3 aug 2019
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This is the second of a series of reports documenting the control and devastation of water sources by Israel as a tool of oppression.
Israel is escalating its war on water in the South Hebron Hills, demolishing wells, ripping out kilometres of pipeline and even confiscating trucks carrying emergency water tanks to parched villages. In the sweltering month of July, five demolitions targeting water infrastructure were carried out, leaving Palestinian farming villages without access to water. The latest took place on Wednesday July 31, when the Israeli Civil Administration – the body that governs Area C in the West Bank – cut pipes supplying water to houses and farmland in the area of al-Jaway near At-Tuwani. |
Tariq Hathaleen, a local activist from the South Hebron Hills, says that the number of demolitions on water sources has “more than doubled,” this year compared to previous years.
He told ISM: “Now in the summer it sounds like the Civil Administration has a plan to restrict Palestinian access to water in the South Hebron Hills, in Area C in general, and that’s actually to put more pressure on those people to move them away from those villages.
“Because the Civil Administration don’t have a direct excuse to expel those people from their land but the plan is to put more pressure to make them leave by cutting their water sources.”
On July 4, bulldozers destroyed three water wells outside the town of Dkeika, a day after they came to the same area and uprooted over 500 olive trees.
The destruction of the wells and trees have affected around 1,200 people, 60 per cent of them registered as refugees. according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Four water cisterns were also destroyed on July 24 in a park between the villages of Umm al-Kheir and Umm Daraj
“I know the reality of these people,” Tariq, who was at the demolition, adds. “I call them the enemies of life and they prove this by cutting trees, by cutting water pipes, by cutting the lives of people.”
The Good Shepherd Collective, a group that advocates human rights predominantly in the South Hebron Hills, puts the escalation of demolitions down to the actions of far-right settler NGO Regavim.
Regavim, which receives Israeli tax-payers money and has charitable status, spies on Palestinian communities, looking out for structures built without a permit and reporting them to the ICA. They then speed up demolition cases in the courts through petitions.
Their devastating impact can be seen by the steep rise in demolitions in the South Hebron Hills; 65 structures have been bulldozed or confiscated so far this year, compared to 23 structures in the same period last year, according to OCHA.
“For anyone who still has qualms about the placement of blame on the state or Civil Administration for the act of demolitions, the message of these continued demolitions in natural areas should serve as a clarifying message,” the Good Shepherd Collective said.
“The state, the settlers and the organizations like Regavim that push forward the destruction of these areas, structures and resources for Palestinians are not motivated by the preservation of humanitarian rights, environmental laws, or the protection of the natural environment.”
The series of attacks on water sources in July comes after Israel ripped out a huge pipe network earlier this year that had supplied 12 Palestinian towns in the South Hebron Hills with running water.
The pipes were built in secret and took four months to install. But just six months later, Israel destroyed them, cutting the 20km lifeline.
The 12 villages have had to return to the old method of accessing water – by transporting tanks on tractors along poor roads which wears down the tyres and wastes precious work days.
Transporting water in this way adds to the economic burden of the area’s small villages, costing 30 shekkles for one cubic metre. In contrast Israelis pay just 8 shekkles per cubic metre.
And even the trucks are not safe from Israel’s war on water; on July 15, 18 water tanks were confiscated by Israeli soldiers. In the same raid, several thousand dollars of water pipeline and drilling equipment to install the pipes were also taken.
“The feeling is hard to accept, the fact that those people, those humans out of blood and flesh agree on themselves to cut other peoples’ lives by cutting the water,” Tariq tells ISM.
“It’s far from doing something legal. There’s no law in the world that says you can cut water from humans and forbid him from having water access. Its insane.”
The South Hebron Hills is in Area C of the West Bank which means it is under full Israeli control. Palestinians in this region are denied building permits even to install water pipelines or wells, and are not allowed to hook up to the water network that Israel has laid across Palestinian land to supply illegal settlements.
As a result, villages in the area are subject to unrelenting attacks on not only their water sources but farmland and homes.
He told ISM: “Now in the summer it sounds like the Civil Administration has a plan to restrict Palestinian access to water in the South Hebron Hills, in Area C in general, and that’s actually to put more pressure on those people to move them away from those villages.
