Orphans Under Threat

Chicago Tribune Wrote:

2008-08-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

Israel targets West Bank charity sites

Islamist outlets shut by crackdown deny backing Hamas or spreading agenda

By Joel Greenberg Chicago Tribune correspondent
July 24, 2008

HEBRON, West Bank—For more than 40 years, the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron has provided social services to residents of this volatile West Bank city, helping orphans and needy families. Its new school for girls was to open next month, a mall it operated housed shops and offices, and it ran two bakeries and a sewing shop.But in a series of raids in recent months, the Israeli army ordered the mall vacated and emptied the charity's main warehouse. The school gates were welded shut, school buses were seized and the sewing shop was closed in a nighttime sweep in which Israeli soldiers, their faces darkened by camouflage paint, stripped the place bare.The raid was part of a crackdown against business enterprises, schools and welfare groups in the West Bank that Israeli military officials say raise money and mobilize public support for the militant Islamic movement Hamas, which has carried out dozens of suicide bombings in Israel and whose charter calls for Israel's destruction.
Fighting 'civilian Hamas'The army campaign began this year in conservative Hebron, where Hamas has a strong following, and was extended this month to Nablus, where soldiers ordered the closing of a five-story mall and raided city hall, whose elected municipal council is controlled by Hamas.

The campaign against Islamist institutions in the West Bank comes as Israel's military and Hamas' armed wing are observing a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas routed the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last year.The West Bank government of Abbas shut down dozens of West Bank charities said to have links with Hamas late last year; the Israeli crackdown has had the practical effect of complementing the Palestinian Authority's campaign."The army has realized that the battle is not only against terrorism that is visible for all to see but against those who generate the funds needed to build bombs and buy guns and ammunition," said Oron Mincha, a spokesman for the army's Central Command."The campaign now is against the civilian Hamas, which provides the ideology for Palestinian youth to believe in holy war and the destruction of Israel," he said.
Groups deny claimsBut the Islamic charities and welfare groups involved vehemently deny promoting any militant agenda, insisting they are grass-roots social organizations formed to fill gaps left by inadequate government services. Some Palestinians see the Israeli crackdown as part of a grander scheme."This is part of an Israeli strategy to destroy the infrastructure of Palestinian society and make it needy, unable to help itself and subject to foreign agendas," said Samira al-Khalaika, a Hebron lawmaker affiliated with Hamas.Established in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising, Hamas has always maintained both an armed wing responsible for fighting Israel and a social welfare network that runs health clinics, orphanages, soup kitchens, kindergartens and schools. Those institutions have boosted the group's popularity and solidified its reputation for honesty and public service — in contrast with Fatah, which has been plagued with corruption.Yet not all Islamic welfare groups are linked to Hamas, and critics of the Israeli campaign say it is misdirected, targeting vital supports of Palestinian society.The mall ordered closed in Nablus is owned by a finance company accused by the Israelis of raising money for Hamas. Computers, furniture and documents have been seized from the company's offices, and on Monday, 14 members of its board were detained.The Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron, the largest in the West Bank, was founded in 1962 under Jordanian rule, and before most of Hebron was transferred to the control of the Palestinian Authority it was licensed by the Israeli military government .Now the Israelis designate the society — which runs orphanages and schools in the Hebron area — a banned organization because of its alleged links to Hamas.
Teaching 'hatred'At the Al-Huda mall in downtown Hebron, which was ordered vacated by April 1, most of the premises are empty. A dress shop, cosmetics store and computer outlet are shuttered. The office of a physical therapist and a lawyer are vacant, with signs directing clients to other locations. The society's hangarlike warehouse, which contained clothing, shoes and school supplies for needy students and their families, is also bare. Rasheed Rasheed, a teacher who works for the group, said soldiers worked a full day to load several trucks with goods, also hauling off industrial refrigerators used to store meat for the orphanages and the poor.At the Al-Rahma bakery, where soldiers seized equipment, walls were broken and a large oven was heavily damaged. Rasheed said the soldiers set fire to the oven when they couldn't carry it off.Mincha, the army spokesman, denied that any property had been vandalized, suggesting that the damage had been staged, but he confirmed the confiscation of goods and closure of the school and building complexes owned by the society.Rasheed emphatically denied that the Hebron charitable society had any links to Hamas, noting that it was established well before the militant group even existed. He said the schools follow the curriculum of the Palestinian Authority."The only curriculum of incitement and hatred is the Israeli checkpoints, the beating and killing of Palestinians," Rasheed said. "That is what teaches Palestinian children hatred. We don't have to."

To read original report, click here

jogreenberg@tribune.com

Despite fear, concern and disruption: 11 students of the 12th grade got more than 90% at Tawjihi Exam

2008-07-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

First on boys in Hebron District /Scientific Stream :

98.4%

First on girls in Hebron District/Literary Stream:

97.1%

They never let us down. Despite all bad days we went through, our boys and girls accepted the challenge and proved to everybody that they chose the way to success. Those same students who were accused of being a victim of incitement, being taught hatred and being fed with '' Jihad principles '', got the highest marks in the General Certificate Exam (Tawjihi) of the 12th grade , today.

Seven girls got high marks in this test: 97.1% , 94.5% , 92.8% , 92.4% , 91.2% , 92.1% , 90.8%. Four boys got: 98.4% , 97.6% , 94.7% , 90.3%.

Congratulations to everybody! Wishing them the best in their study.

The Solidarity Football Championship in Support of the Islamic Charitable Society

2008-07-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

In support of the orphans of the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS), the YMCA, DCI (Defence for Children International), CPT(Christian Peacemaker Teams), AIC(Alternative Information Centre) have organized a solidarity football championship.

Good games with wonderful players

The Japanese Team and EAPPI

Teams ready to play

YMCA Team , distinguished team in everything

CPT Team

EAPPI Team and the best player of the championship Jean-Marie (first row, third from right)

The winner, MYA (Muslim Youths' Association)

A participation gift for the Japanese Team

Sara Venturini, the organizer, and a special gift

Al- Qattan Foundation Supports '' Sanabel Theatre '' Performances

2008-07-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

The Sanabel Theatre from Jerusalem has performed two plays for the orphans early this morning. The children were very happy singing, dancing and clapping during the shows. It was such a wonderful change for orphans after all that they have gone through. The shows were fully supported by Abdel Muhsen Al-Qattan Foundation in Ramallah.

When Good People Speak: Paul Rehm of CPT Wrote an Article in Timesunion from US

2008-07-05T04:26:00.000-07:00

Speak out to protect the children

By PAUL REHM

First published: Saturday, June 28, 2008

They come in the middle of the night, some with blackened faces. They prefer the darkness, these men and women who take food and clothing meant for orphans and needy families.
Shortly after midnight on April 30, these Israeli soldiers drove through the streets of Hebron to raid the sewing workshop in a Palestinian girls' orphanage. Taken by surprise when my Christian Peacemaker teammates found them there, they would not answer Art's challenge, "Is this the way you fight terror -- stealing clothing and sewing machines from a girls' orphanage?"
"Look at yourselves. Now tell me who the terrorists are." Could Art's words have been ringing in their ears as they discarded their loot at the municipal dump?
On Feb. 26, the Israeli army had ordered the Islamic Charitable Society to close the orphanages and schools it oversees in Hebron, along with the central warehouse and bakeries that serve those facilities. The army claimed there was a connection to Hamas. The ICS staff told us some employees are members of the political party Hamas and others belong to Fatah, but that neither party controls the charitable organization.
"If the army has evidence proving any ICS employees are involved in illegal activities," they added, "arrest those individuals and bring them to trial. Don't make the orphans and students suffer."
Those pleas fell on deaf ears. In March, the army raided the ICS central warehouse and took away school buses, clothing and food.
We walked through that ransacked warehouse -- shelves stripped, doors smashed, broken glass on the floor -- one more instance of the violence faced by people who ask our group to work with them as they attempt to resolve conflicts nonviolently. Christian Peacemaker Teams' commitment to nonviolence and peacemaking evolves from the life and teachings of Jesus. Besides Hebron, we also have teams in the nearby village of At-Tuwani and in Colombia and Iraq.
The army gave the Islamic Charitable Society until April 1 to vacate its buildings. In support of the children, and in keeping with Christian Peacemaker Teams' practice of getting in the way between oppressors and the oppressed, we slept on mats in the boys' and girls' orphanages for several nights at the end of March and start of April. The soldiers did not come.
A few weeks later, they did return in the night -- not to the orphanages but to one of the bakeries. They set fire to the commercial oven, smashed walls and ventilation pipes and drove away into the darkness.
While the army has been making its late night rounds, people in the West Bank and Jerusalem -- men and women, including Christians, Jews and Muslims -- concerned with human rights and the welfare of children have been raising their voices in the light of day. European Union Vice President Luisa Morgantini called the decision to close the ICS schools an "arbitrary and illegal action perpetrated by the Israeli military against the civil population."
Former President Jimmy Carter called for "people of good will to join me on behalf of the orphans and students ... so that 240 children will not lose the place they've come to know as home and 1,700 students will not be thrown out of school."
Rabbi Arik Ascherman of the Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights, forbidden by Israeli law from entering the area of Hebron where a news conference was held, phoned in his message of support. The Israeli journalist, Gideon Levy, was one of the first to speak out: "How pathetic is an occupation army that empties out warehouses of food and clothing earmarked for orphans."
In times like these, when Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire joins the struggle by sleeping in at the girls' orphanage, you and I can also speak out for the children of Hebron. We may not be presidents, vice presidents, rabbis, journalists or Nobel laureates, but our individual voices are critical. We can make ourselves heard. We can contact the Israeli embassy in Washington and ask that the closure orders be rescinded and the ICS compensated for its property. We can phone our representatives in Washington and ask them to bring America's influence to bear on behalf of the orphans and students in Hebron.
Or we can do nothing. The children will never know.
Paul Rehm, who lives in South Westerlo and retired as director of purchasing for Stiefel Laboratories, is a reservist with Christian Peacemaker Teams. He can be contacted by e-mail at kprehm@aol.com.

to read the article in timesunion , click HERE

Why Are We Working With Orphans?

