[See orginal article for video . . .]
Beit Ommar, Southern West Bank, 10:00am: 13 Israeli, international and
Palestinian activists were arrested at 10 am this morning while
accompanying farmers to their land in the Saffa region of Beit Ommar. A
group of nearly 30 activists accompanied Sheik Mohammad Aady to his
land near the Bat Ayn settlement, which is marked for annexation by the
Israeli military. After working on the land for half an hour, soldiers
emerged from the Bat Ayn settlement and surrounding hills and detained
the group.
A number of sound bombs were shot at those working
on the land before the arrests. Amongst those arrested was Biet Ommar
National Committee member and cameraman Mohammed Ayyad. As of 1 pm the
group was still being detained in the police station in the Gush Ezion
settlement.
Upon leaving the nearby village of Beit Ommar,
soldiers fired from their military vehicles around 25 canisters of tear
gas at a group of children who were throwing rocks. The tear gas spread
throughout the residential area.
In the past two weeks there
have been 33 detentions of farmers and activists in Saffa. The military
claims that the land is “state land,” indicating their unequivocal
intention to annex it to the Bat Ayn settlement. All of the farmers
have documents proving their ownership of the land.
Settlers
frequently attack the farmers and land in Saffa. Two nights ago settlers
set fire to 70 olive trees on the hillside near Bat Ayn, and three
Palestinians were arrested as they tried to extinguish the fire. Three
more Palestinian activists who went to take pictures the next day were
also detained.