Incident Report January - June 2019

Christian Peacemaker Teams

Arrests and Detentions 3 Settler Violence 4

Home Demolitions 6 Use of Force 7 Restricion of Movement 9

South Hebron Hills 12 Arrests and Detentions

The Israeli Occupation Forces regularly carry out arrests of Palestinian adults and children as a part of their general policies of repression and collective intimidation. Arrests occur as arbitrary actions that deny Palestinians the liberty and security of person that is outlined in Article 9 of the International Convention on Polit- ical and Civil Rights. Palestinian children are also subject to arbitrary arrest and detention. While Israel is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Israeli Occupation Forces regularly take advantage of a loophole in Article 1, which states “... a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier”. The State of Israel treats all Palestin- During the January - June 2019 reporting period, ian children in the occupied territo- CPT documented the following arrests in H2 Hebron: ries over the age of twelve as adults Adult arrests: 11 men within the court system. Conversely, Child arrests: 4 boys settler children who also live in the occupied territories are not considered adults 17 February until they are eighteen years old. Bab al-Baladiyeh During the late afternoon, occupation forces that had entered the Old City arrested a 14 year-old boy at Bab al-Baladiyeh. The boy’s parents were present at the arrest. A soldier at the gate informed the human rights observers present that a report was filed with them by a settler that this boy threw a stone at him while he was in the bathroom, and for this, occupation soldiers arrested him. The child was blindfolded by the soldiers during the arrest.

10 May Tel Rumeida Occupation soldiers had arrested three Palestinians in the Tel Rumeida Neighborhood; Mohammad, Aouni, and Tarek, 18, 21 and 20 years old. The family of one of the arrested told human rights observers that the three Palestinians were sitting in front of Emad’s house in Tel Rumeida when a group of soldiers accosted them and dragged them to the checkpoint located close to the house. Emad and his wife tried to alleviate the situation by attempting to de-arrest the Palestinians, but the Israeli soldiers pushed them away. After about an hour, the Israeli soldiers released the three that they had arrested. Settler Violence

There are five main settlements within and around the Old City of al-Khalil (Hebron), with more than 600 settlers who live there and more than 2,000 Israeli occupation soldiers stationed there to provide them protection.

Tel Rumeida Neighborhood

Tel Rumeida is a neighborhood connected to the Old City in al-Khalil (Hebron), bordering Shuhada Street in the Old City that is closed to Palestinians. The situation within the neighborhood of Tel Rumeida is abnormal and highly restrictive; the Palestinian residents are surrounded by three checkpoints, and passing through any of them will involve the military checking their IDs to make sure that they are residents. In practicality, this restriction means that they are isolated from the world outside.

Tel Rumeida was invaded by Israeli settlers in the way that many Palestinian neighborhoods have been, but unlike others, its citizens have refused to vacate it for the settlers; it is because of this that the people of Tel Rumeida suffer at the hands of the military and the settlers. Emad from Human Rights Defenders, a human rights monitor group based in al-Khalil (Hebron), has told CPT that the people of Tel Rumeida endure “nearly daily attacks either from soldiers or settlers, homes being raided and [soldiers] arresting family members”.

Rima is a 45 year-old woman who lives in Tel Ru- meida and told CPT: “Years ago, I was pregnant with twins. When labor time came, it was one of the hardest times. My husband called the ambulance to take me to the hospital as soon as possible. When the ambulance finally arrived, the military didn’t let them in. I had to walk through the main checkpoint to get to the ambulance. When I arrived at the hospital, I was given two choices, give up my life or one of the babies. I thank God I have Haitham [the surviving child]”.

On 23 May, Israeli settlers attacked the Sharabati family house in Tel Rumeida. The family went out to stop them, and they got attacked by the settlers. Human Rights Defenders, who were there with the family, told CPT that the military only began to engage in the situation after the Palestin- ians started to react. The soldiers had beaten two boys. Mufeed, an elderly man, was also injured; he was brought out in a wheel chair with sustained injuries to his right knee. Soldiers then attempt- ed to block Mufeed from getting to the ambulance until a group of Palestinian men pushed the soldiers in order to let them get out with the Mufeed.

4 On the 22 June, Israeli settlers threw glass bottles and trash bags in the direction of a Palestinian shop on Old Shalala Street in the Old City of al-Khalil (Hebron). The shopkeeper’s daughter was injured; her fingers were cut on a piece of broken glass. Shop- keeper Shadi told observers that some settlers were taken into custody by Israeli police. Commenting on the seeming arrest, Montaser, an 11 year-old boy, said “Yes, they will take them back to their houses, safely” after talking with him about Israeli settlers attacking him. According to B’tSelem, there is a legal basis for the military to arrest the settlers but in reality they are not willing to. About 85% of investigations into such cases ended with no further action taken, and that the odds of a police complaint filed by a Palestinian resulting in the conviction of an Israeli civilian were a mere 1.9%. Given the futility of this effort, many Palestin- ians choose to forgo filing a complaint altogether.

