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Nr 75

Discrimination against Palestinian Israeli citizens also occurs in the policies and conditions of imprisonment.

David Ben Shimol (an Israeli Jew) was convicted of the murder of one person and the wounding of tens of others, after he had fired a LAU missile at a bus full of Arab passengers. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. After some time, his sentence was reduced to 24 years, and then further reduced to 17 years. (In Israel, it is the President who determines the period of imprisonment after more than five years, in the case of life imprisonment). He was released after serving 11 years, after a third of his term was reduced, as usual, due to good behaviour.

Muhammad Mansur Ziada (a Palestinian Israeli citizen), of Lod, 51 years old and father of seven, is in prison for life after throwing a hand grenade at a bus full of soldiers. The hand grenade did not explode and no damage or harm occurred. Ziada has already been in prison for 18 years, and his term has not been reduced.

Mukhles Ahmad Murghal (a Palestinian Israeli citizen) is in prison for the same reason as Ziada. He was sentenced to life, and his term later commuted to 40 years. He has been in prison for 18 years.

Ami Popper (a Jewish Israeli citizen) was sentenced to seven life sentences for the murder of seven Palestinian workers and the wounding of 14 others. His term was commuted to 40 years. During his imprisonment he has married and had 5 children. Every day he goes to study in a yeshiva or goes to work. He often takes holidays and is allowed to talk freely on the phone.

Muhammad and Mukhles cannot use the phone, and when relatives visit them, physical contact is denied. They have never once had a vacation.

Nr 74

The village Qawawis is situated in the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank. In 2003, following pressure from settlers and the army, the residents had to leave their village. Settlers invaded the village. After the settlers were removed, the original residents returned.

It looks as if the efforts of the Israeli government and settlers from the nearby illegal outposts are succeeding. With the help of the 'law,' homes have already been demolished twice in Qawawis -- four homes a year ago and four more homes, four months ago. The demolitions and settler attacks have forced the villagers to leave. Now only one elderly couple lives in Qawawis, and their home is threatened by demolition. The rest, 25 people, now stay outside Qawawis.

A few hundred metres to the east is another village, named Sha'ab ElButum. North of it, is an illegal outpost Avigayil and to the south, the illegal outpost Mitzpe Yair. Once Sha'ab ElButum is besieged from the west, from the Qawawis side, its chances of survival are dim.

Nr 73

Jayyous village is situated about 6.5 kilometers east of the Green Line, and is inhabited by 3,700 people. They own 12,800 dunams of land (a dunam = 1000 square meters). The separation fence that was built near the village separates it from most of its land: 8,600 dunams.

The fence has an access gate to its lands, but 34 of the village inhabitants cannot go through for security reasons, and a further 70 for bureaucratic reasons. The land was registered under the name of their grandfather, during the time of Jordanian rule. Those whose name does not include that of their grandfather, i.e., their full name includes their given name, their father's name, their grandfather's name and their family name, are forbidden from passing through the gate to their land. It is stipulated that the crops may be sold neither in Israel nor in Nablus, but must be marketed only to nearby villages.

Six wells in the area, between the fence and the Green Line, supply water to several Palestinian localities. Three water pipes were planned to carry water from these wells to the village. However, in 2003 the civil administration halted these plans by denying permission to proceed. The village therefore suffers from a water shortage.

Nr 72

The Ja'abaris of Hebron own a plot of land near the police station of the settlement Kiriat Arba. It does not prevent the Kiriat Arba and Hebron settlers from invading the Ja'abaris land and attacking the family and their home (See Don't say… # 54). All the complaints filed at the police have not brought about the arrest of the attackers. Even a supreme court ruling that forbids the entry of settlers into the area (except for emergency) have not stopped the situation.

Because of the destruction the settlers caused in the area, Israeli peace activists arrived on Friday, 31/08/07, for a joint work day with the Ja'abari family, to prepare the land for growing crops. Upon arrival they found out that a "summer camp" for the settlers' children took place there. The settlers attacked the peace activists, stole the agricultural tools, and disturbed the work. The police asked the deputy commander of Hebron for help in removing the settlers. He refused, saying, "we have to live with these people afterwards". The night before, settlers stoned the house of the Ja'abari family.

Israel continues its war against its Bedouin citizens of the village Tawail Abu Jarwal. On Thursday, 30/08/07, police forces arrived and demolished for the 10th time all the tents of the village.