2008-06-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

" He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing." Deut 10:18

" And they ask you concerning orphans. Say: "The best thing is to work honestly in their property, and if you mix your affairs with theirs, then they are your brothers. And Allah knows him who means mischief (e.g. to swallow their property) from him who means good (e.g. to save their property)." Baqara – 220

Christians and Muslims speak from the same tradition of loving peace and justice, and of caring for the weak and in need, especially for the children in our midst. Hand in hand, we are co-partners in serving people in need. Muslim and Christian charities offer vital services to local communities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Without the work of our religious charities, the care and enormous resources we provide to suffering people would fall upon the shoulders of local governments which are unable to meet these needs.

The work of these charities is irreplacably in this society.

2008-06-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron

Briefing 27 June 2008

On 26 February, the Israeli Military issued 6 military orders declaring the confiscation and closures of facilities belonging to the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) in Hebron.

Targeted facilities:
Two bakeries
One apartment building
One administrative building
A new shopping mall
A warehouse
Three schools
Two orphanages
Schools, kindergartens and other facilities in surrounding villages(Beit Ula & Shyukh)

As of 27 June Israeli Military has confiscated/shut:
The warehouse with over $300,000 worth of school supplies, clothing, and food
Two new school buses
The apartment building with thirty units
Two bakeries supplying 5,000 families with bread
Welded shut the gates of a school for 1200 students, scheduled to open on Sept. 2008 (Worth $2,000,000)
A sewing center where girls learned a craft and earned pocket money. (The sewing machines and bolts of cloth used by the students were thrown on the city dump as the soldiers left the city)
Schools, kindergartens and other facilities in surrounding villages(Beit Ula & Shyukh)
For further details, see the attached list of total costs to the Charities.

The Israeli measures in Hebron constitute a series of violations of International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law and International Law:
· The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, articles 6 and 7
· The Fourth Geneva Convention, article 39 of the;
· The Convention on the Rights of the Child, article. 38
· Article 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (which stipulates the duty of the Occupying Power to facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of children)
· The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 26 (right to education of children), article 9 (guarantees protection against arbitrary arrest and detention)
· The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 9
· The Oslo Agreement
· The Hebron Agreement

New development:
These military orders also represents a new and worrying development as they refer to confiscation and transfer of ownership of private property in the H1 Area of Hebron (under Palestinian control) to the Israeli Army. The PA Minister of Social Affairs, Dr. Mahmud Al-Habbash, who visited ICS Hebron Wednesday, June 11, confirmed that "This is against all the agreements between the PA and them [the Israelis.]. It is a violation of all Human Rights Agreements. We have informed all internationals about these illegal actions''.

Affected beneficiaries:
A particularly vulnerable segment of the population, namely children from mostly impoverished families, is being deprived of specialized services that provide much needed support and fundamental coping mechanisms.

As of today:
The Israeli Army has yet to implement the remaining provisions of the orders, i.e. the eviction of the ICS and the orphans from the property and the transfer of ownership of the property.

Fear:
While the world is watching the orphanages and schools, the Israeli Military is stripping the Charities of millions of dollars in assets, jeopardizing decades of work and investment by ICS to assure the support of the orphanages and other charitable services provided to the increasingly impoverished city of Hebron.

Charges against the Charities:
The Israeli Army claims that the Charities are a front or fund raiser for Hamas, and that some of the staff or board members are implicated in Hamas activities in one way or another. Yet, no proof has been presented to the Charities, the press or NGOs involved in protecting the orphans.
Charity accounts have always been open and are submitted to the PA as they were to the Jordanian Government before 1967. All sources and expenditures are fully documented and no one has raised any questions about the accounts.The only criteria for selection of orphans is that they are in need, there is no political agenda. The Israeli Military makes the generic charge that the Charity assists prisoner's families, and although the PA, most major UN groups and NGOs do provide such assistance, this Charity does not.

International support:
Due primarily to the efforts of the Christian Peacemakers in Hebron a wide variety of supporters, including Nobel Peace Laureates Mairead Maguire and Jimmy Carter, the Desmond Tutu Foundation, the UN Commission on Human Rights, Rabbis for Human Rights, and the YMCA's, have rallied to help, and internationals have been sleeping in the Orphanages to comfort the frightened children and to deter invasion when the risk seems high.

Mairead Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, recently visited the Orphanages of Hebron while on a visit to the Occupied Territories to support non violent resistance there. She said she was shocked and disheartened by the havoc and ruin being created by the Israeli Army in the lives of the poorest and weakest of Palestinian society, the orphans and the children of the poor. The orphanages, she said, are at the heart of programs run by the Islamic Charitable Institutions (ISC) in Hebron, who have served the needy of that city since 1962."

We ask that:
The Israeli Government be held accountable by the International Community for its abuse of the rights of the children to protection and education. As an occupying power Israel has legal obligations (under the Geneva Convention) to protect the population in the occupied territories, especially women and children.

Palestinian Authority and the Charities:
We are grateful for the steps taken by the United Nations (UNSCO) , and the information given it by the assistant to the PA Prime Minister, stating that “the PA has not received any information that benefits have stopped reaching beneficiaries and that they should let him know if they heard otherwise." We appreciate their support. We are now pointing out that, as our summary of the impact of Israeli confiscations to date has made clear, the infrastructure and fund raising mechanism that supports these children and their services has been badly and possibly permanently damaged. Services to the orphans and other needy groups, and staff salaries, have already been cut.

The PA Minister of the Interior has appointed nine board members who are not affiliated with any party. The board, however, refuses to take responsibility until it receives guarantees from the PA and the Israeli Authorities that they and the board will not be targeted, and that the Army will stop any further actions against the Charities. As a result of this lack of a functioning board, the Charities can no longer access their own bank accounts or reach their own funds.

WHAT IS THE UK GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY DOING AS ISRAELI MILITARY TARGETS AND DESTROYS MUSLIM CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS IN HEBRON?

2008-06-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

On 5th June, 2008 whilst attending Conference in Bil’in on Nonviolence, I Was invited by friends, who are members of Christian Peacemakers’ team based in Hebron, to go with them to see what is happening in Hebron.

On arrival in Hebron we met with the Administrator of the Hebron Orphanages. He explained that the Israeli army is threatening to close 14 schools and orphanages in the Hebron district. Eight of these schools and orphanages belong to the Islamic Charitable Society, while the remaining six belong to the Muslim Youth Society.(On 26th February the Israeli army forces handed over military orders of closures and confiscations of two bakeries, administrative buildings, a warehouse, three schools and two orphanages. All of these owned by the ICS.)

He took us to see a newly built school owned by ICS , (cost of two million) which was due to be opened in August, but is now closed. The Israeli Military has welded the gates of the school closed and the reason given, as for all these closures are, ‘security’. Beside the school we visited a large warehouse and met the caretaker. He explained that in March the Israeli Military arrived at 3 a.m., and left at 9 a.m., they tied him up and proceeded to pack and removed all the food and clothing in the Warehouse and destroy the interior of the buildings, smashing everything in sight. The contents of the warehouse were for the orphans and the poor and the premises run by Islamic Charitable Society. We then visited a burn’t out bakery (there was another destroyed Bakery but time did not permit a visit). Again the Israeli military destroyed the entire interior, burning completely the huge baking oven. This bakery cooked over 3,000 loaves of bread, and were subsidized by charity, to feed the orphans and poor. The jobs created by these Islamic Charitable projects, are gone and in the short time not able to be replaced. We also visited a Boys’ and Girls’ Orphanage both under military orders of closure. The ICS will challenge these closures in court, but in the meantime the Israeli military are systematically during the night, raiding and destroying the buildings. The fear now is that the Orphanages and school will be raided and destroyed. In an attempt to stop this Islamic Charitable Society have invited people, including Internationals to sleep overnight in these buildings in the hope that the presence of Internationals might deter the Israeli military nightly raids of destruction. I join 4 friends in sleeping overnight in the Girls’ Orphanage, and we were alone in this building, as the children have gone to friends for the Summer school period. Luckily the Army did not arrive, but what Will happen when there are no internationals to sleep over? And the world sleeps
While this destruction takes place. Before our sleep-over we met local Muslims and were hosted to a beautiful meal and great kindness and gratitude for our presence.

The outside world, for the most part, is unaware of this Israeli Government’s Policy of demonization, wilful destruction, of the Muslim Institutions, one by one, in an Attempt to destroy the spirit and resilience of the Muslim Communities, not only in Hebron but throughout the illegally occupied Palestinian terrorities. It was for me horrific to witness, the Israeli Government, (and the USA/UK Governments’ War on terrorism), come to be played out on the streets of Hebron, against Orphan children. (If the schools and orphanages continue to be closed down, and the military continue to destroy completely these institutions, then 7000 children will be without school and 4,500 children will be without homes). The excuse given is that these Islamic Institutions are a front for ‘hamas’ but the Islamic Charitable Society was established In l962, and all their financial dealings and accounting are completely open. The money for the school and orphanages comes from local investments (they have their own businesses) from donors abroad and from Arab and Western countries (Prince Charles, through a UK Trust has donated towards these orphanages).

I was shocked and horrified to see the destruction of these Islamic Institutions. The threats of the Israeli Army (and Government) against Orphans must be loudly Resisted by all of us concerned for a violent free and peaceful world for Muslim Children, indeed all our children. This behaviour is immoral, unethical and illegal And the Israeli Government should be held accountable, by the International Community, for its abuse of the rights of the children to safety and education. As occupiers of this country they have legal obligations to protect the occupied, especially women and children.

The United Kingdom has many questions to answer here too. Tony Blair is based In East Jerusalem, (a few hours from Hebron, so he is well aware of this systematic Wilful destruction of Islamic charitable institutions) and his brief is to help Palestinian economic reconstruction. How ironic whilst he is suppose to be helping businesses etc., the Israeli military are in the dead of night, spreading terror and destruction of the Islamic communities. What is Mr. Blair and the UK governments doing about this?

