The Abu Kbeita family - Beit Yatir settlers uproot and re-uproot the family's olive trees
After many sad conversations with Mustafa over the weekend, also at 12 p.m. on the night of 2.6.24, it was clear that we must visit them so as to see, hear and help as best we can. Already days and nights before we came, he sent me photos of olive trees that were uprooted at night by the Beit Yatir settlers who live next door to their land. When they called the police, the officers showed them the pile of uprooted trees, which allowed them to replant the next day. In the photos he sent, I saw the children planting happily.
And this is partly because the High Court ruled that the land belonged to them and was returned after the settlers' attempt to take over (I wrote about this in previous reports).
The next night, at 12:00, Mustafa called and showed pictures of the same uprooted olive trees again. This time the settlers also broke and stole the trees so that, God forbid, they should not be planted them again.
The families of Abu Kbeita, as I reported, live beyond the checkpoint, Metzadot Yehuda, in the area which is considered to be in Israel and the fence bypasses them. This special situation leaves them as residents of Israel but without rights. The children go to study in Imneizil and go through the checkpoint every day and every time they need to go shopping in Yatta they also have to pass through.
Again, to mention that since 7.10 the settlers have been making their lives very hard and are looking for and finding reasons for arrests, harassment and there are repeated attempts to take over territories that are not theirs. The economic hardship is terrible in the absence of permits to work in in Israel and there are also restrictions which make it difficult for them to take the flock to pasture and work their fields. Thanks to your donations, we were able to provide basic necessities and food for 5 families, as well as bags of donated clothes and shoes. The children already knew we were coming and happily unpacked the bags of food and clothes.
Othman, whose hand was severely injured by a settler attack, was arrested and detained for two months for no reason. He says that due to the lack of medical treatment in prison, the hand remains painfully injured and he has difficulty functioning with it. In addition to the uprooting of the trees which began on Friday, June 1, the settlers returned and uprooted trees again on Tuesday night and also stole the seedlings for the second time. The police are called every time and come, but apart from demonstrating their presence and offering to go file a complaint, they do nothing.
Why don't they charge the complaint and register it so that the people don't have to challenge themselves to get to the Kiryat Arba police in this crazy reality? To the god of the occupation the solutions. These were 20 beautiful and large olive seedlings that a friend in Yatta who owns a nursery donated to them.
Mustafa and Othman also say that a few days ago settlers wearing uniforms (impersonating settlers) came at noon and just walked around their houses without saying anything and left.
And this is an event that repeats itself all the time.
Abuse of authority
The planting and uprooting photos were taken by the Abu Kbeita family.