SOUTH HEBRON HILLS: Nonviolent action by Palestinians and At-Tuwani team stops settler road construction in Um al Kheir
abril 29th, 2009
in:
CPTnet
29 April 2009
SOUTH HEBRON HILLS: Nonviolent action by Palestinians and At-Tuwani team stops settler road construction in Um al Kheir
[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.]
Um al Kheir, South Hebron Hills, Palestine On 26 April 2009 Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills village of Um al Kheir changed the route of a road that Israeli settlers from Karmel settlement were constructing. The villagers, acting with At-Tuwani team members, nonviolently blocked the road-building equipment as it prepared the roadbed on land that belongs to Palestinians living in the village of Um al Kheir.
Palestinians and At-Tuwani team members gathered to confront the Karmel settlers, Israeli soldiers, and Israeli border police as work began at 7:00 a.m. Israeli soldiers allowed the roadwork to continue despite a pending legal complaint filed by the village in Israeli court. One older Palestinian man who was sitting in front of earth-moving equipment was accidentally struck by stones dislodged by the work.
Survey markers placed the previous week in the village indicated that construction of the road would precipitate the demolition of a Palestinian home and several agricultural structures. As marked now, the road will include a large area of Palestinian land annexed by the settlement, but will not include the home. A legal decision on construction of the road is expected within ten days.
Representatives from the United Nations Refugee Works Administration (UNRWA) were also present during the work because the villagers have refugee status. Residents of the Bedouin village of Um al Kheir bought the land the village currently occupies—including the land being used for construction of the settler road—fifty years ago, after the creation of the state of Israel forced them to move the village from its original location near Arad.
Recent expansion of the Karmel settlement has included the construction of twelve double houses around the perimeter of the settlement. The fence and military road surrounding these structures encroach onto Palestinian land. The new road as proposed will extend the settlement farther into Um al Kheir, and will result in the annexation of a substantial area of land outside the existing settlement houses. The expansion of settlements and outposts has affected numerous other Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills in recent months.
The residents of Um al Kheir, along with villagers from nearby At-Tuwani and other villages in the area, remain committed to nonviolence as they struggle to oppose the illegal expansion of Israeli settlements and outposts. Villagers have filed legal complaints and staged nonviolent grazing actions in the South Hebron Hills throughout the spring grazing season.
29 April 2009
SOUTH HEBRON HILLS: Nonviolent action by Palestinians and At-Tuwani team stops settler road construction in Um al Kheir
[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.]
Um al Kheir, South Hebron Hills, Palestine On 26 April 2009 Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills village of Um al Kheir changed the route of a road that Israeli settlers from Karmel settlement were constructing. The villagers, acting with At-Tuwani team members, nonviolently blocked the road-building equipment as it prepared the roadbed on land that belongs to Palestinians living in the village of Um al Kheir.
Palestinians and At-Tuwani team members gathered to confront the Karmel settlers, Israeli soldiers, and Israeli border police as work began at 7:00 a.m. Israeli soldiers allowed the roadwork to continue despite a pending legal complaint filed by the village in Israeli court. One older Palestinian man who was sitting in front of earth-moving equipment was accidentally struck by stones dislodged by the work.
Survey markers placed the previous week in the village indicated that construction of the road would precipitate the demolition of a Palestinian home and several agricultural structures. As marked now, the road will include a large area of Palestinian land annexed by the settlement, but will not include the home. A legal decision on construction of the road is expected within ten days.
Representatives from the United Nations Refugee Works Administration (UNRWA) were also present during the work because the villagers have refugee status. Residents of the Bedouin village of Um al Kheir bought the land the village currently occupies—including the land being used for construction of the settler road—fifty years ago, after the creation of the state of Israel forced them to move the village from its original location near Arad.
Recent expansion of the Karmel settlement has included the construction of twelve double houses around the perimeter of the settlement. The fence and military road surrounding these structures encroach onto Palestinian land. The new road as proposed will extend the settlement farther into Um al Kheir, and will result in the annexation of a substantial area of land outside the existing settlement houses. The expansion of settlements and outposts has affected numerous other Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills in recent months.
The residents of Um al Kheir, along with villagers from nearby At-Tuwani and other villages in the area, remain committed to nonviolence as they struggle to oppose the illegal expansion of Israeli settlements and outposts. Villagers have filed legal complaints and staged nonviolent grazing actions in the South Hebron Hills throughout the spring grazing season.