One of the things that struck me during my visit to the illegally occupied terrorities Was the courage, friendliness and resilience of the Palestinian people. But I was Also conscious of the fact that so many of them are traumatized by what is happening, and in bewilderment that the outside world, is silent and inactive in face of their Tremendous suffering, and blatant dispossession and persecution. The World must act against this ongoing destruction by Israel of the Palestinian people and their institutions, and by Israeli racist and apartheid policies, in the villages and cities of occupied Palestine, including the siege of Gaza.

All Occupations come to an end, as this one surely will, but if this occupation continues, it will begin to destroy the very soul of the Jewish people, and leave a legacy of anger and resentment within some the Arab people, especially the young, which will take generations to heal.

It behoves the Israeli (and International community) to awaken now to the urgency of Justice for the Palestinians, by ending the Siege of Gaza, the Occupation of Palestine, And moving to build justice and reconciliation, whilst there is still time to turn this around, and before more blood of Israeli/Palestinians brothers and sisters is shed.

Mairead Maguire (Nobel Peace Laureate)
Hebron, in the Palestinian occupied terrorities.
5th June, 2008.
www.peacepeople.com

COSTS TO DATE OF ISRAELI ARMY ACTIONS AGAINST THE CHARITIES

2008-06-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

Statement from the ICS accountant

· Al Huda School and furnishings, padlocked and inaccessible, $2 million
· Warehouse, $500,000 for the building and $300,000 for the confiscated materials
· Bakeries: $48,000 for buildings and $56,000 for the equipment
· Al Huda Mall and Al Qasimi Apartment Building, $140,000 lost in annual rent
· Ten families out of 30 have left the Al Qasimi Building and another 4 are planning to leave. All but three tenants in the Al Huda Mall have left; 11 shops of 13, 10 offices of 12.
· Workers of the sewing workshop, warehouses, and bakeries (42) are at home, unpaid.
· Daily pocket money for orphans reduced from 3 to 1 NIS a day
· Three projects canceled, each for 1070 families.
· Cost of rental buses to finish out the school year, to replace those taken, NIS 18,000
· From the time the second bakery was closed, NIS 12,960 to provide bread for the orphans and school children.
· Staff have not been paid for 45 days. They took only 40% of their salaries the last month they were paid.

The Palestinian Minister of Social Affairs Visits the Orphanages

2008-06-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

The Palestinian Minister of Social Affairs, Dr. Mahmud Al-Habbash, visited Wednesday, June 11, the threatened orphanages in Hebron. Al-Habbash met with ICS seniors and had a briefing on the work of the Charity. He also visited the Hebron Boys' Orphanage and paid tribute to the high services and well organized facilities.
Dr. Al-Habbash said that the Palestinian President, Mr. Mahmud Abbas is highly interested in this problem. ''He keeps asking Mr. Fayyad about the Charities in Hebron,"said Dr. Al-Habbash.

The Minister said that the Palestinian Cabinet has formed a special committee to follow up with the Israeli measures against Islamic Charities.'' The Cabinet decided that the Minsters of Justice, Civil affairs and Social Affairs will be part of this committee,''added the minister.

''We don't work for Israel. This is against all the agreements between the PA and them. It is a violation of all Human Rights Agreements. We have informed all internationals about these illegal actions,'' Dr. Al-Habbash continues.
''The Islamic Charitable society is one of the biggest charities in Palestine. We have always supported it and we will never stop. If we had found something wrong in its work, we would have closed it years ago. The Israelis have no right to do that. The islamic charity needs to be thanked for the work it has been doing and we will encourage and support ,by all means, the work of this charity.''

Internationals Visiting the charity

2008-06-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

Mairead Corrigan Maguire - Nobel Peace Laureate, 1976 - visits raided facilities of ICS and stays at the orphanage over night

2008-06-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

Mairead Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, recently visited the Orphanages of Hebron while on a visit to the Occupied Territories to support non violent resistance there. Despite her experience with many suffering peoples, she said that she was shocked and disheartened by the havoc and ruin being created by the Israeli Army in the lives of the poorest and weakest of Palestinian society, the orphans and the poor. The orphanages are at the heart of programs run by the Islamic Charitable Institutions in Hebron, who have served the needy of that city since 1962.

Holding the Holy Quran
Inside the raided warehouse

“I was shocked and horrified to see the destruction of these Islamic Institutions. The threats of the Israeli Army and Government against Orphans must be loudly resisted by all of us concerned for a violence free and peaceful world for Muslim Children, indeed for all our children. This behavior is immoral, unethical and illegal. The Israeli Government should be held accountable by the International Community for its abuse of the rights of the children to safety and education. As occupiers of this country they have legal obligations to protect the occupied, especially women and children. “

Inside the wrecked bakery

'' The outside world, for the most part, “Maguire continues, ” is unaware of this Israeli Government’s Policy of demonization and willful destruction of the Muslim Institutions, one by one, in an attempt to destroy the spirit and resilience of the Muslim communities, not only in Hebron but throughout the illegally occupied Palestinian territories. It was for me horrific to witness how the Israeli Government’s, (and the USA/UK Governments’) War on Terrorism comes to be played out on the streets of Hebron against Orphan children. If the schools and orphanages continue to be closed down, and the military continue to destroy completely these institutions, then 7000 children will be without school and 4,500 children will be without homes.''

Having dinner at the Girls' Orphanage

In the kitchen at the Boys' Orphanage

“ The excuse given by the Army” Maguire adds, “ is that these Islamic Institutions are a front for ‘Hamas’ but the Islamic Charitable Society was established in l962, and all their financial dealings and accounting are completely open [and have been so since the founding]. “The money for the school and orphanages comes from local investments (they have their own businesses), from donors abroad and from Arab and Western countries (Prince Charles, through a UK Trust has donated towards these orphanages).”

A coffee break at the Boys' Orphanage

Looking at the wrecked oven

Inside a classroom

At the Girls' Orphanage with CPT and Internationals

“The United Kingdom has many questions to answer here too.” Maguire charges. “Tony Blair is based in East Jerusalem, (a few hours from Hebron), so he is well aware of this systematic and willful destruction of Islamic charitable institutions and his brief is to help
Palestinian economic reconstruction. How ironic whilst he is suppose to be helping businesses etc., the Israeli military are in the dead of night, spreading terror and destruction of the Islamic communities. What are Mr. Blair and the UK governments
doing about this?”

More Internationals Visit the Orphanages

2008-06-06T22:01:00.000-07:00

At the Girls' Orphanage

Inside the raided sewing workshop

New Military Raids - ICS branches in Beit Ula & Shyukh near Hebron

2008-06-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

Very early this morning , Thursday, the Israeli military raided two charities , branches of the Islamic Charitable Society, in Shyukh and Beit Ula villages near hebron.

The military confiscated and closed a building in Shyukh that has a school, a kitchen, a kindergarten and administrative offices. They took almost everything. The estimated confiscated material reaches more than 60,000 NIS.
It is not clear yet if the Army has orders to close the school and the kindergarten although the outside door,that was welded shut, leads to them.

The ICS - Shyukh Branch employs 30 employees that take care of a 170- student school (for boys and girls) and a 250-child kindergarten.

Whereas, the Beit Ula branch employs 67 employees that run 2 schools and 4 kindergartens. The boys' school has 190 students while the girls' school has 230 girls. The 4 kindergartens has the total of 409 boys and girls.

The Military confiscated orphans' files, examinations' papers and even students' birth certificates from the school. After finishing the raid, they welded shut the gates of the school and plastered a military order of closure for three years.

Statement of Support - United Methodist Church

2008-06-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR MUSLIM ORPHANAGES IN HEBRON

WHEREAS on 26 February 2008, Israeli military forces entered buildings owned by the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) in Hebron, ordering closure and confiscation of two bakeries, administrative and commercial buildings, a warehouse, three schools and two orphanages; and

WHEREAS on 6 March 2008, the Israeli military raided the central warehouse and a bakery, confiscating refrigerators, vehicles and other supplies intended to fill the needs of children (estimated value of the seized goods $400,000), and

WHEREAS the orphanages and schools serve 6000 needy children and house hundreds of orphans who would be left homeless and hungry if the Israeli military carries out the closure; and

WHEREAS the Israeli High Court ruled that the Israeli military failed to provide justification for closing the institutions, and whereas, the Israeli military carried out further confiscations and closure orders even after the Israeli court ruling, still threatening the orphanages; and

WHEREAS human rights organizations, Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy, and diplomatic officials have rallied to support the orphans, and

WHEREAS Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) including Dianne Roe (whose work with CPT is a NCNY conference advance special) stayed overnight at the girls' orphanage, toured the threatened institutions and worked with a broad coalition of Israelis, Palestinians and internationals to counter the impending closure of the orphanages

The North Central NY conference of the United Methodist Church does RESOLVE to

1) Express its outcry at the Israeli invasion, destruction and theft of the properties of the
Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron.

2).Ask congressional representatives to urge the State Department to pressure the
Israeli Military Commander to rescind the order to close the orphanage .

3) Publicize our resolution (and the orphanage situation in Hebron) in local media
outlets.

4) Call on churches to include the Hebron Orphanages in prayer concern time Sundays
in June 2008, and in future Sundays as the situation develops.

5) Encourage establishing relationships between youth groups in NCNY conference and
the schools and orphanages threatened with closure.

Sponsored by the NCNY Conference Task Force on
Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel

To read the original document, please, click here

Internationals Start Sleeping at Orphanages and Schools

2008-06-03T02:56:00.000-07:00

Hatred and Incitement in the Palestinian Curriculum !!!

2008-06-03T02:53:00.000-07:00

Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, PA Legislative Council member for the Jerusalem District told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview on Dec. 16, 2004:

"There are some who say that the Palestinians incite and are anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, which isn't true. There's not a single anti-Semitic word in the textbooks. But anyway, there are fads of accusations. These take on a life of their own when they keep being repeated.

