DECEMBER 2005

The Hadash movement is set to launch its campaign against the new plan for developing the Galilee region, announced last week by the office of Vice Premier Shimon Peres, which the movement says blatantly ignores or discriminates against Israeli Arabs in the north.

The strategic plan offers more than 10,000 housing units in the Galilee and offers incentives to families, primarily from the center of the country, to move to the north. Hadash, which will announce its campaign against the plan during a conference held this weekend in the lower Galilee town of Kafr Manda, maintains Peres' plan blatantly abandons Israeli Arab communities in the north. Hadash says the plan's declared goal is to ensure a Jewish majority in the Galilee.

"This is the cruelest plan of the past 20 years," Hadash said in an announcement on Wednesday. The movement says Peres' plan completely ignores the needs of Galilee Arab communities and keeps the gaps between Arabs and Jews in the north. "We are calling on the government to freeze the plan and to open a dialogue with the Arab public with the goal of formulating a plan based on the principles of equality. [Such a plan should be] aimed at closing gaps, expanding the territorial jurisdiction of Arab towns and creating industrial zones," the Hadash announcement said.

However, an Haaretz investigation revealed that of the 104 communities covered by the Galilee development program, only four of them are Arab or Druze towns (Ein al-Assad, Sandala, Moukibala and Taibeh).
Israeli military photo

Last week, Efrat Duvdevani, Peres' director general, said the Galilee development plan "will incorporate members of civic organizations and representatives of the Arab public."

Peres' office is responsible for Negev and Galilee development, and it was harshly criticized recently by the Arab public over the campaign it ran for populating the Galilee. Among other complaints, the campaign was skewered for not presenting any data on aid to the Arab sector.

Peres' office said last week that Peres himself has met lately with the chair of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, Shawki Khatib, and with the chair of the Arab Center for Alternative Planning, Hanna Swaid, to discuss Galilee development. Peres said at that meeting that "there is no matter too small for us and no matter too big for us to handle." Peres' people also met with representatives of Sikkuy, the Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality, who presented their views on Galilee development.

Three Bedouin women hurt in clashes with police in Negev
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent

Three Bedouin women and 10 police officers were wounded in clashes in a northern Negev village on Tuesday.

The three women, all moderately wounded in the head, were evacuated to Be'er Sheva's Soroka Medical Center. The officers all suffered light wounds.

The officers arrested 14 Bedouin in the protest, sparked by an incident earlier in the day, when Interior Ministry officials arrived at the village of Dir Mashash to hand out condemnation orders for the demolition of structures in the unrecognized hamlet.

Villagers then began throwing rocks at police accompanying the officials in the village, located on the Dimona-Be'er Sheva highway.

Police fired warning shots when Bedouin protestors started throwing stones at officers. The stones struck several of the police on the head, lightly wounding them. None of those wounded were hurt by gunfire.

Settlers Attack Olive Pickers in Tel Rumeida, while Knesset members
tour nearby.
Written from reports by ISM activists
November 11th, 2005

Armed settlers from Tel Rumeida repeatedly attacked 4 Palestinian families as they tried to harvest their olives in Tel Rumeida today.

The Palestinians, accompanied by 4 members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams and 3 ISMers were initially attacked in the morning, by a group of settler kids throwing stones. By afternoon, Settler leader Baruch Marzel and three other adult settlers with assault rifles arrived at the Syag family property where the group was picking and inspecting the home.

The family property had been occupied over seven months ago by IDF, the family prevented from entering. They did not receive compensation or indication of when it would be returned. When the Syag patriarch died, the family had regularly tended the property and olive groves while they arranged his estate, until they were evicted.

The IDF vacated two days ago and this was the first time members of the Syag family managed to survey the damage. The IDF squatters had burned as firewood all the furniture, ie tables, beds, chairs, sofas. Every window pane had been smashed. All toilet facilities on the ground floor were destroyed including every cistern and faucet. There was recent defecation in the shower. All electric wires and switches had been torn out of the walls. Profane graffiti was daubed on the walls with large Stars of David painted beside Gargoyle heads. All doors had been removed including metal ones. Upstairs explosives had blown holes in walls and all mirrors were broken. The inside of the roof had been torn down.

In this current incident a settler (in plain clothes) produced a military I.D. and demanded that the Palestinians and Internationals leave the olive groves and the house. They began yelling "This is our
land now. This is Israel", throwing stones at, and pushing the Internationals. Three soldiers arrived at the behest of the settlers, and commanded the Palestinians and Internationals to leave the
property, whilst ignoring the violence of the settlers. During this time, several of the Palestinians and Internationals were hit with stones and an Australian woman from the ISM was pushed and slapped.

When the IDF soldiers came, the team were forced to retreat behind the house where they were held back at gunpoint by the IDF. The settlers occupied the house and began throwing its contents and the rubble at the Palestinians and Internationals outside.

Eventually 10 officers of the regular and border police arrived, called to the scene by neighbour and human rights lawyer Yehayah Abu Zeineh. The Palestinians complained about the attacks and the failure of the soldiers present to even attempt to protect them. Once told that there was also video evidence to support these complaints, the police promptly arrested Yehayah, who was unlawfully detained for four hours. The settlers were not arrested and it seems the Tel Rumeida settlement has just expanded approximately two hundred square meters of land, courtesy of the IDF.

