Palestine News Network (PNN) : "Nablus residents struggle against increase in Israeli settler violence, receive compensation" par Amin Abu Wardeh

Nablus residents struggle against increase in Israeli settler violence, receive compensation

03.08.09 - 09:28

Nablus / Amin Abu Wardeh for PNN – The local community has staged demonstrations and solidarity networks joined the struggle since last year’s attacks by settlers began in southern Nablus, but the situation has still become worse within the past few weeks.

Israeli settlers have launched a series of intense attacks on farmer’s fields, on homes and vehicles. The escalation is of course a concern of Palestinian citizens and local politicians, but has gained more attention by the Palestinian Authority and some even from the Israeli military. The Israeli administration is under pressure to accept international law and stop settlement activity, and although the Prime Minister refuses to, the settlers have still become more aggressive toward the army with the possibility of outposts being removed.

According to Nablus Governor Dr. Jamal Muhaisin, settler assaults were highlighted during the recent meeting of Tony Blair, envoy of the Quartet in the Middle East, who visited the northern West Bank province two weeks ago.  He pointed out that Itshar and Bracha settlements are preparing to raise their status, already of hotbeds of unrest, against Palestinians.

Umm Ayman Soufan of the village of Burin reports that her family has suffered from harassment by the settlers for more than seven years. “They burned our house five times and killed my husband and poisoned the animals and confiscated our land and are burning trees and agricultural crops.”

Nablus Governor Dr. Muhaisin reported that Umm Ayman and her neighbors work to defend the land, but said that the task is difficult. “The settlement in the region is built near Umm Ayman’s home and for her family to protect itself from the settlers requires concerts efforts by the 14-member family. The keep all of the windows closed and sleep in shifts. They have the people of the village working as a collective and officials on the ready for rescues.”

In southern Nablus’ Asira, citizen Suhail Shehadeh reports that the settlement of Ishtar is just meters from several houses in the village. Homeowners are subjected to a variety of attacks, including the launch of dogs and the starting of fires, particularly during harvest seasons.
 
Khaled Mansour is a member of the Union of Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees and said that attacks by Israeli settlers who are on southern Nablus lands are increasing. He described “opening fire at houses, burning crops, throwing stones at passing vehicles, uprooting trees and sabotage.”

The official for municipal and rural affairs on the issue in the governorate of Nablus, Ghassan Dagalas, asked that citizens remain steadfast in the face of an increase in attacks and pledged to provide compensation and to create new projects to pave roads and cultivate more of the land.

He stressed that the Palestinian authorities seek to “expose the practices of occupation in order to stop settlement in the province.” Dagalas also noted that the eastern region of Nablus has already suffered the fate of the south and was confiscated by the tens of thousands of acres.



http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6353



Les articles publiés ne reflètent pas obligatoirement les opinions du CJPP5, qui dénie toute responsabilité dans leurs contenus, lesquels n'engagent que leurs auteurs ou leurs traducteurs. Nous sommes attentifs à toute proposition d'ajouts ou de corrections.
Le contenu de ce site peut être librement diffusé aux seules conditions suivantes, impératives : mentionner clairement l'origine des articles, le nom du site, ainsi que celui des traducteurs.