The residents of Tel Rumeida are trying to devise ways to defend themselves and their families. Zaid, a 12 year-old Pales- tinian boy says: “Every time I went the direct way to my home I got harassed by settlers, so now I have to go the round-about way which takes 15 minutes more”. Some community members 12 February, Qurtoba have taken proactive measures to defend their homes, but even Israeli settlers bussed in from Kiryat these actions are subject to the decisions of the settlers. On Arba tried to enter Palestinian homes 30 April, a Palestinian family was ordered to tear down a fence next to Qurtuba School. When they that they had just started building to protect themselves from couldn’t enter, they stoned the homes settlers attacks. Armed Israeli settlers were also at the scene, and the school. Then attacked Palestin- as they had originally complained to the authorities about the ians in the cemetery near the school. family’s recent home renovation. It was later confirmed that the fence mentioned in the initial call was in fact going to be a small wall in front of their property, which they had gotten permission 5 May, Shuhada Street from the Israeli civil administration to build. Eventually, the po- A group of 15 young settler boys were lice forced the Palestinian homeowners to cut about four feet occupying the roof of what used to be from the rebar foundation of the wall using their own tools. a Palestinian home. In order to get up there, the boys apparently vandalized a Hani, a resident of Tel Rumeida, shared how the community is door, physically breaking it in order to strongly attached to each other and that individual issues are gain access to the roof. While on the community issues. “We stick together for better and worse,” he roof, they littered and and began making said. “These attacks mainly to make us leave our home for them, noise and shouting. Their presence there but that won’t happen, staying here is our way of resistance “ attracted the attention of the Israeli soldiers and police officers in the area. The Israeli police eventually ordered the settlers to get down from the roof.

5 Home Demolitions

ome demolitions violate universal human rights and attack the most basic necessity of any family – the need to have shelter and a place to call one’s own. Israeli Occupying Forces have a practice of not only demol- ishingH family dwellings, but also the surrounding infrastructure, such as schools, water cisterns, and community centres. In the morning of the 11th of June, the Israeli Civil Administration, along with the Israeli army, demolished a Palestinian home in Jabal Johar neighborhood in al-Khalil (Hebron), in an area that is considered part of Area C.

The house that was demolished belonged to brothers Bara’ and Lafe, who had finished building it. After completion of the construction, the Israeli Civil Administration came and said to stop building. They gave the family a paper and said it was from the Israeli courts. This happened 20 days before Ramadan began, which did not give enough time for the Palestinian family to finish the necessary paperwork.

On the morning of the demolition, the Israeli military surprised the Palestinian family with bulldozers at 7:00am. Bara’ said to the Israeli military commander, “Why are you here today? I haven’t finished the paperwork yet.” The commander replied that they were instructed by the court to come and demolish the house. In fact, the Israeli forces did not even have a demolition order to give to the family. At the same time, after the initial stop order, the family had not undertaken any further work on the house, believing that they were going through the proper legal process in order for the building to be preserved. Two families were supposed to live in the now-demolished building, totaling thirteen people, including children.

“We have been here before,” said Bara’ and Lafe. Israeli military forces destroyed one of their large dairy farms 17 years ago. One of their current challenges is that after placing all of their savings into the construction, the family now has no money left to pay the bill that Israeli authorities presented them for the demolition. “We will start all over again,” they said.

Demolitions have long been a tool of Israeli settler colonialism. According to the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions, Israeli Occupying Forces have demolished over 49,000 structures since 1967. UN-OCHA reports that between January to June 2019 in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli forces demolished six structures (two of which were inhabited residential buildings), displacing four Palestinians, and affecting an additional 136 people. The most common reason given by Israeli authorities for demolitions is the absence of a building permit or license to build. In reality, according to Oxfam, Israel denies more than 95% of the applications to build that come from residents in Area C—which includes the area around Hebron and the South Hebron Hills.

6 Use of Force

se of force is regulated by International Humanitarian Law (IHL) on the conduct of hostilities, which concludes that lethal forces should be the last resort to be used. The mainU principles of the conduct of hostilities are “there must be a lawful target of the attack; the expected harm to civilians must not be disproportionate to the military advantage to be gained; all feasible precautions must be taken to limit the harm caused. If any information comes to light changing the assessment under the first two principles and that might suggest unlawfulness, then the strike must be suspended.”