“Because the Civil Administration don’t have a direct excuse to expel those people from their land but the plan is to put more pressure to make them leave by cutting their water sources.”
On July 4, bulldozers destroyed three water wells outside the town of Dkeika, a day after they came to the same area and uprooted over 500 olive trees.
The destruction of the wells and trees have affected around 1,200 people, 60 per cent of them registered as refugees. according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Four water cisterns were also destroyed on July 24 in a park between the villages of Umm al-Kheir and Umm Daraj
“I know the reality of these people,” Tariq, who was at the demolition, adds. “I call them the enemies of life and they prove this by cutting trees, by cutting water pipes, by cutting the lives of people.”
The Good Shepherd Collective, a group that advocates human rights predominantly in the South Hebron Hills, puts the escalation of demolitions down to the actions of far-right settler NGO Regavim.
Regavim, which receives Israeli tax-payers money and has charitable status, spies on Palestinian communities, looking out for structures built without a permit and reporting them to the ICA. They then speed up demolition cases in the courts through petitions.
Their devastating impact can be seen by the steep rise in demolitions in the South Hebron Hills; 65 structures have been bulldozed or confiscated so far this year, compared to 23 structures in the same period last year, according to OCHA.
“For anyone who still has qualms about the placement of blame on the state or Civil Administration for the act of demolitions, the message of these continued demolitions in natural areas should serve as a clarifying message,” the Good Shepherd Collective said.
“The state, the settlers and the organizations like Regavim that push forward the destruction of these areas, structures and resources for Palestinians are not motivated by the preservation of humanitarian rights, environmental laws, or the protection of the natural environment.”
The series of attacks on water sources in July comes after Israel ripped out a huge pipe network earlier this year that had supplied 12 Palestinian towns in the South Hebron Hills with running water.
The pipes were built in secret and took four months to install. But just six months later, Israel destroyed them, cutting the 20km lifeline.
The 12 villages have had to return to the old method of accessing water – by transporting tanks on tractors along poor roads which wears down the tyres and wastes precious work days.
Transporting water in this way adds to the economic burden of the area’s small villages, costing 30 shekkles for one cubic metre. In contrast Israelis pay just 8 shekkles per cubic metre.
And even the trucks are not safe from Israel’s war on water; on July 15, 18 water tanks were confiscated by Israeli soldiers. In the same raid, several thousand dollars of water pipeline and drilling equipment to install the pipes were also taken.
“The feeling is hard to accept, the fact that those people, those humans out of blood and flesh agree on themselves to cut other peoples’ lives by cutting the water,” Tariq tells ISM.
“It’s far from doing something legal. There’s no law in the world that says you can cut water from humans and forbid him from having water access. Its insane.”
The South Hebron Hills is in Area C of the West Bank which means it is under full Israeli control. Palestinians in this region are denied building permits even to install water pipelines or wells, and are not allowed to hook up to the water network that Israel has laid across Palestinian land to supply illegal settlements.
As a result, villages in the area are subject to unrelenting attacks on not only their water sources but farmland and homes.
2 aug 2019
A crew from the Israeli municipality in Occupied Jerusalem on Friday morning harassed Palestinian storeowners in Bab al-Amud area in the Old City and imposed heavy fines on them.
According to local sources, Israeli municipal employees financially penalized owners of businesses in Bab al-Amud area as part of different repressive measures targeting the Jerusalemites in the holy city.
The Israeli occupation authority in Jerusalem systematically harass and fine Palestinian storeowners in the Old City in order to impoverish them and force them to close their businesses.
According to local sources, Israeli municipal employees financially penalized owners of businesses in Bab al-Amud area as part of different repressive measures targeting the Jerusalemites in the holy city.
The Israeli occupation authority in Jerusalem systematically harass and fine Palestinian storeowners in the Old City in order to impoverish them and force them to close their businesses.
30 july 2019
The Israeli Magistrate’s Court in Hadera on Monday rejected the appeal filed by the Joulani family of Ara, near Haifa, against the administrative demolition order on their house, and the court refused to freeze the demolition.
