Beste bezoeker, zoals je ongetwijfeld weet is het niet mis waar deze Palestijnse mensen mee te maken
krijgen, echter de dagelijkse werkelijkheid is nog veel erger dan je je kunt voorstellen: opsluiting in het eigen huis, blokkades waar de burgers keer
op keer worden vernederd door Israëlische militairen, ontzegging van toegang voor Palestijnse boeren tot de eigen landbouwgrond, landjepik, terreur ook door de illegale bezetters ofwel de kolonisten van de West Bank, ontvoering, gijzeling (vasthouden zonder vorm van proces, wat zelfs kinderen overkomt.....) en veel te vaak zelfs (massa-) moord......
Ik
zal deze nieuwsbrieven in de vorm van een dagboek blijven overnemen, zoals het zich laat aanzien zal dit dagboek door het Hebron Freedom Fund één keer per week worden bijgewerkt.
Things
are ever-changing in Hebron. Settlers and the State of Israel are
constantly trying to advance their land-theft activities. Soldiers
enforce the apartheid system in Hebron with violence and racism. We
know you care and want to know what is going on in Hebron and how the
Palestinian families who live there are coping. So, from now on
Hebron Freedom Fund will provide regular newsletters. Here is the
first:
Updates from Hebron: June 1-15, 2018
JUNE 1
An
Israeli military patrol vehicle hit Hebron teenager
Muhammad al-Zaru,
near the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the Old City of Hebron.
JUNE 2
Israeli
soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian construction worker Rami Wahid
Sabarneh.
A husband and father of four, the 37-year-old was from the
Hebron-area town of Beit Ummar. The military claimed he was
attempting to carry out a vehicular attack, a assertion witnesses
have vehemently denied. Israeli soldiers prevented an ambulance from
reaching Sabarneh to provide him with medical aid.
JUNE 4
In
the morning Israeli Occupation Forces arrested
39-year-old Suzan Al-Oweiwi, an
elected member of the Hebron municipal council from her
house.
In
the afternoon, Israeli
settlers entered and tried to occupy a Palestinian house in the old
city of Hebron.
Thankfully, after few hours, they left the house.
In
the evening,
the Israeli Military claimed they were searching for
a “suspicious looking” Palestinian in the Tel Rumida
neighborhood, shooting
four rounds of live ammunition and two flares into the air,
one of which started a fire. During their search, they declared
the area a closed military zone, preventing
residents from adjacent neighborhoods from entering the area.
The
soldiers detained
45-year-old Ashrf Said and his young son on
their way to pray, during the holy month of Ramadan. After being
released and allowed to continue on, another soldier
threatened Said with his M16.
On
their return, father and son were again stopped. Soldiers
violently searched Said's body.
When our human rights observers/volunteers tried to translate for
him, they were also threatened. See the video taken
by Youth Against Settlements.
JUNE 7
Early
in the morning, the Israeli military welded shut the front doors of
Sami Zahda’s house,
on the beginning section of Shuhada street which Palestinians are
still able to access. Left
inside were Sami, his wife and their 3 & 4 year old sons.
The building’s landlord tried to appeal to the soldiers, explaining
that the only other exit was too dangerous to use.
Due
to pressure from the local community and human rights groups, at
4pm the soldiers finally unsealed the front door.
However,
by evening, a large group of settler children, encouraged by the
adult settler population, had congregated on the stoop of the
house, harassing
the family and the rest of the Palestinian population.
Rather than ensuring safety for all, the soldiers accommodated
the violent activities of the children and declared the entire area a
closed military zone.
Welding shut Palestinian front doors in Hebron is part of a wider strategy of closure and coerced resettlement spanning back 25 years in order to kill the Palestinian identity of Hebron.
JUNE 10
In
the early hours of the morning, the Israeli military once
again welded shut the doors of the Zahda family house,
despite protests of surrounding Palestinian families and the
illegality of these actions under international and even Israeli
law.
JUNE 11
Israeli
soldiers threw large rocks and a bottle of juice at the Youth Against
Settlement center in Tel Rumeida. The soldiers' actions followed a
gathering at the center for Iftar breaking of the fast.
Upping
their harassment, the Israeli Military arrested Youth Against
Settlements spokesperson Mohammad Zoghayer on his way to the center,
claiming that he appeared "suspicious." Thankfully, he was
released the next day.
Eid Mubarak (a happy holiday) to all
Friday
marked the Muslim holiday of Eid
al Fitr, the end
of the Ramadan holiday month and the beginning of a new year.
As
Eid approaches, the commercial streets of Hebron's old city are
filled with uncharacteristic life (throughout the rest of the year
the devastating impact the occupation has turned the old city into a
ghost town). Families prepare for the celebration by buying new
clothes and stocking their pantries with supplies for the Eid al Fitr
feast. A favorite stop is al Sahel
al Akhdar sweets, where they’ve been producing Ramadan treats, like
these Suhoney pistachio borma, for the past 25 years.
We encourage you to come to Hebron where you can enjoy these sweets
for yourself.
In gratitude for your support,
Everyone at Hebron Freedom Fund
Zie ook:
'Israël: gevangenschap voor slaan van militair en vrijspraak voor doelbewust levend verbranden van een Palestijnse baby.......' (zie ook de links in dat bericht)