Additionally, Israeli forces have a specific level of regulations regarding use of force: “First, water cannons, teargas, and stun grenades may be used. Next, warning shots can be fired into the air. Finally, and only if the disturbance is violent, the firing of rubber-coated metal bullets is permitted.”

In this reporting period (January - June 2019), CPT Palestine documented the following used by Israeli forces:

224 teargas canisters, 86 stun grenades, 6 incidents of rubber bullets, 8 incidents live ammunition

All of the uses of these weapons were during demonstrations, or stone-throwing incidents against fortified checkpoints, where there were no life-threatening situations against Israeli forces. The behaviours of Israeli soldiers and border police are met with impunity and the Israeli Defense Forces, Order No. 101, point 10, which states: “Without derogating from the powers of a soldier under the Order Regarding Security Provisions, every soldier is authorized to use the degree of force necessary to carry out a command given under this Order or to prevent violation of this Order.”

CPT Palestine documented three main types of incidents where the Israeli military used force: stone-throwing, nonviolent demonstrations, and Israeli settler incursions. 7 Nonviolent Demonstration Deal of the Century Stone-throwing as a reaction Palestinians in al-Khalil (Hebron) demonstrated from to the killing of a Palestinian 23 June to 25 June against the so-called “Deal of the Century”, the peace proposal put forward by United In March 2019, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli States President Donald Trump aiming to resume ne- forces in H2 Hebron. Palestinian youth started throwing gotiations between the PA and the Israeli Government. stones at the Israeli military Checkpoint 56 in protest, The United States did not openly reveal the details of and Israeli soldiers responded by firing rubber-coated the proposal; the main point known is a return to a bullets and live ammunition. two-state solution; the status of Jerusalem is not in- cluded in the proposal, nor is the issue of clearly-de- fined borders. Over the course of three days- Pales tinians organized nonviolent demonstrations against the “Deal of the Century”, during which Palestinian children and youth would sometimes throw stones at checkpoints. As a result, Israeli forces used teargas and rubber bullets against the demonstrators, in addition to detaining and arresting Palestinians.

Resisting Israeli Incursions into Hebron H1 During Passover, as part of their celebrations of the holiday, Israeli settlers visited the Cave of Othniel Ben Knaz, a site which is located in H1 under PA control. In the 1997 Hebron Protocol it was mentioned that this location should be protected by the Palestinian Authority; worshipers and visitors should be escorted by a joint mobile unit. Both Israeli soldiers and border Open Shuhada Street police were present when the Israeli settlers visited the cave, with four military vehicles to escort settlers The annual commemoration of the 1994 Ibrahimi from Tel Rumeida Checkpoint 56 to the Cave of Oth- Mosque massacre took place on 22 February. The Open niel. More than 50 soldiers and border police were Shuhada Street demonstration is annually led by vari- present, and closed the shops on the street that lead ous Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent organizations, and to the tomb, denying people access or passage through this year, 400 people participated in the action that de- the checkpoint. With all these measures in place, manded to lift the closure of different areas of Hebron. Palestinian youth would throw stones towards the Israeli forces responded to the demonstration with Israeli military, and the soldiers responded by using a disproportionate reaction of use of force, including teargas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades against the rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades, and teargas. youth present. 8 Restriction of Movement

Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State. (Article 13, Universal Declaration of Human Rights.)

Both sides reiterate their commitment to the unity of the City of Hebron, and their understanding that the division of security responsibility will not divide the city… [B]oth sides share the mutual goal that movement of people, goods and vehicles within and in and out of the city will be smooth and normal, without obstacles or barriers. (Article 9, Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron)

Palestinians today do not experience “the unity of the City of Hebron.”

Of the 200,000 residents of al-Khalil (Hebron), Israelis have constructed a system of barriers, over 99.5% are Palestinian, including the 33,000 heavily-armed checkpoints, supplemented by tempo- Palestinian residents of the H2 district that rary choke-points during armed operations. These remains under direct Israeli control. Despite the arrangements present Palestinians with constant commitments of the 1997 Protocol Concerning and unpredictable challenges ranging from minor de- the Redeployment in Hebron, the movements of lays to a complete inability to reach home or work. Palestinian people, goods, and vehicles within H2, Each Palestinian contact with an Israeli checkpoint or and between H2 and the rest of the city, are not barrier or tour or police action also represents a “smooth and normal.” risk of search, detention, arrest, or violent incident. To secure the several hundred Israelis living in Cumulatively the Israeli controls take an enormous settlements within H2, and to provide for their economic toll as Palestinian residents, merchants, convenience in entering and leaving H2 and customers, and their guests, are discouraged from touring Palestinian streets and markets at will, building, trading, or raising children in H2.