Nr 71

For many years, the farmers of Sinjil, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, have suffered harassment at the hands of settlers who come from the settlements of 'Eli, and outposts in the vicinity.

Ibrahim's family own a 20 dunam (dunam=1000 sq. m) vineyard. Every August for the last four years, settlers from the Givat HaRoeh outpost have shown up at the time of the harvest. Sometimes they steal the grapes, and sometimes they simply throw them on the ground. In either case, Ibrahim and his family don't enjoy them. Two years ago, the police caught settler girls who had arrived and destroyed all the fruit. This did not serve as a deterrent. Two weeks ago, the settlers arrived once again and ruined the harvest.

Nr 70

Checkpoint arbitrariness isn't always a matter of life and death.

On Friday, 17th August, 2007, Safa Fuqaa of the Palestinian village 'Ein ElBida (in the West Bank's Jordan Valley) went to Tubas, to be dressed and made-up for her wedding. On her way back to her village, she arrived at Tiyasir checkpoint at 12:00 noon. All those waiting at the checkpoint made way for her as they could see that she was a bride on her way to her wedding. The soldier told her to get out of the car and go through the pedestrian pass, equipped with a carousel. Alas, she could not have passed through as the width of the carousel is a mere 54 centimetres. Too narrow for her dress. Safa had to leave Tiyasir checkpoint and drive 70 km further to Hamra checkpoint where she was permitted to pass without going through the carousel there.

The carousel in Tel Aviv Central train station is 90 cm wide.

Correcting an error: The IDF did not demolish two irrigation pools in Bardale, as was mistakingly reported last week. Our apologies.

Nr 69

The war being waged by the Israeli army against Palestinian civilians continues. On Wednesday, August 8, 2007, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) demolished four houses and two water storage pools in Palestinian villages located in the West Bank section of the Jordan Valley. The IDF demolished a pool in Bardala where these pools are used for drinking and agriculture.

The army then headed for Sahel Libqeya, where they demolished two more homes. From there, they went on to Frush Beit Dajan where they destroyed another water storage pool. In Jiflik the army demolished a home and removed another one which they transported by truck to an unknown destination.

On August 12, the IDF demolished four metal shacks near Humsa, southeast of Israeli settlement Ro’i. Residents of El Hadidya had built these shacks after demolition orders were received for their entire village. [Here was originally added, but later revoked: On the same day the IDF demolished two additional water storage pools in the village of Bardala.]

Nr 68

Means used to push Palestinians out of the West Bank Jordan Valley include either the delineation of closed military zones, or home demolitions, or arrests, or deprivation of water supply.

For years Said, from the village Fasail in the Jordan Valley, has herded his flocks on the village's pasture. At about mid-day he would take the flocks to the village spring, situated near the village. A few months ago the army declared the spring (the village water source) and surrounding area as a closed military zone, and entry of Palestinians was forbidden. Said continued to bring his flocks daily to the spring. Mekorot - the Israeli government water carrier - dug a well in the location and erected a fence around it. On 24th July, 2007 Said herded the flocks on the way to the spring, outside the fence of the well. The guards of Mekorot arrested Said, and accused him of entry into the fenced area. A military tracker brought to the scene found that Said did not enter the fenced area. Nevertheless, policemen who were brought in arrested Said so that he would tell them who entered the well... After four days he was released, having paid NIS 1500.

Nr 67

Settlers continue to take lands that does not belong to them.

The Hushiyya family of the West Bank town of Yatta owns land between the settlement Susya and the outpost Mitzpe Yair, in the South Hebron Hills area. On 5 July 2007 they discovered that settlers from Susya are tending a plot belonging to the family. The owners filed a complaint with the police, and the police notified them that they would bar settlers from entry to the land. Despite this, the settlers continued to work the land day and night. They built a hut, inside which armed settlers are staying, preventing the owners from entering.

On Friday, 27 July 2007, at night, the settlers planted vines on the plot. Robbing land can be done on Shabbat...

Nr 66

Wednesday, 18th July 2007, was dedicated by the Knesset to study the problems of the Bedouins in the Negev. Among the important declarations that day were those made by the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Construction and Housing: both said they want to cease demolition of Bedouin homes in the Negev.

On Thursday, 19th July 2007, police forces arrived at the village Twail Abu Jarwal, and demolished all the houses and tents there for the ninth time. From there they continued to Wadi El Na'am, demolished a house there, and then to Khirbet El Watan where they demolished another house. The inhabitants of Twail Abu Jarwal have nowhere to go. The state does no offer them any alternative, but it does notstop the state from demolishing their homes.

