CPTnet
24 October 2012
AL-KHALIL (HEBRON) URGENT ACTION: Prevent new settlement outpost, increased settler violence in Hebron
Since our 3
October report there have been a number of
developments regarding the Al Rajabi Building in Hebron. On Tuesday, 16
October the Jerusalem District Court accepted the injunction to freeze the
implementation of the 13 September ruling that the Israeli military and police must allow
the settlers to move in within thirty days, until a final decision regarding
the appeal at the Supreme Court. This decision means that the settlers should
not be able to move into the building immediately as we had feared. It did
however come at a cost, which is a 100,000NIS/ 26,115USD
bond that has to be paid by the Palestinian owner of the building.
It is feared
though that due to the early election that has been called in Israel, the court decision may be decided for political reasons
rather than it being a fair trial. CPT is working closely with UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Hebron Rehabilitation
Committee (HRC) and others to stop settlers from occupying the building and to
show the consequences for Palestinians the last time the settlers occupied the
house. Palestinians in the West Bank face settler violence regularly. According to OCHA, “settler violence is a regular occurrence, targeting
primarily Palestinian civilians and their property, but also IDF soldiers.” Such violence, OCHA points out, “is not random criminal activity; in most cases, it is
ideology-driven, organized violence, the goal of which is to assert settler
dominance over an area.” CPT Hebron believes
that the settlers’ intention to occupy the Al Rajabi building is motivated by
this ideology which would create territorial continuity between the Kiryat Arba
settlement and settlements in the center of the Old City. We fear this will lead to more detentions and greater
restrictions of movement for Palestinians living in the area.
 |
|
|
photo courtesy Land Research Center |
CPT recently interviewed four families
who live close to the Al Rajabi Building and Kiryat Arba settlement. All reported numerous
experiences of harassment and violence from settlers living in the area since
the inception of the Kiryat Arba. They expressed fear of this
violence increasing if settlers were allowed to reoccupy the Al Rajabi Building.
Their fear was based on their experience of increased settler violence when settlers
occupied the building in 2007-2008.
One man told the CPTers,
“in 2007 settlers took over a house in the area.
They were violent and threw stones at Palestinians passing in order to scare
them and make them move out of the area.”
A mother spoke of the
problems she experienced. “During this time,
settlers were violent towards us and our children. They burnt houses and tried
to break into our home. I’m extremely nervous because the girls must walk past
the Rajabi building in order to get to school.”
A father spoke out: “I recall that from about March 2007 to December 2008, there
were frequent attacks from settlers to the Palestinian men, women and children.”
The
families are asking for help in their cause: “We
are pleading to all those that will listen to stop this. If settlers were to
come back again we will face the same issues again. This time was very
stressful for us, it put a strain on our family relations.”
The
decision the courts reach about the Al Rajabi Building will greatly influence
the future of the city of Hebron,
particularly for these
families. HRC and CPT have put together a statement along with a legal analysis of the proceedings. CPT Al-Khalil (Hebron) calls on
supporters to share this information with people locally and to contact your
Members of Parliament or Congress and other government officials about this
issue.
SAMPLE
TEXT FOR MESSAGE:
Dear _____,
The international community is
gravely concerned about the effects of allowing settlers to reoccupy the Al
Rajabi Building in Hebron, West
Bank. In 2007 and 2008, when settlers last occupied
this house, settler violence and disruptions to Palestinians in the area
increased.
The four small settlements
already inside Hebron have caused
immense physical, social and economic suffering for local Palestinians. Another
settlement would cause greater suffering and would work against the roadmap
towards peace.
Please urge Israeli authorities
to prevent the formation of a new Israeli settlement in Hebron’s Al-Rajabi Building.
Sincerely,
____
ADDRESSES
Canada:
Embassy in Tel Aviv — The
Canadian Embassy, PO Box 9442, Tel Aviv 67060, Israel. Fax:
(011 972 3) 636-3380. Email: taviv@dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Prime Minister
Stephen Harper, Office of the Prime Minister, 80 Wellington Street, Ottawa, K1A 0A2. Fax: 613-941-6900 or Email: pm@pm.gc.ca
You can mail your
MP at the House of Commons address, or find their email address, go to https://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCode.asp?Source=SM
UK:
Embassy in Tel
Aviv — British Embassy, 192 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63405, Israel. Fax: (+972 3) 527 8574. Email: webmaster.telaviv@fco.gov.uk
Prime Minister
David Cameron, 10 Downing
Street, London SW1A 2AA. To email the Prime Minister go to https://www.number10.gov.uk/contact-us/
Foreign Secretary
William Hague, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Downing Street West, London Sw1A 2AL
Mail your MP at
the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. To email your MP, MSP or MEP go to https://cpt.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0316-2.jpg
USA:
Embassy in Tel
Aviv — US Embassy, 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63903, Israel
President Barack
Obama, 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500
Senators: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Representatives: https://cpt.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0316-2.jpg
