The Popular Struggle Coordination Committee (PSCC) calls on your support for the Um Fagarah R-Exist campaign in the threatened South Hebron hills.
In the peaceful landscape of the South Hebron Hills, the occupation of the land is a daily struggle. Whilst life seems to be quiet and smooth; the Palestinian communities often have to forget their basic daily life problems to focus on a main issue: resisting expulsion from their land.
As 60% of the West Bank, the South Hebron Hills lies in the Area C, meaning it is under complete Israeli administrative and political control. Palestinians residing in area C live under harsh conditions in terms of land confiscations, house demolitions, and access to water and electricity… Furthermore, a 7.5 acre area including twelve Palestinian hamlets was designated by the Israeli Defense Force as “Firing Zone 918” or closed military area in the late ‘70s. Among them, Um Fagarah.
Um Fagarah is a small community of the fifteen families living in caves, tents and few stones houses, farming and grazing, as their ancestors have been doing for ages.
With the building and expansion of the four settlements nearby since the ‘80s, the existence of Um Fagarah is jeopardized. To date, its inhabitants lack access to electricity, running water or connection to a sewage system. Furthermore, in November 2011, the mosque, dwellings and basic infrastructures were demolished by the Israeli military as they had been built without the practically unattainable permissions.
In spite of this and other daily harassments and abuses, the community of Um Fagarah remains steadfast in its resolve to remain on their land. “We have been living here before Israel even exist, we will not leave. We will get Um Fagarah back on the map again and bring its people from the caves within to the outside in houses”, Mahmoud Hussein Hamamdi says.
On May the 19th, the PSCC launched a campaign of support for the struggle of this community in assisting in the construction of 15 brick houses and in offering legal aid for solving conflicts with the Israeli authorities. Through the joint effort of members of surrounding communities and other activists, three houses have been built so far. But on 10th June, while only three houses had been built, Um Fagarah received stop working orders from the Israeli Civil Administration. Now, a long judiciary process is initiating…
Please support the community of Um Fagarah in its dignified resistance to the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
Each house has an estimate cost of 5600 nis (1500$ / 1150€).
15 houses have an estimate total cost of 84 000 nis (22 500$ / 17 250€).
DONATE TOWARDS THE COSTS OF BUILDING MATERIAL!
FOLLOW US, SPREAD AWARENESS, AND ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY!