"At one point, about two years ago, there was a wave of all these articles that show that Christians in Palestine were badly treated. I haven't read any recent ones at all, but I think this was a way of maligning the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority even though I know for a fact that it is the opposite.

"The violence is not manufactured by the Palestinians. The occupation is violent. Palestinian children don't have to learn about violence from textbooks or TV. All they have to do is watch the news. All they have to do is live in an area that is bombed or shelled or where their parents are arrested or beaten up.

"Studies show that more than 80% of Palestinian children are in constant trauma. Most Palestinian children have had relatives killed and have themselves been subjected to violence. So, the reality they live in is inherently abnormal, and therefore, to say that they are being bombarded with [messages of incitement and violence], no, it seems to me that it is the occupation at fault.

"Furthermore, they are robbed of their traditional source of security and comfort, their families, since their parents themselves are vulnerable and cannot protect their children. There are all sorts of problems that these poor children have to contend with. I've always called for less violence on all television because reality is violent enough."

To see more pictures:

Schooling under occupation in Hebron

Children Under Occupation

Read about Palestinian Textbooks:

Palestinian curriculum

Read about Israeli Textbooks and Incitement:

The attitude towards Palestinians in Israeli textbooks

Military School by Gideon Levy

Racism and Hatred in Israeli Textbooks

Basic Ignorance

Child Recruitment In Israel

Hebron Orphanages and Schools on BBC

2008-05-31T07:10:00.000-07:00

In the evening of May 27, and in one of its main news programmes, BBC covered the story of the orphanages and schools of the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) in Hebron. A result of long and good planning by the producer Daniel Clarke and Middle East Correspondent Tim Franks of BBC Jerusalem.

In order to listen to the report, please click here.

Tim Franks

BBC Middle East Correspondent

PRESS RELEASE

2008-05-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron
For Immediate Release, 29 May 2008
CPT Contacts: office 011-972-(0)2 222 8485
Email:cptheb@palnet.com,
For more information visit http://www.hebronorphans.blogspot.com

Act Now! Stop the Closing of Orphanages and Schools in Hebron by the Israeli Military

Breaking News:
In his meeting on May 21st with members of the Steering Committee for Supporting the Orphans, Mr. Jawad Bulos, lawyer for the Islamic Charitable Society(ICS), gave a briefing on the legal side of closing and confiscating the ICS facilities."The very first moment the Charity received the closure orders I appealed to the Military Legal Advisor and asked him to arrange a meeting with me. The advisor refused to meet me and later he rejected our appeal. I was forced, then, to appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court," said Bulos.'' Five days after my appeal to the court, the court unexpectedly refused to issue a stop order (prohibition order). I was informed later that the court will not discuss our appeal before October,'' added Mr. Bulos. Although it appears that the military is working towards closure on the ground Bulos does not think that the military will take further actions that might embarrass the court. Yet, '' I can not trust the Israeli Military,'' he said. These events leave the future of the orphanages and schools in a confused state.
Bulos further stated, “We discussed all details and ways of getting out of this tunnel. The military officers seemed not interested”. He concluded his briefing by saying that he believes that the work of both local and international groups is equally important.

Act Now!

It is therefore of utmost importance that all NGOs and internationals who have been involved in this campaign continue to pressure their governments to insist that Israel not only stop this action but also pay restitution for the losses suffered by the institutions involved. Please contact your Congress Representatives or Members of Parliament as soon as possible.

The Steering Committee also encourages all NGOs or visitor to the West Bank to spend a night or more in the Orphanages to discourage the Israeli Army from further actions.

Contact CPT Hebron for these arrangements: cptheb@palnet.com (subject line should contain Hebron Orphanage)

You can find the Israeli embassy in your country at http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Diplomatic+missions/Web+Sit...

CANADA:
Embassy in Tel Aviv:
The Canadian Embassy, PO Box 9442,
Tel Aviv67060, Israel.
Fax: (011 972 3) 636-3380. Email: taviv@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

Prime Minister Stephen Harper,
Office of the Prime Minister,
80 Wellington Street Canada,
K1A 0A2. Fax: 613-941-6900
Email: pm@pm.gc.ca

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada,
Maxime Bernier,
House of Commons Ottawa ON, K1A 0A6.
Fax: (613) 995-0687
Email: BerniM@parl.gc.ca

You can mail your MP at the House of Commons address, or find their email address at http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCode.asp?Source=SM

UNITED KINGDOMEmbassy in Tel Aviv:
British Embassy,
192 Hayarkon StreetTel Aviv 63405,
Israel. Tel:(+972 3) 725 1222;
Fax: (+ 972 3) 527 8574.
Email: webmaster.telaviv@ fco.gov.uk

Prime Minister Gordon Brown,
10 Downing Street,
London SW1A 2AA
To email the Prime Minister go to
http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/page821.asp

Foreign Secretary David Miliband,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
King Charles Street,
London SW1A 2AH.
Tel: 020 7008-1500

To email MP, MEP's, MSPs, or Northern Ireland, Welsh and London AMs,
go to http://www.writetothem.com/

Contact details for UK Members of Parliament and House of Lords:http://www.parliament.uk/directories/directories.cfm

Contact details for the Members of the Scottish Parliaments:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/index.htm

SWEDEN:
Contact PM Fredrik ReinfeldtPhone:46 8 405-1000,
email via senior registry clerk:www.sweden.gov.se

Contact Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt,
Phone: 46-8-405-1000 ,
email via senior registry clerk: www.sweden.gov.se

USA:
Embassy in Tel Aviv:
US Embassy71 Hayarkon Street,
Tel Aviv 63903,Israel.
Email: Mary Glantz, Human Rights, glantzme@state.Gov;
Michelle Schohn, schohnjm@state.gov,
or ac5@bezeqint.net

President George W Bush,
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20500

Register your message with the White House Comment Line:202-456-1111
e-mail:comments@whitehouse.gov.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
2201 C Street NW, Washington,
DC 20520

To contact your Senator go to
http://www.senate.gov/general/ contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

To contact your Representative go to
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
Or call the Capitol Switchboard at(202)-224-3132
and ask for the appropriate Congressional office.

Please write to the Israeli military and urge them to return the confiscated properties. Send appeals electronically to:http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/Contact+Us/

Volunteers Urgently Needed To Stay At Orphanages And Schools

2008-05-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

We are inviting all concerned to visit the Orphanages, to spend a night there, or more, with the children, to eat with them, to tour the city, where poverty and closures are destroying a once thriving economy. “The once prosperous West Bank city of Hebron is now facing a more than 70% increase in poverty due to the continuing Israeli closures, a study by the Palestinian centre for Communication and Development Studies has shown.” (Maannews). This is the only means of saving these resources and the only homes that these children have.

Steering Committee for the Orphans of Hebron
http://www.hebronorphans.blogspot.com
All arrangements should be made through Christian Peacemaker Teams(CPT)
CPT Contacts:
office: 02 222 8485
Email: cptheb@palnet.com
http://www.cpt.org

Facts Speak Louder than Lies

2008-05-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, 26 February, the Israeli military entered buildings of the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) in Hebron, handing over 6 military orders for confiscations and closure of the various facilities of the society. The orders included: two bakeries, an apartment building and administrative buildings, a new shopping mall, a warehouse, three schools and two orphanages.

The army had already confiscated a warehouse with over $300,000 worth of school supplies, clothing, and food, as well as two new school buses and a van. The Israeli Army also seized an apartment building with thirty units and removed two bakeries supplying 5,000 families with bread and all the equipment removed. They welded shut the gates of a $2,000,000 school for 1200 students, scheduled to open on September 2008 and confiscated and closed a sewing center where the girls learned a craft and earned small sums of money.

In each of these incursions, the army seized all that was movable, ripped equipment out of the walls, took bread, flour, pots, pans, computers, and, in short, emptied these buildings of all usable and useful contents. They threw the cloth and machines from the sewing center on the town dump as they left the city.

The Islamic Charitable Society has been serving the needs of the poor of Hebron since 1962, providing support to 7000 needy people and orphans, educating 1700 students and sheltering 240 orphans in orphanages.

The recent military orders constitute a new and particularly worrying development, since they refer to confiscation and transfer of ownership of private property in the H1 Area of Hebron (under Palestinian control) to the IDF. The orders deprive the beneficiaries, a particularly vulnerable population, of specialized services that provide much needed support and fundamental coping mechanisms. The IDF has allegedly so far confiscated all the contents of four establishments but is yet to implement the remaining provisions of the orders, i.e., eviction from the property and transfer of ownership of the property. Given the vulnerability of the affected persons, most of whom are children, the humanitarian and human rights implications are severe.

The Israeli measures in Hebron constitute a series of violations to articles 6 and 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; article 39 of the Fourth Geneva Convention; article. 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; article 50 (GCIV), which stipulates the duty of the Occupying Power to facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of children; article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which relates to right to education of children; and article 9 of UDHR, which guarantees protection against arbitrary arrest and detention. An identical protection is guaranteed by Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Furthermore, the measures are a violation of the Oslo Agreement and the Hebron Agreement that were signed by Israel in 1995 and 1997, respectively.

The military orders charge is that the Charities are a front or fund raiser for Hamas, or possibly that some of the ICS staff or board are implicated in some way. However, as yet no proof has been offered to the Charities, the press or the many NGOs involved in protecting the orphans.

The Israeli military goes further in its accusations claiming that the ICS schools teach incitement and hatred, promote Hamas’ goals and recruit terrorists. The accusations are totally baseless. The curriculum taught at the schools is the same as the Palestinian Authority’s (which the army describes as moderate). The Charity, especially the schools, is willing to undergo any investigations by a credible and neutral organization to prove the truth about the accusations.

The ICS supports orphans on the basis of their being orphans only. It does not differentiate between orphans whose fathers were collaborators or those whose fathers were killed by Israelis or died in accidents or from illness . It is not an ICS policy to refuse care for any needy orphan for whatever reason. The Israeli classifications of orphans according to the fate of their parensts is in fact strangeare . Instead of spending time on such classifications, they should instead stop being a major cause of increasing numbers of orphans.