Nr 65

Prof. Stacy Krainz, a US citizen, directed the English department of the Arab-American University in Jenin for three years, and taught there. Every month or every three months she had to leave the country to have her visa renewed. In September 2006 she went to Jordan for visa renewal but, on return, her visa and re-entry were denied. And so the Arab-American University in Jenin lost a teacher and a manager. Further attempts to re-enter in October and November 2006 were denied. No security claim was made against Prof. Krainz. After the involvement of the American Consulate in East Jerusalem she was allowed to return in March, but only to collect her belongings and then leave.

Many teachers in the university's English Department are foreigners, who fear that Israel will prevent them from continuing to work at the university. This would leave 272 English students without many of their teachers.

Nr 64

Settlers from Maon, in the South Hebron Hills, never cease trying to expel the Palestinian farmers from their land and villages.

Two weeks ago, the settlers put up a tent on a hill called Um Zeitun, between Maon and the Palestinian hamlet Tuba. The army didn't evacuate the settlers. Then settler attacks against the Palestinians increased. They have attacked farmers and inhabitants of Tuba and Palestinian shepherds from Um Lasifa. The Palestinians approached international human rights activists to defend them by non-violent methods, and since then activists have increasingly stayed at Tuba and Um Lasifa. A week ago, when Tuba shepherds were herding their flocks nearby, settlers stoned them for two hours. Calls for the army and police were only answered after a long delay. The security forces arrived but did nothing to arrest the attackers. A few days ago, when the international activists left Um Lasifa, they passed near a military jeep. The soldiers hooted the jeep's horn and the settlers then started to attack the Palestinians. Was there collaboration between the soldiers and settlers?!

Nr 63

A method for creating new settlements in the occupied territories is to create huge municipal areas for existing settlements, and then build new "neighbourhoods" connected to the existing settlements by roads. The Palestinian inhabitants of Qaryut, between Ramallah and Nablus, are denied by the IDF from reaching some of their agricultural land some 10 minutes from the village, because of just such a road between two "neighbourhoods" of the settlement Eli. They are forced to use a long and bad road that takes them more than an hour, and cannot go there by tractor, although the Supreme Court ordered the army to enable the Palestinians to cultivate their lands (June 2006). At the end of April 2007, after co-ordinating with all relevant army functions, a date was agreed when the Palestinians would be allowed to cross the road to cultivate their land. A day before, a military post was burnt. At night, the army raided Qaryut, beat up the inhabitants and shattered windows. The next day the army refused to let the farmers cross the road to cultivate their land. New attempts for an agreement on a new date were answered by strange claims - some of which were advanced by the settlers - that the farmers should use donkeys instead of tractors, or that the land had been purchased by Jews. The bottom line is that the farmers still cannot cross the road.

Nr 62

In 1956 the state moved the Abu El Qi'an Bedouin tribe to 'Atir, from their land, which constituted 2879 dunums (one dunum=1000 sq.m.) in the Shoval area. The state refuses to recognise their rights on the land to which it had forced them to evacuate.

Demolitions in the Negev have now reached a new record. After negotiations until late night, today, 25th June, 2007, about 2000 policemen arrived, accompanied by trucks, containers and bulldozers, at two locations of Abu El Qi'an in 'Atir. They evacuated the contents of all the houses - about 30 - and then demolished the homes. They demolished the water tanks as well. The contents of the homes were taken for storage in Ashdod. About 300 men, women and children have been left with no shelter, food and property, and no alternative habitation.

The state wants them to move into the townships it has designated for Bedouins. But it demolishes their homes before there are plots ready for them. The state has plans to build an exclusively Jewish locality in place of the village of the Abu El Qi'an tribe, named Hiran.

Nr 61

The inhabitants of the villages Beit Furiq (about 15,000) and Beit Dajan (about 5,000) suffer restrictions and special prohibitions. At Beit Furiq Checkpoint – located between Nablus and Beit Furiq – the Israeli army allows only the residents themselves passage to the two places, while other Palestinians are prevented, including immediate family members. The army has committed itself in the Supreme Court to keep the checkpoint open 24 hours a day and allow a normal fabric of life. But in actual fact, this checkpoint is usually closed after 8 or 9 p.m.

