19 mar 2012
UN: Settlers grab Palestinian water springs
UN: Settlers grab Palestinian water springs
By Jihan Abdalla
Jewish settlers have seized dozens of natural springs in the occupied West Bank, barring Palestinians or limiting their access to scarce water sources, a United Nations report said on Monday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it had surveyed 530 springs in the West Bank and found that 30, mostly in areas where Israel retains military control, were taken over by the settlers.
It added that Palestinians currently had limited access to 26 other springs where settlers had moved in and threatened to take control. The report said settlers had not encroached on 474 remaining springs surveyed.
"Springs have remained the single largest water source for irrigation and a significant source for watering livestock," the report said, adding that some also provided water for domestic consumption in areas not connected to pipelines.
"The loss of access to springs and adjacent land reduced the income of affected farmers, who either stop cultivating the land or face a reduction in the productivity of their crops," the report said.
It added that settlers had turned dozens of springs into tourist sites and some were used for swimming.
"Settlers have developed 40 springs as tourist sites, deployed picnic tables and benches and given them Hebrew names ... It is generating employment and revenue for the settlements and it is a way of promoting or advertising settlements as a fun place," OCHA researcher Yehezkel Lein said.
David Haivri, a settler leader, said settlers were using the springs "for purposes of recreation and for the people who live here, more so than for tourism purposes."
In 2009 a spring named Ein el Qaws, located near the village of Nabi Saleh, was taken over by settlers from Halamish, forcing villagers to obtain their irrigation water from other sources, the report and residents said.
"The spring was used to irrigate hundreds of olive and fruit trees in the village and the children used to swim in it, now if we try to go to the spring, the settlers and soldiers come and kick us out," said villager Nariman Tamimi.
A spokesman for Israel's military-run Civil Administration in the West Bank said there was free access to the Ein el Qaws spring for everyone, except on Fridays when Palestinians usually mount protests against the spring's takeover and soldiers keep people away.
He said Israel had curbed illegal building at one spring and had started legal proceedings against work at another site.
About 500,000 Israelis and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war.
Palestinians say settlements, considered illegal by the International Court of Justice, the highest UN legal body for disputes, would deny them a viable state. Israel disputes their illegality and says the status of settlements should be decided in peace negotiations.
Israeli settlers take over water springs in West Bank: UN report
A United Nations report says Israeli settlers have taken over dozens of natural springs in the occupied West Bank, blocking Palestinians access to the water sources.
“Palestinians have been deterred from accessing the springs by acts of intimidation, threats and violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers,” said a Monday report published by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At least 30 springs in the West Bank are “completely taken over” by Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents are unable to gain access to the sources “at all,” the report added.
The OCHA report also said the springs have remained the “single largest water source for irrigation and a significant source for watering livestock” for Palestinians.
“The loss of access to springs and adjacent land reduced the income of affected farmers, who either stop cultivating the land or face a reduction in the productivity of their crops.”
Israeli settlers have “undertaken” an effort to turn some of the areas with natural springs into tourist attraction spots, constructing pools, picnic areas and signs carrying a “Hebrew name” for the spring sources, the OCHA said.
The UN report stated that the takeover of springs in the West Bank is “an extension” of illegal Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
OCHA called on Israeli authorities to stop settlement expansions and “restore Palestinian access to the water springs taken over by settlers.”
The humanitarian impact of the takeover of Palestinian water springs by Israeli settlers
Jewish settlers have seized dozens of natural springs in the occupied West Bank, barring Palestinians or limiting their access to scarce water sources, a United Nations report said on Monday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it had surveyed 530 springs in the West Bank and found that 30, mostly in areas where Israel retains military control, were taken over by the settlers.
It added that Palestinians currently had limited access to 26 other springs where settlers had moved in and threatened to take control. The report said settlers had not encroached on 474 remaining springs surveyed.
"Springs have remained the single largest water source for irrigation and a significant source for watering livestock," the report said, adding that some also provided water for domestic consumption in areas not connected to pipelines.
"The loss of access to springs and adjacent land reduced the income of affected farmers, who either stop cultivating the land or face a reduction in the productivity of their crops," the report said.
It added that settlers had turned dozens of springs into tourist sites and some were used for swimming.
"Settlers have developed 40 springs as tourist sites, deployed picnic tables and benches and given them Hebrew names ... It is generating employment and revenue for the settlements and it is a way of promoting or advertising settlements as a fun place," OCHA researcher Yehezkel Lein said.
David Haivri, a settler leader, said settlers were using the springs "for purposes of recreation and for the people who live here, more so than for tourism purposes."
In 2009 a spring named Ein el Qaws, located near the village of Nabi Saleh, was taken over by settlers from Halamish, forcing villagers to obtain their irrigation water from other sources, the report and residents said.
"The spring was used to irrigate hundreds of olive and fruit trees in the village and the children used to swim in it, now if we try to go to the spring, the settlers and soldiers come and kick us out," said villager Nariman Tamimi.