The ICS does not provide any support, of any kind, to families of prisoners. Although supporting the families of prisoners is a national responsibility, it is not, again, an ICS policy to do so. The only support that the ICS does in this regard is continuing to pay salaries to its employees when they face administrative detention. This is not a new trend in the occupied territories. The PA, UNRWA and NGOs do the same. Once more, the Israelis should stop their inequitable collective punishment and irrational policy towards the Palestinians, rather than labeling those who try to alleviate the hardships of affected people, as terrorists.

Dozens of international supporters have spent days and nights at the schools and orphanages and reported seeing only normal, happy children, living and learning in a caring and concerned environment totally devoid of terrorism. The ICS has received endorsement of support from former President Jimmy Carter, the European Parliament, World Vision, Defense for Children International, YMCA, and International Women’s Peace Service.

The Israeli military’s actions have been totally inhumane in confiscating the buses, food, and clothes destined for the orphanages, schools and needy families. It would seem illogical to equate school buses and sewing machines with tools of terrorism.

That once prosperous West Bank city of Hebron is now facing a more than 70% increase in poverty due to the continuing Israeli closures, a study by the Palestinian Centre for Communication and Development Studies has shown. Moreover, any visit to the once vibrant town will show the same decline. Removing the most important safety net from the thousands of families and children who depend upon the Charities will wreak devastation for Hebron.

There exists neither a substitute charitable or public fund nor the time to create one, were that be possible. If indeed the army has proof of these charges, then they should produce it for the communities that will be harmed by their actions and not, as usual, only to closed Israeli tribunals. Even if the charges are made public and can be verified, which would probably have been done by now if it could have been done, destroying the bakeries that have fed them, the sewing school that taught them a craft and closing the new schools that would have offered an education to hundreds of young boys and girls in this impoverished city, -- these are clearly collective punishments, that the Israeli army has imposed to intimidate and crush the local population and to remove their final hope.

Mr. Bulos : '' I can't trust the Israeli Military ''

2008-05-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

In his meeting with the steering committee of saving orphans, Mr. Jawad Bulos, the Charity's Lawyer, gave the committee a briefing on the legal side of closing and confiscating the ICS facilities.

"The very first moment the charity received the closure orders I appealed to the Military Legal Advisor and asked him to arrange a meeting with me. The Advisor refused to meet me and later he responded rejecting our appeal. I was forced, then, to appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court," said Bulos.

Again, the Israeli Supreme Court was not a better choice for Bulos than the Legal advisor. '' After five days of my appeal to the court, the court refused to issue a stop order (prohibition order) which is normal in such cases. I was informed later that the court will not discuss our appeal before October,'' added Mr. Bulos.

The expert man of courts is left confused. The Military is working on the ground, the court will not issue an order before October and the stop order is absent. Despite these facts, Bulos does not think that the Military may take further actions to embarrass the court or to create a new trend in the Israeli courts. Yet, '' I can not trust the Israeli Military,'' he remarked.
The expert lawyer, who seemed hopeless, tries to make use of his proficiency in negotiating. This time not in courts but with the Military officers. '' We met with them once. We discussed all details and ways of getting out of this tunnel. The Military officers seemed not interested,'' he thought. Bulos believes that a major part of the solution is political.

Jawad Bulos, a Greek Orthodox Palestinian Christian from Galilee, was born in 1956. He got his degree in Law from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1980. Since then, he has been defending Palestinians. Mr. Bulos has a reputation of being consistent , patient and expert.
You may write Mr. Bulos at: jawaddb@yahoo.com

Israeli Military Threw Sewing Machines into City Dump

2008-05-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

It was discovered ,few days ago, that the Israeli military had thrown all material confiscated from the bakeries and sewing workshop into the city dump. Eye witnesses confirmed that an Israeli truck stopped by the city dump at 5.30pm on Thursday 1st of May.

'' More than fifty scrap collectors were waiting for the truck and emptied it in less than 30 minutes,'' H. W. told our team. These included sewing machines, steam iron, dough mixers, dresses, desks, chairs…..

Some people led our team to some locations where some of the machines were kept.

To see photos, please click:
http://www.icshebron.org/pics/mashgal-yatta.pdf

Hebron Girls Orphanage

2008-05-02T14:00:00.001-07:00

Hebron Girls Orphanage - Army Steals Cloth From Workshop

2008-05-02T13:41:00.001-07:00

Hebron Girls Orphanage - Israeli Army Steals Sewing Machines

2008-05-02T13:37:00.001-07:00

Hebron Girls Orphanage - Army Steals Sewing Equipment

2008-05-02T12:46:00.001-07:00

CPT and Soldier Discuss Terrorism

2008-05-02T12:42:00.001-07:00

Hebron Girls Orphanage - Army Lorries in Workshop Raid

2008-05-02T12:31:00.001-07:00

Hebron Girls Orphanage - Army Steals Cloth From Workshop

2008-05-02T12:30:00.003-07:00

Hebron Girls Orphanage

2008-05-02T12:29:00.001-07:00

Raided - Hebron Girls' Orphanage Sewing Workshop

2008-04-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

HEBRON At 1:00 am this morning, April 30th, the Israeli Military raided the Hebron Girls' Orphanage near the intersection of Salaam and Al Adel (Peace and Justice) Streets.

Acting on orders issued by Major General Shemni, soldiers looted the workshop of all its sewing and processing machines, office equipment, rolls of cloth, finished clothing and supplies.

CPT members documented, with still photos and video, approximately 40 Israeli soldiers emptying the workshop contents into 2 - 40ft. trucks. The estimated value of the physical material taken is $45,000 US.

The cost in terms of the fear and terror instilled in the hearts of the little girls living above the workshop is much higher.Members of Christian Peacemaker Teams and other internationals from Belgium, Britain, Canada, Germany, Holland, Scotland and the US have been sleeping in the orphanage. Their concern is for the children who live in fear of the military forcing them out of the place they've come to call home. Their hope last night was that their presence would forestall the army's raid on the workshop. They hoped in vain.

CPT's Art Arbour decried this latest effort by the Israeli military in its campaign to close the orphanages, "How can grown men do this to little children?" CPT members documented with still photos 40 Israeli soldiers clearing out the workshopStatements of support for the orphans have come in from former President Jimmy Carter, from EU Vice President Luisa Morgentini and from representatives of many international organizations worried about the fate of the orphans in Hebron. Please join with them in supporting the orphans.

ACT NOW !!!!

2008-04-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

1. Call CPT at 2 222 8485, 054-432-8529 or 054-733-7056 or
send an e-mail to cptheb@palnet.com.

2. Please phone President Peres 972-2-6707211, Prime Minister Olmert 972-2-6705555 and Deputy Prime Minister Barak 972-3-5692010 and ask them to save the orphans in Hebron.

3. In the US: President Bush, the White House Comment Line 1-202-456-1111.
comments@whitehouse.gov.
Contact Senators - http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Contact your Representative - http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
Or call the Capitol Switchboard at (202)-224-3132 and ask for the appropriate
Congressional office.

4. Please call, e-mail or write to the Israeli Defense Forces. Urge them to rescind the closure and evacuation orders and to return the confiscated properties. Send appeal electronically: http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/Contact+Us/
Public Appeals Officer Phone: 011 (country code 972) (0-use in Israel)3-569-1000
Public Appeals Officer Fax: (country code 972) (0-use in Israel) 3-569-9400

A letter of Support from the European Parliament

2008-04-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

from www.luisamorgantini.net

Luisa Morgantini
Vice President of the European Parliament

Rome 28th April 2008

Dear all,
Dear friends,
I am very sorry for not being able to attend your press conference today; I would like to present to you all my support for your efforts and your commitment for the Palestinian civil society in Hebron.
The decision of the Israely Army to confiscate and close of the ICS schools and orphanages and other facilities offered, is the further arbitrary and illegal action perpetrated by the Israely Military against the civil population. And it’s a further outcome of the Israeli policy of collective punishment towards the Palestinian people in West Bank as in Gaza.
The justification produced by the Israely military – claiming that ICS is engaged in illegal activities connected to Hamas – but presenting no proof, represents an abuse and cannot be used to punish the civil population, the poorest and the weakest, who in Hebron already suffer for the hard situation: settlers, more than 100 roadblocks, fences, walls and checkpoints that daily severely hamper the freedom of movement of Palestinians and have transformed Hebron in a ghost town.
Unfortunately the International Institutions and also the EU are responsible of the going on of 40 years of occupation, abuse and violations of human rights. But we should go on denouncing and acting for justice and peace.
I strongly believe that the only possibility for Israelis and Palestinians to live in security and peace is not the military way, but the end of the military occupation, the end of discrimination, with two States for the two peoples, according to human needs and international legality.

With my best regards,

Luisa Morgantini

President Carter Supports Orphans and Students in Hebron

2008-04-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

President Carter's Statement of Support of the Orphans of Hebron

Read by Tim Rothermel of the Carter Center - Jerusalem
on April 24, 2008
at the Al-Shari'yah Girls' Orphanage, Hebron

During my peace mission in the Middle East last week, I heard many stories of Israelis and Palestinians suffering injustice. I was informed about a particularly troubling development, an imminent threat to Palestinian orphans and students in Hebron.

The Israeli military has issued orders for the closure of two orphanages, three schools and support facilities run by the Islamic Charitable Society. I understand that the military has already confiscated an ICS warehouse full of food, clothing, school supplies, and buses and has welded shut the gates of a new orphanage and school for 1,200 girls, which was scheduled to open this September.

The Islamic Charitable Society has been serving the needs of the poor of Hebron since 1962, and should be allowed to continue their good work.
I ask people of good will to join me on behalf of the orphans and students. Together, we ask the Israeli military to rescind the closure orders against the orphanages and schools so that 240 children will not lose the place they've come to know as home and 1,700 students will not be thrown out of school.
What Palestinians and Israelis need to do now is to take actions that will create a more hopeful future for the children of Palestine—these actions would have the opposite effect.

