Dear Friends and Supporters,

The generous donations of Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, made possible the opening of a second class of the Umm al-Kheir Learning Enrichment Program. The cluster where this class has now opened is the place that our friend and colleague Ezra Nawi tried to protest against a houses demolition – an incident that led to his recent conviction in an Israeli court.

In a place where not only every house that was built in the last 40 years have been demolished, but also the digging of the toilets under the ground is prevented by the occupation forces, the conditions in class (which is actually the tiny living room of the teacher Targhrid) are harsh, but as you can learn from the photos attached, the children’s spirits are high.

Ehud Krinis

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We in the Villages Group get much satisfaction in enabling others develop their own initiative through us. For the last two years we served as the mother organization and the close partners of the COMET-ME team, and their renewable energy project. This incubation term is now over. COMET-ME team will continue to develop the energy project with us by their side, but from the organizational point of view, they are by now completely independent, with their own NGO status.

While The COMET-ME energy project already won much publicity and success, another very important project, is now emerging and getting its stature, which we in the Villages Group served at the time as mother (in a more practical than organizational manner). This is the 2NEIGHBORS initiative which promises to bring livelihood to women in the caves dwellers area in south Mt. Hebron and elsewhere in the Occupied Territories, and to encourage cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis. I urge you to visit the 2NEIGHBORS website and think of ways each one of you can contribute to the success of this initiative.

Yours,

Ehud Krinis
Villages Group

BBC CHALLENGE E-MAIL TEXT FOR COMET-ME Comet-ME Needs YOUR Vote – Today! Comet-ME proudly announces it is one of 12 finalists in the BBC World Challenge 2009. This global competition focuses on grassroots projects and small businesses worldwide that are taking effective, innovative action in environmental and socio-economic issues. In November, the winning project receives an award of $20,000! Comet-ME would use this prize to expand our project and to provide sustainable energy to another community. The winning project will be determined by online voting between 28 September 2009 and 13 November 2009, at http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/index.php

Comet-ME, a group of Israelis, Palestinians, and international volunteers, works closely with very poor communities in the occupied areas of Palestine. Under Israeli military occupation for 42 years, these people have no access (for political reasons) to the electricity grid. Our common goal is to help these people build sustainable energy systems using solar and wind power. Illumination, communication, and refrigeration increase their potential for generating revenue and reducing chronic poverty. We work with mutual interest and mutual respect, in the conviction that what we build together can begin to heal what has been destroyed. Each community owns its own project, and its local committee makes all relevant decisions; we provide materials and knowledge for building the energy systems. We foster proactivity in these weak communities: teaching and encouraging them to maintain their energy systems leads them toward economic empowerment. All of us believe that working together on such projects weakens the barriers of suspicion and hostility, ultimately facilitating the end of racism and segregation in the Middle East. Building energy systems in the occupied territories, we face daily danger to our work, both from Israeli settlers and from the Israeli army. It’s critical, therefore, that we become internationally recognized. International public opinion has significant impact in Israel. For this reason, we ask you to cast your vote for Comet-ME in the BBC World Challenge 2009. Please visit the website noted above during the voting period of 28 September through 13 November 2009, and vote for Comet-ME. And then, please visit our website at http://www.comet-me.org/index.html to learn more about the work we are doing with communities in the South Hebron Hills of Palestine. We hope you will forward this e-mail to all your friends, encouraging them to join you in casting a vote for Comet-ME.