The decision came at a time when the Haifa District Committee, on Wednesday, demolished the home of Ibrahim Marzouq from Wadi al-Qasab neighborhood in nearby Ar’ara under the pretext of building without permits.
On Thursday, the Israeli court discussed the Joulani family’s appeal to stop the administrative demolition order and freeze the demolition procedures.
Dalia Jabr Joulani, her husband and four children face the risk of displacement and may find themselves homeless at any moment, as a result of the administrative demolition order against their 96-meter family house.
The family was forced to build this house without a permit, because they needed a place to house their family of six. In March 2019, the house was built with the consent of the neighbors and the family moved in. The Joulanis do not accept the Israeli government’s contention that this land was annexed for construction.
The Joulani family were surprised by the administrative demolition order issued against their house on July 11, 2019. They went to a lawyer, who applied for a temporary order from the court to postpone the demolition.
As a consequence of the rejection of the appeal, filed by lawyer Rami Jazmawi, the demolition may be implemented at any time. Dalia Jabr Joulani says, “since we received the court’s decision about our appeal, the Haifa municipality bulldozers could raid us at any moment. Our children are fearful of demolition and displacement and this fear of the unknown is having a damaging psychological effect on them”.
This is the third time in less than a year that homes in Ar’ara and Daher have faced demolition. Additionally, more than 50 homeowners and shops, on both sides of Wadi Ara Street, have been fined. The fine for each house was 300 thousand shekels (85,500 USD), while the shops were fined up to 600 thousand shekels each (171,000 USD).
The Israeli authorities told shop owners to demolish their own shops or face an additional fine of 1,500 shekels (430 USD) per day that the shop remains intact.
The decision came at a time when the Haifa District Committee, on Wednesday, demolished the home of Ibrahim Marzouq from Wadi al-Qasab neighborhood in nearby Ar’ara under the pretext of building without permits.
On Thursday, the Israeli court discussed the Joulani family’s appeal to stop the administrative demolition order and freeze the demolition procedures.
Dalia Jabr Joulani, her husband and four children face the risk of displacement and may find themselves homeless at any moment, as a result of the administrative demolition order against their 96-meter family house.
The family was forced to build this house without a permit, because they needed a place to house their family of six. In March 2019, the house was built with the consent of the neighbors and the family moved in. The Joulanis do not accept the Israeli government’s contention that this land was annexed for construction.
The Joulani family were surprised by the administrative demolition order issued against their house on July 11, 2019. They went to a lawyer, who applied for a temporary order from the court to postpone the demolition.
As a consequence of the rejection of the appeal, filed by lawyer Rami Jazmawi, the demolition may be implemented at any time. Dalia Jabr Joulani says, “since we received the court’s decision about our appeal, the Haifa municipality bulldozers could raid us at any moment. Our children are fearful of demolition and displacement and this fear of the unknown is having a damaging psychological effect on them”.
This is the third time in less than a year that homes in Ar’ara and Daher have faced demolition. Additionally, more than 50 homeowners and shops, on both sides of Wadi Ara Street, have been fined. The fine for each house was 300 thousand shekels (85,500 USD), while the shops were fined up to 600 thousand shekels each (171,000 USD).
The Israeli authorities told shop owners to demolish their own shops or face an additional fine of 1,500 shekels (430 USD) per day that the shop remains intact.
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This is the first of a series of reports documenting the control and devastation of water sources by Israel as a tool of oppression.
On Thursday 18th July Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) came to the Al Baqa’a area, east of Hebron, and destroyed an irrigation system that carried water to two agricultural fields, growing around 10,000 tomato plants each. Ghassan Jaber, 40, is the son of the owner of one of the fields. His family have been farming this land for generations. He told ISM that about thirty IOF arrived in five military jeeps at 7am. Jaber asked the IOF to show him a military order or permission form from Israeli authorities but they would not speak to him, instead forcefully evacuating him and his family away from the tomato fields. The soldiers cut the majority of the pipes that make up the irrigation system, crushing tomato plants in the process. |
They confiscated three of Jaber’s pesticide machines, each costing around 4000 NIS (1,100 USD). The family are currently watering the plants and administering pesticide by hand, which has greatly increased their workload. Since the incident, many of the tomato plants have died.