A spokesman for Israel's military-run Civil Administration in the West Bank said there was free access to the Ein el Qaws spring for everyone, except on Fridays when Palestinians usually mount protests against the spring's takeover and soldiers keep people away.
He said Israel had curbed illegal building at one spring and had started legal proceedings against work at another site.
About 500,000 Israelis and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war.
Palestinians say settlements, considered illegal by the International Court of Justice, the highest UN legal body for disputes, would deny them a viable state. Israel disputes their illegality and says the status of settlements should be decided in peace negotiations.
Israeli settlers take over water springs in West Bank: UN report
A United Nations report says Israeli settlers have taken over dozens of natural springs in the occupied West Bank, blocking Palestinians access to the water sources.
“Palestinians have been deterred from accessing the springs by acts of intimidation, threats and violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers,” said a Monday report published by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At least 30 springs in the West Bank are “completely taken over” by Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents are unable to gain access to the sources “at all,” the report added.
The OCHA report also said the springs have remained the “single largest water source for irrigation and a significant source for watering livestock” for Palestinians.
“The loss of access to springs and adjacent land reduced the income of affected farmers, who either stop cultivating the land or face a reduction in the productivity of their crops.”
Israeli settlers have “undertaken” an effort to turn some of the areas with natural springs into tourist attraction spots, constructing pools, picnic areas and signs carrying a “Hebrew name” for the spring sources, the OCHA said.
The UN report stated that the takeover of springs in the West Bank is “an extension” of illegal Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
OCHA called on Israeli authorities to stop settlement expansions and “restore Palestinian access to the water springs taken over by settlers.”
The humanitarian impact of the takeover of Palestinian water springs by Israeli settlers
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· There are 56 water springs in the West Bank in the vicinity of Israeli settlements that have become the target of settler activities.
· Thirty (30) of these springs have been taken over completely by Israeli settlers, while the other 26 are at risk of settler take over, due to regular settler "tours" and patrolling. · Four of the springs fall within Areas B, close to the boundaries with Area C, and the rest are located within Area C. · At least 84 percent of the springs affected by settler activities are located on land recognized by the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) as privately owned by Palestinians. · In three-quarters of the springs taken-over, Palestinians have been |
deterred
from accessing the area by acts of threat and intimidation, while
access to the rest has been prevented by physical obstacles.
· In more than 70 percent of the springs, Israeli settlers have begun to develop the surrounding area into a "tourist attraction".
· Virtually all of the springs affected by settler activities are, or were in the past, used by Palestinians for irrigation, watering of livestock and/or domestic water consumption.
· Israel uses 86 percent of the water extracted from the Mountain Aquifer, which is a trans-boundary resource that must be shared between both sides in an equitable and reasonable manner.
1. In recent years, Israeli settler activity has significantly impaired Palestinian access to, and use of, a growing number of water springs. The main methods used by settlers to that end have been threats and intimidation, and the erection of fences around the targeted areas.
2. This phenomenon comes in the context of Israel's longstanding policy of settling its civilian population in the occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international humanitarian law. Nearly 40 percent of the West Bank has been seized by the Israeli authorities for that purpose. Additional Palestinian properties, including springs, have been taken over by settler groups without formal authorization, but with the acquiescence and often active support of the Israeli authorities.
3. Following the reduction of Palestinian presence, settlers begin developing the springs into tourist attractions, with the support of various Israeli governmental bodies. The ever growing tourism infrastructure of settlements contributes to their entrenchment by adding a source of revenue for the settler population, as well as by "normalizing" settlements in the eyes of larger segments of Israeli society.
4. The inability to access and use springs has significantly undermined the livelihoods and security of Palestinians living in affected communities. Many farmers were forced to either cease cultivating the land or face a reduction in productivity. Herders and households had to increase their expenditures to purchase more expensive piped or tankered water. The presence of armed settlers at the springs and their surroundings also resulted in increased friction and clashes.
5. The practices involved in the takeover and development of springs - including trespass, intimidation, theft, and building without permit - are illegal under both international and Israeli military legislation. Yet, the Israeli authorities have systematically failed to enforce the law on those responsible for these acts and to provide Palestinians with any effective remedy.
6. The encroachment on Palestinian land for the purpose of settlement expansion is a key cause of humanitarian vulnerability of the Palestinian population. Settlement expansion also results in the fragmentation of the West Bank, thus undermining the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
7. The Israeli authorities must stop facilitating the transfer of Israeli civilians into the oPt; restore Palestinian access to the water springs taken over by settlers; conduct effective investigations into cases of settler violence and trespass and prosecute those responsible; and prevent ongoing settler "tours" into springs located on private Palestinian land.
For more information including a map of the concerning water springs, please click here
UPDATE:
Water being used to coerce Bedouin villagers, says NGO
Settlers Attack Homes In Hebron
A group of armed extremist Israeli settlers of the Ramat Yishai illegal settlement outpost, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, attacked on Sunday at night several Palestinian homes in Tal Romedia neighborhood, and chased the children around while cursing at them.
The Palestinian News and Info Agency, WAFA, reported that the settlers terrified several children while running after them, shouting and using dirty curse words.