On Wednesday, September 9th, 2009, the Israeli army destroyed a trailer located on “Flag Hill”, several hundred meters west of Susiya settlement. A short while later, around 11:00, dozens of settlers showed up at the small living area of the Balal family in the Palestinian hamlet of Susiya. These settlers violently attacked the three family members who were present on the spot – the father, Abu Nimer; the mother, Umm Nimer, and their daughter Alia. They also burst into the family kitchen and broke everything they found. The assailants also cut the electric cable supplying solar energy to the family home. Soldiers arriving on the spot, shortly after the settlers, stood aside and did nothing to interfere until the mother of the family was hit on the head with a blunt object. Only then did the soldiers intervene and made the settlers leave the Balal family home. The same assailants proceeded towards the residence of the Shiniran family, but were blocked there by members of this large family who had been alerted in time. While the assault against the Balal family was going on, about ten other settlers attacked the family’s livestock and the son who herded the flock – Issa. Several members of other families came out to help him. A fight ensued between them and the settlers, which fortunately ended without casualties or detainees. The settlers also attacked a local photographer as he recorded the goings-on with a camera belonging to ‘B’tselem’ human rights organization, and broke his camera. All these actions took place as apart of what the settlers name ‘the price tag’ – a premeditated, regular procedure by which the settlers respond to any attempt on the part of the government and the army to carry out evacuation or dismantling of outposts, immediately assailing the Palestinian population living in close the vicinity. After collecting ‘price tags’, the same settlers-assailants resumed construction in the area of “Flag Hill” outpost (picture no. 1) and it seems this outpost will grow considerably in the very near future. Other attached photos show Umm Nimer, the mother of the family who has been attacked several times this year and this time was seriously beaten in her back and head (picture no. 2); the Balal family kitchen most of whose utensils were shattered (picture no. 3); and a general view of the attacked family’s living quarters (picture no. 4).

Ehud Krinis and Erella Dunayevsky The Villages Group

On the same evening the team of COMET-ME came and fixed the solar system

Dear Friends,
The last three months have been busy around here. Comet-ME was working on two issues in particular – fund raising and completing our work in Susya.
I will start with the good news: Comet-ME, using funds obtained from the German representative office in Ramallah and the Firedoll and Sparkplug foundations was able to complete the installation of solar home systems to all the families living in Susya. Most of July and the beginning of August were dedicated to the purchasing, construction and finally the installation of six more family solar systems in Susya and the upgrading of the community utility center we built in March. The installation itself was great. Very intense, and hot, but rewarding, with some of the families having to wait for their turn almost a year. The process took several days in which we worked with Susya maintenance team, the families and many of our friends (including a group from Engineers Without Borders – Israel).

On the left you can see the new system we installed with the Abu Malesh family whom we got to know while working on the installation of the utility center in March. The system there is a typical family system with three bulbs and an electricity socket to power a charger or radio. This time around we wired the electric cabinets ourselves, to reduce costs even further, and changed the operation voltage of the systems to 220V AC so as to allow the users the freedom from specialized DC equipment – they can now use regular light bulbs and appliances.
On the right you can see Noam trying to figure out which way is which with the turbine upgrade. The whole system is now more powerful then before and can power two refrigerators; a welcome addition two weeks before the Ramadan and the heat of the desert.

On the fund-raising front we had some success in the early summer when we were approved the three grants I mentioned above but, on the other hand, two substantial grant we were hoping to get now seem out of the question as the funding organizations themselves are under the burden of the economic crisis. We are now hard at work trying to develop new directions but it might take a while.
At this point you come into the picture – help us continue the work we do. Spread the word.

One more thing, last but most definitely not least. The BBC world challange is an annual competition for grass root organizations that bring social and environmental change. Comet-ME is very proud to be selected as one of the 12 finalists on the competition. The winner will be chosen by open internet voting that will start on the 28th of September. There is still some time to go but we will need each and every one of you to vote (for us, we hope) and get everybody you know to follow suit.

We have created a facebook account and a twitter account. Join us there so you can follow up on what we are up to and introduce us to your friends.

Yours,

Comet-ME
–

Comet-ME : Community Energy Technology in the Middle East
visit us at: http://www.comet-me.org/

Dear friends and supporters,

In the Western part of the Palestinian-Bedouin settlement of Umm al-Kheir are two extended family clusters of approximately 100 people, over half of whom are children. These centers perhaps suffer more from the persecution of the occupation authorities than any other place to the south Mt. Hebron. The direct reason for this that they are a mere few meters away from the Carmel settlement that was established decades after the forefathers of these Bedouin were expelled from their homes in the region of Arad following the 1948 war and, as a result, they settled in Umm al-Kheir, which was at the time under Jordanian rule. For the past year and a half on the ‘Villages Group’ blog, we have reported the efforts of the Israeli authorities to embitter the lives of residents in both centers near the Carmel Settlement, chief of which is the ongoing cruel destruction of homes.

