mandag 1. mai 2023

Umm Safala ved Hebron: Virkeligheten akkurat NÅ for en palestinsk familie der

To eksempler på dagliglivet for palestinere i området sør for Hebron.
Artikkel 1 er i sin helhet lagt inn under Kilde.

Det er liten tvil om hva dette er.
Og man må  ta seg tid til å ta inn over seg detaljene i en families historie for å forstå.
Her er det situasjonen til palestineren Sayed Awad med familie, beskrevet i to artikler i isralesk presse, med bare måneders mellomrom nå i 2023.

For dette er virkeligheten akkurat NÅ.
Det graverende er ikke bare at dette skjer ... men det skjer planmessig og over lang tid.

De to artiklene:

1)  Haaretz 1. mai 2023:
"Palestinian Farmer Denied Access to Land by Israeli Army Barriers, Guards for Months"

"As part of ongoing efforts to block Sayed Awad from his land, soldiers erect barriers on the road leading to his home in Umm Lasafa, a village south of Hebron. They also threaten and detain him regularly."

 

2) 972mag 4. april 2023:
"She was walking toward her family’s land. A soldier broke her ankle"
"Qamar Aliyan, an 11-year-old Palestinian girl, was kicked by Israeli troops while settlers roamed on her family's property in Umm Lasafa."

Skudeneshavn  1. mai 2023

Jan Marton Jensen

 

Kilde:

1. mai 2013
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-05-01/ty-article/.premium/palestinian-farmer-denied-access-to-land-by-israeli-army-barriers-guards-for-months/00000187-d348-d9b4-abaf-fbfed9360000

4. april 2023
https://www.972mag.com/qamar-aliyan-umm-lasafa-soldiers/ 

 

HELE artikkelen i Haaretz 1. mai 2023:

Palestinian Farmer Denied Access to Land by Israeli Army Barriers, Guards for Months

As part of ongoing efforts to block Sayed Awad from his land, soldiers erect barriers on the road leading to his home in Umm Lasafa, a village south of Hebron. They also threaten and detain him regularly

Sayed Awad in the South Hebron Hills in March.
Sayed Awad in the South Hebron Hills in March.Credit: Moti Milrod

For several months, the Israeli army has been preventing Sayed Awad, a Palestinian living in the South Hebron Hills, from reaching land he owns near a Jewish outpost.

The army declares the area a closed military zone every Saturday, and before he and his family arrive, security personnel are posted to prevent their entry. The army explains that it is due to “security requirements” to prevent friction between settlers and Palestinians, which often leads to confrontations.

According to Awad and several activists, soldiers erect barriers along the streambed leading to his plot only on Saturdays, ahead of his arrival. According to testimonies and photos, 20 security personnel have been posted there for this purpose every week.

As part of the efforts to deny Awad access, soldiers erected barriers on the road leading to his home in Umm Lasafa, a village south of Hebron. They also took photos of his house and vehicle, and threatened and detained him for hours on several occasions.

 

A military checkpoint set up on the access road leading to Awad's plot of land, in February.
A military checkpoint set up on the access road leading to Awad's plot of land, in February.Credit: Guy Botavia

 

The army has not explained why they deny Awad access to the area every week while allowing settlers to enter.

Sayed Mohammed Alyan Awad is 52-years-old and has 16 children. His plot of land lies at the foot of the Mitzpeh Yair outpost, which was built in the late 1990s. Awad used to go to his plot every week, working the land and staying there to prevent its takeover by settlers. Since September, however, the army has allocated exceptional resources to preventing him from doing so.

In many instances, Awad arrives only to find that a closure order declaring his plot a closed military area has been issued. This has led to repeated detentions. “Just like that. You come to your plot and they tell you it’s a closed military area. You argue with them and they give you 10 minutes before putting you in their vehicle,” he says. “They blindfold you, and after two hours they drop you off in Dhahiriya,” a city in the area.

The plot of land owned by Sayed Awad with the outpost Mitzpeh Yair above it.
The plot of land owned by Sayed Awad with the outpost Mitzpeh Yair above it.Credit: Moti Milrod

On two occasions, soldiers took Awad to the Meitar checkpoint, far from his home. Once, he was arrested along with an Israeli activist. Both were released at the checkpoint.

In November, when he tried to reach his land he was detained for three days on suspicion of violating the closure. Two weeks ago, he was held in a military Jeep for three hours.

According to Awad and activists who accompany him, they often see settlers in the closed area.

Photos taken from a spot overlooking the plot show a pickup truck driven by a settler approaching two leftist activists who accompanied the photographer. He was joined by another person on a motorcycle. The driver emerged from his truck and yelled: “Where were you in Hawara? How did they not rape you there?” He approached some Palestinian shepherds and then left the area, but not before claiming that some children gathering plants had come there to commit a terror attack.

 

A sign for the settlement outpost of Mitzpeh Yair, in the South Hebron Hills.
A sign for the settlement outpost of Mitzpeh Yair, in the South Hebron Hills.Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz

In January, soldiers came to Awad’s home to photograph him and his Jeep. And on February 4 there was a further escalation when soldiers blocked access to Awad’s house and placed sharp metal spikes on the road. A week later, soldiers set up a checkpoint near the exit from his house to the village’s main road. It operated from morning to noon. According to villagers, the Israeli army explained that it was because “Sayed was causing trouble.”

One night in March, two Jeeps arrived at his house and masked soldiers asked to enter. “They came at 10 P.M. and told me that if I went to my plot, they would harm me and my family. They also took my phone,” Awad says. “I told them to do whatever they wanted.” The incident was documented with photos and videos.

 

Soldiers arrive at Awad's home at night, in March.
Soldiers arrive at Awad's home at night, in March.Credit: Courtesy of the Awad family

Two weeks ago, soldiers came again and asked his family where he was. When he went to his plot on Saturday that week, he was arrested and taken to a police station, where he was told he was forbidden to go to his plot for 15 days. “They told me I was creating provocations, but I told them it was my land,” says Awad. “How can the Israeli public just look at the damage settlers are causing Arabs? I ask the army why all this is happening.”

In 2021, Haaretz reported that Awad and his family were assaulted when they tried to document settlers grazing their sheep on Awad’s land. As a result of the attack, Awad suffered five fractures in his skull. He and leftist activists in the area testify that over the years following clashes with settlers his plot has been damaged, with olive trees uprooted and terraces demolished.

Last year, the police demanded Awad be removed from the area, but a military judge rejected the request, criticizing the police and the army for their actions. Military rules allow commanders to issue closures, in writing or verbally, but the judge ruled that doing this over the phone, as was done in this case, was illegal, thereby voiding claims that Awad had violated the closure.

The judge also noted that the army had not prevented settlers from reaching the same area, adding that the map Awad was shown by soldiers was incorrect. He said that witnesses to Awad’s arrest were not summoned either. In denying the police request, he said that there were legal documents showing Awad’s connection to the plot. He added that the police should not be taking sides in the dispute between Awad and settlers in the area in the absence of a legal brief on the status of the land.

The IDF spokesman said, “There are often clashes in the South Hebron Hills between Palestinians and Israeli citizens. When there is a security need, a closure is imposed in order to prevent friction, based on an assessment of the situation. Barriers are erected in order to enforce the law.”

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