Resident Hisham Al-Azza, one of the residents of Tal Romedia, stated that the settlers broke into his home while insulting him and his family, and even held his son, Younis, 8, in the dark for a whole hour.
Al-Azza added that the Israeli Police was in the area but did not even attempt to stop the settlers or force them away.
The attack is one of the latest attacks and violations carried out by extremist Israeli settlers against the residents and their lands in the occupied West Bank, including in occupied East Jerusalem.
18 mar 2012
Operation Dove: Settlers Attack Palestinian Shepherd North of Hebron
Five Israeli settlers from the illegal outpost of Havat Ma'on south of Hebron attacked on Saturday a Palestinian shepherd from At-Tuwani village, south of Yatta, while grazing on Meshaha Hill, Sunday said a press release by Operation Dove.
It said the group of settlers warned the shepherd not to come back to the land near the outpost anymore as all that land is “their property and of the whole Jewish people for thousands of years”.
The settlers, shouting and imposing themselves physically, pushed the shepherd away until the bottom of the hill, where one of them chased and threatened an International volunteer, who was accompanying the shepherd.
While escaping the volunteer dropped two mobile phones, which were immediately picked and smashed with a rock by the settler.
Two Israeli army jeeps, a DCO (District Coordination Office) car and a police car reached the place to hear the volunteer's and the settlers' testimonies an hour later.
This is the third attack perpetuated by the settlers in the last week in Meshaha, said Operation Dove, adding that it registered 25 acts of intimidation carried out by the settlers living in the illegal outpost of Havat Ma'on in the area around At-Tuwani since the beginning of 2012.
“The acts of violence are part of an ongoing strategy aimed to obtain exclusive access to the land and the resources in the South Hebron Hills,” said the press release.
“Both the hill and the valley Meshaha are Palestinian private property. Last December the inhabitants of At-Tuwani village cultivated these lands in presence of the Israeli Army who was there to garrison the area,” noted the press release.
Report registers escalation in targeting olive trees in West Bank
The national bureau in defense of land and to resist settlement said that Jewish settlers and soldiers have escalated their targeting of olive trees in West Bank land over the past week.
It said in a report on Saturday that Israeli occupation forces and Jewish settlers used bulldozers and other means to uproot hundreds of olive trees in the West Bank areas especially in Salfit, Nablus, and Al-Khalil.
The report said that Israel ignored a report prepared by ambassadors of the European Union to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah that criticized attacks on Palestinian citizens and land, and accelerated settlement activity and Judaization of Jerusalem.
It noted that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu announced numerous settlement projects in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem the latest of which was approving the construction of 50000 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem over the coming decade.
17 mar 2012
Jewish settlers cut off hundreds of olive trees in Nablus village
Jewish settlers cut off hundreds of fruitful olive trees in Duma village, south of Nablus city, on Friday night, local sources said.
Ghassan Daghlas, monitoring Jewish settlement activity north of the West Bank, said that settlers from Yish Kodesh, near to Duma, destroyed 220 olive trees in Lahf area to the west of the village.
He said that the trees were owned by five citizens in Duma village.
Jewish settlers assault Palestinian shepherd
Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian shepherd from Madma village, to the south of Nablus, near Yitzhar settlement on Saturday.
Quds Press quoted Ehab Al-Qut, the Madma municipality chairman, as saying that a number of Yitzhar settlers and guards assaulted Mamun Nassar, 38, about two kilometers away from the settlement.
He said that Nassar was the target of 20 similar attacks at the hands of those settlers for rearing his sheep in the village’s land that is near the settlement and which the settlers try to seize. The settlers terrorize farmers and shepherds against farming the land or letting their sheep graze in it.
16 mar 2012
Britain Condemns Israeli Settlement Relocation
British Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt Friday called on the Israeli government to rescind its decision to move settlers from the illegal West Bank outpost Migron to a new nearby location.
“The British Government condemns the deal to move settlers from the illegal West Bank outpost of Migron to a new settlement in the West Bank,” he said.
“We are deeply concerned that this agreement sets a dangerous precedent for other outposts that are illegal under both international and Israeli law. It is also directly contrary to the commitments Israel made to the international community under the Quartet Roadmap to evacuate all outposts,” said the British minister.
“We believe that Israel's best interests are served by a two-state solution and that the change and uncertainty in the region only reinforces the urgency of achieving this. By entrenching illegal settlements in the West Bank, as we believe this agreement does, Israel risks sending the wrong message about its commitment to the goal of a two-state solution,” said Burt.
“Both Israel and the Palestinians should be taking steps which build trust and encourage dialogue. We therefore call on the Israeli government to rescind this decision and find a way forward consistent with its commitments under the Quartet Roadmap and international law,” he concluded.
15 mar 2012
Israeli Forces, Settlers Raze Land, Uproot Trees in West Bank
Israeli forces and settlers razed large areas of agricultural land and uprooted dozens of olive trees in the northern West Bank cities of Nablus and Salfit, local sources said Thursday.