This week, Jaber and his family are replacing the cut pipes. He estimates that this will cost about 40,000 NIS (11,000 USD), not including the additional labour costs. Jaber and his sons told ISM that they would be working for the next 24 hours to replace the pipes in time to save the crops.
The IOF claim that Jaber’s farm is diverting water from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba. The farm has traditionally taken its water from a well owned by the Jaber family, situated on their land. In 2009, the IOF blocked the well with rubble rendering it unusable.
It cost Jaber about 30,000 NIS (8,500 USD) to replace this well, and last winter the IOF blocked it again. Jaber decided to build a hidden groundwater well so that the IOF would not be able to find and destroy it. This cost Jaber about 150,000 NIS (42,500 USD). It is this groundwater well that now supplies the irrigation system.
On Thursday, Jaber told the soldiers that he is using his own groundwater but they went ahead with the destruction regardless. Jaber told ISM he is concerned that once he replaces the irrigation system, the soldiers will return and destroy it again.
The extended Jaber family own and farm a lot of the land around Al Baqa’a, which is the most fertile land in Hebron. It falls in area C, under Israeli control. Kiryat Arba is very close by, making this highly contested land.
The Palestinian population in this area is small, but they own most of the land. The IOF have banned the construction of new homes on this land and have previously demolished houses here, most recently in 2010. A month ago, the IOF confiscated 24 dunams of Palestinian owned land in this area.
Jaber says that this incident is not just about his family, farming and water but is linked to bigger political tensions. The IOF, he says, are targeting the Palestinian people’s sources of income and self-sustainability. They are damaging the local food supply: he predicts that as a result of the incident the price of tomatoes in Hebron will rise.
This systematic assault on the everyday lives of Palestinian people is part of the Israeli government’s comprehensive warfare against Palestine.
This week, Jaber and his family are replacing the cut pipes. He estimates that this will cost about 40,000 NIS (11,000 USD), not including the additional labour costs. Jaber and his sons told ISM that they would be working for the next 24 hours to replace the pipes in time to save the crops.
The IOF claim that Jaber’s farm is diverting water from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba. The farm has traditionally taken its water from a well owned by the Jaber family, situated on their land. In 2009, the IOF blocked the well with rubble rendering it unusable.
It cost Jaber about 30,000 NIS (8,500 USD) to replace this well, and last winter the IOF blocked it again. Jaber decided to build a hidden groundwater well so that the IOF would not be able to find and destroy it. This cost Jaber about 150,000 NIS (42,500 USD). It is this groundwater well that now supplies the irrigation system.
On Thursday, Jaber told the soldiers that he is using his own groundwater but they went ahead with the destruction regardless. Jaber told ISM he is concerned that once he replaces the irrigation system, the soldiers will return and destroy it again.
The extended Jaber family own and farm a lot of the land around Al Baqa’a, which is the most fertile land in Hebron. It falls in area C, under Israeli control. Kiryat Arba is very close by, making this highly contested land.
The Palestinian population in this area is small, but they own most of the land. The IOF have banned the construction of new homes on this land and have previously demolished houses here, most recently in 2010. A month ago, the IOF confiscated 24 dunams of Palestinian owned land in this area.
Jaber says that this incident is not just about his family, farming and water but is linked to bigger political tensions. The IOF, he says, are targeting the Palestinian people’s sources of income and self-sustainability. They are damaging the local food supply: he predicts that as a result of the incident the price of tomatoes in Hebron will rise.
This systematic assault on the everyday lives of Palestinian people is part of the Israeli government’s comprehensive warfare against Palestine.
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By Alistair Avon/ ISM/ Hebron/
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Thursday 18 July stormed Al Baqa’a village, east of Hebron, and destroyed an irrigation system that carries water to two agricultural fields, growing around 10,000 tomato plants each. This land has been farmed by the Jaber family for generations. The son of the owner of one of the fields, Ghassan Jaber, 40, told ISM that about 30 soldiers arrived in five military jeeps at 7am on Thursday. When he asked the soldiers to show him a military order, they would not speak to him, instead forcefully evacuating him and his family away from the tomato fields. The soldiers cut the majority of the pipes that make up the irrigation system, crushing tomato plants in the process. They confiscated three of Jaber’s pesticide machines, which each cost 4000 NIS (1100 USD). |
The family are currently watering the plants and administering pesticide by hand, which has greatly increased their workload. Since the incident, many of the tomato plants have died.