In the daily reality of despair and distress imposed by the occupation authorities on these people’s lives, there are also lights of hope – some the result of cooperation between local residents and various organizations and groups, among them Israeli organizations and groups, such as ‘Cultural Projects ‘Mifalei Tarbut” of the Tel Aviv Hapoel football team, Taayush, and the Villages Group. Most important of all are projects resulting from local initiative – like the one discussed here, and appearing in the images.

A young local engineer, Aziz Hazalin, established a small playground for the children of one of the two clusters; an initiative that was facilitated by a donation from a Jewish-British business man. Another important initiative is a learning enrichment program for children initiated last year by Na’ama Hazalin, a local qualified teacher. This enrichment program has now functioned for a year and is run by Sara, Na’ama’s sister. For the past year, this program has been supported by the Jewish-British organization – The British Shalom-Salaam Trust. Approximately fifteen children from the second cluster, between the ages 6-14, participate in the program. In a conversation we had with the two teachers, Na’ama and Sara, they reported significant achievements resulting from the enrichment program:

• The program enables personal attention from the teacher. The main activity takes place over the weekend when the teacher personally helps the students. Consequently, there has been a significant improvement in the children’s learning achievements, particularly in such subjects as mathematics and English, which are the focus of the program.
• Over and above mathematics and English, there are also projects in the fields of painting, drama and story reading.
• The particular importance of the program is that it is an intimate meeting place, within the family, where children can express themselves freely, without fear of being mocked by their peers at school.

It is our impression, based on many visits to the place, that the learning enrichment program has been a great success and should continue. Moreover, the program should be expanded to include the second center as well. There is another young woman who is willing and able to run the program in the other center.

The annual cost of running an enrichment program is $3,000 per cluster $6,000 per two clusters. We appeal to groups, organizations and individuals to help us continue and maintain, even expand this small and very important educational project.

Sincerely,

Ehud Krinis

Villages Group

ksehud@gmail.com

COMET-ME, our sister project which has developed out of Villages Group activities, has won prestigious global recognition from the BBC/Newsweek World Challenge 2009 competition.

The judges have chosen COMET-ME as one of 12 finalists. The project, which empowers rural and semi-nomadic Palestinian residents (right now, mostly in South Hebron Hills) by helping them set up independent wind+solar electricity generation units, and training them in installation and maintenance, will be featured in an upcoming BBC story.

The Independent has recently devoted an article to the project, apparently in view of their World Challenge recognition. Here is an excerpt:

For the extended Shineran family, dependent for income on the butter they sell, the electric churn and the large energy-efficient refrigerator they now run off the new system, have together raised sales income from £850 per month to £1,450.

We congratulate COMET-ME, its founder Noam Dotan and all the project’s volunteers, for a well-deserved success. We hope that it continues to grow.
Link to COMET-ME Donation Page.

(crossposted from assaf.dailykos.com)

One frustrating aspect of I-P news is the ease of providing distractions. The high-level tussles over Iran and settlement expansion, while important, steal the attention from events on the ground. Even more frustrating, the Israeli government sends “feel-good” stories about how life is getting better for West Bank Palestinians, and amazingly some people believe it.

Meanwhile, sweeping changes of much larger magnitude occur on the ground, hidden in plain sight.

Here’s Daphne Banai, a Villages Group and Machsom Watch activist (#3 from a list of 5 similar items):

Stop Escalation in the Campaign for the Expulsion of Palestinian Nomads in the Jordan Valley

… 3. On the morning of the 4/06/09 Israeli Army bulldozers and troops arrived at Ras el Ahmar in the Jordan valley and destroyed different structures belonging to a total of 18 families- 13 housing structures, 19 livestock structures and 18 underground ovens. In addition one tractor, one water tank and one wheel cart were confiscated. Previous to the demolition five families relocated on their own account for fear of coming demolitions. A total of a 150 people were displaced, including 67 children.

This is a small sample of what the IDF and govt. are doing in the open areas of the West Bank; details below.

Background: The Open Areas, Oslo, and “Area C” Designation

Some parts of the West Bank are heavily populated, esp. the area around Jerusalem. Other parts, most of them semi-arid or desert, are much more sparse. This includes the Jordan Valley and Judean Desert – which are the north and south parts of the West Bank’s eastern strip – and South Hebron Hills – which lies at the West Bank’s very south.