The United Nations Report

2008-04-26T04:42:00.000-07:00

Date: 15 April 2008
Mr. Maxwell Gaylard
Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian and
Development activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Dear Mr. Gaylard,
I am writing to you in my capacity of chair of the inter-agency Protection Sector Working Group (PSWG) in the oPt and on behalf of its members.
The PSWG would like to seek the Humanitarian Coordinator’s intervention regarding the IsraeliDefense Force’s (IDF) recent order to close and confiscate establishments owned by the Islamic Charitable Society in the city of Hebron (translated copies of the orders are enclosed). The closure and confiscation orders stipulate that the Islamic Charitable Society is an illegal organisation affiliated with Hamas, impose the closure of targeted establishments for three years and transfer their ownership to the IDF. The establishments affected include a school under construction for 1500 girls, the Al Huda market building - which includes a children’s library, eights shops, a physiotherapy centre, a dental and a cardiology clinic, three NGOs, including the Muslim Youth Society - the Islamic Charitable Society’s warehouse a restaurant and two bakeries. The Charitable Society employs close to 550 staff, including teachers and counselors.The Charitable Society also runs two orphanages. Although no written orders were issued by the IDF relating to these orphanages, the IDF has issued oral instructions to close these institutions and to evict their residents. These instructions were allegedly followed by two raids
on the orphanages. In one of these raids (on 6 March) the IDF apparently confiscated all the clothing, food, stationary and other supplies of the children. A second raid was reportedly carried out in the middle of the night, causing harassment and fear among the children. These orphanages accommodate and care for 3192 children, out of whom 95 children cannot return home due to severe economic hardship and 55 who have no family at all. The remaining 3042 children have either one single parent or only extended family. It is understood that as of now, the Hebron Islamic Charitable Society has no contingency plans for shelter or humanitarian assistance for these children, should they be forcibly evicted.
To read the report..............
http://www.4shared.com/file/45451745/7d0c2e25/080415_UNSCO1.html

Press Statement

2008-04-26T04:36:00.000-07:00

Occupied Palestinian Territory, 24.04.08

We the undersigned Palestinian civil society organizations express our grave concern over the recent Israeli military orders closing and transferring ownership of property owned by the Islamic Charitable Society in the city of Hebron in the so-called H1 area which is ostensibly under the full control of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The property targeted includes residential units, two orphanages, a school under construction, several shops and two clinics. Despite the fact that the military orders are presently being challenged before the competent Israeli judicial authorities, the Israeli army has carried out military operations partially implementing the orders, including the destruction and appropriation of property belonging to civilians. The orders and consequent military operations contravene international humanitarian and human rights law, severely infringing upon the rights of thousands of Palestinian civilians - in particular children, who are the beneficiaries of the specialized services of the Society.

As an Occupying Power, Israel has the legal obligation of providing for the welfare of the occupied population, including facilitating the proper working of institutions devoted to the care and education of children. The destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity is a blatant violation of Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and a war crime. Additionally, halting the provision of essential services to the civilian population infringes upon their right to education, health and adequate standard of living, as enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Israel is a State Party.

These measures have negatively impacted upon one of the most vulnerable groups of society, children, to whom Israel, the Occupying Power, has a duty to provide special protection under international humanitarian law and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Additionally, these orders affecting organizations in locations under the full administrative control of the PNA, undermine the designated powers of the PNA and the application of existing Palestinian laws, including Law No.1 of 2000 Concerning Charitable Associations and Civil Society Organizations.

Should the military orders be fully implemented, the result will also be the unlawful forcible displacement of hundreds of people, mainly orphans living on the premises, prohibited under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and human rights law, including the Principles on Internal Displacement.

We call upon:

· The State of Israel, as the Occupying Power, to uphold its legal obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect the occupied population and to ensure their welfare. In particular, the State of Israel must afford special protection to vulnerable groups such as children. We therefore urge the Israeli army to cancel the orders imposing closure and transfer of ownership of the property of the Islamic Charitable Society.

· The High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to uphold their legal obligation under Article 1 to ensure that Israel respects its legal duties under the Convention. In particular, the member States of the European Union, which have shown a strong commitment to ensuring respect of international humanitarian law in their Guidelines on Promoting Compliance with International Humanitarian Law (2005/C327/04), must take concrete steps to enforce international humanitarian law in relation to Israel's violations.

· The United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian and Development activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to urgently examine the needs and vulnerabilities of the persons affected by the orders imposing closure and transfer of ownership of the property of the Islamic Charitable Society. In light of the grave infringements upon the rights of the civilian population, we urge the United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian and Development activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to support our request to cancel these orders.

Signed
Defence for Children International – Palestine Section
Al-Haq
Badil
The Palestinian Non-governmental Organisations' Network (PNGO)
Addameer
Women's Studies Centre
Jerusalem Legal Aid Center
Applied Research Institute Jerusalem
Palestinian Network of Children's Rights
Health Work Committees
Palestinian Medical Relief Society
YMCA – Beit Sahour
OPGAI
Union of Social Workers and Psychologists

2008-04-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

International Women's Peace Service Statement of Support
For Hebron Orphans
23 April 2008

The International Women's Peace Service support the campaign to halt the illegal activity of the Israeli military in its attempt to close the Islamic Charitable Society, as well the orphanages and schools run by the organization. The ICS provides shelter and care to 240 orphans in the orphanages, educates more than 1700 students and aids an additional 4000 students and 5000 needy families.
IWPS support the campaign to keep the orphanages and schools open and call on all those who support human rights to all show support for the campaign.

2008-04-26T04:31:00.000-07:00

World Vision Statement in Support of the Hebron Orphans
23 April 2008

I am extremely concerned about the threat to two hundred and forty orphans who are at risk of having their orphanages shut down in Hebron. There is no justification for impacting so many children and creating another trauma that will leave an indelible mark on them. I appeal for a reversal of the military confiscation order and for the Israeli authorities to allow the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) to continue the community service that it carries out on behalf of 7000 children.

Charles Clayton, Director

World Vision Jerusalem

Will the Soldiers come tonight?

2008-04-18T04:26:00.001-07:00

A 7th Military Order - The Sewing Workshop

2008-04-16T23:35:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 16 April 12.30pm
The Israeli Military raided the sewing workshop that belongs to Islamic Charitable Society. Seven military jeeps including officers handed the workers there a Military order of closure and confiscation.The two orders were signed by GOC General Gadi Shemni and the Commandor of Hebron Yihuda Fochs. Both say that the closure starts from the 15th of April for three years. The order will not take place actually untill the 28th of April, then all properties at the workshop will move to the Military. Anyone who is found there after the deadline would be sentenced to five years in jail, explained the order.
One worker at the sewing workshop said that tens of soldiers rushed into the place and she tried to stop them. Her face was very pale and her hands were shaking. She continued that the officers warned them and handed the order and just left.

New Military Order of Closure and Confiscation to the Sewing Workshop

2008-04-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, 16, at 12.30 pm, seven Military jeeps raided the Sewing Workshop at the Islamic Charitable Society. The military handed a new closure and confiscation order which is the seventh of its kind after similar orders to warehouse, bakeries, Al-Huda School, Al-Huda Mall, Al-Qasimi Building and tenats there.
The order demanded those in charge to leave the sewing workshop before 28 th of April.The closure is for three years and anyone who would violate this order might endanger himself to five years jail. The order has had many forms, one from General Gadi shemni, GOC - Central section and the other was from the commander of Hebron w

Update - The Al-Rahma Bakery is raided and gutted

2008-04-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

At 1 am in the morning of today, 15 of April, the Israeli Military raided the Al-Rahma Bakery at Nimra area. They broke the main door open, confiscating everything they could carry. The confiscated material included: fridges, a computer, trays, shelves, mixers, plastic sacks, chairs, desks, cash machines, electronic scales....
When they failed to get the big electric oven out, they wrecked it completely. The estimated loss of this raid is around $56,000. This is the second bakery that was raided within a month. These bakeries provided bread for orphans and their families on regular basis.

Hunkering down in Hebron

2008-04-15T13:32:00.001-07:00

Shopkeeper vows to stay put after Israel moves to evict tenants of mall it says is linked to Hamas
Mar 24, 2008 04:30 AM
OAKLAND ROSS
MIDDLE EAST BUREAU