Israeli bulldozers razed about 12 dunums of land belonging to Abu Kanaan family in Beit Dajan, a village east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, uprooting dozens of olive trees in, according to head of the village council Nasser Abu Jaish.
Meanwhile, Jewish settlers protected by soldiers razed late Wednesday large areas of land and uprooted dozens of olive trees in an area located behind the apartheid wall.
One of the land owners, Ali Yousef, said that when farmers entered their land they were surprised to find a number of settlers from a nearby settlement razing their land and uprooting their trees and when they tried to stop the settlers, Israeli forces asked them to leave the area.
14 mar 2012
Settlers Assault Palestinian in West Bank
A group of Jewish settlers Wednesday attacked a Palestinian resident of Yabad, a town southeast of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, while travelling on the Jenin-Nablus road, according to security sources.
Sources told WAFA that settlers attacked Suleiman Kilani, 26, after intercepting his car between the two northern West Bank cities.
Kilani was transferred to Rafidia hospital in Nablus for treatment.
13 mar 2012
Jewish settlers steal 250 olive trees
Jewish settlers uprooted and stole 250 olive saplings in Sa’eer village in Al-Khalil province on Tuesday, local sources said.
The land research center in Al-Khalil said in a press release that the settlers robbed the olive and almond seedlings in Seer area to the east of the village.
The center quoted Mohammed Shalalde, one of the land owners, as saying that the settlers uprooted all 250 seedlings, which were planted only last Thursday, in addition to 150 others, which the Israeli occupation forces had forced them to leave on the land. 12 mar 2012
Jewish settlers destroy dozens of trees in Beit Ummar A big number of Jewish settlers stormed the village of Beit Ummar, to the north of Al-Khalil, on Monday and uprooted olive trees and destroyed grapevines.
Eyewitnesses said that the settlers came from Beit Ayin settlement and destroyed trees belonging to Salibi family in Beit Ummar.
They said that the settlers arrived to Wad Abul Reesh to the north of the village at the early morning hours and started destroying the trees. They said that settlers launch similar raids every now and then to terrorize the farmers and force them to abandon their land.
Settlers agree to leave illegal West Bank outpost
Settlers signed an agreement with the Israeli government on Sunday to leave the biggest illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank and move to a nearby site after months of negotiations to avoid their forced removal.
But campaigners against settlements described the deal as a disgrace, as the families had been allowed to relocate to another already-established West Bank settlement a few kilometers away.
Despite publicly endorsing the notion of an independent Palestinian nation, successive Israeli governments have nurtured settlements on the very land that the Palestinians claim as theirs.
Over the past decade the government has spent at least 4 million shekels ($1.1 million) on establishing and maintaining the cluster of squat, prefab bungalows at Migron.
But in an unprecedented ruling in August 2011, Israel's Supreme Court told the government to evacuate Migron, 32 km east of Jerusalem, by March 31, 2012, saying the land belonged to Palestinians.
About 500,000 Israelis and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war that Palestinians want for a future state together with the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians say the settlements will deny them a viable state and demand a total freeze in settlement building before peace negotiations with Israel, frozen for over a year, can restart.
Migron is the largest of more than 100 outposts built without official Israeli government authorization in the West Bank that are home to almost 2,000 people.
"This agreement is intended to fulfill the Supreme Court ruling and to prevent unpleasant scenes that we have seen in other places where there was an eviction and demolition of houses ... The government has taken responsibility for a settlement that it erected," Migron settlers' spokesman Itai Hemo said.
A spokeswoman for the anti-settlement advocacy group Peace Now called the agreement "a disgrace".
"This agreement is no less than a disgrace. The government of Israel is actually saying 'We will not evict Migron, we will not do what the Supreme Court told us. And we will give in to any settlers' threat ... It sends a message that Israel (does not want) peace (and will) build more settlements," Peace Now's Hagit Ofran said.
The new site allocated to the settlers is on land that is not under private Palestinian ownership, Israeli officials said.
While the United Nations deems all settlements in the region to be illegal, Israel backs 120 official settlements, home to about 310,000 people. 11 mar 2012
Hebron man, teen 'hospitalized after soldiers break up settler clash' Israeli forces broke up a dispute between Palestinians and Israeli settlers near Hebron on Sunday, briefly detaining three Palestinians.
Izhaq Izzat Jaber, 40, said Israelis from the Kiryat Arba settlement seized his mule and cart, prompting a heated argument between him and his son, and the group from the settlement.
Israeli soldiers arrived and violently apprehended Jaber, his 16-year-old son, and neighbor Nimir Ghaleb, 26, who came to help, Jaber told Ma'an. The three were taken to Etzion detention center, and Jaber suffered heart problems when transferred to Ofer jail, he said.
After being taken to hospital he was released, and found his son was in a Hebron hospital after being assaulted during the detention, Jaber said. The teen was released on a bail of 500 shekels, and received court summons for September, his father added.
An Israeli army spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Settlers Attack Palestinian Shepherds, International Activists near Nablus
A group of masked Jewish settlers Sunday attacked a group of Palestinian shepherds along with International solidarity activists in Khirbat Yanun, a village southeast of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to an official.
Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of settlements file in the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West Bank, told WAFA that a group of masked settlers from the settlements of Givat Ollam and Gidonim accompanied with dogs attacked the shepherds and the activists and threw stones at them.
Yanun is a village located 15 kilometers southeast of Nablus. A number of its residents were forced to leave their houses escaping from the ongoing settlers’ attacks, who aim to seize their land for the benefit of expanding their settlements.
In wake of violence, Israel Police postpone right-wing rally outside home of Arab MK
Decision made due to escalation in Israel's south; extreme right-wing activist Baruch Marzel was expected to be among rally leaders.
A right-wing rally planned for today in front of the Nazareth home of Arab Knesset member Hanin Zuabi (Balad) will be postponed, Israel Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino announced on Saturday. The police chief took the step in light of the escalation in the security situation in the south and an increased police state of alert throughout the country.
Counter-demonstrators had planned to show up at the rally, and police expected to deploy 1,200 policemen at Zuabi's home to maintain order. A new date for the rally will be scheduled in coordination with the police and the right-wingers themselves.
Zuabi sparked particularly heated controversy in 2010 by sailing as a passenger on board the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in a Turkish flotilla that was seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Nine of the Mavi Marmara's passengers were killed in a confrontation with the Israel Navy.
Extreme right-wing activist Baruch Marzel was expected to be among those leading the rally at Zuabi's home. "Marzel doesn't intend to come alone," Zuabi told Haaretz on Saturday. She said he represents an "entire political culture that relates to the Palestinian as an enemy or foreigner." She said a message is being sent to the Israeli establishment, the right wing, and what she called the "silent left wing" that "full national and civic equality is the interest of all of us."
The Follow-Up Committee for the Arabs in Israel called on members of the Israeli Arab community to come out in strength to face what it called "members of the radical right." At a conference in Nazareth on Saturday of members of the Arab parties, Baruch Marzel and his colleagues were termed a challenge not only to Zuabi and her Balad party but to all of Israel's Arabs.
Settlers Attack Two Towns Near Hebron
A number of armed extremist Israeli settlers attacked, on Saturday, the outskirts of the towns of Yatta and Bani Neim, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, while the residents were ordered by the army to stay home.
Local sources reported that the settlers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, installed tents near a military post in the area, and held a barbeque party while paying loud music and dancing.
Resident Ibrahim Al-Jabareen told the Palestinian Information Center that a number of soldiers knocked on his door, and the doors of several nearby homes, and informed the residents that they are not allowed to leave their homes until 2:30 in the afternoon.
The soldiers said that any resident who leaves his home will be arrested, and prosecuted, under the pretext of harassing the feasting settlers.
He added that the settlers have recently stepped-up their attacks in the area, by attacking homes, cars and farmlands. “They attack us, and our lands, while the soldiers imprison us in our homes”, Al-Jabareen stated.
On Saturday at dawn, the army invaded Al-Reehieh village, south of Hebron, and fired rounds and live ammunition into the air, in addition to gas bombs and concussion grenades; no injuries or arrests were reported.
Soldiers were also deployed in Palestinian orchards in the area, and prevented the residents from entering their own lands.
On Friday, a group of extremist settlers of the Tal Romeida and Bet Hadassah illegal outposts in Hebron, attacked three international peace activists and stole some of their equipment while touring in Ash-Shuhada’ Street to monitor the ongoing violations carried out by the soldiers and the settlers in the city.
In related news, soldiers based at a roadblock between the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus, stopped on Saturday afternoon dozens of Palestinian vehicles and searched them while randomly interrogating several residents, and checking their ID cards.
· In more than 70 percent of the springs, Israeli settlers have begun to develop the surrounding area into a "tourist attraction".
· Virtually all of the springs affected by settler activities are, or were in the past, used by Palestinians for irrigation, watering of livestock and/or domestic water consumption.
· Israel uses 86 percent of the water extracted from the Mountain Aquifer, which is a trans-boundary resource that must be shared between both sides in an equitable and reasonable manner.
1. In recent years, Israeli settler activity has significantly impaired Palestinian access to, and use of, a growing number of water springs. The main methods used by settlers to that end have been threats and intimidation, and the erection of fences around the targeted areas.
2. This phenomenon comes in the context of Israel's longstanding policy of settling its civilian population in the occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international humanitarian law. Nearly 40 percent of the West Bank has been seized by the Israeli authorities for that purpose. Additional Palestinian properties, including springs, have been taken over by settler groups without formal authorization, but with the acquiescence and often active support of the Israeli authorities.
3. Following the reduction of Palestinian presence, settlers begin developing the springs into tourist attractions, with the support of various Israeli governmental bodies. The ever growing tourism infrastructure of settlements contributes to their entrenchment by adding a source of revenue for the settler population, as well as by "normalizing" settlements in the eyes of larger segments of Israeli society.
