Operazione Colomba

January 2017

CURRENT SITUATION

In the South Hebron Hills 2017 did not start in the best way. It looked like the causes were distant, but developments were local. In December, UN’s decision to condemn Israeli settlements lit a little hope among the Palestinians, but in January the atmosphere changed dramatically with the arrival of the new US President, Donald Trump and the subsequent decision by Netanyahu to implement settlements in West Bank. Another fact that affected the area south of Hebron was the attack in Jerusalem on January 8. In the days following such attack the military escort for the school patrol was often hours late, or did not come at all, because was busy in controls and checkpoints.
At the same time road demolitions, attacks against International and Israeli activists by settlers, deliveries of stop working orders in the villages near Firing Zone and damage of Palestinian land by settlers kept going on.

December 2016

CURRENT SITUATION

On December 23, the UN Security Council Resolution #2334 reaffirmed “the inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by force, reaffirming the obligation of Israel, the occupying Power, to abide strictly with its legal obligations and responsibilities […] condemning all measure aimed at altering the demographic composition, characteristics and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, including, inter alia, the construction and expansion of settlements, transfer of Israeli settlers, confiscation of land, demolition of homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law and relevant resolutions.”
This recent decision clashes with the reality of a month characterized by the perpetration of abuses by Israeli armed forces in the South Hebron Hills: incessant raids and detentions of Palestinians (according to the non-governmental Palestinian organization Addameer 40 percent of Palestinian men have been detained at least once in their life), deliveries of demolition orders, demolitions of Palestinian structures and confiscations.

November 2016

CURRENT SITUATION

During the month of November the abuses from the Israeli forces have carried on in the occupied Palestinian territories south of Hebron. The Israeli forces have carried out several raids in the Hebron district and in the nearby villages, arresting many Palestinians regardless of their age, including elders and minors.  Confiscations have kept on going, stop working orders have been delivered and demolitions happened, which according to the United Nations are increasing year by year.
Particularly in the morning of the 15th of November there have been demolitions both in the Palestinian village of Umm Al-Kheir and in Deirat.  This month hasn’t seen a lack of roadblocks, strategy that make it impossible for the Palestinians to conduct normal, daily tasks. The 14th of November two roads have been closed in the Hebron district preventing access to the city and the nearby Palestinian village of Sair.