This week, Jaber and his family are replacing the cut pipes. He estimates that this will cost about 40,000 NIS (11,000 USD), not including the additional labour costs. When ISM met him, Jaber and his sons told us that they would be working for the next 24 hours to replace the pipes in time to save the crops.
The IOF alleged that Jaber’s farm is diverting water from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba. The farm has traditionally taken its water from a well owned by the Jaber family, situated on their land. In 2009, the IOF blocked the well with rubble rendering it unusable.
It cost Jaber about 30,000 NIS (8500 USD) to replace this well, and last winter the IOF blocked it again. Jaber decided to build a hidden groundwater well so that the IOF would not be able to find and destroy it. This cost Jaber about 150,000 NIS (42,500 USD).
It is this groundwater well that now supplies the irrigation system. Because the IOF do not know the source of the farm’s water, they have assumed Jaber is illegally using settler water. On Thursday, Jaber told the soldiers that he is using his own groundwater but they went ahead with the destruction regardless.
Jaber told us he is concerned that once he replaces the irrigation system, the soldiers will return and destroy it again. The extended Jaber family own and farm a lot of the land around Al Baqa’a, which is the most fertile land in Hebron. It falls in area C, under Israeli control. Kiryat Arba, the biggest illegal Israeli settlement in Hebron, is very close by, making this highly contested land.
The Palestinian population in this area is small, but they own most of the land. The IOF have banned the construction of new homes on this land and have previously demolished houses here, most recently in 2010. A month ago, the IOF confiscated 24 dunams of Palestinian owned land in this area.
Jaber says that this incident is not just about his family, farming and water but is linked to bigger political tensions. The IOF, he says, are targeting the Palestinian people’s sources of income and self-sustainability. They are damaging the local food supply: he predicts that as a result of the incident the price of tomatoes in Hebron will rise.
This systematic assault on the everyday lives of Palestinian people is part of the Israeli government’s comprehensive warfare against Palestine.
This week, Jaber and his family are replacing the cut pipes. He estimates that this will cost about 40,000 NIS (11,000 USD), not including the additional labour costs. When ISM met him, Jaber and his sons told us that they would be working for the next 24 hours to replace the pipes in time to save the crops.
The IOF alleged that Jaber’s farm is diverting water from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba. The farm has traditionally taken its water from a well owned by the Jaber family, situated on their land. In 2009, the IOF blocked the well with rubble rendering it unusable.
It cost Jaber about 30,000 NIS (8500 USD) to replace this well, and last winter the IOF blocked it again. Jaber decided to build a hidden groundwater well so that the IOF would not be able to find and destroy it. This cost Jaber about 150,000 NIS (42,500 USD).
It is this groundwater well that now supplies the irrigation system. Because the IOF do not know the source of the farm’s water, they have assumed Jaber is illegally using settler water. On Thursday, Jaber told the soldiers that he is using his own groundwater but they went ahead with the destruction regardless.
Jaber told us he is concerned that once he replaces the irrigation system, the soldiers will return and destroy it again. The extended Jaber family own and farm a lot of the land around Al Baqa’a, which is the most fertile land in Hebron. It falls in area C, under Israeli control. Kiryat Arba, the biggest illegal Israeli settlement in Hebron, is very close by, making this highly contested land.
The Palestinian population in this area is small, but they own most of the land. The IOF have banned the construction of new homes on this land and have previously demolished houses here, most recently in 2010. A month ago, the IOF confiscated 24 dunams of Palestinian owned land in this area.
Jaber says that this incident is not just about his family, farming and water but is linked to bigger political tensions. The IOF, he says, are targeting the Palestinian people’s sources of income and self-sustainability. They are damaging the local food supply: he predicts that as a result of the incident the price of tomatoes in Hebron will rise.
This systematic assault on the everyday lives of Palestinian people is part of the Israeli government’s comprehensive warfare against Palestine.
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