On April 20, 2007 a woman from Salem village married in Beit Furiq. The bride's parents and other relatives were not allowed to attend the wedding in Beit Furiq.

A few months ago, a woman in labor reached Beit Furiq checkpoint at 2 a.m. The driver hooted and yelled to the soldiers to please open the barrier. Only 20 minutes later, when the birth had already begun, the driver risked opening it himself and continued with her to a Nablus hospital.

A Nablus physician operated a clinic in Beit Furiq. Once a week he would drive out to the village to treat patients there. Because he is a Nablus resident, the soldiers have been preventing him from passing. After several such failed attempts, the doctor has closed his clinic.

Nr 60

In 1991 Israel stole 780 dunums (one dunum = 1000sq.m.) of the land of Bil'in, claiming that the land was not cultivated(used communally for pasture). The Appeals Committee approved thetheft, except for five plots of land where the owners were able to prove that they had indeed cultivated the land. The stolen land was used to extend the settlement Modi'inIl'it. However, the Civi Administration, the settlers and the construction companies were not bothered by the legal ownership of their land by Bili'in inhabitants. They started to build, illegally, the settlement East Matityahu on that privately owned land as well. Following Supreme Court petitions, the Civil Administration was forced to mark the five privately owned plots. Authorisation of the construction and zoning plans was conditioned on demolition of all that had been built on that privately owned land. The construction company "Green Park" demolished a construction it had started to build on one of the plots, but left in place its supporting infrastructure. The Palestinian landowners brought a tractor to uncovered what was left. Shortly after beginning the work, security forces arrived and stopped it. It was agreed that the people and tractor would leave the land. After the tractorleft, the security forces stopped it and expropriated it. The landowners complied with all Civil Admininistration demands, paid NIS 5428, came for interrogation, and yet the tractor was not released. I wonder why ?!

Nr 59

Starting in January 2007, Palestinian complaints about abuse from a soldier named Kobi started to arrive. Kobi is stationed in the Taysir checkpoint. He showed his penis and pissed near the legs of Palestinian women who had been taken from cars for a check. He beat and humiliated Palestinians going through the checkpoint and delayed them for no reason, for very long periods of time. After complaints, Kobi was removed from the checkpoint. After two days he returned. For a while another soldier accompanied him. It did not help. The abuse continues; Kobi especially abuses teachers. He beats them. Yesterday he took female teachers from a car, and demanded that they lift their dresses to see what's underneath. Now another soldier, Raviv, accompanies him with the beatings. All demands to remove him go unanswered.

Nr 58

The village Ertas is south of Bethlehem, with 4000 villagers, who own 4000 dunums (dunum=1000 sq.m.) of land. About 1000 dunums will be located on the other side of the separation fence now being built by Israel, east of the settlement Efrat, some 12 Km from the Green Line. The fence is meant to go around two planned Jewish neighbourhoods, east of Efrat. A ditch is being built as well, for the sewage pipeline of Efrat. The sewage is planned to go to the other side of the fence, to the land of the Abu Sway family of Ertas. 570 dunums of their lands may be polluted, as well as Ertas' water sources.

On 20/05/07 bulldozers ruined the family's apricot plantation. The army used force to evacuate activists, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals from abroad, who non-violently tried to prevent the uprooting.

Nr 57

The Bedouin village El Hadidiyya in the Jordan Valley is almost empty. There used to be 130 people living there. The Supreme Court accepted the State's request to evacuate the inhabitants from their village. Most saved themselves the trauma of having their homes and animal sheds demolished and left by themselves.

It's the third time these people have been evacuated. In the 1970s they were evacuated from their original habitation, east of Road 90, for security reasons. The second time, in the 1990s, the Supreme Court accepted the State's request to evacuate them. Now the High Court has concurred with another request. The pretext now has been zoning and construction laws, according to which land earmarked for agriculture cannot be used for residence. The second pretext was the security needs of the settlers of Roi. The inhabitants of El Hadidiyya were offered a move to Khirbet 'Atuf, more than 7 km north of their land, beyond the settlement Roi and Road 80; but in order to get to their grazing lands they have to cross Road 80 and pass the settlement Roi. Furthermore, the IDF has dug two deep ditches east of Khirbet 'Atuf to make the way to the Jordan valley even more difficult.

The Roi settlers were not bothered by the State for building their settlement in an agricultural zone, unlike the Bedouin El Hadidiyya residents. In this way "security needs" and zoning and construction laws are used to expel Bedouins and settle Jews. And who will take care of the security of the inhabitants of El Hadidiyya?