9 deally, CPT and partners would be able to monitor all of those potential points of contact, to verify freedom of Palestinian movement and document its denial or delay. The examples of interference presented below mustI be regarded as a sample -- occurrences CPT has documented -- but Palestinian community members vouch for the constant interference, indignity, and the psychological burden of living under armed occupation, to which these samples bear witness.

Any given incident, of course, can combine several of these infractions of freedom of movement. Here are statistics CPT has gathered during CPT documents restriction the first half of this year, followed by examples of the incidents that of movement as follows: generated these numbers. ID checks These statistics do not include the incidents that we observe during Body searches school hours, involving the movement of schoolchildren, teachers, and Vehicle stops / searches others through specific checkpoints. (Please see CPT’s separate report Delays at checkpoints on school-related incidents.) Checkpoint closures Religious restrictions

Body Searches

January: 1 man 1 February: 1 man 1 March: 16 men, 2 boys 18 April: 228 men, 1 boy 229 May: 156 men, 12 boys, 1 girl 169 June: 107 men, 1 woman, 1 boy 109

ID checks

January: 19 men, 2 women 21 February: 1 man 1 March: 43 men, 3 boys, 12 women 58 April: 151 men, 1 woman, 2 boys 154 May: 91 men, 10 women 101 June: 136 men 136

10 Jewish Holidays Checkpint Closures

22 March 22 April On the way to the Ibrahimi Mosque Bab az-Zawiyeh Checkpoint 56 Owing to the Purim holiday, Israeli settlers were moving freely about the streets leading to the Mosque checkpoint. Eighty Israeli soldiers and border police, and four All Palestinian adults going to the mosque for armored cars, blocked all Palestinian traffic for six hours Friday prayers were subjected to ID checks. to give settlers exclusive acess to the area. During Israeli forces conducted many bag searches and Passover Festival activities. Palestinians living in the body searches. Palestinian men spoke of up to area, and in the Tal Rumeida community, were not a two-hour delay getting from their homes in H1 to the allowed to access their neighborhoods. On three Ibrahimi mosque and up to three checks at three separate occasions Palestinian men were violently separate checkpoints before entering the mosque for wor- grabbed and detained by Israeli soldiers by the road ship. barrier.

Vehicle Stops / Searches Checkpoint Delays

22 April 18 March - Mosque Checkpoint Bab al-Baladiyeh, north entrance to Old City Around 40 tourists and shoppers from the old All Palestinian movement -- pedestrians and cars -- market were stopped at the mosque checkpoint with- was called to a halt by ten soldiers from the base at out explanation. Two rumors were circulating: “One man Bab al-Baladiyeh. After five minutes, pedestrian traffic was arrested for having a knife in his backpack which was permitted to resume, but vehicles continued to be resulted in his arrest and subsequent full checks for blocked for another hour and a half. each person one by one” and “There was a school 11 March group of boys on a field trip to the mosque which needed to checked one by one so the CP was closed Old City until they were all cleared.” The checkpoint was closed for more than 20 minutes. Soldiers conducting a shop-to-shop ID check blocked stairwells and held back Palestinian pedestrians. Palestinian vehicles were stopped until each man could be checked one by one and released. Questioned by a CPTer, a soldier explained, “This is a routine check, normal day.” 8 January Old City

Five Israeli soldiers stopped and searched Palestinian cars in the area up the hill from the Al Natsha Olive Press. Soldiers stopped every car that drove along the street in both directions, opening the drivers’ doors, looking inside the cars and making the drivers open the trunks of their cars so the soldiers could search inside. Soldiers also frisked and searched Palestinian men who tried to pass the soldiers to reach their destinations.

11 South Hebron Hills

CPT Palestine responded to a request from the community in at-Tuwani for a short-term presence in the South Hebron Hills during the month of June. CPT Palestine used to have a team based in at-Tuwani from 2004 to 2011 and continues to maintain relationships with the communities in the South Hebron Hills.

Al-Seefer village is located in the Seam Zone, meaning it is in Palestinian West Bank territory between the 1949 Armistice Line (the internationally recognized border between Israel and Palestine) and the Separation Barrier built by Israel. The village is surrounded by Israeli settlements and next to an Israeli military checkpoint. The 60 Palestinians living in al-Seefer are cut off from the rest of the West Bank, as their friends and families require special permits to enter the Seam Zone and visit them. Residents of al-Seefer face challenges in accessing water, electricity, and education, as well as living with a constant threat of home demolitions and harassment from Israeli settlers.

2 June: The Israeli military detained a Palestinian shepherd and his sheep in the village of Um Fagarah, saying that the sheep had gone too close to the main road and the nearby Israeli settlement Avigayil.