4. The inability to access and use springs has significantly undermined the livelihoods and security of Palestinians living in affected communities. Many farmers were forced to either cease cultivating the land or face a reduction in productivity. Herders and households had to increase their expenditures to purchase more expensive piped or tankered water. The presence of armed settlers at the springs and their surroundings also resulted in increased friction and clashes.
5. The practices involved in the takeover and development of springs - including trespass, intimidation, theft, and building without permit - are illegal under both international and Israeli military legislation. Yet, the Israeli authorities have systematically failed to enforce the law on those responsible for these acts and to provide Palestinians with any effective remedy.
6. The encroachment on Palestinian land for the purpose of settlement expansion is a key cause of humanitarian vulnerability of the Palestinian population. Settlement expansion also results in the fragmentation of the West Bank, thus undermining the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
7. The Israeli authorities must stop facilitating the transfer of Israeli civilians into the oPt; restore Palestinian access to the water springs taken over by settlers; conduct effective investigations into cases of settler violence and trespass and prosecute those responsible; and prevent ongoing settler "tours" into springs located on private Palestinian land.
For more information including a map of the concerning water springs, please click here
UPDATE:
Water being used to coerce Bedouin villagers, says NGO
Settlers Attack Homes In Hebron
A group of armed extremist Israeli settlers of the Ramat Yishai illegal settlement outpost, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, attacked on Sunday at night several Palestinian homes in Tal Romedia neighborhood, and chased the children around while cursing at them.
The Palestinian News and Info Agency, WAFA, reported that the settlers terrified several children while running after them, shouting and using dirty curse words.
Resident Hisham Al-Azza, one of the residents of Tal Romedia, stated that the settlers broke into his home while insulting him and his family, and even held his son, Younis, 8, in the dark for a whole hour.
Al-Azza added that the Israeli Police was in the area but did not even attempt to stop the settlers or force them away.
The attack is one of the latest attacks and violations carried out by extremist Israeli settlers against the residents and their lands in the occupied West Bank, including in occupied East Jerusalem.
18 mar 2012
Operation Dove: Settlers Attack Palestinian Shepherd North of Hebron
Five Israeli settlers from the illegal outpost of Havat Ma'on south of Hebron attacked on Saturday a Palestinian shepherd from At-Tuwani village, south of Yatta, while grazing on Meshaha Hill, Sunday said a press release by Operation Dove.
It said the group of settlers warned the shepherd not to come back to the land near the outpost anymore as all that land is “their property and of the whole Jewish people for thousands of years”.
The settlers, shouting and imposing themselves physically, pushed the shepherd away until the bottom of the hill, where one of them chased and threatened an International volunteer, who was accompanying the shepherd.
While escaping the volunteer dropped two mobile phones, which were immediately picked and smashed with a rock by the settler.
Two Israeli army jeeps, a DCO (District Coordination Office) car and a police car reached the place to hear the volunteer's and the settlers' testimonies an hour later.
This is the third attack perpetuated by the settlers in the last week in Meshaha, said Operation Dove, adding that it registered 25 acts of intimidation carried out by the settlers living in the illegal outpost of Havat Ma'on in the area around At-Tuwani since the beginning of 2012.
“The acts of violence are part of an ongoing strategy aimed to obtain exclusive access to the land and the resources in the South Hebron Hills,” said the press release.
“Both the hill and the valley Meshaha are Palestinian private property. Last December the inhabitants of At-Tuwani village cultivated these lands in presence of the Israeli Army who was there to garrison the area,” noted the press release.
Report registers escalation in targeting olive trees in West Bank
The national bureau in defense of land and to resist settlement said that Jewish settlers and soldiers have escalated their targeting of olive trees in West Bank land over the past week.
It said in a report on Saturday that Israeli occupation forces and Jewish settlers used bulldozers and other means to uproot hundreds of olive trees in the West Bank areas especially in Salfit, Nablus, and Al-Khalil.
The report said that Israel ignored a report prepared by ambassadors of the European Union to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah that criticized attacks on Palestinian citizens and land, and accelerated settlement activity and Judaization of Jerusalem.
It noted that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu announced numerous settlement projects in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem the latest of which was approving the construction of 50000 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem over the coming decade.
17 mar 2012
Jewish settlers cut off hundreds of olive trees in Nablus village
Jewish settlers cut off hundreds of fruitful olive trees in Duma village, south of Nablus city, on Friday night, local sources said.
Ghassan Daghlas, monitoring Jewish settlement activity north of the West Bank, said that settlers from Yish Kodesh, near to Duma, destroyed 220 olive trees in Lahf area to the west of the village.
He said that the trees were owned by five citizens in Duma village.
Jewish settlers assault Palestinian shepherd
Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian shepherd from Madma village, to the south of Nablus, near Yitzhar settlement on Saturday.
Quds Press quoted Ehab Al-Qut, the Madma municipality chairman, as saying that a number of Yitzhar settlers and guards assaulted Mamun Nassar, 38, about two kilometers away from the settlement.
He said that Nassar was the target of 20 similar attacks at the hands of those settlers for rearing his sheep in the village’s land that is near the settlement and which the settlers try to seize. The settlers terrorize farmers and shepherds against farming the land or letting their sheep graze in it.
