Description

A Palestinian activist runs from teargas after Israeli forces evacuate a
protest camp in the West Bank village of Burin, south of Nablus, Feb. 2, 2013. (Reuters/Mohamad Torokman)

Soldiers Attacking A Nonviolent Protester - Image By Ali Abu Rahma

A Palestinian farmer from Burin inspecting the remains of his olive trees on Sunday. Settlers from nearby Yitzhar allegedly pulled them down. Photo by AFP

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6 Photos by Simon Krieger
2 Photos by Allison Degar
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IDF razes Palestinian West Bank encampment despite being told it had no authority to operate there

The IDF said the site, which is south of Nablus, is 'on the seam between Areas B and C.' Area C is under complete Israeli security and civilian control.

By Chaim Levinson for Haaretz

The Israel Defense Forces demolished an encampment set up by Palestinians near the West Bank village of Burin over the weekend even though the Civil Administration says the army is not authorized to operate there.

Before the demolition, the Civil Administration informed the IDF that it was not authorized to take action because the land is in Area B, which is under Palestinian civilian control.

The IDF said the site, which is south of Nablus, is “on the seam between Areas B and C.” Area C is under complete Israeli security and civilian control.

Palestinians set up the encampment Saturday, bringing tents and a tin structure to a parcel of land that belongs to Burin and has been the site of multiple clashes between Burin residents and settlers from the nearby outpost of Givat Ronen.

Clashes began anew shortly after the Burin residents set up the encampment, which they are calling Al-Manatir, and Border Police forces under the command of Lt. Col. Oriya Hetzroni had trouble getting the situation under control.

A film of one of the arrests made by Border Police officers shows them attempting to handcuff a Palestinian man lying on the ground. An IDF soldier is seen placing his foot on the man’s pelvis.

The army issued an order declaring the area a closed military zone, in an effort to prevent others from arriving to intensify the fighting.

An officer from the Civil Administration, which is responsible for enforcing building and planning laws, was present and said that since the structures were erected in Area B, only the Palestinian Authority has the right to enforce civil law such as that governing illegal construction.

Hetzroni ordered the encampment demolished anyway and the soldiers began to break up the tents with their hands. Residents of the nearby Jewish outpost made off with the tin structure.

The IDF said four security personnel were hurt in the fighting.

“A violent and illegal disturbance of the peace took place [Saturday] near Burin, south of Nablus, in which 150 Palestinians participated, who threw stones at security forces,” the army said in a statement. “The disturbances took place on the seam between Areas B and C. Therefore it was decided at a certain point to declare a closed military zone due to fear of real harm to the area’s residents. During the disturbances four security personnel were injured and seven Palestinians who disturbed the peace where arrested.”

The army said it was investigating “the confiscation of the tents” and the video showing the IDF soldier standing on the pelvis of a Palestinian man, an incident it said will be “dealt with if necessary.”

A senior IDF Central Command officer told reporters Sunday that the army was ready for Palestinians to begin setting up their own outposts in the West Bank but was still surprised that it happened in the Burin area.

Until Saturday’s incident, the IDF has generally been careful to adhere to laws governing the removal of structures deemed illegal.

For example, the army has ordered the removal of structures built on the portion of the Palestinian Bab el-Shams outpost that is on state land. It has categorized the structures, located in the E-1 corridor linking Jerusalem with Ma’aleh Adumim, as a case of “new squatting.”

However, the structures built on adjacent private Palestinian land were ordered demolished under building and planning laws instead.

For Jewish outposts, there must legally be a hearing phase before demolition orders are approved.
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NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces evacuated a protest tent set up earlier on Saturday by Palestinian activists in Nablus, leading to clashes which injured at least 20 people.

Earlier, around 200 people from across the West Bank set up the "Al-Manatir neighborhood" encampment in an area of Burin village that activists say is slated for confiscation by a neighboring settlement.

Burin is squeezed between the Bracha and Yitzhar settlements, and is the target of regular settler violence.

Israeli forces raided the area and forcibly removed all activists from the site. Soldiers fired multiple tear gas canisters at the protest village, injuring at least 20 Palestinians, witnesses said.

Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Daghlas told Ma'an that during the clashes, settlers attacked Burin with fire-bombs and rocks, damaging homes, cars and setting fire to olive trees.

Earlier on Saturday, 16-year-old Zakariya Al-Najjar was hit in his thigh by a bullet fired by settlers in Burin, a Ma'an reporter said.

Groups of settlers also gathered near Yizhar settlement and threw stones at passing Palestinian cars.


Palestinians Diyaa Bani Audah, Ashraf Abu Rahmah from Bilin, Wahib Qadus, Barakat al-Najjar, Bakir al-Najjar, Ibrahim al-Najjar and Udayy Ahmad from Burin were detained by Israel's military during the clashes.

An Israeli army spokesman confirmed that seven people were arrested.

Fatah official Mahmoud al-Aloul told Ma'an that Palestinians will continue to confront settlers and illegal settlement expansion.

"If they demolish a protest village, we will erect a new one, and we will continue until the Palestinian people retrieve all their rights," he said.

Burin protesters said they had been buoyed by a report issued on Thursday by United Nations human rights investigators who called on Israel to halt settlement expansion and withdraw all settlers, adding that the practice could be subject to prosecution as a possible war crime.


The "Al-Manatir neighborhood" is the fourth such initiative in recent weeks.

The Bab al-Shams village was set up in an area where Israel plans to build the "E1" settlement, severing the West Bank from Jerusalem.

Then, locals established the al-Karamah (Dignity) village in Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem, which is set to be tightly encircled by Israel's separation wall.

Last week, activists set up the Al-Asra, or prisoners, protest village in the village of Anin, northwest of Jenin.

Israeli forces have moved to evacuate the camps and dismantle their structures.

Reuters contributed to this report