HEBRON, West Bank–Leana Karaki says she won't go.
Owner of the Pretty Woman dress shop – a stylish, two-storey clothing emporium on King Faisal St. in the West Bank city of Hebron – Karaki has been ordered by the Israeli armed forces to empty her store and vacate the premises by April 1 or risk five years' imprisonment.
Her crime? The Palestinian businesswoman happens to rent her retail space from the Islamic Charitable Society of Hebron, a children's aid agency Israel accuses of acting as a front for the militant Islamist organization Hamas, a charge the charity's officials vehemently deny.
But their denials have fallen on deaf Israeli ears, and so a lot of innocent people are about to be punished for circumstances beyond their control.
"I didn't do anything," Karaki says. "I have nothing to do with it. Where do I go?"
There is no easy answer to her question. But go, she must – along with the other law-abiding tenants of Hebron's Al-Huda shopping and office complex, including a dentist, a chiropractor, a cardiologist, a coffee shop, a textile store, and a 19,000-volume children's library – and that is only the beginning.
In late February and again early this month, Israeli soldiers descended upon this Palestinian city, welding shut the gates of a private school now under construction, closing two bakeries and handing eviction notices to an array of offices and retail outlets – all the property of a 46-year-old charitable organization that runs schools, clinics, and orphanages for more than 5,000 needy or imperilled youngsters in and around Hebron.
The Israelis gave Karaki and the other tenants at the Al-Huda Mall a little more than 30 days to clear out.
Then, on March 5 just before midnight, the IDF raided a warehouse in the Al-Harayek area of southern Hebron, a facility the charity uses to store food and other goods needed for the children in its care.
During the following nine hours, according to Abd Al-Kareem Farah, legal representative of the Islamic charity, the Israeli soldiers gutted the warehouse, removing banks of industrial refrigerators and freezers, along with clothing, books, shoes, and cleaning supplies.
He values the seized property at more than $200,000.
Last Friday, the warehouse remained empty.
"I wonder if those soldiers didn't feel ashamed of themselves, taking the food of those children," says Farah, an amiable young lawyer who has represented the charity's legal interests for the past 10 years. "This organization has earned the respect and support of the city."
Maybe so, but Karaki is facing financial hardship all the same – and she is far from alone.
Karaki has just eight days to move her livelihood, her inventory, and her 15 employees somewhere else.
The high-spirited businesswoman is beside herself.
A year ago, she invested a small fortune to renovate her store.
The improvements included the installation of green marble floors, limestone wall tiles, and two spiral staircases, plus the construction of an overhead bridge to connect the business physically with the next-door Mama Care children's clothing shop, which she also owns.
Now Karaki is being ordered to forfeit all this because the Israeli military doesn't like her landlord.
"You think this is a reason to close a place?" she asks. "I'm not going. I don't know where to go. Maybe the sea."
Upstairs, Dr. Waddah Ashhab, a cardiologist, finds himself in the same dilemma.
"I don't know what to do, to be honest," says the British-trained heart specialist, who has operated an outpatient clinic in this mall for the past eight years. He treats between 10 and 15 patients a day.
Founded in 1962, when Hebron and the rest of the West Bank were under Jordanian rule, the Islamic Charitable Society has grown steadily ever since.
The agency, whose existence predates Hamas by 26 years, offers full-time shelter to 300 orphans, while providing schooling, meals, medical care, and other assistance to several thousand other distressed children.
This is not the way the IDF views the organization's activities.
"All of the foundation's resources are devoted to funding Hamas and Hamas' grip on the region ... and to strengthening the terrorist network in order to target Israel," according to the Israel Defense Forces press office. "The Islamic Charity (Society) has, among other things, delivered money to Hamas terrorist operatives and their families, trained youths based on jihad principles, supported the families of suicide bombers and incarcerated terrorists, and spread Hamas principles amongst the Palestinian population."
But Farah denies any formal connection between the charity and Hamas, although he freely admits some of its 550 employees may well support, or even belong to the militant organization that holds power in the Gaza Strip and that won the votes of more than half the Palestinian adult population in elections two years ago.
About 25 per cent of the charity's funding is raised from local sources, he says. The rest comes from private philanthropic organizations in North America, Europe, or the Middle East, all of which he says are legally registered in their countries.
In 2005, the organization completed construction of a boys' dormitory in western Hebron that cost $1.5 million. Meanwhile, a $1 million school with space for 1,200 students is nearing completion in southern Hebron.
These two projects alone represent $2.5 million in recent discretionary investment that could in theory have been diverted to Hamas, but wasn't.
"The people who are running this institution are honest volunteers," says Farah.
Unfortunately, they not infrequently wind up in Israeli prisons, after being convicted in Israeli military courts of being tied to an organization Israel deems a supporter of terrorism.
"There are 25 people in jail, as we speak," says Farah.
They at least were formally associated with the charity, even if they may have been innocent of any other wrongdoing.
Leana Karaki, however, is guilty only of paying her rent on time.
"I am not Fatah and I am not Hamas," she says. "I am just a woman who wants success and a good reputation."

Hunkering down in Hebron

2008-04-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

Thousands of Palestinian orphans protest Israeli army looting of their

2008-04-15T13:29:00.001-07:00

March 13, 2008 at 8:36 am
Khalid Amayreh in Hebron

Thousands of Palestinian orphans on Tuesday took to the streets in this
southern West Bank town to protest recent raids by the Israeli
occupation army of their orphanages and boarding schools.
Hundreds of Israeli troops, backed up by armored carriers, raided the
Islamic Charitable Society in downtown Hebron earlier this week ,
vandalizing property and looting hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth
of food materials, clothes, shoes and furniture donated by local and
foreign donors for the benefit of the orphans.
The charitable society, the largest in Palestine, runs two orphanages
and several boarding schools, which cater for as many as 7000 children
who have lost either or both parents.
“Israel is treating us the way Nazi Germany treated the Jews,’ read one
of the placards carried by the protesters. “Israel represents the Nazis
of our time,” read another sign. A third placard read “We shall triumph.”
Demonstrators marched nearly one kilometer through the Ein Sara street,
one of the Hebron’s main thoroughfares, as Palestinian police escorted them.
One of the protesters, Ahmed Natshe, accused Israel of wanting to
“annihilate Muslims”
“Israel seeks to justifies these criminal onslaughts on Palestinian
orphans by citing alleged links with Hamas. However, Israel has utterly
failed to present any credible evidence to corroborate these baseless
allegations. Israel is acting as judge and plaintiff and policeman
combined.”
Natshe said he was sure “a thousand per cent” that the charitable
society has “totally and absolutely” no connections with Hamas or any
other Palestinian political party.
“They are not stupid. They knew from the very beginning that connections
with Hamas would get them in trouble. Hence, they meticulously made sure
that no such connections existed.”
Asked why the charity wouldn’t challenge the Israeli army in court,
Natshe said “ are you serious? It is pointless to appeal to a Zionist
court if one is not Jewish.”
“Non-Jews cannot receive justice at a Zionist court. Besides, the entire
Israeli justice system is subservient to the Israeli military
establishment, which means that Palestinians are guilty even if proven
innocent.”
On 6 March, Israeli army troops stormed buildings containing food and
clothes inventories, looting large amounts of frozen food, dairy
products, clothes and shoes as well as refrigerators and kitchen
appliances, local officials and eyewitnesses said.
The looted material were to be used to feed and cloth the orphans.
Ahmed Farrah, a charity official, denied vehemently Israeli insinuations
that the charity was run by Hamas.
“We are a charitable society. We have nothing to do with politics. We
have been functioning since 1964, before the Israeli occupation, and the
Israeli army and intelligence services investigated us numerous times
and they never found any evidence suggesting any illegal activities.
“So, the real reason for this hateful campaign is that they want to
torment us and weaken the Palestinian society. I think it is an
expression of hatred toward Islam and Muslims. Israel today spearheads
an ugly war against our religion.”
Last month, the Israeli army stormed and took over several buildings and
businesses and other premises owned by the Islamic Charitable Society in
the Hebron region.
The army confiscated property, including an orphanage, two schools, a
supermarket and several multi-story buildings as well as four buses.
The army brought in huge trucks for moving the looted materials,
including computers, cabinets, chairs, kitchen appliances and teaching
aids to a nearby army base.
One female student taking part in the demonstration on Tuesday , who
speaks English fluently, accused the state of Israel of “conducting
itself in a barbarian manner.”
“Who but barbarians would storm orphanages and steal donated food for
the orphans? This is a question I put to Jews who have conscience and
morality.”
Hejazi al Jabari, a civic leader in Hebron, told protesters he hoped
that “your ordeal will be resolved very soon.”
“We are making contacts with government and organizations inside and
outside Palestine. We hope to be able to exert sufficient pressure on
the Israeli government to cancel these barbaric measures.”
Al-Jabari described Israeli charges that the charitable society was
linked to the Hamas organizations as “sheer lies from A to Z.”
“We challenge the Israeli government to produce an iota of evidence
proving their charges.”
One local writer and poet accused the Palestinian Authority of Ramallah
of “conniving and coordinating with Israel to close the orphanages and
boarding schools.”
“I have no doubt that (PA interior minister) Abdul Razzak al Yahya is
behind all of this,” said the man who asked for anonymity.
“They are acting like quislings for Israel. Otherwise why are they
silent while 7000 orphans are being dumped onto the streets?”

http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/palestinian-orphans-protest-after-their-facilities-are-raided-

Thousands of Palestinian orphans protest Israeli army looting of their

2008-04-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

Twilight Zone / When charity ends at home

2008-04-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

By Gideon Levy

HAARETZ

The ovens have been brought downstairs, into hiding. The two bagel and cake bakeries have already been closed by army order. The Israel Defense Forces confiscated the ovens in one of them, but the employees in the other bakery managed to rescue and hide theirs. The popular clothing shop Pretty Woman, in the heart of the bustling mall in Hebron, and its neighbor, Mama Care, the high-end shop for baby clothes, are about to close. The same is true of the new and spacious supermarket, the modern physical-therapy institute, the beauty salon, the barbershop and the library: Everything will be closed by order of the GOC Central Command. Local food and clothing warehouses were also emptied out by the IDF last week, with an inventory worth about NIS 750,000, designated for the impressive orphanages of the Islamic Charity Movement. The goods were loaded onto trucks and confiscated.

In the well-kept orphanage we visited this week, the hundreds of children were eating only majadera (a rice-and-lentil dish) and yogurt for lunch: There is no meat, no chicken, no fish; everything has been taken away. The gates of the movement's new school, a handsome stone building designed for 1,200 pupils, have also been welded shut by the IDF.

The army has declared war on the Islamic Charity Movement in Hebron, in the context of the war against Hamas, the war against terror. After emptying the offices of the city's money changers of cash reserves several weeks ago, the next strategic target is the private bakeries and shops in the city, whose owners happen to lease their places of business from the owner of the buildings: the Islamic Charity Movement.

How pathetic is an occupation army that empties out warehouses of food and clothing earmarked for orphans; how absurd is GOC Central Command Major General Gadi Shamni, who signs closure orders for beauty salons and clothing shops; how outrageous is the confiscation of industrial refrigerators in which food for children is kept; how cruel is a military regime that closes libraries used by young people; how ridiculous are the excuses that closing bakeries contributes to the war against terror; how foolish is the battle against dairies whose products are earmarked for these children; and how difficult is the situation of the Israeli occupation in the territories if it must resort to such contemptible activities in order to establish its status.