Meanwhile nearby Shuhaddah street was closed to the Palestinian population today. Neither community leaders nor the local population were informed of the reason for this closure. The road was not closed to settlers.

It transpired that this was due to the surprise visit of members of the Knesset. While these visitors were shown the closed shop fronts and the Star of David graffiti daubed on the walls by Settlers, all
Palestinians were either prevented from entering Shuhaddah street or told to remain indoors. The visiting Knesset members may have gotten the false impression that this area was devoid of Palestinian life and the settlement was occupying empty real estate. In truth Tel Rumeida is the home of a vital but embattled Palestinian community whose property is being slowly invaded by Settlers, and their businesses closed by a process of intimidation and violence, aided and abetted by both the IDF and police.

While the tour passed along the Shuhaddah street, accompanied by a large number of IDF and police, Palestinians approached the members of the Knesset and invited them to attend the olive picking and witness the settler violence occurring only a few hundred meters away. They declined citing reasons of personnel safety.

CPT Hebron: At-Tuwani: Palestinian landowner forbidden to cultivate his land

The tiny hamlets of the South Hebron hills are doggedly trying to eke out their sustenance for the fields they have always cultivated in this beautiful rugged terrain to their misfortune, they are situated practically in the throat of the newcomers to the area - settlements and outposts of Maon -and the incident described is one in a long systematic chain.

On Thursday, November 17, 2005, Israeli settlers, soldiers and police prevented a Palestinian landowner from the village of Mufakara (a kilometer from At-Tuwani) from cultivating his land.  Shortly before 10 AM, three Israeli settlers in trucks and four Israeli soldiers in a hummer arrived on the land and announced the Palestinian landowner must leave.  The settlers,  who were from the illegal settlement outpost of Avi Hai (1.5km away), claimed the land did not belong to the Palestinian, but to the outpost of
 Avi Hai.

CPTers went to investigate when they received a call alerting them of the situation.
 When the CPTers arrived, they found the Israeli soldiers and settlers, and also police gathered on land above the halted tractor.  The police were looking at maps drawn by the settlers and discussing ownership of the land, mostly with the settlers. The Palestinian landowner  repeatedly told the police that his family had owned the land for generations. The police insisted that unless the Palestinian had documents on hand to prove ownership, they would enforce the boundaries outlined on the settlers' map.

 As the discussions continued, the Israeli police threatened to arrest CPTers for taking photographs, videotaping, and not leaving the area.  Eventually the police advised the Palestinian man to go with them to the Israeli police station in Kiryat Arba for further discussion.  The Palestinian left with the Israeli police and later told CPTers what happened.

 As soon as the police and the Palestinian arrived at the police station, the police met alone with the settlers (who drove to the station in their own vehicles).  The police then informed the Palestinian that the land in question does belong to the outpost of Avi Hai.  The Palestinian restated  that his family owns the land and that he does have documents proving ownership, including a recent Israeli High Court decision differentiating his land from Israeli State Land.  The police responded by ordering him not to return to his land.  The man insisted he would return, as it is his family's land. When the Palestinian landowner told the police he was leaving the police station, they told him he must pay a 500 shekel fine, saying, "This is the rule."  When he refused, the police said that instead of paying the fine he could go to jail.  He refused again, and the police said they would let him go if he signed a document agreeing not to return to the land for two weeks.
 Although he refused to sign, the police allowed him to leave without either paying a fine or signing any documents.
 
The Palestinian landowners from Mufakara have cultivated their land on this hillside for years without interference from Israeli settlers, military, or police.
International Solidarity Movement Report

“Meet Palestine”  
.Invitation for the International Voluntary Work Camp: “Meet Palestine”
 
Dear Friends,   Greetings from Palestine,  

We would like to invite you to take a look at our invitation to join the international voluntary work camp 2006, “Meet Palestine” on the 12th-30th  July 2006.
http://youth.zajel.org/summer_camps/camp2006/announcing.htm  


The international summer work camp wants to bring together 20 young people from around the globe who are interested in creating a better world. We are specifically targeting people who are working with organizations led by young people that address issues concerning humanity and social justice. We strongly encourage highly motivated and serious young men and women to apply.
 
To obtain an information package and application form please contact:
Zajel Youth Exchange Program
Public Relations Department
An-Najah National University
Nablus, Palestine
www.youth.zajel.org   Info@zajel.org
youthexchange@najah.edu   Phone: ++ 972-9-2345113
Fax: ++  972-9-2345982  

We will look forward to hearing from you and please don’t hesitate to contact us for further details.

Yours sincerely,   Alaa Yusef and the work team of Zajel.
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Dear Friends   I am glad to attach here a photograph of my home town Nazareth (AnNassirah) taken early in the 20th century.   In the front to the right of the photo is the "Maskobiah" building which was built as a Russian (Almaskobiah) school than it was turned during British occupation to a "saraya" government house.   Before Almaskobiah was built the school was located in the second big building with tile roof to the left of the Maskobiah in the center of the photo, my father bought the building after I was born and we lived there till we moved to Beirut.   Many well known men of letter both Palestinians and Lebanese were students of the Makobiah including the famous man of letters and philosopher Michael Naiemeh and May Ziadeh who came from the Lebanese village in mount Lebanon. Naiemeh had his elementary and secondary education in our building.   In the upper left corner of the photo is Latin church, school and monastery.   Adib S. Kawar