Yetzhar Colonists Continue their Attacks against Assira Al Qiblia

On September 13th, 2008 a group of Israeli colonists carried out a series of attacks against Palestinians in the villages of Asira Al Qiblia and Madama, both located south of the Governorate of Nablus. The attacks were carried out under the pretext that a colonists from the colony of Shalhaviet, located close to the colony of Yetzhar, was stabbed. The wave of attacks resulted in the injury of 8 Palestinians including the following:

Tens of Israeli settlers attacked dozens of Palestinian homes in the village of Assira Al Qiblia. The house of Mr. Qasem Salem (area = 280 m2) as well as his private car were totally destroyed in the rampage east of the village. The houses of Abdel Basit Mohammad Ahmad, Ibrahim Mikhlef, Jamal Yousef, Mohammad Dawood, Ahmad Dawood and Ahmad Abdullah were attacked due to their close proximity to the colony of Yetzhar. The attacks took place concurrently with occupation forces raiding the two villages and conducting a search campaign for the alleged stabber while placing the villages under curfew.

The attacks came on the heels of previous attacks that took place on September 10th, 2008 during which colonists from the colony of Yetzhar torched 9 dunums southeast Assira Al Qiblia. The fire caused total destruction to the land. Mr. Husni Shareef Saleh, the head of Assira Al Qiblia’s village council, informed the Land Research Center’s field researcher the following: 'At 3:00 PM on September 10th, 2008 I was shocked to see tens of colonists from Yetzhar colony attack Palestinian lands located 200 meters away from Palestinian houses southeast of the village. The colonists fired bullets into the air to push Palestinians away from their lands. They, then, set fire to the lands. Please note that the burnt lands were not used in the past despite its fertility as Palestinians are prevented from working or even accessing it due to its presence near the colony of Yatzhar. These lands used to form a major source of income for Palestinian farmers. Yet, access has become more and more restricted as Yetzhar colonist began attacking and beating up those Palestinians present in their lands.'      

Photo 1 & Photo 2: The torched Palestinian lands in Assira Al Qiblia

The torching attacks by Yetzhar colonists have become commonplace since the beginning of 2008; in June 2008 Yetzhar colonists burnt 100 dunums of agricultural lands in the villages of Burin and Assira Al Qiblia in addition to torching the house of Al Najjar family in Burin to the ground. In July, the colonists uprooted more than 1,000 olive and fig trees belonging to Palestinians from the villages of Burin and Assira Al Qiblia. Even water cisterns were not spared; in June 2008 colonists plowed the lands surrounding a water cistern located 160 meters away from the colony of Yetzhar for the third time in the past two years. The plowing caused the pollution of the cistern which meets 10% of the drinking water of Assira Al Qiblia. That is in addition to the daily harassments carried out by the colonists on Road 6 which passes near Assira Al Qiblia and Burin. The harassment takes the form of throwing stones at Palestinian cars in addition to physical beatings of farmers and shepherds.      

It is worth pointing out that the daily attacks by Yetzhar colonists have had a significant negative effect on the Palestinian population of nearby villages; for example, more than 1500 dunums of Palestinian lands located in the vicinity of the colony are inaccessible to Palestinian land owners for fear of attacks by colonists. That is in addition to around 1400 dunums of Assira Al Qiblia lands that were confiscated earlier by Israeli occupation authorities for the purpose of the enlargement of the colony of Yetzhar.

Moreover, There are 7 Assira Al Qiblia houses (built before the establishment of the colony and in which 60 Palestinians are living) located around 200 meters from Yetzhar that have been a frequent target for the wrath of colonists; since the beginning of 2008 the attacks have ranged between stone throwing, physical beatings of children and women and attempted arson of Palestinian houses. Mr. Qasem Mohammad Hasan Saleh lives near the colony and he expressed the following to LRC’s field researcher: ' We are living in unbearable hell on daily basis. We are at a stage where we are afraid to go out at night. Colonists regularly beat us and even steal our sheep and crops. There is no stopping them.'         

General Information about Yezhar Colony:

The colony was established in 1983 atop Palestinian lands from the villages of Burin and Assira Al Qiblia southwest of the city of Nablus. The colony started to expand on the expense of lands from the nearby villages of Burin, Assira Al Qiblia, Oreif, Madama and Huwwara. Currently, the built-up area of the colony is about 158 dunums while 1800 dunums were confiscated for future expansion. Most of the confiscated lands are located in Parcel 8 in the locations of Salman Al Farisi, Al Marj, Jabal Al Nada and Khalil Al Muhr. A monument for the Muslim leader Salman Al Farisi is located in the confiscated lands.   

General Information about Assira Al Qiblia:

The village (population: 2675) is located 12 kilometers south of the city of Nablus. Its area is 6447 dunums of which 322.5 dunums are its built-up area. Israeli occupation has confiscated 525 dunums of its lands for the benefit of the colony of Yetzhar. Nearby villages include Fara’ata, Til, Jama’ein and Orief.

Summary:

Daily events prove without a doubt that Israeli colonies and colonial activities in the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) are timed bombs that will blow any possible political resolution between the Palestinians and Israelis. Colonists act as if they were outside the realm of any laws. Their attacks against the Palestinians are carried out under the protection of the Israeli occupation army. The increased frequency of attacks ascertains the fact that peace and stability won’t take place while colonies and Israeli colonists continue to be present atop Palestinian lands.   

Photo 3: A general view of the village of Assira Al Qiblia.

Prepared by:
The Land Research Center
LRC