Israeli settlers attack shop of freed Palestinian prisoner in Hebron

[Scurrilous]

Hani Jaber, who had been serving a life sentence for stabbing a Kiryat Arba yeshiva student, was one of hundreds of Palestinians released from Israeli jails in exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

<snip>

"Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked a shop in the West Bank belonging to a Palestinian man freed as part of a prisoner swap deal last month, locals said Sunday.

The settlers threw objects and rocks at the shop in Hebron, according to Palestinian residents. Police intervened in clashes that broke out after the incident between Jewish settlers and Palestinian residents, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told DPA."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-settlers-attack-shop-of-freed-palestinian-prisoner-in-hebron-1.396638



Settlers and supporters descend on Hebron to assert Jewish sovereignty

<snip>

"Over 1,000 American and international Zionists joined 700 extremist settlers in Hebron this weekend to celebrate the reading of this Torah portion detailing Abraham’s biblical purchase of Hebron land, as a means to assert sovereignty over the Palestinian residents of Hebron.

On Friday, many Zionist visitors camped in tents on Israeli-controlled Shuhada Street. Inebriated from the Shabbat festivities, the visitors harassed local Palestinians throughout the night. On Saturday, soldiers stationed themselves through the streets of Hebron’s Old City, forcing the shutdown of Palestinian shops, while swarms of visitors were treated to an extensive settler-guided tour championing the Jewish roots of Old Hebron. In what was advertised by the Hebron Committee as “the most unforgettable Jewish experience of a lifetime”, throngs of young, mostly American males clapped and chanted ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ (‘life to the people of Israel’) and other nationalistic chants, while Palestinian residents were forced to the sidelines of their own streets and kept there by soldiers. Throughout the day, 7 international activists and 2 Palestinians were arrested.

While a few visitors were respectful to Palestinian shop owners and residents, many were outright hostile. Mohammed Awawdeah owns a small shop in the old city, selling glass bottles filled with intricate colored sand patterns. Some of his bottles were smashed by a passing settler. “He came and broke my stuff,” Awawdeah says. “I told the police but they are not here for us, they are here for the settlers…I am not even angry for my stuff, I'm angry at the soldiers who let them do this". The Israeli police have taken the details of the incident and said that they intend to carry out an investigation.

Hamday Dwaik decided to close his bakery in the old city, since his shop was targeted by settlers during the event last year. "The settlers don't want me to open. If I open they will throw my products on the ground, no one will buy it."

http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/settlers-and-supporters-descend-on-hebron-to-assert-jewish-sovereignty-based-on-bible.html

[holdencaufield]

1. "...Inebriated from the Shabbat festivities..."

Seriously?

“He came and broke my stuff,”

I like the picture of damage -- one broken bottle amongst dozens of un-touched bottles sitting next to and around it. A real Kristal-nacht, huh?

[Scurrilous]

2. Concerns over rising settler violence in the West Bank

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""These trees are holy to me. They're so old you can't put a value on them," says Nidam Qaraweq, a Palestinian olive farmer from the West Bank village of Awarta.

He pokes at the blackened, and gnarled trunks which are hundreds of years old. A large piece of what is now charcoal breaks off in his hand.

"They're all dead," he says angrily.

Last month, around 20 of Mr Qaraweq's olive trees were destroyed by fire.

He says Jewish settlers from the adjacent settlement of Itamar deliberately set his fields alight in an arson attack."

<snip>

"The United Nations says the number of attacks by extremist Jewish settlers on Palestinians resulting in either injury or damage to property has roughly tripled since 2009.

The UN says so far in 2011 around 10,000 Palestinian-owned olive trees have been destroyed or damaged in attacks by settlers.

"They've made life very difficult for Palestinians in the West Bank," says Ramesh Rajasingham, Head of the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

"You have settler attacks on Palestinian property, on shepherds. In some cases, they attack kids going to school."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15753945

[Scurrilous]

3. IDF soldier jailed 10 days for throwing stone at Palestinian

The Palestinian man was filming the soldier stationed in Hebron on behalf of the Israeli human rights group Betselem when the initial incident took place.

<snip>

"An IDF soldier was sentenced to ten days of incarceration in an army jail for throwing stones at a Palestinian man in Hebron. According to the website Hakol Hayehudi, the soldier was guarding a IDF station in the city when a Palestinian cameraman working for Israeli human rights group Betzelem began to film him.

In the one-minute-long film, which Betzelem uploaded to its YouTube channel on Thursday, the solider is seem to respond with little amusement to the filming, and at one point he tosses a rock in the direction of the cameraman.

About 800 Jewish settlers, protected by a heavy Israeli military presence, live in Hebron's historic centre, among tens of thousands of Palestinians. The city was divided into Israeli- and Palestinian-controlled sectors under a 1997 agreement.

The Palestinian man submitted a complaint to the army, and in response the commander of the soldier’s battalion decided to jail him for ten days."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-soldier-jailed-10-days-for-throwing-stone-at-palestinian-1.396890