This week – July 10-16, 2022 – in the Occupied Territories

All families in the Ras A-Tin community abandoned their village, harassed by Jewish terrorists who assaulted them with violence, arson,  and damages to their property; Another Palestinian family deserted its home near Tayibe Junction due to colonists’ violence; Explosions in Masafer Yatta in the course of military maneuvers there – the court has instructed the State to detail ‘safety measures’ taken to prevent injury to local inhabitants; Dozens of colonists took over lands near Bani Na’im, while the Israeli army prevented access of protesting Palestinian inhabitants by firing teargas and stun grenades; Gangs of Jewish terrorists violently harass the community of Muraja’at in the Palestinian Jordan Valley,  and have lately scattered poisoned frankfurters causing the death of 3 dogs and a fox; A car chase held by the occupation forces in Msafer Yatta ended with a Palestinian vehicle, carrying workers to Israel, overturned – one worker was shot in the leg, 5 others wounded in the accident; Colonists chased away shepherds from Palestinian lands in Susya and attacked them with pepper spray, the army joined the assault and drove away the Palestinians, firing teargas and stun grenades; The police raided neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and confiscated goods at the Damascus Gate;

Israeli soldiers confiscating chicken cages with the false excuse of their being placed inside a nature reserve, Mufaqara, South Hebron Hills, July 14, 2022;

A sheep dog poisoned by colonists near Muraja’at, Palestinian Jordan Valley, July 12, 2022;

South Hebron Hills

The inhabitants of Masafer Yatta received notification earlier this week about the continued army maneuvers in ‘firing zone 918’, from Sunday until Thursday. Sunday morning explosions were heard, and on Monday, July 11, heavy traffic of soldiers and military vehicles was reported. There were explosions on the ground and a large smoke mushroom. Furthermore, inhabitants discovered bullet hits from last week near Rakiz village, in olive trees and a prickly pear hedge. That night, soldiers detained a legal vehicle carrying a family from Jinba on its way to Bir Al Eid. The family was forced to return to Jinba on foot and the vehicle was confiscated. The next day, Tuesday July 12, the army confiscated a Palestinian vehicle on its way to Khalat A-Dab’a. On Thursday, July 14, the Israeli High Court, in its session regarding the Masafer Yatta inhabitants’ request for an interim injunction barring military maneuvers in the area, demanded of the State details of additional safety measures taken to prevent injury to the area’s population. On Saturday, July 16, 6 Palestinian workers were wounded in Masafer Yatta while trying to get to work inside Israel. Their vehicle was chased by the occupation forces and had overturned. One of the workers was shot in the leg, the others injured by the car turning over.

On Tuesday, July 12, soldiers chased Mufaqara shepherds from their own grazing grounds near ‘Avigail’. When activists arrived, the soldiers enabled the shepherds to continue grazing their flock. Colonists arrived on the spot and entered areas officially closed to Israelis, but the army refused to remove them, and eventually presented a closed military zone order and chased everyone away. The next morning, colonists returned and again tried to chase away the shepherds, whereas in the afternoon it was the soldiers who drove away the shepherds, while colonists harassed activists summoned to the site. On Thursday, inspectors of the Nature Reserves Authority, accompanied by soldiers, invaded a family compound near Mufaqara – an area not within the nature reserve itself – and confiscated chicken cages.

Dozens of colonists invaded Palestinian lands around Bani Na’im on Monday, July 11, and began to tend them, under the aegis of the army and the Civil Administration. The colonists planted trees and erected a tent and fences at several spots around the new outpost founded near ‘Pnei Hever’. The army prevented villagers and activists from approaching the site by using teargas and stun grenades, and later tried to arrest Palestinians who took part in the protest. On Wednesday, the colony’s security official tried to chase away Palestinian shepherds from grazing around there.

On Thursday, July 14, colonists with their flock invaded the lands of Simra and came all the way to the village houses. In the evening, colonists on horseback drove away a Palestinian shepherd and his flock from Wadi Sweid near Susya.  On Friday, colonists invaded Susya lands, used a privately-owned Palestinian cistern and vandalized olive trees in an area officially declared out of bounds for Israelis. Police was summoned. On Saturday evening, colonists tried to chase away Palestinian shepherds from lands officially declared out of bounds for Israelis near Susya, and attacked one of the shepherds with pepper spray. A military unit watched this assault without intervening, and chased away the shepherds and activists very forcefully, using firing teargas and stun grenades, and finally declared the entire area a closed military zone.

In Tawane, too, soldiers tried to drive away Palestinians from their own land around Hali on Tuesday, July 12. The same day, villagers of Tha’aleh reported that the colonist from the nearby outpost, whose flock is quarantined due to illness, came out with his flock to graze in an open space.

