement, which has annexed hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land. As demonstrators attempted to enter land belonging to Beit Ommar farmers, Israeli soldiers announced that the area was a closed military zone and said they would not allow anyone to pass. Several Palestinians and internationals then attempted to circumvent the military blockade. At this point, at least 6 soldiers assaulted Mohammed G., a 22 year old Palestinian man from Surif. During attempts to rescue him from the attacks, two international activists were also arrested. … Continue reading

On Saturday, 18th June 2011, around 50 Palestinian, Israeli, and international demonstrators staged a protest at the Israeli Karmei Tsur settlement. The purpose of the demonstration was to highlight the confiscation and restriction of access to land owned by Palestinian farmers in the village of Beit Ommar. The main contingent of the demonstration was stopped by the Israeli military, preventing access to the Palestinian farmland. A few demonstrators who approached separately were able to place several Palestinian flags atop the fence surrounding the settlement. These demonstrators were detained and escorted back to the area where the rest had been stopped by the military.

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At 3pm yesterday 2 army jeeps carrying 8 soldiers came to the home of the Oudeh family. They demanded that the family take down their tent house and their two animal shelters. The army did not present the family with a demolition order or any other documents requiring the family to leave their land.

The Oudeh family live near Al Hadidya, in the northern Jordan Valley. Al Hadidya is in the shadow of Roi’i settlement, and adjacent to an army training area. While the family is originally from Hebron, they have lived near Al Hadidya since before the Israeli … Continue reading

On Friday, May 6th, Al Ma’asara Popular Committee member Mahmoud Zwahre was arrested during a peaceful demonstration organized by the village’s popular committee. Around twenty international and Israeli solidarity activists joined with about thirty Al Ma’asara residents in a march towards the proposed site of the Annexation Barrier. Many carried signs decrying Israel’s recent withholding of almost 90 million dollars of Palestinian tax revenue and promising that the nonviolent struggle for a unified Palestinian state could not be bought. Four carried a prop coffin draped in Palestinian flags as a reminder of the true costs of occupation.

As the demonstration approached the … Continue reading

On the night of Monday, April 11th, military forces entered the village of Beit Ommar and arrested the following six residents:

Sofian Fathi Awwad, 21
Hisham Fathi Sabarnh, 18
Ahmed Abd-Allah Abu Ayyash, 16
Mershed Khadr Zidan Sabarnh, 41
Oda Mahmoud Awwad, 21
Mahmoud Khader Sabarnh, 17

No reason was given for their arrests. Each of the six has been arrested and jailed prior to this incident.

At around 5:30 pm on Tuesday, April 12th, Israel Defense Forces stationed at the checkpoint into Beit Ommar detained Khalil Abu Maria without cause. Abu Maria, 26, was handcuffed and held for an hour before being released.

On the evening of Sunday, March 27th, Israeli Defense Forces from Karmei Tsur and Gush Etzion settlements entered the village of Beit Ommar. The soldiers arrested fifteen young men, then left the village.

Jameel Ahmad Za’aqeeq, 14, Allam Yousif Awad, 14, Hasan Majed Solieby, 14, Mahamad Yasir Za’aqeek, 19, Ahmad Yasir Za’aqeek , 19, Ahmad Mohamed Ehklail, 16, Ahmad Yousif Sabarnah, 18, Mohamad Yousif Sabarnah, 16, Mohamad Azzam Za’aqeek, 16, Montasir Mohamed Ehklail, 16, Ameer Alkam, 17, Mohamad Jadallah Solieby, 19, Malik Naif Solieby, 16, Shareef Fathy Abu Ayyash, 18, and Yousef Ayesh Sabarneh, 14, were all taken in the operation. No reason was given for their arrest.

The next morning, around 7:00 am, another group of IDF soldiers took … Continue reading

On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 23, 2011 Israeli Defense Forces closed the main entrance to Beit Ommar, following the the injury of two settlers in a confrontation between them and several villagers. Israeli military and police lined Route 60, checking vehicles and papers, and arresting 32-year-old Saddam Hussein Za’aqeeq, who is a local taxi driver. No explanation was given for his arrest.

Around 5:00 pm later that evening, a special unit of armed soldiers in civilian clothes entered the village in a white van with Palestinian license plates, and began firing tear gas and rubber-coated ammunition. They were followed by seven IDF vehicles (jeeps … Continue reading

On Tuesday, March 8th, 2011, about 70 Palestinians, supported by international solidarity activists, blocked Route 60 (a road that is heavily trafficked by Israeli settlers) near the entrance of Beit Ommar village, between the cities of Hebron and Bethlehem. Traffic came to a halt for almost half an hour as activists waved Palestinian flags and chanted against the occupation. The demonstration was organized as a collective response to increasing settlement expansion in the West Bank and frequent attacks by Israeli Forces on the Palestinian people.

Israeli Forces arrived at the scene just as the demonstrators were returning home. Several of the soldiers … Continue reading

On Friday, February 25th, 2011 at around 1pm, more than 1000 Palestinians, supported by Israeli and international solidarity activists, rallied in the city of Hebron to demand the opening of Shuhada street. Shuhada street was once one of the main economic and transportation hubs in Hebron, but now the street is completely closed to Palestinians and only Israeli settlers are allowed to use it.

This demonstration was particularly important as Israel, with the support of the United States, has increased settler expansion in the West Bank. The date chosen was also significant because it coincided with the anniversary of the massacre of 29 Palestinians inside the Hebron Ibrahimi … Continue reading

On Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011, at 2am, Israeli Forces entered the area of Al-Dahr in Beit Ommar, near the Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur and arrested three residents of the village. One of the arrested is only 14 years old.

About a dozen soldiers first went to the home of Jamal Abu Hashem, forced their way into the residence, and beat Jamal. For the next twenty minutes, soldiers ransacked the house before arrested Jamal’s son Mohammad, who is 14 years old.

The soldiers next invaded the home of Ali Mohammad Al-Za’aqiq, who is 18 years old and placed him under arrest. Nabeel Ahmad Awad was arrested at the final house the soldiers entered. All three of the arrested … Continue reading