16 mar 2012
Britain Condemns Israeli Settlement Relocation
British Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt Friday called on the Israeli government to rescind its decision to move settlers from the illegal West Bank outpost Migron to a new nearby location.
“The British Government condemns the deal to move settlers from the illegal West Bank outpost of Migron to a new settlement in the West Bank,” he said.
“We are deeply concerned that this agreement sets a dangerous precedent for other outposts that are illegal under both international and Israeli law. It is also directly contrary to the commitments Israel made to the international community under the Quartet Roadmap to evacuate all outposts,” said the British minister.
“We believe that Israel's best interests are served by a two-state solution and that the change and uncertainty in the region only reinforces the urgency of achieving this. By entrenching illegal settlements in the West Bank, as we believe this agreement does, Israel risks sending the wrong message about its commitment to the goal of a two-state solution,” said Burt.
“Both Israel and the Palestinians should be taking steps which build trust and encourage dialogue. We therefore call on the Israeli government to rescind this decision and find a way forward consistent with its commitments under the Quartet Roadmap and international law,” he concluded.
15 mar 2012
Israeli Forces, Settlers Raze Land, Uproot Trees in West Bank
Israeli forces and settlers razed large areas of agricultural land and uprooted dozens of olive trees in the northern West Bank cities of Nablus and Salfit, local sources said Thursday.
Israeli bulldozers razed about 12 dunums of land belonging to Abu Kanaan family in Beit Dajan, a village east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, uprooting dozens of olive trees in, according to head of the village council Nasser Abu Jaish.
Meanwhile, Jewish settlers protected by soldiers razed late Wednesday large areas of land and uprooted dozens of olive trees in an area located behind the apartheid wall.
One of the land owners, Ali Yousef, said that when farmers entered their land they were surprised to find a number of settlers from a nearby settlement razing their land and uprooting their trees and when they tried to stop the settlers, Israeli forces asked them to leave the area.
14 mar 2012
Settlers Assault Palestinian in West Bank
A group of Jewish settlers Wednesday attacked a Palestinian resident of Yabad, a town southeast of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, while travelling on the Jenin-Nablus road, according to security sources.
Sources told WAFA that settlers attacked Suleiman Kilani, 26, after intercepting his car between the two northern West Bank cities.
Kilani was transferred to Rafidia hospital in Nablus for treatment.
13 mar 2012
Jewish settlers steal 250 olive trees
Jewish settlers uprooted and stole 250 olive saplings in Sa’eer village in Al-Khalil province on Tuesday, local sources said.
The land research center in Al-Khalil said in a press release that the settlers robbed the olive and almond seedlings in Seer area to the east of the village.
The center quoted Mohammed Shalalde, one of the land owners, as saying that the settlers uprooted all 250 seedlings, which were planted only last Thursday, in addition to 150 others, which the Israeli occupation forces had forced them to leave on the land. 12 mar 2012
Jewish settlers destroy dozens of trees in Beit Ummar A big number of Jewish settlers stormed the village of Beit Ummar, to the north of Al-Khalil, on Monday and uprooted olive trees and destroyed grapevines.
Eyewitnesses said that the settlers came from Beit Ayin settlement and destroyed trees belonging to Salibi family in Beit Ummar.
They said that the settlers arrived to Wad Abul Reesh to the north of the village at the early morning hours and started destroying the trees. They said that settlers launch similar raids every now and then to terrorize the farmers and force them to abandon their land.
Settlers agree to leave illegal West Bank outpost
Settlers signed an agreement with the Israeli government on Sunday to leave the biggest illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank and move to a nearby site after months of negotiations to avoid their forced removal.
But campaigners against settlements described the deal as a disgrace, as the families had been allowed to relocate to another already-established West Bank settlement a few kilometers away.
Despite publicly endorsing the notion of an independent Palestinian nation, successive Israeli governments have nurtured settlements on the very land that the Palestinians claim as theirs.
Over the past decade the government has spent at least 4 million shekels ($1.1 million) on establishing and maintaining the cluster of squat, prefab bungalows at Migron.
But in an unprecedented ruling in August 2011, Israel's Supreme Court told the government to evacuate Migron, 32 km east of Jerusalem, by March 31, 2012, saying the land belonged to Palestinians.
About 500,000 Israelis and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war that Palestinians want for a future state together with the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians say the settlements will deny them a viable state and demand a total freeze in settlement building before peace negotiations with Israel, frozen for over a year, can restart.
Migron is the largest of more than 100 outposts built without official Israeli government authorization in the West Bank that are home to almost 2,000 people.
"This agreement is intended to fulfill the Supreme Court ruling and to prevent unpleasant scenes that we have seen in other places where there was an eviction and demolition of houses ... The government has taken responsibility for a settlement that it erected," Migron settlers' spokesman Itai Hemo said.
A spokeswoman for the anti-settlement advocacy group Peace Now called the agreement "a disgrace".
