Mr. Hilmi Al Jamal; the victim of Israeli Occupation Forces & Colonists in Al Fahs Area

August 1, 2008

On the 17th of July 2008 Mr. Hilmi Al Jamal found a military order on the gate of his garage in Al Fahs area of the Governorate of Hebron. The order was titled 'An Order for Land Seizure' and held the number T98. It indicated the IDF's seizure of a 180-m2 piece of land for 'the military purpose of establishing a military tower and two gates'. What the order did not specify is that Mr. Al Jamal has been denied access his 9.150 dunums by the Israeli occupation forces. Mr. Al Jamal has been using his land as a place to collect old cars to sell them as parts or as junk.

Lately occupation forces have plowed the land atop all of the junk it had on it. Explicit orders have been given to Al Jamal not to place any additional junk in it. The last time such plowing has taken place was on the 16th of June 2008 when Israeli bulldozers forced their way into his land under the protection of occupation forces and started leveling the land. When Mr. Al Jamal asked about the reason behind such an operation, the answer was that his land was confiscated for 'security reasons'. When Mr. Al Jamal demanded a written order regarding the confiscation, he was promised to be given one. The next morning he found it hanging on the door of his garage. In turn, Mr. Al Jamal hired the lawyer Ghayyath Naser to file a legal complaint against the Military Order in an effort to annul it.

Continued Violations Since 1995:

Mr. Hilmi Ahmad Abdel Halim Al Jamal (age = 56 years old) and his family continuously live in a state of fear and uncertainty due to the attacks and violations committed by both the occupation forces and colonists alike. Mr. Al Jamal has been living in Al Fahs area since the year 1973. He is the breadwinner for a family of 19 and earns his living from his painting workshop and junk selling. His agony started as early as 1995 when the Israeli occupation forces established By-Pass Road 60 which deprived him of three dunums of his land without any prior notification or written documents from the occupation forces. The By-Pass led to the division of Al Jamal's land into two sections; one section located on the southern end of the street with an estimated area of 3 dunums. Currently, a military tower is present on that section. The second section of the land is located on the northern end of the street with an estimated area of 5 dunums.

Mr. Al Jamal gets exposed every year, especially during Jewish holidays, for attacks by colonists, who gather in his land claiming that they own the land. Moreover, occupation forces carryout similar attacks on his land and sometimes on his plants in a combined effort to force him out of his land. See Copy of Military Order below