JORDAN VALLEY, October 20, 2014 (WAFA) – Israeli forces
continue to deny Palestinians access to their land in the southern Hebron
Hills, attacking owners and activists and illegally allowing Israeli settlers
to take over and build structures on Palestinians’ land, Monday said a press
release by Operation Dove.
Palestinians in the southern Hebron hills have been denied
access to their land since 2001, where forces constantly declare the areas as ‘closed
military zones’.
In an act of solidarity with Southern Hebron Hills residents, Jewish and international activists joined Palestinians in non-violent demonstrations to protest the illegal Israeli measures.
Israeli army forces constantly suppressed these protests, attacked
and arrested peaceful protesters under the pretext of entering ‘restricted
areas’.
On October 18, Israeli forces violently suppressed two non-violent actions organized by the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee.
The first took place in the area of Umm al-Arayes, located
near the Israeli outpost of ‘Mitzpe Yair’, while the second protest took place in
the village of Susiya, located close to the Israeli settlement of ‘Suseya’.
The two protests were organized to demand the right of
Palestinians to access their own land, which is under threat of dispossession
for the benefit of settlers’ expansion.
In Umm al-Arayes, Palestinian owners of the land accompanied
by Israeli activists and international volunteers gathered to demand for the
right to access their land. Israeli forces blocked protesters, declared the
area as a closed military zone, and arrested two Palestinians and four Israeli
activists.
During a similar non-violent action on Saturday, Israeli
activists were brutally
attacked by settlers from ‘Mitzpe Yair’ settlement.
In Susiya, Palestinian owners, accompanied by Israeli activists and international volunteers, marched on their land to protests the settlement's illegal expansion.
For the third Saturday in a row Palestinians dismantled the
tent built illegally by the settlers where they used to gather every afternoon to
prevent owners from accessing their land and using the water well.
Israeli army declared the area as ‘military closed’ and violently
pushed away Palestinians and activists as they were peacefully resisting the
evacuation of the area in Israeli settlers’ presence.
Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills keep struggling nonviolently
to claim justice and to stop the ongoing appropriation of their land.
T.R/M.H
