This week – May 1-7, 2022 – in the Occupied Territories
On May 4, the eve of Israel’s Independence Day, close to
11 p.m., the Supreme Court issued a ruling unanimously rejecting the petitions presented by the inhabitants of
Palestinian villages in the Massafer Yatta region against their eviction from the
area declared by the Israeli army as ‘firing zone 918’, thus enfding 22 years
of legal debates and deferments by the state. The petitions were presented on
behalf of villages with a population of some 1,500 people, located in the area
the army has designated for training in live ammunition. However, the ruling
also applies to additional villages in the area, designated for ‘dry’
maneuvers, numbering another 1,300 people. This decree means that, in addition
to the systematic demolition of houses, destruction of farming land and roads,
and the ongoing harassment of the lives and livelihood of Massafer Yatta
Palestinians, the occupation authorities can now lawfully expel the villagers permanently
at any given moment. The grounds for this ruling, among other things, negate
the State of Israel’s commitment to the 4th Geneva Convention and to
international law regarding population under occupation.
Stop the expulsion of
communities in Masafer Yatta (Firing Zone 918)!
Last week, the High Court
ruled that the IDF and the State of Israel may expel more than 1,000 residents
of Masfer Yatta from their homes and villages, where they have lived for
decades. On Friday, May 13, we will go to Masafer Yatta to support residents in
saying no to forced transfer. The demonstration is organized and will be led by
local residents.
Transportation will leave
from Migdal Haneviim in Haifa at 8:30, Ginat Levinsky in Tel Aviv at 9:00, and
from Gan HaPaamon in Jerusalem at 9:30.
South Hebron Hills
This week, at Widada (near Zanouta), soldiers have
been positioned preventing the invasion by colonists and their flocks into
tended Palestinian fields, apparently following violent colonist attacks there
during the past week.
The colonists continue their infrastructure works near the road
leading to the ‘Avigail’ outpost. The road is located inside firing zone 918,
on privately-owned Palestinian land, and the occupation authorities have undertaken
to move it elsewhere under order from the Supreme Court. Likewise, this Monday,
a new structure was put up inside a vineyard planted by colonists on lands
belonging to En Al Beida, opposite the cowsheds of the colonies ‘Carmel’
and ‘Maon’. On Wednesday, an army force arrived at the shed erected by the
Palestinian landowner there, threatened him with demolition, confiscated work
tools, and gave his phone number to the violent colonist from the nearby outpost.
Later the force returned with a ‘closed military zone’ order, violently
arrested the landowner and chased away the Palestinian and Israeli activists.
On Friday, May 6, the same violent colonist attacked a shepherd and
his flock from Umm Al Kheir in a wood near ‘Carmel’ and wounded a goat.
Then colonists with their flocks entered the nearby tended Palestinian fields,
and threatened a policeman summoned to the site with stones when he tried to
arrest one of them. The Palestinians lodged a complaint with the police and the
assailing colonist was detained for questioning.
On Friday, colonists flew a drone to chase away a Palestinian
shepherd and flock near Susya. That day, inside the village of Tawane,
the army detained a vehicle for inspection and soldiers threatened
activists and prevented them from photographing the incident. On Saturday, a
Civil Administration officer handed an order to remove structures designated
for a chicken coop belonging to a Tawane family. That same day, Saturday, colonist
children threw stones at Susya.
Activists accompanied shepherds around Simra-Fakhit and joined
the harvest at Atariya, as well as the family of the Umm Al
Arais landowner – unhampered.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling (see above), several
journalist tours of Massafer Yatta were held on both Friday and
Saturday.
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 the West Bank Hill Range
Violence on the part of the outpost terrorists escalated this week,
in both the northern and southern part of the Palestinian Jordan Valley, as
well as on the West Bank Hill Range.
In Hamra, in the northern part of the Palestinian Jordan
Valley, on Wednesday May 4, activists prevented an attempt by soldiers to chase
away shepherds and their flocks from their grazing grounds. On Thursday,
women-soldiers chased away the shepherds and tried to confiscate their donkey.
When they didn’t manage to make him climb onto the military vehicle, they made
do with confiscating the rope tied to his neck. On Friday, the violent colonist
from the nearby outpost rode his ATV into the Palestinian flock and chased it
away. This terrorist and his friend threatened the child-shepherds (age 7 to
10) with pepper spray and tried to rob them; the children ran away. On
Saturday, the terrorist returned to harass the shepherds with his dog after
their accompaniers left. Shepherd accompaniment at Farisiya and Khalat
Makhoul took place most of the week without any special clashes, but on
Saturday colonists with their flocks invaded tended fields at Khalat
Makhoul.
In the Auja area, in the southern part of the Palestinian
Jordan Valley, all week activists accompanied shepherds. On Thursday, a
colonist in his vehicle chased away shepherds and flocks that were on their way
back to their village. On Friday morning, 4 masked outpost terrorists blocked a
vehicle belonging to activists on their way to accompany shepherds, and then
attacked an older activist who was remained alone in the field with burses and
threats.
A shepherd from Turmus Aya reported that he was attacked on
Wednesday by colonists from the ‘dismantled’ violent outpost ‘Ma’ale Ahuviya’
who went out to ‘search’ for a horse from their outpost. The shepherd managed
to escape, but the colonist terrorists wounded and stole 28 of his sheep.
Activists summoned police who ‘spoke’ with the ‘Ma’ale Ahuviya’ thugs, but did
not search for the sheep, and recommended that the Palestinians do it
themselves – except for in the outpost, of course.
On Monday, May 2, the occupation authorities demolished a structure
at Auja and another in the village of Duma on the West Bank Hill
Range.
On Thursday, May 5, colonists carried out earth works to expand the
outpost ‘Giv’at Sal’it’ erected on Palestinian-owned land in the northern part
of the Valley.
To join activity in the Jordan Valley, please contact Arik:
050-5607034
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