In the map on the West Bank Wikipedia page, the Jordan Valley takes up most of the Jericho and Tubas districts – a very large area. The Israeli govt. has had its eyes on this region every since 1967, and placed settlers – not necessarily of the wingnut type – in there throughout the years. Yet, even not counting the city of Jericho, the valley’s rural and nomad Palestinian/Bedouin population outnumbers valle settlers by nearly 15 to 1.

Under the 1990’s Oslo accords, 60% of the West Bank was designated “area C”, to remain under full Israeli control. This status was clearly intended to be temporary, with the vast majority of lands becoming part of a Palestinian state. However, after an initial hesitation the Israeli establishment has come to view this “temporary” status as permanent, and treat “area C” as a full-fledged part of Israel – except, that is, for giving rights to “area C” Palestinian residents.

How many Palestinian residents are there in “area C”? According to same Wikipedia page, 4% of West Bank population, which amounts to well over 100,000. Of them, about 60,000 are in the Jordan Valley (not counting Jericho enclave).

As can be seen, for example here, apart from the Jericho enclave all of the Jordan Valley is “area C”.

They find themselves with the unique privileges, e.g., of having to apply for construction permits to Israeli authorities called “the Civil Administration”. Here’s Daphne Banai again:

On the 31/05/09 five families from Al Hadidye were served with demolition orders and 7 more families (a total of 105 persons) were served with work stoppage orders, soon to be followed with demolition orders. Their lawyer has appealed and received an injunction until the next hearing on their case on the 25/06/09. The hearing will be conducted by a committee headed by Marco Ben Shabat: a settler.

These committees manned by settlers is the rule rather than the exception. The outcome of such “hearings” is a foregone conclusion: 94% of “area C” Palestinian permit-requests are denied, while the vast majority of Jewish settler permits sail through.

The Great Land “Clear and Flip” System

Besides the 150 residents of Ras El Ahmar and Al Hadidye, Daphne Banai mentions a whole string of Jordan-Valley hamlets and nomad-dwellings under assault:

On the 26/03/09 the residents of Arkuv Akraba were served with military orders demanding their immediate evacuation from “a closed zone”.

… On the 17/06/09 Israeli army bulldozers and troops arrived at Ein El Hilwe where they proceeded to destroy the tent dwellings and livestock structures of two families- a total of 20 people. The estimated damage is of 20,000 NIS.

The same day the Israeli army destroyed the tent dwellings, livestock structures and 3 water tanks of three families thereby demolishing all of Arkub Akraba, a nomadic tent cluster. A total of 28 persons, including 18 children, were displaced.

… 4. From 21/05/09 to 30/05/09 the Israeli army performed daily incursions, searching the tent dwellings of Hadidye. On one occasion armed forces shot sound bombs into the sheep pen. The residents lodged a complaint before the civil administration officer in charge of the area and showed him the sound bombs. (source: OCHA)
5. Over the last few weeks many young men from the area, including a 13 year old child, have been arrested by the security officers of the Roi and Bekaot settlements. Charges included- trespassing, theft of ammunitions, damaging the water pipes of the settlements. In all cases the arrested were detained for 2-8 days and later released. No charges were brought forward.

If you don’t see a pattern here, recall that Ezra Nawi’s court case was about trying to stop a home demolition in Umm Al-Kheir, a Bedouin village in the South Hebron Hills:

Umm Al-Kheir is being encroached upon by the Karmel settlement, set up in the 1980’s and continually expanding (“naturally”, I suppose). So it stands in the way, and therefore its water wells are being damaged, etc.

Other villages in the South Hebron Hills suffer similar treatment.

Back to the Jordan Valley: the developments there attracted Gideon Levy’s attention.

In the past few weeks, another 32 new eviction notices were distributed to 300 more souls. According to Fathi Hadirath, coordinator of the Jordan Rift Valley Solidarity organization, Israel’s policy has taken a sharp turn for the worse. Since January 2006, the valley has been cut off from the rest of the occupation zones in the West Bank, and only registered residents of the area are allowed entry. Even landowners who lack a permanent home in the valley are barred from accessing their land. Farmers have difficulty getting their produce out and thousands of dunams of land have been closed off as “firing zones.”