Nr 56

The separation fence separates between the Bil'in village and 60% of its agricultural land. A gate in the fence enables the farmers to go to their land. The supreme court issued an interim order according to which the farmers should be permitted through 24 hours a day. The IDF soldiers think otherwise. Waji has a herd of goats. He is forbidden from going through with his goats since January 2007. Often the soldiers permit passage only between 0700-0900. Landowners and workers that are not residents of Bil'in are not permitted to go through. Ashraf Abu Rahme uses the gate a lot. Almost every time the soldiers abuse him. On Thursday, 3/5/07, he was delayed at the gate for three hours for no reason. In the evening, when he wanted to go back, the soldiers detained him at the Macabim road block, and realesed him after five hours (at 0100 AM) near the Ni'ilin roadblock.

Nr 55

The state of Israel doesn't cease in its war against its citizens living in Tawil Abu Jarwal. Their crime is that they are Bedouins born in the Jewish state. A week ago the inhabitants were given demolition orders. Today, 09/05/07, at 09:30, police forces arrived and demolished all 30 huts and tents in the village. This is the sixth time that the police have demolished the village. The state doesn't offer any alternative, but that doesn't prevent them from demolishing homes, especially when Bedouins are concerned.

At the same time the tent and car (used for living in) of Nuri El'Uqbi were confiscated. For more than a year now, Nuri has been demonstrating on his family's land, not far from Tawil Abu Jarwal, so that the state will keep its promise given to the El'Uqbis when they were driven off their land in 1951. They were promised that they'd be able to return within six months.

Nr 54

The Ja`abari family of Hebron is often harassed and attacked by settlers of Kiryat Arba who have built an illegal outpost on the Ja`abaris` land, named Hazon David. All the Ja`abaris` complaints to the police about the settlers have not been handled.

On Friday, 27/04/07, the settler Moshe Butra arrived in a white jeep near the house of Abdel Karim Ja`abari. He used a road that goes through the family`s land, and which the supreme court declared forbidden to be used by settlers, except in emergency. The settler got off the jeep and started attacking Uday Ja`abari, one of Abdel Karim`s sons. `Ala, Uday`s brother, came and pushed the settler away. `Abdel Karim and Suleyman Ja`abari came and evacuated `Uday and `Ala. As they were leaving, Moshe Butra started shooting at them. During the entire event the Palestinians were not armed with any weapon.

Soldiers and police who arrived arrested the father and his son Ala. After nine days the son was released, but the father is still under detention. The trespassing, shooting and attacking settler, Moshe Butra, was not arrested. The police did not collect the cartridges as evidence. One of the soldiers even gave the settler a new magazine full of ammunition.

Nr 53

On Friday, 27/04/07, Israeli and international human rights activists came to accompany a few Palestinian farmers of Bani Na'im, on their way to their land, in order to cultivate it and herd their livestock. The land is about a kilometre away from the settlement Pnei Hever. For four years the farmers have not used the land for fear of those settlers. The settlers arrived immediately and started attacking the farmers and their accompaniers. The main attacker was a person by the name of Dov, who hit people with his club, aiming especially at camera owners. The soldiers who arrived showed friendliness towards the attackers and did not stop them. Afterwards more police and border units arrived. The border units ordered the Palestinians to leave. The human rights activists who were hurt filed complaints at the Kiryat Arba police station, while settlers also laid complaints against the activists. At the police station it was clear who's the boss, the settlers are on friendly terms with almost everybody and feel at home there.

The suffering of the residents of Jinba, South Hebron Hills, does not cease. Now it's time for harvesting the wheat and barley, in the hope of sustaining them. The IDF sent its soldiers for manoeuvres on their land. The armoured vehicles destroyed the crops just before their harvest...

Nr 52

When Israel occupied the West Bank, Abu Hashem owned 28 wells and 8,000 dunums of land (one dunum=1000 sq.m) in the Jordan Valley. He employed nearly 1000 workers. Now his four sons are left with only 70 dunums of land between Marj Naja and Bardale. They have one well. Most of the family's land is situated between Highway No. 90 and the Jordan river and has been proclaimed a closed military zone which the family cannot access. The IDF also forbids them to bring workers from the West Bank to work on their land. Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinian workers from West Bank villages work daily in the nearby Israeli settlements of the Jordan Valley.