Activists accompanied Palestinian farmers and shepherds throughout the South Hebron Hills all week, and on Saturday joined the landowner in Umm Al Arais.

To join Ta'ayush in The South Hebron Hills this Saturday call  055-2770168

Please make an effort to register no later than Thursday evening. Please bring an ID/passport, a hat, water and food for the day. It is advised to take into consideration cultural differences in the choice of clothing.

Palestinian Jordan Valley and West Bank Hill Range

All families of the Ras A-Tin community left their homes on Sunday, July 10, after being constantly harassed by the Jewish terrorists of the area’s colonist outposts with severe violence, arson, and vandalizing to property.

Another Palestinian family left its home this week around Tayibe Junction, on the West Bank Hill Range; on Tuesday, the ‘Ma’ale Ahuviya’ terrorists’ flocks were already grazing on the family’s lands. Activists helped harvest in the area on Wednesday, July 13. The next day, they documented a new road opened by colonists inside the firing zone, as well as the invasion of colonists and their flocks into tended Palestinian-owned fields in the area.

Early this week, Jewish terrorists uprooted 450 saplings, among them olive trees, grapevines and fruit trees, in Palestinian-owned fields between Turmus Aya and Mughayer.

Jewish terrorists paid a ‘visit’ to the village of Muraja’at in the Auja area of the southern Palestinian Jordan Valley, at 1 a.m. on Monday, July 11. The next night, they scattered poisoned frankfurters all around the village, causing the death of 3 dogs and a fox. Activists remained in the village overnight for the next few days. On Friday night, dozens of colonists began to gather around the community. Activists summoned the police and army, and apparently prevented a planned attack, as the colonists left at nightfall. However, early on Saturday morning, a Jewish terrorist attacked a child from Muraja’at who came out to graze with his flock, and beat him up.

On Monday, a terrorist from the colonist outpost near ‘Mevo’ot Yericho’ hurled stones at a Palestinian flock around Auja and forced it to leave. The same day, a colonist with his flock invaded Palestinian lands, but the army drove away the Palestinian shepherds and their flocks. On Wednesday, two outpost thugs in a jeep chased away three Palestinian flocks near the ‘Haruv’ memorial. Army arriving at the site  confirmed the false claims of the colonists that this area belongs to the nearby outpost ranch. For the rest of the week, shepherd accompaniment was held unhampered.

At Hamra in the northern Valley, activists who tried to come in between Palestinian flocks and a colonist flock on Monday, July 11, were attacked with curses, shoves and threats by the violent colonist from the nearby outpost, and summoned the police. On Wednesday, colonists and their flocks invaded Palestinian lands, refused a soldier’s request to leave, and continued to push away the Palestinian flocks, among other means by a drone, at the presence of the army. On Friday, the same violent colonist again flew his drone over the Palestinian flocks, blocked an activist car and threw stones at it. The invasions and drone harassment by the colonist  continued on Saturday as well.

Activists visited Khalat Makhoul on Tuesday and heard about the invasions of colonists and their flocks into the villagers’ tended fields, and vandalizing of their wheat crop. For the rest of the week activists accompanied grazing there unhampered, and thus in Farisiya. The activists stayed overnight in Samara, complying with the villagers’ request.

To join activity in the Jordan Valley, please contact Arik: 050-5607034

Jerusalem

The occupation forces raided Salah A-Din main street in East Jerusalem on Sunday, causing clashes, and also invaded the Shu’afat refugee camp where they fired teargas. Large police forces raided the Issawiya neighborhood daily this week. On Wednesday, July 7, a police vehicle ran over the boy Yusuf Mutawir near the Damascus Gate. Eye witnesses reported that the police car did not stop; the child was hospitalized. That day, Wednesday, the occupation forces raided the neighborhood of Ras Al Amud.

On Friday, July 15, during the visit of the US President, Palestinian and Israeli activists demonstrated in the A-Tour neighborhood, demanding justice for the Palestinian-American journalist murdered by the occupation army, Shireen Abu Akle. That day, the weekly demonstration protesting the eviction of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood was held in relative quiet, with the absence of the gutter-thug Rami Ben Yehuda, who had been distanced from the site by edict for 15 days after attacking and pushing to the ground a disabled neighborhood resident on crutches.

Last Saturday, once again the occupation police confiscated goods from vendors at the Damascus Gate.

On Saturday, about 100 activists demonstrated opposite the Prime Minister’s residence on Balfour Street, demanding the prevention of the planned erection of 10 illegal colonist outposts this month.

The weekly protest in Sheikh Jarrah takes place every Friday. We will meet at the Sheikh Jarrah Garden, Nablus Road and Dahlmann St. at 4 p.m