As Na'alin protests fence, Hashmonaim residents hide
Residents say they are stifled by a strong-smelling substance used to disperse demonstrators.
By Liel Kyzer Tags: separation wall Israel news IDFAt about noon on Friday, at the village of Na'alin a demonstration begins against the separation fence, which signals to the residents of Hashmonaim, a community several hundred meters away, that it is time to close the blinds and windows and stay inside.
Nearly six months have passed since several dozens protesters against the fence have began to regularly demonstrate in the area, and the Israel Defense Forces and Border Police who arrive to contain the demonstration use a variety of means to disperse the crowd. The means, including tear gas and a sprayed substance that covers the demonstrators with a terrible smell, helps disperse the demonstrations, but they also disrupt the routine of the people in nearby Hashmonaim.
"This was a quiet place, a nice place to live," said Osnat Gilad, a resident of Hashmonaim, near Modi'in Ilit, for the past decade, "but since the trouble started everything changed."
She says that "on Fridays, midday, it is impossible to go outside, you just cannot breathe." She lives at the edge of the community, very close to the fence.
"If you want to go out and enjoy the garden on Friday afternoon, it is simply impossible because of the strong smell outside," she said. "At first, when the demonstrations began and the army began using the foul smelling stuff, we were sure that the neighbor is using fertilizer for the lawn, but we understood later that it came from the direction of the fence. Our relations with the residents of Na'alin are very good and we've hired them to work here for years, and suddenly we found ourselves living on the border."
About 500 families live in the religious community, and on Friday evening several dozen people walk to prayers at the local synagogue, as the tear gas and the smell still lingers in the air.
"Last week, the son of the neighbors came over in panic and said that his eyes were burning," said Tamar Roth, whose home is also close to the fence. "I washed his face with lots of water and tried to calm him down but it is not an easy thing."
"There are stink bombs and the smell is just sickening, and we are closed in the house and dare not go outside because it takes several hours for the smell to pass, and during Sukkot we were afraid we would not be able to sit in the sukkah because of the frightful smell," Roth said.
"The IDF is taking action in order to secure the fence with a broad mix of crowd dispersal means whose purpose is to minimize harm to those involved in the disruption of order in the area of Na'alin," the IDF Spokesman said.
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There are international agreements between sovereign nations, but there is no such thing as international law. Treaties, such as the Geneva Convention, become U.S. law when ratified by the senate. We don't (yet) have a world government to promulgate international law because thus far each nation is still sovereign.
Hashmonaim is legal. THe fence and it's location were decisions of the Israeli supreme court. Many citizens from Naalin and other neighboring villages are provided employment opportunities as a result of Hashmonaim. Residents are simply dissappointed that protests are being waged by outsiders who are creating an unpleasant environment for both the residents of Naalin and Hashmonaim.
The Jewish village of Hashmonaim sits on land bought by the residents with their own money. To those who say they are on "stolen" land: Do Jews not have a right to buy land?
HUH! Since when did Hashmonaim become an illegal Settlement? That has NEVER been a question. Or were you perhaps suggesting that Jews have no legal right to live in Israel? on legally bought land? ... Point of fact is that the area that is today Hashmonaim was No-Mans land between Israel and the Jordanian Occupied West Bank during the 48 to 67 time period. It was EMPTY land owned by Arabs, since murdered by their brethran for selling it to JEWS who wanted to live there. .. Further, I would like to point out.. I AM NOT HIDING! We go about our daily business on friday...maybe a little quicker and perhaps with a towel over our nose but we are NOT hiding.... Kind of nice to live in a country where you dont get shot for protesting! Try doing that in any of our neighboring countries! And to number 18...what the heck are you talking about??..Cheap Government-subsidized housing?! My house is not cheap and I sure dont remember getting any checks from the government to build it!
There you folks go again.... spouting off without knowing the facts... Hasmonaim residents are not "indulging in the cheap, Government-subsidised housing scam on stolen land." as Cummings spouts.. Hasmonaim is fact a private development whose residents have received zero government funding or subsidies. Further, the land has been purchased legally in a bona fide realty transaction - 100% legal according to international and commercial law. Mr. Cummings.. for all your progressive political views..., actually it sounds like you are a bit of a racist tsk.. tsk...... stating clearly that Jews can not purchase land and live wherever they want... sounds a lot like you support the Nuremberg laws...
First: of all Hashmonaim land was legally purchased. There are deeds to prove it. Two: the relation ship between Hashmonaim and Na'alin has been very good for over 25 years. If the out side foreign instigators (European and American anarchists ) were kept out of Na'alin, then the people of Na'alin can go to work earn a living for there family and continue to have peaceful relationship with there neighbors. We are nice to them and they are nice to us. One question if you stop settlement building how are our good neighbors going to earn a living for there families. When they can't, this is how an intifater starts. To all those out there, get your fax straight before you open your mouths. it can lead to unnecessary deaths. stop the anarchists let people live in peace.
to Murray of response #17 in Milan Italy: I suggest you spend your time protesting against the severe human right violations and genocide the Italian government committed when they supported Hitler in WWII, before you focus on settlements in Israel which have solid legal grounding in international and commercial law.
Whether or not Israelis bought legally the land on which Hasmonaim was built, they have no right to settle there. I can buy land in the US, but that doesn't let me settle there. The settlement is against international law, to which Israel signed up in 1950. End of story.