The dozens of concrete cubes placed in the valley over the past two weeks suggest that worse is still to come. Hadirath is convinced that the cubes will be followed by checkpoints which will prevent entry to and exit from the tent compounds completely. Israel’s policy, he says, is to herd all the shepherds into five villages, five “settlement blocs,” if you will – except that the population density in these villages is already intolerable. Since 1967, Israel has not allowed even one new home to be built there.

A case in point is Bardalla, the largest of the five villages, where 2,300 people live on just 500 dunams (125 acres). In Zabidath, next to the settlement of Argaman, the residents wanted to build a playground for the village’s 500 children, but Israel would not authorize the project. There is no room in these villages for the new refugees Israel seeks to create, and in any event the expulsion of the 15,000 shepherds from their land will permanently deprive them of their sole source of revenue. Hadirath believes that underlying the evacuation is an ambitious Israeli political plan to “cleanse” the Rift Valley – which constitutes a third of the territory of the West Bank and is home to 56,000 Palestinians – of most of its inhabitants. This will be easier than evacuating one Jewish settler outpost.

Hadirath, who speaks of behalf of a local association, has good precedents to rely upon. It works like this:

1. The military clears out villages, nomad housing, farmland or grazing land – for “security” purposes, of course
2. The locals attempt to resist and usually go to court – where they are almost always defeated. This provides a “seal of approval” to the process.
3. After a while, the land is flipped over to civilian authorities, who fund the construction of housing for Jewish-Israeli civilians there.

This system has been in effect since 1948 even inside Israel proper. For example, a very nice piece of real estate in the middle of the Galilee was confiscated in the 1950’s. In the early 1960’s, the state set up there the Jewish “development town” of Karmiel.

In 1956, about 1,275 acres (5.16 km2) of land in the Israeli Arab villages of Deir al-Asad, Bi’ina and Nahf were declared “closed areas” by Israeli authorities. This area, near the main road between Acre and Safed, had been an important marble quarrying site. In 1961, the Israeli authorities expropriated the land to build Karmiel.

….In 1964, when local Arabs applied for permission to move into the town, Minister of Housing Yosef Almogi replied that “Karmiel was not built to solve the problems for the people in the surrounding area.” In February 1965, 400 protesters marched from Tel Aviv to protest against “discrimination of a group of our citizens”. Representatives went to a local police station, informing the police that they were staying in the area without permission. Eventually the perceived leaders were arrested and tried before a military tribunal

In the West Bank, where Palestinians are under military rule without rights, makes the process as easy as taking candy from a baby; for example, Maale Adumim the largest West Bank settlement was built upon land from which the Jahalin Bedouins were cleared.

The only thing delaying the process is pesky activists (whether Palestinian or Jewish or international) who intervene and make noise.

If the world pays too much attention for too long – that’s pretty much the only chance to kill a “clear and flip” process.

Perhaps this is why the Israeli justice ministry describes Ezra Nawi’s activism thus: (pdf link)

Mr. Nawi arrives every week to southern Mount Hebron area…

During these weekly occurences, Mr. Nawi provokes the local residents.

(what a shame: the attorney signed on this travesty of a response is called Assaf)

Finally

The “clear and flip” land-grab system is unfortunately ingrained into the Israeli establishment mindset. In the West Bank’s vast open areas, the temptation for the govt. and IDF to do so seems unbearable.

Note that this is not about Bibi or “right” vs. “left”. The system was born under Labor governments, and processes to clear out open-area dwellers have continued unabated as governments changed.

This is what I meant when recently replying in a comment that the Israeli cabinet and Knesset tussles have become to a large degree a circus that distracts from the real events on the ground.

So, are we going to make noise?

If you’d like to help, contact Daphne directly.

For more information :

ybanai (at) netvision “dot” net.il

Daphne banai

—- below: Daphne’s full letter.