Nr 51

The village 'Izbat-a-Tabib is situated 7 km east of Qalqilia, with a population of nearly 300 people. Most of the inhabitants are refugees from the village Tabsur near Ra'anana. Following a settler's complaint about stone throwing while passing near 'Izbat-a-Tabib, army forces entered the village on Friday, 13/04/07 at 20:00, and declared a curfew. Road blocks were erected to prevent entry or exit. The soldiers searched twenty houses - about half of the village - and turned their inhabitants outside. Twenty five adults and fifteen children - some four or five years old - were forced to stand in line with their faces to the wall on the main street of the village in the dark. The village mukhtar tried to talk to the millitary commander but was refused permission.

The villagers were told that if anyone throws stones in future, the whole village will be punished, collectively, irrespective of who did it.

Nr 50

# Hussein and 'Ali own some land between Twane and Tuba, South Hebron Hills area. Unluckily, it is situated near the settlement Maon Farm. For a few years they didn't dare to cultivate it, fearing the settlers. In December 2006 they came, accompanied by human rights activists, and sowed their land, Hussein's 18 dunums (dunum = 1000 sq.m) and 'Ali's 14 dunums. The barley they sowed grew until 14/03/07, when settlers came, ploughed Hussein's and 'Ali's plots and destroyed the crops.

# Settlers again attacked children of the village Tuba, in the South Hebron Hills, returning home from school in Twane village. On Saturday, 07/04/07, while the children were returning from school, the army escorted them until the road block near the chicken pens in the Maon settlement. They continued from there alone. Some settlers ambushed them 250 metres away. When the children arrived, the settlers beat them, snatched their bags, and destroyed their books and other learning materials.

Nr 49

The settler Ya'akov Talya, of Talya farm in south Mt. Hebron, never stops trying to expel his Palestinian neighbours from their homes and land. In 2001 and 2003 he and settlers from the outpost Mitzpe Yair expelled the Palestinians of Umm Hamita, Shalalet Daaef, Umm Likuas and Bir El-Id. Some returned only after the court's intervention.

In mid-March 2007, and again two weeks later on Tuesday 03/04/07, Ya'akov Talya was involved in events at the Yatir roadblock, situated between the village Umm Nazal and the village lands. He demanded the soldiers prevent shepherds of Umm Nazal from reaching their lands. The soldiers complied.

Nr 48

The municipality of Jerusalem never ceases demolishing the homes of Palestinians in the eastern part of the city, annexed after the June 1967 war.

On Tuesday, March 20th, the municipality demolished two homes.

Suud Sanaq lives with her son, two daughters and her granddaughter in a home that was built next to the old family home, on family land at French Hill. Her granddaughter stays most of the time in hospital for treatment of brain and kidney tumors. The family's lands were expropriated after the June 1967 war (except for the area of the old family home). Now the new home has been demolished.

One of the ways used to prevent construction by Palestinians is to declare land as "frozen green space" in which construction is forbidden.

That is the case of the land of the Abu Snenehs in Wadi Qadum. Having no other alternative Ali Abu Sneneh built his home without a building permit.

He used to live there with his mother, wife and six children. The Jerusalem municipality demolished his home.

On the hill above them you can see two settlers' houses – Kidmat Zion…

Nr 47

Khaled Daoud Fakaah (aged half a year) died at 'Atara roadblock, while the soldiers were checking his parents' papers and those of the driver who was taking them to a Ramallah hospital. They were arriving from Kufr 'Ein (a village northwest of Ramallah), at 12:45 on the night of March 8, 2007. The father, Daoud Fakaah, told the soldiers that his son had a medical emergency due to breathing difficulties. He requested that they be permitted to proceed immediately to the hospital, where Khaled was already being treated for his breathing problems. The soldiers leafed through the documents and checked the car for about twenty minutes, but in the meantime the father discovered that his son had died.

They were traveling from Kufr 'Ein to Ramallah - both Palestinian localities within the occupied territories.

Nr 46

Around noon, 26/02/07, 'Anan El-Tibi climbed his roof, in Nablus, to fix the water system in his house. His son, Ashraf, a volunteer paramedic, heard that the army was looking for a youngster in a neighbouring house. So he climbed on to the roof to warn his father of possible shooting. When he reached the roof he was shot in the arm. His father went to help him and then he was shot too. The father was injured in the head and neck. Ashraf tended his father's wounds and called an ambulance. Some soldiers entered the house and one of them identified himself as the shooter. No one in the family was armed or wanted by the army. After a while the soldiers allowed the father to be lowered from the roof to the ambulance; however, they delayed the ambulance for an hour and a half. They bandaged the son. The father died.

