[WCUSP] Fw: Border Police let settlers retake illegal West Bank outpost

Mon Apr 7 06:17:03 CDT 2008

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jewish Peace News " <jpn at jewishpeacenews.net>
To: <LMFrank1 at verizon.net>
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 6:06 PM
Subject: Border Police let settlers retake illegal West Bank outpost


>
> The article below, on the re-establishment of an illegal settlement in the 
> West Bank, does a good job of explaining the facts of the incident 
> described, but a little more explanation is necessary to explain its 
> significance.
>
> The outpost of Shvut Ami was to be evacuated for the 10th time.  This 
> outpost, it is not disputed, is on private Palestinian land.  A unique 
> tactic was agreed upon for this last attempt to return the land to its 
> rightful owners by the Israeli lawyer, human rights organizations, the 
> local Palestinians and the Army.  The Army would evacuate the settlers as 
> usual, but knowing that they would immediately be free to return, Israeli 
> activists from Yesh Din and Anarchists Against the Wall were officially 
> "invited" by the property owner to be on site along with Palestinians from 
> Qudum.  Coordinating with the Army, it was agreed that only those 
> "invited"-and cleared by the Army-would be allowed on the property after 
> the evacuation of the settlers.  Activists were preparing to spend about a 
> month, in daytime and nighttime shifts, in this way to guard the property 
> from settlers.
>
> Thus it was all the more devastating when about 100 settlers attacked and 
> beat the first six activists on the site just a few hours after the 
> evacuation.  The Army and Police failed to protect them adequately, and 
> they were forced to withdraw in fear of their lives.  The rule of law and 
> justice for the Palestinian owner were once again overturned by brute 
> force, with the collusion of the army and police forces. The activists and 
> villagers, who had put their trust in the Army, were betrayed, and the 
> settlers once again found success by disdaining the law.
>
> The one ray of hope in this story is that it actually drew a rare official 
> apology from the Army, and the evacuation will be undertaken yet again 
> sometime in the next couple of weeks.  The coalition of Palestinians, 
> Israeli activists and lawyers remain determined to try again.  --Rebecca 
> Vilkomerson
>
> ---------------------------
>
> http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/971909.html
>
> w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m
>
>
> Last update - 08:46 06/04/2008
> Border Police let settlers retake illegal West Bank outpost
>
> By Meron Rapoport
>
> The Border Police last week allowed settlers to return to an illegal 
> outpost on Palestinian land in the West Bank and force out left-wing 
> activists who had been authorized to guard the place.
>
> Officials at the Yesh Din human rights group say they had warned 
> authorities of the settlers' plans ahead of time. The Border Police say 
> their forces were unable to gain control over the settlers due to 
> "numerical inferiority."
>
> The incident occurred Wednesday on the Shvut Ami outpost, near Kedumim. 
> According to Israel Defense Forces records, the structure is on land owned 
> by Badriya Amar of the village of Qadum. The outpost has been evacuated 
> nine times, but each time settlers return, preventing the legal owners 
> from reaching the land.
>
> Right-wing activist Datia Yitzhaki, a settler leader in the area, said the 
> structure is "abandoned property" that therefore belongs to the state. 
> "There was an understanding that it belongs to Kedumim and it doesn't 
> matter what the army and the Civil Administration say now," Yitzhaki said.
>
> After repeated evacuations and returns by settlers, Yesh Din, which 
> represents Amar, proposed an arrangement whereby the IDF would allow a 
> group of Israelis and Palestinians to occupy the building to keep out the 
> trespassers.
>
> Attorney Michael Sfard of Yesh Din said the agreement was for the IDF to 
> notify Yesh Din in advance when it planned to evacuate the settlers so 
> that it could send representatives to the venue.
>
> The IDF said in a statement that "the military commander permitted a group 
> of 10 Israelis who were invited by the landowner to enter the site because 
> the IDF recognizes the rights of the Palestinian owners of the building to 
> bring people to the place on their behalf."
>
> On Wednesday morning, the IDF notified Yesh Din of the evacuation planned 
> for that afternoon, but somehow the announcement also reached the 
> settlers, who posted on the Internet calls for supporters to come to Shvut 
> Ami.
>
> Sfard called the IDF's legal department to warn them of the settlers' 
> actions. "They told me not to worry, they'll send four Border Police 
> officers to guard the place," Sfard said. He also sent a letter to the 
> Samaria District Police on the matter, but when he called the office he 
> was told the entire command staff was on a field trip to Eilat.
>
> At 1 P.M., about 100 Border Police officers arrived and evacuated the four 
> young settlers who were there at the time. About two hours later, the 
> leftists arrived, as per the arrangement with the IDF. One of them said 
> the IDF did not permit Amar herself to approach.
>
> "When we arrived there were six or seven Border Police officers and a few 
> settlers," one of the Israelis said. "The settlers started to hit and 
> punch us. At first the Border Police pushed them away but then they left. 
> About 100 settlers climbed up to the site and attacked us. When I 
> approached one of the Border Police he said, 'Do I look like your 
> bodyguard?'"
>
> Sfard sent a second letter, this time to Judea-Samaria District Police 
> Chief Shlomo Ka'atabi, asking him to secure the site "before the violence 
> gets out of control." But only a few Border Police officers remained at 
> the outpost, and they stayed in their vehicle.
>
> "I realized that if the activists stayed their lives would be in danger, 
> so I ordered them to leave," Sfard said. The activists left at about 4 
> P.M.
>
> Yitzhaki confirmed that many settlers who were "furious" about the 
> evacuation went up to the site, but she says it was the police officers 
> who used violence against the settlers. She added that the settlers 
> reoccupied the building after the IDF repaired damage caused during the 
> evacuation.
>
> "They used us to inflate the number of outpost evacuations," Sfard said. 
> "The state says it has evacuated 11 outposts, but 10 of those evacuations 
> were repeated evacuations of Shvut Ami."
>
> ................................................................
> --------
> Jewish Peace News editors:
> Joel Beinin
> Racheli Gai
> Rela Mazali
> Sarah Anne Minkin
> Judith Norman
> Lincoln Shlensky
> Alistair Welchman
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