2017-12 Newsletter

Monday, 11 December, 2017

NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2017

לעברית

Photo: Orna Naor

A Short Guide to the Bureaucracy of the Seamline Zone

In 2003 we discovered a new term in Civil Administration publications – the Seamline Zone. The word seamline was familiar from the Jerusalem area where it is used. We learned rather quickly that these two seamlines were as far from each other as east from west. And then complaints began to stream in, severe problems concerning life and work in that space.
We wonder how many people really know what the Seamline Zone is. Surely, even most of those who think they know don’t really know everything. It is difficult to grasp its complicated essence, even the State of Israel has yet to decide, because, actually it’s a kind of hybrid.
Yes, it is Palestinian, but not really. Is it a closed military zone? Is it open to any Israeli wanting to visit? What is the rule of law, is it Israeli, Palestinian or military? Who lives there? Settlers, Palestinians, Palestinians with special permits who are allowed to sleep in their own home?
Indeed! All the answers are correct.
Explanations to follow. Read and become all the wiser

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Please Support MachsomWatch

Photo: Rita Mendes-Flohr

Hebron: A Town That Has Become A Prison

“Now is the time to speak of a town that has become a prison.
Men, women and children live here, surrounded by a wall of houses.
These are the houses in which they were born,
and which strangers have invaded.
The army is everywhere –
in earthly matters, in sacred ritual, in public spaces
and in every realm of the individual.”

This is how MachsomWatch volunteers described a recent visit to the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in the old city of Hebron. It is snapshot of the continuous story of a cruel and unjust occupation, sparing no cost in the service of Jewish settlers living in the midst of a Palestinian neighborhood.

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Who Are We, What Is Driving Us?
Lea Shakdiel volunteers in Hebron and the South Hebron Hills

Jordan Valley Demolition in Thabat Mar’I: November 2017

JORDAN VALLEY UPDATE

The conditions for the Palestinians in the Jordan Valley deteriorate from day to day. Living in this remote region means makeshift structures, no schools, no health clinics, no running water, no electricity or minimal utilities. Making a living relies on sheep and goat herding and traditional agriculture. MachsomWatch volunteers have been accompanying these shepherd communities for years. The past weeks have been filled with emergency phone calls to our volunteers as residents there face demolitions, confiscations and expulsions. Our volunteers continue to tour the area, meet with the residents and report on events during this emergency period.

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Yael Agmon, a MachsomWatch volunteer in the Hebron and South Hebron Hills region, has received the 2017 Dror Prize (honorable mention). The award was given in recognition for the Regional Citizenship Project - a Future in the Desert. This project assists Bedouin in the Yeruham region to obtain much needed personal identification documentation.

To register:
[email protected]
https://machsomwatch.org/en/tours
For more information: 055-6641797

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