Urgent Call

Stop Escalation in the Campaign for the Expulsion of Palestinian Nomads in the Jordan Valley

Israeli forces renew harassment of local tribes in order to expel them

1. On 29/05/09 dozens of concrete blocks were erected throughout the Jordan Valley declaring different areas military firing zones, prohibiting passage (photos attached). The signs have been placed next to Palestinian tent dwellings, agricultural areas of Jewish settlements and in one case next to a gate in Palestinian use under army authorization (Gohiya gate).
2. On the 26/03/09 the residents of Arkuv Akraba were served with military orders demanding their immediate evacuation from “a closed zone”.

On the 31/05/09 five families from Al Hadidye were served with demolition orders and 7 more families (a total of 105 persons) were served with work stoppage orders, soon to be followed with demolition orders. Their lawyer has appealed and received an injunction until the next hearing on their case on the 25/06/09. The hearing will be conducted by a committee headed by Marco Ben Shabat: a settler.

1. On the morning of the 4/06/09 Israeli Army bulldozers and troops arrived at Ras el Ahmar in the Jordan valley and destroyed different structures belonging to a total of 18 families- 13 housing structures, 19 livestock structures and 18 underground ovens. In addition one tractor, one water tank and one wheel cart were confiscated. Previous to the demolition five families relocated on their own account for fear of coming demolitions. A total of a 150 people were displaced, including 67 children.

On the 17/06/09 Israeli army bulldozers and troops arrived at Ein El Hilwe where they proceeded to destroy the tent dwellings and livestock structures of two families- a total of 20 people. The estimated damage is of 20,000 NIS.

The same day the Israeli army destroyed the tent dwellings, livestock structures and 3 water tanks of three families thereby demolishing all of Arkub Akraba, a nomadic tent cluster. A total of 28 persons, including 18 children, were displaced.

1. From 21/05/09 to 30/05/09 the Israeli army performed daily incursions, searching the tent dwellings of Hadidye. On one occasion armed forces shot sound bombs into the sheep pen. The residents lodged a complaint before the civil administration officer in charge of the area and showed him the sound bombs. (source: OCHA)
2. Over the last few weeks many young men from the area, including a 13 year old child, have been arrested by the security officers of the Roi and Bekaot settlements. Charges included- trespassing, theft of ammunitions, damaging the water pipes of the settlements. In all cases the arrested were detained for 2-8 days and later released. No charges were brought forward.

Background

The Jordan Valley is home to some 55,000 Palestinians and 6,000 registered Jewish settlers (actual number is estimated at 4,000). The Jordan Valley constitutes the only link between the occupied West Bank and the rest of the world (through Jordan).

Since its occupation in 1967, Israel has imposed a special policy on this area in an attempt to isolate it from the rest of the West Bank for future annexation. In order to do so, special movement restrictions have been imposed on the Jordan Valley restricting travel to and from the rest of the West Bank, in addition to regular restrictions which apply to the entire West Bank.

All movement between the West Bank and the Jordan Valley is monitored through several military checkpoints, while most of the roads have been blocked.

Only cars of registered residents of the Jordan Valley are allowed to drive on Jordan Valley roads.

The area is rich in water. As is the practice in the rest of the Occupied West Bank, Israel has taken over all the water resources. Most of it (about 90%) is allotted to Jewish settlements, and the remaining 10%, is allotted to the Palestinian residents. The amount is insufficient and residents are left to suffer dry summers.

Most Palestinian residents reside in the town of Jericho and several other small villages. In addition, there are many shepherd tent dwellers. These people are not original nomads. Their origin is in Palestinian villages in the West Bank (Tamun, Tubas, and southern Mount Hebron), where they used to reside during the summer coming to the area only during the winter in order to herd their livestock. Some continue the practice, while others have been permanent residents since 1967 for fear they will not be allowed to return. They reside on lands belonging to Palestinians from Tamun and Tubas to whom they pay rent. They have no access to local water wells, who have been taken over by Israel , and bring their water in water tanks attached to tractors, from other Palestinian villages in the West Bank.