Nr 45

On Wednesday morning, March 7, 2007, the representatives of Israel Land Administration (ILA) accompanied by police and tractors, arrived to the village Tawil Abu Jarwal. They pulled out all the residents from their tents and shacks, and demolished the village for the fifth time.

25 families were left homeless.

This time all the debris was loaded on lorries and taken away, including the sheep sheds.

The State has not offered a housing alternative for the inhabitants of Tawil Abu Jarwal, but this does not prevent them from demolishing their homes. Having no other alternative, the villagers have started rebuilding their village again…

Nr 44

Every day Naim goes from his vilage, Urif, to the Huwara checkpoint, to sell bagels.The soldiers order him away from the the checkpoint, so as "not to disturb them". Sometimes they even throw his merchandise on the ground.

Naim and his family used to own about 370 dunums near Yitzhar settlement. Israel confiscated the land after the family refused to sell it. 624 dunums owned by Palestinians are now taken over by Yitzhar. When Naim tried to approach his land in order to harvest his olives, he was arrested and sentenced to 11 months in prison. Other Palestinian landowners were shot at. Having no other source of livelihood, he sells bagels...

Nr 43

Settlers continue to invade Palestinian-owned shops in Hebron. Most of the media reports dealt with the invasions of shops in the wholesale market; however, just a few metres away, in the vegetable market invasions have been goign on for a long time. After the massacre perpetrated by Baruch Goldstein in the Patriarchs' Cave, the army closed the market, and prevented any access of Palestinians there. The settlers took advantage of this, broke into the shops from behind and started building flats inside them, even opened a branch of the religious youth movement Bney-Akiva. Following the shop owners' complaints, a few policemen and civil administration personnel arrived with search warrants. To the protest of the settlers they found out that the settlers live there illegally.

Nr 42

On the 12th of February, 2007, a settler woman, accompanied by eight children, arrived to the land of the Abu Haykal family in Tel Rumeida.The settler broke through the fence in order to enter. A soldier arrived but did nothing to evacuate them. The police also arrived, but only after 40 minutes. After a long argument the settlers agreed to leave. Then they turned into Wad ElHariya St., which is in the Palestinian controlled area (H1), and where other young settlers were stoning a Palestinian-owned shop. There were soldiers and policemen in the area. The settlers claimed that two Palestinian children stoned them. The Palestinian children were arrested immediately. One of the children with the settler (from the previous event) started to attack a human rights activist that was filming the whole event. A policeman that stood near him did not react. A Palestinian child went nearby, trying to bypass the commotion. One of the settlers' children pointed at him accusing him of throwing stones. The child was arrested immediately. The human rights activist testifies that the child did not throw stones at all. Not a single settler nor their children were arrested for their actions. The soldiers even forced the shopkeepers to close their shops. After five hours the Palestinian children were released from the arrest.

Nr 41

Mahmud 'Ali was born in Dir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, seventy years ago. He married in 1957. In the 1960s, before the Occupation, he went to the USA, where he received citizenship. After some time, he brought his wife and children to the USA. In the 1970s, his wife and children returned to their village, Dir Dibwan. Mahmud then used to visit his family once a year for a month or two. Since his retirement he tried to prolong these visits. The Israeli authorities forced him to go to Jordan every three months and return with a new visa. His wife is seventy years old, is ill and needs his help. About a year ago, the Israelis told him he'd have to wait for a year until he’s permitted to return. On January 20, 2007, when he tried to enter the West Bank from Jordan, Israel refused to grant him a visa and his entry was refused. The village Dir Dibwan is in Area B, which is under Palestinian civil control, but Israel controls entry and exit from it.

Nr 40

The municipality of Jerusalem hasn't stopped demolishing homes in the Palestinian villages annexed to it after the war of 1967. Since the beginning of this year, the municipality has demolished 9 Palestinian homes. One of the cases that was carried out in bad faith is the case of Hamed El Amas in Sur Baher. The local planning committee had authorised this building, and had recommended to the regional committee that it be granted a licence. The municipality knew that the house had received authorisation by the local committee, but nonetheless sent its men and heavy machinery to demolish the house over a period of two days. It was a four storey building that had been intended to house eight families.

