CPTnet
24 March 2013
AL-KHALIL (HEBRON): Settlers and soldiers invade Al-Atrash family home twice in one day.
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| Armed settler leaving the Al- Atrash family home with soldiers, 20 March 2014 Photo by Raed Abu Rumaila |
On
20 March 2014 at about 11:00 in the morning the Al Atrash family was hosting a
group from
FIDA (the Palestinian Democratic Union), who were visiting the
neighborhood in solidarity with the families there, when eighteen Israeli soldiers
and Border Police, accompanied by an armed settler kicked the unlocked door to
announce their arrival. The armed
cohort then swarmed into the home without permission. Only women of the family were home at the time, along with
several small children.
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| FIDA visits Al Atrash family in solidarity. Photo by Raed Abu Rumaila |
The
soldiers and settler invaded the family’s home in order to access the Al Sharif
building that is next door. The Al Sharif building has been vacant for
many years, and settlers are now claiming they have bought the building. However, according to the Hebron
Rehabilitation Committee, it is extremely doubtful that all of the many members
of the Palestinian family who own the house would have signed sale documents as
is required by Palestinian property law. The soldiers and settler moved
through the Al Atrash family home and into the empty Al Sharif house, and then
came back through the family’s home to exit.
Later
the same day, Border Police and two settlers entered the Al Atrash home and
again gained access to the Al Sharif house. The settlers were later seen leaving the block of buildings
through a door that opens onto the street below the Ibrahimi Mosque near
several Palestinian shops. The
settlers appeared to have been doing renovation work.
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| Settlers exit the block of buildings which contains the Al Sharif house, after gaining access through the Al Atrash family home, 20 March 2014 |
Attempts by settlers to
gain control of the Al Sharif Building are part of a larger effort to acquire a
string of properties in Hebron. Several of the properties in dispute are
near the Ibrahimi Mosque, and together they advance settler efforts to link
existing settlements, thereby cutting off large Palestinian neighborhoods from
access to education, health services and commerce. Click
here to see the properties on a map of Hebron.
