For the first time since the beginning of April, members of the Soleiby family have successfully cultivated their land in Saffa, Beit Omar, without the interference of soldiers or settlers. After a violent attack by the Israeli military Saturday morning that resulted in the arrest of 26 activists and the injury of dozens more, the army has agreed to provide protection for the Soleiby family as they cultivate their land near the Bat ‘Ayn settlement.

The Abu Jabber, Abu Mohammed, and Abu Fahed Soleiby families are of Palestinian farmers from Beit Ommar with land in Saffa. They are regularly attacked by settlers from the illegal Bat ‘Ayn settlement, who … Continue reading

In the early hours of Monday, June 22, 2009, settlers from the Bat ‘Ain settlement set fire and cut down more than 125 grapevines and fruit trees belonging to Hamad Soleiby. Israeli soldiers said they saw a fire in the Palestinian agricultural fields some time during the night and went to put it out, though they did nothing to collect the evidence; kerosene canisters and matches were still there the next morning when activists from the Palestine Solidarity Project accompanied the farmer’s family to survey the damage.

One week before, … Continue reading

Soldiers operating in village of Asira al-Kabaliya, which was attacked by settlers Saturday, find group of left-wing activists in one of houses. ‘It was our duty to arrive and express our solidarity with the residents,’ explains activist Yonatan Polak

By Ali Waked

An IDF force which raided the West Bank village of Asira al-Kabaliya near the settlement of Yitzhar on Saturday night, apparently as part of an operation for the arrest of wanted Palestinians, was surprised to discover a group of left-wing activists in one of the houses.

The activists arrived in the area following the riots which broke out in the village Saturday after a Palestinian stabbed a nine-year-old Jewish child and settlers flocked to … Continue reading

Chrisitian Peacemaker Teams, At-Tuwani:

On Wednesday July 30, settlers attacked fourteen Palestinian children between the ages six to twelve on their way from summer camp to their homes in the villages of Tuba and Magher Al-abeed. Five settlers hid themselves along the route of the children and waited for them. When the children approached the settlers began yelling, swearing, and throwing rocks at them. One settler jumped over the settlement fence and chased the children on a path leading to the village of Tuba. The Israeli soldiers assigned to protect the children (Jeep 611019) abandoned the children approximately 500 meters earlier, thereby failing to complete the escort of the children as ordered by the Israeli Knesset.

According … Continue reading

From Christian Peacemaker Teams-Tuwani

On 24 June 2008, around 6:30, two Israeli settlers beat two unarmed Palestinian shepherds from Mantiquat Shi’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 settlers’ ID numbers and issued … Continue reading

from the Christian Peacemaker Teams
March 17, 2008

An Israeli settler yelled threatening remarks, and wielded a rock at young Palestinian children on the way to school in the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. About twenty children from the villages of Tuba and Magayer Al Abeed walk to the elementary school in At-Tuwani each day. They are accompanied by an Israeli military escort past the illegal settlement outpost of Havat Maon (Hill 833). The Children’s Committee of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, ordered the escort in 2004 after a series of settler attacks on the children. On the morning of 17 March, 2008, the children were unable to meet the … Continue reading

Today approximately 50 Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists marched towards the Karmi Tsur settlement, built on Beit Ommar’s land. Karmi Tsur has recently been the staging area for the Israeli Occupation Forces as they invade Beit Ommar with increasing violence throughout the last month. Though originally planned as a demonstration against the recent bulldozing of Palestinian agricultural land near the settlement, residents decided to change the message to include a statement in solidarity with the residents of Gaza. Over 40 people were killed in attacks throughout the Gaza strip today alone, including 2 babies and small children.

The activists marched uninhibited to the fence … Continue reading

Christian Peacemaker Teams: At-Tuwani, South Hebron Hills
On Saturday, February 23nd, Israeli soldiers and settlers harassed and threatened Palestinian shepherds grazing their flocks. Several Palestinian shepherds from the village of At-Tuwani and nearby villages in the South Hebron Hills attempted to graze their flocks on Palestinian land near the illegal Israeli settlement outpost of Havot Ma’on. Soldiers arrived and took the ID of one of the shepherds, threatening arrest. A number of sheep were injured, including one when a soldier kicked the sheep, breaking its teeth. Settlers from Havot Ma’on harassed the shepherds and tried to chase away the flocks.

On Sunday, February 24rd, Israeli soldiers again tried to prevent Palestinian shepherds from At-Tuwani from … Continue reading

In what has become quite the norm in Occupied Palestine, settler violence again strikes the area of Beit Ommar. During a complete closure on the Palestinian village of Beit Ommar on December 31, in which Palestinians were not allowed to either leave or enter, Jewish settlers from a nearby illegal settlement convened on the village using Highway 60, the main route between Hebron and Jerusalem, which was shut off to all but Israeli drivers during the closure. From the street, settlers began stoning residents and visitors trapped in Beit Ommar.

Bassim Sabarneh, a local radio host from Al-Hurriyah Radio, and nearby resident was amongst the wounded. Sabarneh fielded stones … Continue reading

On Saturday nearly 200 Israelis and internationals joined the Palestinian residents of Tuwani and Tuba in the South Hebron Hills as they marched from Tuwani to Tuba where they accompanied local farmers as they plowed their fields next to the illegal Israeli outpost, Ma’on Farm. Ta’ayush Movement and Combatants for Peace organized this delegation both to raise awareness within the Israeli population about the plight of the Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills, and to provide a level of protection for the Palestinian farmers, who are often viciously assaulted by the right-wing extremists living in Ma’on Farm.

The group began with a briefing by members of Ta’ayush Movement on the local situation in … Continue reading