The story of Al Hadidye

The tribe of Al Hadidye, one of the tribes who dwell in the area (162 persons, including 81 children) have been permanent residents in the area long before 1967 – their chief was born there in the 50’s and the Historian Nazmi Ju’aba states that they gradually settled in the area hundreds of years ago. The residents subsist through their livestock and own about 4,000 heads of cattle. The area was designated an agricultural zone by the British mandate. Order 1970, clause 90 states that permanent residents may remain in the area, and expulsion orders may not change their status. In 1970 El Hadidiye was declared a closed military zone, yet in 1978, on the very same land, the Jewish settlement of Roi was founded. Ever since 1997 they have been facing continuous home demolitions. Attempts through the courts to prevent the demolitions and consequent expulsions (including appeals to the Israeli Supreme Court), have been rejected. The reason stated: they are not permanent residents, but nomads. Indeed the residents move periodically, but they move within a radius of one kilometer and always on the lands of Hadidiye. They have never willfully left the zone. In 1997, 2004, 2007 and March of 2008 the army demolished their tents, livestock structures, tin sheds and expelled them.

On December of 2006 the appeal of several families facing demolition orders was rejected by the Supreme Court on the grounds that they constitute a security risk to the neighboring settlement of Roi.

Since then 13- 14 families have already left the area, sold their livestock, abandoned their traditional way of life and moved to the villages of Atuf or Tamun.

The residents of Al Hadidiye have no need for financial aid despite their harsh conditions. They only ask to be able to continue to live on the same land they have been living since long before the area was ever occupied by Israel, and they ask to reopen the water well on their land, which Israel has blocked.

For more information :

ybanai@netvision.net.il

Daphne banai

MachsomWatch

Ezra Nawi, Israeli human-rights activist in the South Hebron area, and a close friend of the Villages Group, was scheduled to be sentenced July 1. His “crime” was trying to stop home demolitions at Umm Al-Kheir in 2007 (see also here for more recent demolitions). He was falsely charged with “assaulting a police officer”. As the video taken during the event clearly shows (scroll down the page to see it), there was an overwhelming military and police force in the place, and all Ezra did was classic, universally accepted non-violent resistance.

The judge in the Jerusalem “Peace Court” (lowest-level local court) convicted him based on police testimony, and scheduled the sentencing to July 1. Inadvertently, she revealed her bias and prejudice by ordering in writing that a translator for Ezra be present at the sentencing, because he speaks only Arabic! Now Ezra does speak fluent Arabic and his family hails from Iraq, but having been born in Jerusalem and living a mainstream Jewish-Israeli life ever since then, he is at least as comfortable in Hebrew.

Anyway, on Wednesday dozens of friends showed up to support Ezra at the court, but the court ran behind schedule (quite usual in Israel), and the sentencing was postponed to August 16, 8:30 AM (h/t Ibn Ezra blog for the image).

The same evening, Ezra and friends were already treated to a Hafla party at Susya in the South Hebron Hills.

We hope that the international support for Ezra continues to grow, and with it the awareness to the oppression and injustice suffered by the rural population of South Hebron Hills and other regions in the West Bank, as well as to these residents’ amazing resilience.

The Villages Group is involved in Susya in different ways:
• The COMET renewable energy project ( http://www.comet-me.org/) -
This project is about to its next stage, this time with the help of the German Consulate and the Firedoll NGO.

• Transportation of children to school (from Susiya and elsewhere in the region) –
There is a need to buy a new school bus for the children of Susiya.
With the help of the US-Omen NGO we obtained $7,500 of the $12,500 needed for this purchase.
In addition, the cost of a driver’s salary, gas and other expenses amounts to some $13,000 per year. Of this sum, $7,500 is covered by the British Shalom-Salaam Trust.

• Professional courses for women -
Thanks to a donation of $12,000 from the Center of Emerging Future, we were able to send this year six young women from Susiya and another six from the area to professional courses.
Hopefully, we would be able to continue with this program also next year.

• Scholarships to students –
With the support of the US-Omen NGO, this year we were also able to give scholarships to five students from Susiya and twelve other students from the south Mt. Hebron area.
In order to continue this project, we need to raise $10,000.

• Susiya Summer Camp -
Last but not least, we obtained about $1,800 of the $2,200 needed for the camp.
The camp is due to take place next month.

Given the settlers’ aggression towards people in this region, the oppressive policy of the Israeli occupation forces (aimed to make the life of the local Palestinian residents unbearable), and the total neglect of this area by the Palestinian Authority – all these needs should be considered essential.

Ehud Krinis
Villages Group