What Israeli settler encroachment, intimidation look like in the West Bank

Umm al-Khair, occupied West Bank – Every clip Yinon Levi returns to Umm al-Khair, wherever videos and witnesser testimonies implicate him successful the execution of Awdah Hathaleen, choler stirs wrong the community.

Seeking to forestall further arrests oregon violence, colony leaders impulse radical to fell successful their homes.

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But Levi’s quality leaves villagers, who person agelong faced location demolitions by Israeli authorities and attacks from Israeli settlers that person intensified since the warfare successful Gaza started, acrophobic and seething.

Tariq Hathaleen, 31, is simply a assemblage person whose eyes are inactive bloodshot and glossy successful grief implicit his champion friend’s execution 2 months ago.

“Seeing [Levi] makes maine sick,” helium said with disgust. “Really, it makes maine profoundly sick.”

A convulsive settler

The residents of Umm al-Khair are a Bedouin shepherding assemblage who were expelled from the Naqab Desert during the Nakba, erstwhile Zionist gangs ethnically cleansed hundreds of Palestinian villages to marque mode for the declaration of the authorities of Israel successful 1948.

The assemblage fled northbound to the South Hebron Hills, successful the confederate occupied West Bank, wherever they bought onshore to found a caller location crossed the arid onshore successful clusters of buildings interspersed with wide grazing lands for their livestock.

In 1980, a hilltop was seized from Umm al-Khair. In its spot the amerciable Israeli colony of al-Karmil, besides known arsenic Carmel, was built, looming implicit Umm al-Khair, particularly its northernmost cluster, wherever Levi and different settlers are present focusing their attention.

Levi is simply a notorious Israeli settler sanctioned by the European Union and respective governments for convulsive attacks connected Palestinian communities successful the South Hebron Hills, including spearheading the expulsion of Palestinians from Khirbet Zanuta village.

He runs an earthworks institution that for years has facilitated mounting up settler outposts – small, amerciable clusters of caravans oregon tents settlers enactment connected Palestinian onshore successful hopes of getting Israeli authorities support to remain. These outposts are amerciable adjacent nether Israeli law.

He has besides been hired by the Israeli Civil Administration to demolish Palestinian homes successful Area C – the 60 percent of the West Bank nether afloat Israeli power – wherever Palestinians seldom get gathering permits.

In February, settlers from al-Karmil came conscionable southbound of that northernmost clump of Umm al-Khair, wherever the assemblage centre and playing fields are for the full village, and planted an Israeli emblem and olive trees there, staying adjacent to a settler road astatine first.

Later, settlers came to measurement a portion moving from their emblem westwards, to spot however galore settler caravans they could acceptable successful a enactment hemming successful the Palestinian homes and the colony assemblage centre.

To marque this feasible, they turned to the sanctioned settler, Levi, asking him to level the onshore connected which they wanted to spot outpost caravans.

Trapped

The assemblage centre clump of Umm al-Khair is already bisected by a settler roadworthy starring from the amerciable colony of al-Karmil, northbound of the portion they chose for caravans.

To widen the landgrab, Levi and the settlers wanted to physique a shorter transportation betwixt the roadworthy and the portion of caravans, an entree constituent person to the gates of the amerciable settlement.

But that roadworthy would tally close done a spot of backstage Palestinian onshore successful the village, which villagers had precocious planted with olive trees.

The villagers erected a obstruction astir their onshore respective times to forestall settler incursions, and an Israeli tribunal upheld their close to person it there. Still, settlers would violently demolish the fence.

The time Awdah was changeable dead, July 28, an excavator owned and operated by Levi attempted to plough done this backstage Palestinian land.

As villagers tried to halt the excavator, with immoderate throwing rocks, Levi came retired of the machine and fired doubly into the assemblage of villagers, among them women and children.

One slug struck Awdah, who filmed his ain death, successful the chest.

Levi was released to location apprehension by the constabulary the aforesaid day. Three days later, an Israeli justice released him from location arrest, agreeing with Levi’s claims that helium was acting successful self-defence.

Just days aft helium changeable Awdah, Levi was backmost successful the village.

“To spot the murderer of your astir beloved idiosyncratic successful this beingness instrumentality again and again, and yet you’re not allowed adjacent to accidental a connection … it makes maine sick,” said Tariq.

“It would beryllium the smallest close successful this unlawful, unjust ineligible strategy that they prohibition him from here, but alternatively they fto his institution proceed working”.

Since the sidesplitting of Awdah – a person who was pivotal successful fostering heavy ties betwixt the assemblage and planetary supporters and solidarity activists – Levi has returned astatine slightest six times to the village, according to villagers, excavating and landscaping to hole for settler caravans successful Umm al-Khair.

‘Anything helium tin to provoke you’

Over 3 abstracted nights successful precocious August and the archetypal fractional of September, 7 settler caravans were transferred to the country cleared by Levi.

He returned with his operation instrumentality connected September 14 to hook the caravans up to h2o and energy lines. While doing so, helium was caught connected camera utilizing his excavator to destruct the village’s h2o and energy lines. Levi emerged from the excavator astatine the end, jubilant.

“He doesn’t lone travel present again,” said Tariq. “He comes and smiles astatine you, laughs astatine you, [does] thing helium tin to provoke you.”

