In the early hours of this morning the Israelis came in large numbers to the area where Maskiot settlers had been intimidating and threatening the Bedouin community of El Maleh.

They declared a Closed Military Zone and demanded that the Israeli settlers who had arrived 4 days ago to dismantle their tent. They also made the Bedouin families of El Maleh, who have been living and farming in the area for 25 years, dismantle their tent and move.

This is not the first time that settlers in the Jordan Valley have forced local Palestinians off their land with the support of the army, but there are fears that this may be the beginning of a more concerted drive to ethnically cleanse selected areas.

During the four days that the bedouin community endured harassment and intimidation from the Maskiot settlers, they were supported by Therezia from Brighton Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group and Jordan Valley Solidarity. Therezia was detained by the Israeli Army for around 2 hours this morning.

On being released she said: “We desperately needed more internationals to come and support this community under threat. We are worried that the settlers will now try to use the same tactics in other areas, and it is really important that internationals in Palestine are able to respond quickly to support the communities in the Jordan Valley”

For more information:

www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org

www.brightonpalestine.org

Previous Articles:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/04/449793.html
 http://www.brightonpalestine.org/node/615
Call to Action -  http://www.brightonpalestine.org/node/616