In the past twenty-four hours, three male Palestinian children have been arrested in separate raids by Israeli soldiers in Beit Ommar.

Jowad Muhammad Jameel Za’aqiq (15 years old) was arrested at around 5pm on Monday, 21 May, 2012. He was helping his father tend to his family land when the arrest took place. His father asked the soldiers present why his son was being taken. He was informed that Jowad (his son) had been seen throwing stones.

Muhannad Mershad Awad (12 years old) and Alaa Yousef Mohammad Abu Maria (14 years old) were both arrested from their respective family homes in night raids at around 2am on Tuesday, 22 May, … Continue reading

On Saturday, May 19th, 2012, locals together with more than 30 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists (from Norway, the USA, Britain and Italy, amongst others) built a single story prefabricated house in the village of Um Fagara (South Hebron Hills). The event was organized by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee of Al-Tuwani with the aim of peacefully resisting the Israeli occupation by affirming the right to live of the community of Um Fagara.

Um Fagara is in area C, under both Israeli military and administrative control. It has been subject to a range of evacuations, abuse and demolitions by the Israeli military in recent years. On 24 November, 2011, … Continue reading

On Saturday, 19 May, 2012, protesters from Beit Ommar together with Israeli and international activists gathered for the weekly demonstration against the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement. They tried to reach the fence separating Palestinians from their land which was illegally seized under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Around twenty-five heavily armed Israeli soldiers prevented the demonstrators from approaching the settlement fence, forcibly pushing two members of the Popular Committee in Beit Ommar down from the road onto a lower terrace. The soldiers beat the participants with their shields.

The demonstration is protesting against the illegal settlements all over the West Bank which is built on stolen Palestinian land, making it impossible for … Continue reading

Today, May 15, 2012, Palestinians are remembering the 64th anniversary of the Nakba. In Arabic, “nakba” means “catastrophe,” and it refers to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, which was accompanied by the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians from their homes. Many Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes, while others fled when they heard the news of massacres in nearby villages, such as Deir Yassin and Tantura. More than 450 Palestinian towns and villages were depopulated by Zionist forces, and most of them were razed to the ground to prevent the return of the Palestinian refugees. Many refugee families still carry the keys to the homes that … Continue reading

On Friday, May 11th, 2012, two Palestinian farmers were attacked in Beit Ommar by Israeli settlers from Karmei Tsur.

Walid Sabarna and Ibrahim Abu Maria were working on their land 150 meters from the settlement, when two security guards from the settlement accompanied by six soldiers approached them at 5 pm. The guards asked the farmers what they were doing here, and they gave the obvious answer: working on their land. The guards responded that this was not the case, but that the land belonged to them and that the farmers should go away.

They then attacked Walid, beating and kicking his right leg. He had an operation on this … Continue reading

On Friday, May 11, 2012, Palestinian, Israeli and international activists gathered outside Ofer prison in Ramallah to protest in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. Over two hundred activists came and joined the demonstration. Israeli soldiers shot countless canisters of teargas at the demonstrators, as well as skunk water and rubber-coated and plastic-coated bullets. The activists set over a dozen tires on fire, creating a thick wall of smoke that made it difficult for the soldiers to see the demonstrators, so the soldiers shot into the crowd at random. Over 20 people were taken into the ambulances, and at least one was taken to the hospital.

A letter from Thaer Halahleh, on day 75 of hunger strike against his detention without charge, to his two-year-old daughter Lamar, who he has never seen. Translated by Jalal Najjar.

“My Beloved Lamar, forgive me because the occupation took me away from you, and took away from me the pleasure of witnessing my first born child that I have always prayed to God to see, to kiss, to be happy with. It is not your fault, this is our destiny as Palestinian people to have our lives and the lives of our children taken away from us, to be apart from each other and to have a miserable life, nothing is … Continue reading

Today, May 12, 2012, Palestinian, Israeli and international activists joined together for the weekly demonstration in Beit Ommar. Today’s demonstration was in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike and to commemorate the 64th anniversary of the Nakba. Khader Adnan, who was released from administrative detention on April 17th, 2012 and was on hunger strike for 66 days, also took part in the demonstration.

The demonstration began with a march from the center of Beit Ommar to Karmei Tsur settlement, which was built on stolen Palestinian land. As soon as the demonstrators arrived near the settlement, about 30 heavily armed Israeli soldiers came to meet them. … Continue reading

On May 8th, 2012, multiple demonstrations were held in Hebron, Beit Ommar and surrounding villages in solidarity with the prisoners on hunger strike.

In Hebron, students from the Hebron district came together and marched in the center of town. Close to one thousand people were present with posters and flags, and youth from all the surrounding areas were present in the march.

In Beit Ommar, Israeli soldiers entered the town in the afternoon and occupied several people’s homes, firing teargas and rubber-coated bullets at the children in the street. In the evening, villagers marched in the town supporting Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla. … Continue reading

Today, May 5th, 2012, Palestinian, Israeli and international activists joined together for the weekly demonstration in Beit Ommar. The demonstration took place by the fence separating Beit Ommar from the illegal settlement Karmei Tsur. The settlement is illegal under international law according to the 4th Geneva Convention, and is built on stolen Palestinian land. The fence prevents farmers from entering and working on their land.

This week, men, women and children protested in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners, particularly with those on hunger strike. Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh are on the 68th day of their hunger strike, and are in grave condition. They are both held under administrative detention, and demand … Continue reading