An Israeli serviceman shouts astatine Palestinians to support them distant from Yinon Levi, who is successful the excavator, deliberately destroying the village’s h2o and powerfulness proviso lines [Screengrab: Al Jazeera]

“Nothing happens with the settlers randomly oregon abruptly – it’s thing well-planned for,” helium continued.

“They nonstop [Levi] and they importune connected sending him backmost again and again. They privation to provoke us, for 1 of the assemblage members to bash something.”

The villagers were near without h2o oregon powerfulness for 4 days, astatine which constituent contractors hired by the colony were capable to implicit the work, harassed and nether duress the full time.

“No h2o for the goats, nary h2o for us, nary lights oregon cameras to ticker for settlers,” recalled Khalil Hathaleen, 39, a subordinate of the colony assembly and Awdah’s brother.

During those 4 acheronian nights, the settlers’ accustomed tactics of blaring large euphony and flashing spotlights astatine the colony seemed exceptionally terrifying.

“We didn’t slumber for 4 days,” said Khalil.

As barefoot Palestinian children play shot connected a ungraded field, settlers descend from a motortruck metres distant to bring supplies to the recently installed caravans. Young settler families circuit the caravans, debating whether to determination in.

Population transportation of an occupier’s colonisation into occupied lands is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions. While Israeli instrumentality prohibits settler outposts successful the West Bank, the operation and colonisation of these unauthorised outposts are being overseen and protected by al-Karmil’s guard, arsenic soldiers look on.

Tariq Hathaleen is inactive grieving the execution of his champion friend, Awdah [Al Jazeera]

Umm al-Khair, a sprawling Bedouin community, has long faced question restrictions, attacks connected people’s homes, and seizure of colony lands by Israeli authorities and settlers from al-Karmil, including settler shepherds who graze connected colony lands wherever the villagers’ ain sheep tin nary longer go.

Now, the radical of Umm al-Khair fearfulness these caller outposts volition endanger the information and integrity of the assemblage adjacent more, pursuing similar troubling trends crossed the West Bank that endanger adjacent the strongest of Palestinian communities successful Area C.

“If the settlers determination into these caravans, they volition abstracted the sides of the village,” explained Khalil, referring to a clump of houses to the south, beyond an expanse of grazing land.

“My woman is from the southbound broadside of the village. In the future, possibly [we] cannot spell to the southbound broadside of Umm al-Khair and spot them. We volition beryllium chopped off.”

The menace that is Shimon Attiya

The villagers tin spot that settlers run with impunity, adjacent erstwhile seemingly violating Israeli instrumentality oregon tribunal orders. Like Shimon Attiya, a settler and a large aggressor against the Umm al-Khair community.

An Israeli tribunal prohibited Attiya this summertime from coming wrong 50 metres (164 feet) of a family’s location aft helium allegedly harassed and attacked the household repeatedly.

But Attiya returned, repeatedly violating the tribunal bid and harassing different families, villagers told Al Jazeera.

He was wrong 50 metres of the family’s location to harass contractors the villagers had secured support to bring successful and hole the h2o and electrical lines aft Levi severed them, preventing them from doing their work.

The time after, the subject again obeyed the settlers, contempt the permits the colony had, declaring the country a closed subject zone. It took 4 days and 3 attempts to implicit the work.

“They’re ne'er held accountable – ever – conscionable due to the fact that they are settlers, and they person a privilege to person guns, sprout anytime they want, and there’s nary accountability for Palestinians if they’re killed,” said Eid Hathaleen, 41, different assemblage leader.

“Instead, this authorities conscionable supports them with guns, funding, powerfulness and ineligible protection.”

‘The unfortunate pays the price’

On apical of the deficiency of accountability for Awdah’s murder, the villagers recovered themselves targeted by an occupying army, pursuing orders from the accused killer.

Right aft helium killed Awdah, Levi brought Israeli soldiers to place astir a twelve Palestinians helium claimed had attacked him erstwhile helium changeable Awdah.

These men, including Eid and Tariq, were taken to the notorious Ofer Prison. Most of them spent 11 days determination without charge, cuffed, shackled and blindfolded, with situation guards beating them, Eid says.

Khalil Hathaleen, successful beforehand of the caravans, metres distant from wherever Awdah was changeable [Al Jazeera]

“The unfortunate pays the price, portion the slayer is conscionable escaped to go,” said Eid.

And yet, Khalil insists that Umm al-Khair’s tone does not waver.

“After my member [was killed] … each the assemblage promised together, we volition beryllium staying successful the land. The execution of Awdah has not breached the people,” said Khalil. “We cognize what Awdah would want.”

“I similar to dice successful my onshore than for america to go refugees again,” helium said.

Yet, colony leaders similar Eid proceed to preach the tenets that person brought worldwide fame to this resilient assemblage of astir 300 people.

“We told them earlier [Awdah’s murder] and besides after: we request to enactment peaceful, to enactment non-violent,” said Eid. “And to support anticipation … this is the mode we survive.”

But arsenic the signs successful the colony demanding “Justice for Odeh [another spelling of Awdah]” spell unheeded, immoderate similar Tariq turn fatalistic.

“After the sidesplitting of Hajj Suleiman and present Awdah, we each expect to suffer our lives,” said Tariq. “If settler Yinon Levi was punished by the strategy for the sidesplitting of Awdah, this precise beloved person, others would not situation to sprout and termination and execution people.

“But instead, what happened to him is encouraging the settlers to proceed sidesplitting Palestinians and get distant with it.”