Rights group keeps Palestinians farming, and the settlers at bay

[Coastie for Truth]

Settlers yesterday tried to prevent Palestinian farmers from plowing three plots of land in the West Bank village of Tulat east of Qalqilyah. Only after human rights group Yesh Din intervened and alerted security forces to the area were the farmers able to resume work, the Israeli nonprofit organization reported.

The villagers claim that on Saturday four Israelis, apparently from one of the adjacent settlements, beat two shepherds from the village. The shepherds intend to file a complaint with the police today.

--snip--


Yesterday morning when they came back, however, the farmers noticed settlers gathering with dogs on a hill overlooking their fields, where Elmatan in located. The Palestinians stopped working and immediately called Yesh Din. Soldiers who arrived at the scene intervened, distancing the settlers and the farmers.

According to a Yesh Din representative, the settlers claimed that the plots were state land, but a Civil Administration official who arrived on the scene rejected that claim, saying it was the villagers' private property. The farmers resumed work three hours later.

--snip--

What is Yesh Din -- Amira hass didn't go into detail, but here's a link to their web site . The web site describes Yesh Din as

Established in March 2005, Yesh Din is made up of volunteers who have organized to oppose the continuing violation of Palestinian human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Some of us have long been active in defending human rights, and others have just recently joined the struggle. We have different personal, professional, and political backgrounds but are united by our deep concerns over the serious damage the occupation is inflicting on both Palestinian and Israeli societies.

Our mission is to create long-term structural improvement in human rights situation in the OPT. We work for a speedy and meaningful change in Israeli authorities' practices by collecting and publicizing authoritative and current information about the systematic violation of human rights, applying public and legal pressure to government authorities to end the violations, and raising public awareness of human rights violations in the OPT.

To effectively achieve our mission, Yesh Din operates according to a model that is unique to human rights organizations in Israel. We are an organization directed and run by volunteers and receive guidance from a professional team of lawyers, human rights experts and media consultants to help us accomplish our goals. As such, Yesh Din benefits from professional consulting, communications, and legal services on a daily basis.

Yesh Din is currently devoting its time and resources to promoting law enforcement of settler violence in the West Bank. ()

Directors include:
# Shulamit Aloni
# Michael Ben Yair
# Rut Dayan
# Colonel (Ret.) Paul Kedar
# General (Ret.) Shlomo Lahat
# Michal Smoira-Cohn

If you have to ask who these people are, especially Shulamit Aloni, then you really have no understanding of Progressive politics in Israel, or the Peace, Arab Rights, and Women's Rights movements

[Englander]

1. As Shulamit Aloni gets a mention, here's a recent article -

'Bloody Mofaz

IDF elite sent to kill, be killed for defense minister's satisfaction

Shulamit Aloni

If we thought the strategy of power and more power and still more power had come to an end, that the policy of destruction and assassination "over there" and terror attacks here in response had come to an end, if we'd hoped we'd reached the end of the systematic extra-judicial violence, with no judge or jury - guess again.

The addition of Shaul Mofaz to Kadima, and the apparent promise made to him that he would be defense minister in the next government, should set off many flashing red lights amongst those who hope for an end to bloodshed, to the lawlessness in the occupied territories, to deceit, to lies, to abuse and to unnecessary danger of " the best soldiers" being sent to kill and be killed for the satisfaction of Mofaz and his chief of staff.

Yes, for Mofaz's satisfaction, as well as that of his emissaries. For there is no existential need for the provocations undertaken again and again by the IDF amongst the Palestinians in the West Bank – provocations that do much to perpetuate feelings of fear and hatred.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3183760,00.html