Nr 39

The Al-Nasasra tribe lived on their land before the establishment of the State of Israel. In 1980 the state built the town Kseife near them. They are listed as residents of Kseife, receive municipal services from Kseife and participate in the municipal elections. The town wishes to integrate them and their land as a neighbourhood of Kseife. Now the state wants their land. They have been offered NIS1000 per dunam (=1000 sq.m.) and half a dunam for habitation in the town. They refuse, because they want to live on their land as farmers. Now the Ministry of Interior has pasted demolition warrants on all the 100 houses of the Al-Nasasra.

N2 38

The Jahalin tribe were expelled in the early 1950s from Israel to the West Bank - then under Jordanian rule - some settled east of Jerusalem. Now the state wants to expel them. Israel intends to build the separation fence so that it surrounds the settlement Ma'ale Adumim and other settlements. In the enclave there will be 30 locations where the Jahalin live, only one of them on the fence route. The rest, some 3000 people will be inside the enclave. They don't disturb the fence trajectory, none the less, the state intends to evacuate the Jahalin from their homes.

Nr 37

In the early 1980s the inhabitants of Tuba were evicted. Tuba used to be where the settlement Maon Farm is today. The people of Tuba settled nearby, about 1,5 Km away. They were expelled again in the big expulsion of 1999, and returned under a supreme court warrant. The inhabitants of Tuba suffer from harrasments of settlers who want their lands. Following settlers attacks they stopped cultivating their lands in Wadi Zeitun near the cattle yard in the settlement Carmel. Passage through Wadi Zeitun is difficult as well (eg going to the town Yatta) as the settlers threaten them with weapons.

Nr 36

On Tuesday, 09/01/07, a police force, accompanied by representatives of the ministry of interior and Israel land administration, arrived to the village Tawil Abu Jarwal, of the Talalqa (near Goral junction in the Negev) and demolished all the houses of the village, 21 houses. About 100 people are left homeless.It's the fifth time the state demolishes in the village. The country has no housing solution for the tribe but it does not prevent it from demolishing their houses.

Nr 35

The town Beit Umar is situated between Beit Lehem and Hebron. There are 14,500 residents. It used to have 30,250 dunums. (dunum=1000 m^2). Some of it's lands were stolen for nearby settlements: Kfar Etzion: about 625 dunum, Migdal Oz: almost 2000 dunum, Karmei Tzur: about 500 dunum. More theft is pending: the separation wall will take 6000 dunums from its lands. The bypass road El-'Arub-Beit Umar will take further 1200 dunum.

In an invasion to Beit Umar at the beginning of the intifada 139 houses in the town were damaged, and further property.

Since the occupation the army demolished 18 houses, claiming they were built illegaly, and further 11 houses were demolished on security grounds.

Nr 34

The Palestinian inhabitants of the villages that were annexed to Jerusalem don't get the same municipal services as the Jewish inhabitants. They get priority in demolitions. The municipality makes getting a building permit so difficult, that the mission of building a house with a permit is (almost) impossible. Last year, the municipality and the ministry of interior, demolished some 66 houses of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Nearly 400 people were made homeless. On Wednesdy, 27/12/06, inspectors of Jerusalem municipality demolished a building of three flats that belongs to Der'i family in Issawiya.

In one of them lived seven people and the other ones were to be inhabited soon.Since 2000 the municipality demolished 24 houses in Issawiya. An attempt by the residents to create a construction plan, that will formalize the construction in the village, does not help in stopping the Jerusalem municipality from demolishing their houses.

Nr 33

The settlers of Hebron don't stop harassing their Palestinian neighbours. On Sunday, 17/12/06, 40 settlers invaded the olive grove of the Abu Haikals, in Tel Rumeida area, and had a picnic there. They were escorted by 15 soldiers.

When several Palestinian children arrived, on their way from school to their homes, the soldiers did not let them pass. Human rights activists called the police which responded that they can pass on their land on their way home, but the policemen that arrived refused to help the children pass. The approach to the DCO did not help either. A human rights activist, a woman aged 75, that demanded the soldiers and the policemen to help the children through, was arrested. In the end the children had to go in another, roundabout way. The settlers left the land of Abu Haikal after three hours. Not even one settler was arrested.

That morning, settlers threw stones at a Palestinian teacher on her way to school and injured her. Some settlers threw stones, apples and eggs on Palestinian children on their way to school.