Hashmoniam is of course built on Palestinian land, not Israeli land. It is a settlement and therefore in breach of international law. (As Palestine is held under 'belligerent occupation', the settling of the occupier's population there is illegal under established international law). So while the world does nothing to halt the settler enterprise, fair enough that local Palestinians should protest. The good settlers of Hashmoniam should have thought of that before indulging in the cheap, Government-subsidised housing scam on stolen land.
First: of all Hashmonaim land was legally purchased. There are deeds to prove it. Two: the relation ship between Hashmonaim and Na'alin has been very good for over 25 years. If the out side foreign instigators (European and American anarchists ) were kept out of Na'alin, then the people of Na'alin can go to work earn a living for there family and continue to have peaceful relationship with there neighbors. We are nice to them and they are nice to us. One question if you stop settlement building how are our good neighbors going to earn a living for there families. When they can't this is how an intifater starts. To all these out there, get your fax straight before you open your mouths
The "stolen land" upon which Hashmonaim sits was purchased from the Arab owners. In order dor the land to be "stolen", the previous owners would have to return the purchase price. Not likely, considered one of the previous owners was murdered by the Palestinian Arabs when they learned of the sale. What wonderful people! The other previous owner fled for his life. Jason, Kiwi Girl, Yezmar, JW & Ricardo: The lands that you presently live on were stolen from the original native settlers. The US, Australia & Palestine were all colonized by the British - never purchased. So who lives on stolen land (ye dwellers in glass houses)?
... Continuted from previous post... whose original ownership was not 100% clearly in the original real estate transaction. However, #5, unfortunately I doubt you will take up this invitation since people like yourself prefer to spout off ?feel-good? comments without doing any real research and would most likely not consider visiting a ?settlement? at any rate. Then again, if you have been to Manhattan, which was purchased from Indians for trinkets valued at $24, you would feel even more comfortable in Hasmonaim, which was purchased for much more money than that.
This is a response to #5 and to others that have responded with "fashionable leftist" comments to this article without having any background of the history of the "Settlements" and Hasmonaim in particular. The land that Hasmonaim is built on was purchased in a bona-fide real estate transaction in the early 1970?s when two Israeli real estate entrepreneurs purchased the hills that Hasmonaim lies on from several Arab families who received significant and fair market compensation. The land was not ?stolen? as # 5 claims in his talkback. Unfortunately, #5 can not get in contact with the sellers of the land to verify this transaction, since they were subsequently murdered by the PLO for selling their land to Jews. #5, you are welcome to visit Hasmonaim, where you can see for yourself how the residents respect the rule of law. 4 small plots of land near the edge of the fence are not built on, since nobody would want to even take a remote chance of purchasing land.... (continued in next post)
The reason there is no peace is due to the inability of the IDF to establish law and order. Israel never wins they just push back at the criminals but does not prevent them from breaking the law. All the rioters must be arrested and punished.
I'd rather live with a smell than under prolonged military occupation. Wouldn't you?
I was opposed to dividing Israel with the security fence but now I realize it has saved countless innocent Arabs and Jews from being murdered by Islamic terrorist. This is a good thing for those who care about humanity but for enemies of Israel who miss daily suicide mass murder bombings they are sad that this stopped. The IDF needs to use more than bad smells against the criminal rioters.
The actions of the Occupying Army is turning into hell the lives of the illegal settlers it is trying to protect. This is a huge success of the nonviolent resistance movement. Victory to the Palestinian People!
A few word come to mind...clueless...chutzpah...criminal...ghetto...fill in the blanks...
It is so sad and frightening when people spew anti israel hatred without really knowing the facts of the dispute or history and worse yet, without wanting to know the facts. It is comvenient to just believe what you want. When we llived in Europe everyone wanted us out of Europe. When we live in israel we are told this is not our home. Where, exactly would you like us to live? I think I know the answer to that. The problem seems to lie in the notion of a Jew living.Period.
Ok, not really land grabbers, but squatters on land stolen from the Jews 2000 years ago. There is more than enough factual proof that shows Israel was a Jewish country before the Romans invaded and occupied the land. The Jews were turned into refugees and finally returned after different colonial empires ruled the land... from the Romans to the Byzantines to the Ottomans to the British. But the only people in the world who can factually trace their refugee status to "Palestine" are the Jews, and we are thus returning refugees and not colonists. Unless, of course, you believe that there is a statue of limitations on refugee status. In that case we'll simply wait until the Palestinians' refugee status expires. We are, as the surveys and news and politicians say, willing to share the land with them too.
How tragic for these settlers who -other times of the week - very much enjoy living on stolen land. Meanwhile those whose land was stolen are in the midst of the attacks which the settlers sense. And well meaning International supporters of justice, like American Tristan Anderson, is shot directly in the face with bone fragments going into his brain. But really it is terrible what those settlers have to endure.
They're sitting in someone else's garden, on stolen land. Why should these thieves sit easy?
Reading this makes me sick...there are people fighting to keep there homes and and these clowns are complaining they cannot sit in there garden..they are completely ignorant of what is going on around them.
What a sick society....
Just think of how bad it is for the residents of Nil'in who are being deprived of their lands and livelihoods thanks to the illegal fences Israel has put right through their village. Maybe these Hashmonaim residents should complain to the IDF.
Seeing as Goldstone spent 24 pages talking about the rockets, 3 of them on the stress these rockets caused, I'm sure if you invite him to re-write his report if Israel co-operates, he'll spend a few on the suffering that Hashmonaim residents are being subjected to by these Palestinians. he might even call it a war crime.