"This agreement is no less than a disgrace. The government of Israel is actually saying 'We will not evict Migron, we will not do what the Supreme Court told us. And we will give in to any settlers' threat ... It sends a message that Israel (does not want) peace (and will) build more settlements," Peace Now's Hagit Ofran said.
The new site allocated to the settlers is on land that is not under private Palestinian ownership, Israeli officials said.
While the United Nations deems all settlements in the region to be illegal, Israel backs 120 official settlements, home to about 310,000 people. 11 mar 2012
Hebron man, teen 'hospitalized after soldiers break up settler clash' Israeli forces broke up a dispute between Palestinians and Israeli settlers near Hebron on Sunday, briefly detaining three Palestinians.
Izhaq Izzat Jaber, 40, said Israelis from the Kiryat Arba settlement seized his mule and cart, prompting a heated argument between him and his son, and the group from the settlement.
Israeli soldiers arrived and violently apprehended Jaber, his 16-year-old son, and neighbor Nimir Ghaleb, 26, who came to help, Jaber told Ma'an. The three were taken to Etzion detention center, and Jaber suffered heart problems when transferred to Ofer jail, he said.
After being taken to hospital he was released, and found his son was in a Hebron hospital after being assaulted during the detention, Jaber said. The teen was released on a bail of 500 shekels, and received court summons for September, his father added.
An Israeli army spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Settlers Attack Palestinian Shepherds, International Activists near Nablus
A group of masked Jewish settlers Sunday attacked a group of Palestinian shepherds along with International solidarity activists in Khirbat Yanun, a village southeast of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to an official.
Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of settlements file in the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West Bank, told WAFA that a group of masked settlers from the settlements of Givat Ollam and Gidonim accompanied with dogs attacked the shepherds and the activists and threw stones at them.
Yanun is a village located 15 kilometers southeast of Nablus. A number of its residents were forced to leave their houses escaping from the ongoing settlers’ attacks, who aim to seize their land for the benefit of expanding their settlements.
In wake of violence, Israel Police postpone right-wing rally outside home of Arab MK
Decision made due to escalation in Israel's south; extreme right-wing activist Baruch Marzel was expected to be among rally leaders.
A right-wing rally planned for today in front of the Nazareth home of Arab Knesset member Hanin Zuabi (Balad) will be postponed, Israel Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino announced on Saturday. The police chief took the step in light of the escalation in the security situation in the south and an increased police state of alert throughout the country.
Counter-demonstrators had planned to show up at the rally, and police expected to deploy 1,200 policemen at Zuabi's home to maintain order. A new date for the rally will be scheduled in coordination with the police and the right-wingers themselves.
Zuabi sparked particularly heated controversy in 2010 by sailing as a passenger on board the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in a Turkish flotilla that was seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Nine of the Mavi Marmara's passengers were killed in a confrontation with the Israel Navy.
Extreme right-wing activist Baruch Marzel was expected to be among those leading the rally at Zuabi's home. "Marzel doesn't intend to come alone," Zuabi told Haaretz on Saturday. She said he represents an "entire political culture that relates to the Palestinian as an enemy or foreigner." She said a message is being sent to the Israeli establishment, the right wing, and what she called the "silent left wing" that "full national and civic equality is the interest of all of us."
The Follow-Up Committee for the Arabs in Israel called on members of the Israeli Arab community to come out in strength to face what it called "members of the radical right." At a conference in Nazareth on Saturday of members of the Arab parties, Baruch Marzel and his colleagues were termed a challenge not only to Zuabi and her Balad party but to all of Israel's Arabs.
Settlers Attack Two Towns Near Hebron
A number of armed extremist Israeli settlers attacked, on Saturday, the outskirts of the towns of Yatta and Bani Neim, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, while the residents were ordered by the army to stay home.
Local sources reported that the settlers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, installed tents near a military post in the area, and held a barbeque party while paying loud music and dancing.
Resident Ibrahim Al-Jabareen told the Palestinian Information Center that a number of soldiers knocked on his door, and the doors of several nearby homes, and informed the residents that they are not allowed to leave their homes until 2:30 in the afternoon.
The soldiers said that any resident who leaves his home will be arrested, and prosecuted, under the pretext of harassing the feasting settlers.
He added that the settlers have recently stepped-up their attacks in the area, by attacking homes, cars and farmlands. “They attack us, and our lands, while the soldiers imprison us in our homes”, Al-Jabareen stated.
On Saturday at dawn, the army invaded Al-Reehieh village, south of Hebron, and fired rounds and live ammunition into the air, in addition to gas bombs and concussion grenades; no injuries or arrests were reported.
Soldiers were also deployed in Palestinian orchards in the area, and prevented the residents from entering their own lands.
On Friday, a group of extremist settlers of the Tal Romeida and Bet Hadassah illegal outposts in Hebron, attacked three international peace activists and stole some of their equipment while touring in Ash-Shuhada’ Street to monitor the ongoing violations carried out by the soldiers and the settlers in the city.
In related news, soldiers based at a roadblock between the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus, stopped on Saturday afternoon dozens of Palestinian vehicles and searched them while randomly interrogating several residents, and checking their ID cards.
