Last week I was in Umm al-Khair, a bedouin community in the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank. The residents shared about settler harassment & home demolitions by Israeli army.
Residents also told us about 2 weddings they will celebrate this week, hoping to get a break from violence & for the community to come together, rest & celebrate.
Now, the community is facing renewed threats & just shared the following statement for the world--please share far & wide!
Even here on Mastodon, the more people read this, the more pressure it will build on the Israeli army to leave the community of Umm al-Khair in peace at least for the duration of the weddings. So please share 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻.
Here is the statement ("tonight" refers to last night, July 23rd):
2/6
"Tonight, two settler soldiers (settlers who don army uniforms and claim authority) drove deep into Umm al-Khair and arrived at the site where the community had set up a tent for a wedding this weekend. Three international activists approached the settler soldiers as they broke a third of the tent structure.
3/6
Despite the community specifically receiving approval from the Civil Administration that day to build this tent, the settler soldiers claimed that they had received instruction to take down the structure because it was “illegal.” They refused to identify themselves or clarify who had instructed them to take down the tent, and further claimed to be the commanders of the region. The settler soldiers refused to leave the village until Palestinians deconstructed the tent.
4/6
They threatened that if the tent was not taken down within 10 minutes, the entirety of it would be forcibly dismantled and confiscated. The police and Civil Administration were called by community members but did not come.
5/6
Without a tent, the community will not be able to celebrate this weekend, the following weekend, or potentially countless more in the future.
Even when granted official approval, the fate of this village and their ability to celebrate communally is left to the whims of settler soldiers. "
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Raphael Mimoun רפאל מימון