Activists around the world responded to a call to action initiated by the Palestine Solidarity Project to organize actions in their community to mark the one year anniversary of the murder of Yousef Ikhlayl at the hands of Israeli settlers. Activists in Mexico City, London, New Mexico, Chicago, Beloit, and France put up posters of Yousef in public areas and organized vigils or demonstrations in front of Israeli embassies. In Chicago, activists posted six hundred posters remembering Yousef and decrying the occupation on light posts, bus stops, and newspaper stands and also leafleted outside the Israeli consulate. In France, Yousef’s picture was held up in front of the Israeli Embassy during a vigil to mourn his murder. … Continue reading

On Tuesday, January 31st, 2012, Beit Ommar villagers demonstrated near Route 60 at the entrance of the village to commemorate the one year anniversary of the murder of Yousef Ikhlayl, a 17-year-old Beit Ommar youth who was murdered by Israeli settlers on January 28th, 2011. The demonstration was organized by the Popular Committee in Beit Ommar and was supported by the Palestine Solidarity Project, the Popular Committee in Yatta, and several other Palestinian organizations.

As the demonstrators approached Route 60 at the entrance of the village, dozens of Israeli soldiers blocked their path and attacked the gathering with tear gas, sound bombs, and … Continue reading

By Bekah Wolf
Published on Electronic Intifada (http://electronicintifada.net/content/demanding-justice-yousef-quiet-boy-killed-israeli-settlers/10865)

On 28 January 2011 at 6:30am, Yousef Ikhlayl, 17, went with his father Fakhri to their farmland on the outskirts of the West Bank village Beit Ommar, where they prepared the land around their grapevines. At approximately 7am, two groups of Israelis from the illegal settlements Bat Ayn and Kiryat Arba were taking a “hike” in the privately-owned Palestinian agricultural land belonging to the residents of Beit Ommar (“Palestinian killed in clashes with settlers near Hebron,” The Jerusalem Post, 29 January 2011).

There was no indication that the settlers were planning on shooting. Yousef’s father reported that the first shot … Continue reading

The Center for Freedom and Justice, an organization in Beit Ommar committed to combining activism against the occupation with social service and popular education, will be hosting the second annual Womens’ Organizing Conference to strengthen female participation and leadership in nonviolent resistance initiatives. The conference will take place in Beit Ommar village in the Hebron District of the southern West Bank on March 10th 2012.

Last year, over 300 Palestinian, international, and Israeli women attended the first conference in Beit Ommar. Please consider donating towards the cost of this conference and supporting women organizing against the occupation. Links to the Center’s Paypal account can be found below:
http://www.center4freedom.org/support/

… Continue reading

On Tuesday, January 24th, 2012, Israeli occupation forces raided the Palestinian town of Beit Ommar, north of the city of Hebron, and searched several residents’ homes. No arrests were made during the house searches.

According to the media spokesman of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ommar Yousef Abu Maria, the occupation forces stormed the houses of Bahgat Shehda al-Alami and Mohamed Hussein al-Alami, after forcing both families out of their houses. The soldiers conducted inspections to the houses and tampered with its contents.

Abu Maria pointed out that in addition to the almost daily night raids, occupation forces stationed at the military watch tower at the entrance of the town, are enforcing daily provocative … Continue reading

Israeli forces Arrested a 17-year-old youth in Beit Ommar on Friday, January 20, 2012, after a group of Israeli settlers invaded it’s northern neighborhood escorted by the army, sparking clashes with village residents.
The group came from Gush Etzion settlement carrying weapons, and threw stones at Palestinians in the al-Mantara neighborhood.

Israeli forces protected the settlers and fired tear gas and rubber bullets towards Beit Ommar residents. Later, soldiers detained Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Alami at the entrance to Beit Ommar.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was looking into the report of the teen’s detention, but said soldiers had earlier fired warning shots after four Palestinians approached the soldiers … Continue reading

On Saturday January 21, 2012, the Popular Committee in Beit Ommar organized its weekly protest in coordination and cooperation with the Popular Committee of Yatta, the Palestine Women’s Struggle Committee, and supported by Israeli and international solidarity activists. The demonstration was held for the first time in from of the Tunnel checkpoint, along the road connecting the city of Hebron with Jerusalem. Tunnel and connecting road is prohibited for use by Palestinians, and is part of Israel’s wider apartheid infrastructure in the West Bank. About 90 people, a large number of them Palestinian women, arrived at the entrance to the tunnel and began playing football.

Additionally, demonstrators chanted against the occupation and waved flags. Among the demands issued … Continue reading

Over the course of the past week, the Israeli army has arrested eight Palestinians from their homes in Beit Ommar, a village in the southern West Bank. Israeli Forces raid the village almost every night, often making arrests and ransacking homes. The raids have often targeted Palestinian minors, and activists and organizers involved in popular resistance initiatives against the Israeli occupation. The arrested from this week include two children under the age of 18.

During one of the raids this past week, the soldiers broke into several residences at 3am. The Palestinians were taken from their homes without any explanation given as to why they were being arrested. They were taken away in … Continue reading

On Saturday, January 7th, 2011, several dozen Palestinian villagers from Beit Ommar, supported by Israeli and international solidarity activists, continued their weekly demonstrations on lands close to the illegal Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur. Karmei Tsur one of three settlements built on land belonging to Beit Ommar residents. This week, the demonstrators got closer than usual to the settlement houses, just a few meters from the fence.

Israeli Forces, heavily armed, became nervous and began shoving the nonviolent activists, pushing several to the ground. Unlike in previous demonstrations, no sound bombs or tear gas was used to disperse the crowd, probably … Continue reading

When: January 28, 2012

What: International day of solidarity with Yousef Ikhlayl

Background:

On January 28, 2011, Yousef Ikhlayl was murdered by an Israeli settler from Bat Ayn settlement while working in his family’s fields in the Saffa valley. Yousef was a regular participant in Beit Ommar’s non-violent demonstrations against the settlements, as well as Palestine Solidarity Project’s community programs.

One year later, THERE HAVE BEEN NO ARRESTS IN YOUSEF’S CASE. For months, the Israeli Attorney General hasn’t even assigned the case to a lawyer, preventing any further action on the case.

As Palestinian negotiators sit with Israeli war criminals to discuss re-opening peace negotiations–negotiations that will leave Bat Ayn in place (according to … Continue reading