The Islamic Charity Movement in Hebron was established in 1962, long before the birth of Hamas, shortly before the beginning of the Israeli occupation. Since then the organization has established a ramified network of educational and welfare institutions, and has acquired a great deal of real estate all over the city, with the declared aim of providing assistance to the needy - mainly to local orphans and the children of the poor. The legal adviser of the movement, attorney Abd al-Karim Farah, young and energetic in an elegant suit and a well-kempt beard, who does not hesitate to shake women's hands and is now studying Hebrew at a local ulpan, says that in the early days of the occupation the Military Administration helped and encouraged the activity of the charitable movement. He himself is a product of its institutions.

Today the Islamic Charity Movement cares for 7,000 orphans and children in distress from Hebron and surrounding villages. There are 350 youngsters at its boarding schools and 1,200 pupils attending its three city schools; another six are in outlying towns. The children have lost one or both parents, or come from severely distressed homes. Only a small percentage are children of the fallen. The movement's institutions employ 550 people, assisted by hundreds of volunteers. Their monthly budget is 400,000 Jordanian dinars, over NIS 2 million. Attorney Farah says everything is supervised by accountants and the Palestinian Authority's welfare and education ministries. Also, the curricula in the movement's educational institutions are identical to those of the PA, according to Farah, who emphasizes that "everything is legal."

Most of its budget comes from donations from abroad - from Arab countries, and European and American agencies - but the charitable organization also has quite a number of independent sources of income: from buildings and modern commercial centers all over Hebron that it owns and leases to private tenants and businessmen, two bakeries, a sewing workshop and a dairy, whose products are used by the children in the institutions and are also for sale in the open market. The movement has a board of directors that is elected biannually and was headed by Dr. Adnan Maswadi, an ear, nose and throat specialist, who was recently released from detention in Israel and was forced to resign. About 30 additional employees are presently under arrest for belonging to the organization.

"I would like to emphasize," says Farah, "that our movement has no official connection with Hamas. Perhaps some of our workers belong to Hamas, just as in other institutions such as the municipalities, but there is no formal connection. Nor are there transfers of money to Hamas, as Israel claims. Our financial reports are open and transparent. We are in no way the infrastructure of Hamas."

Since 2002 the IDF has raided the movement's offices many times, confiscating a computer here and taking away files there, detaining employees for investigation, issuing closure orders. But what has happened in recent days is unprecedented. On February 26, the IDF carried out a raid and issued seven closure orders for institutions associated with the movement. Last Friday it also raided its 500-square-meter food and clothing warehouse. Closure orders were also issued against all the stores and commercial centers owned by the movement.

Attorney Farah says he would have been happy had the IDF explained the steps it took, and what is permitted or forbidden in terms of his organization. The movement has already hired the services of Israeli attorney Jawad Bulus, who will appeal to the attorney general on its behalf and try to overturn the evil decree. Researcher Musa Abu-Hashhash has written a report on behalf of the B'Tselem human-rights organization.

Meanwhile, we go on a tour of Hebron accompanied by Farah, to see the results of the war the GOC Central Command has launched against Hamas.

First stop is the Mercy Bakery, a shop and a gallery, which makes savory and sweet confections. A paper declaring "Confiscation order and closure" is pasted on the display window, in Hebrew, signed by GOC Shamni. "In the context of my authority," etc.; there are still bagels for sale. The bakery's staff was told that until April 1 they are allowed to sell them, although Shamni's order went into effect in February - for three years. Why for three years? Perhaps then the movement will change its ways. Three years with education, but without food. To be on the safe side, the bakers took the forbidden ovens away from here in time. Two sacks of white flour donated by the World Food Program and the European Union remain in the empty premises.

The neighboring store, a modern and luxurious supermarket, lacks for nothing. Its owner has rented the premises from the Islamic Charity Movement, and therefore it has been condemned to closure. "Confiscation order and closure. From April 1 all activity involving equipment found on the business' premises will be forbidden, and the military commander will act to realize his ownership and to seize said equipment." All in the usual inarticulate and absurd language of the IDF.

The owner of the supermarket, Mujahid al-Atrash, opened his large store only three months ago and invested NIS 500,000 in it. "Don't I have anything to say about this?" he asks. "Where will I go?" Ein Gedi mineral war, Tnuva sour cream, cans of Red Bull, Huggies diapers, Head & Shoulders shampoo, Osem petit-beurre cookies, Strauss ice creams. The adjacent shop, Ayman's barbershop, has a closure order on the window. The same is true along Nimara Street, the "street of the tiger."

On King Faisal Street, Hebron's answer to Dizengoff, Pretty Woman and Mama Care are both full of customers. Spacious stores, two floors, dozens of women, all wearing head scarves. Pretty Woman's owner, Lina Karaki, opened the store nine years ago and says she invested about another NIS 1 million in expanding and renovating it about a year ago. The store really is elegant, with a marble floor and chandeliers. "I don't belong to any organization or any party. I have nothing to do with all this. What is illegal about my store? They gave us a month to get out. Where will we go? This is not a street stall that can be closed in a month," Karaki says.

On the second floor is the evening-gown department, the best of Hebron fashion for NIS 3,000 per dress. There are 18 employees in the shop, who are liable to lose their livelihood. The end-of-season sale is in full swing, but Karaki emphasizes that it has nothing to do with the closure order. This is only the end of winter and the beginning of summer fashions. She still hopes that the edict will be canceled.

We enter the far reaches of the mall, over which the general's closure order hovers. And what do we have here, in this bastion of Hamas? A cosmetics store, two clothing shops, The Gap and Calvin Klein in the display windows. There's a closure order on the dental clinic of Dr. Rima Kawasmeh on the second floor, and also on the door of the private physical-therapy and fitness institute of Dr. Mohammed Amaru, this time signed by Colonel Yehuda Fuchs, the Hebron brigade commander. Shamni and Fuchs have apparently divided the responsibilities between them: Shamni signs the orders for bakeries and Fuchs for fitness clubs. Together with his Ukrainian doctor-wife, Amaru opened the place in 1998 and equipped it with the best rehabilitation and fitness devices. A month ago he completed another renovation in the luxurious institute: sophisticated treatment beds, a Jacuzzi, exercise machines, silent air conditioning, a therapeutic pool and even a "beauty machine" designed for people who suffer from paralysis of the face. Amaru says the patients are afraid to come since the IDF raided the club, about a month ago: "There is no law in the world that will do this to me. I don't belong to any group, I am not connected to anyone. I only pay rent here."

On the floor above is the public relations office of the Islamic Charity Movement: rooms that have been emptied of their contents, except for two heaters, which were apparently too heavy for the IDF's "porters." Farah says that in the IDF liaison office there are probably already whole containers full of equipment seized from his organization. Its public library for youth, on the third floor of the mall, is also supposed to be closed. It contains 18,800 books, cataloged and classified, about science and religion, plus computers and even tapes for learning Hebrew. Everything will soon be closed, by order.

The IDF spokesman's response: "During recent weeks forces of the IDF, the Shin Bet security services and the Civil Administration have been operating in order to strike at the institutions of the Islamic Charity Movement, which belongs to the Hamas terror organization and works to increase support for the organization, to disseminate its ideas, to find and enlist activists, and to transfer money for terrorist activity.

"Hamas activity is carried out under the civilian cover of support for the population and charity, but in fact the goal of the movement is to strengthen the power and control of the terror organization Hamas, as part of the expansion of terrorist activity against the State of Israel and its attempt to increase power in Judea and Samaria.

"In the context of the activities and protests of the Islamic Charity Movement in Hebron, the movement has transferred money to terror activists and their families, educated young people in the spirit of jihad, supported the families of shaheeds [martyrs] and prisoners, and worked to disseminate Hamas principles among the Palestinian population. By these acts the Hamas terror organization has exploited the Palestinian population and its weaker elements, in order to harness them to the terror network.

"In the context of the activity, the IDF operated against a number of economic assets of the Islamic Charity Movement in Hebron, and ordered their closure and the confiscation of some of their property. These assets constituted a source of income for the Hamas terror organization, which earned substantial sums of money from them for terrorist activity. The IDF will continue to adopt all the means at its disposal against the terror organizations and those who help them, and against Hamas in particular, in order to provide security to the inhabitants of the State of Israel."

The orphanage is located in a pleasant neighborhood on the western slopes of the city, at the edge of a vineyard. Everything is so clean and well-kept - the dining room, the bathrooms, the bedrooms and the classrooms used by 150 children. It is hard to believe that here, in these buildings, live dozens of youngsters in distress. Now they are out in the yard, preparing to enter the dining room for lunch. The discipline is strict and the order is exemplary. Grace for meals is posted on the wall. The children are well-dressed; their bedrooms have posters of native birds on the walls. Mohammed is fatherless, Mahmoud is motherless. All the children with whom I spoke are from severely deprived backgrounds. Outside there is a garden and a shady place to sit, large sports fields with a mosque next to them. Six in a room, they sleep in attractive wooden beds covered with flowered bedspreads. Every residential wing also has a large guest room with armchairs and a television, "so the children will feel at home."

It is doubtful whether they ever lived in such conditions. It is also doubtful whether they will be able to continue to live like this, if the IDF continues to confiscate, to close and to destroy

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=964067&contrassID=2&subContrassID=14

Schools and orphanages in Hebron still threatened with closure

2008-04-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hebron – Ma'an –

Twelve-year-old Muhammad Abu Snaineh has a face that can only be described as cherubic. He was raised by Palestinian-American parents in Houston, Texas until the age of eight, when his family, wanting to give their son a sense of his cultural roots, moved to the West Bank city of Hebron. Muhammad's first language is English, but is excelling in Arabic, and wants to be an engineer when he grows up.

The Israeli military views Muhammad as a potential terrorist. Israel is attempting to shut down two Islamic charities in Hebron, including one that operates Muhammad's school, alleging that both organizations are linked to Hamas. Together the Muslim Youth Society and the Islamic Charitable Society serve thousands of children through eight schools, orphanages, social services, and sports clubs.

On 25 February Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, the Israeli military commander in charge of the West Bank, ordered the two charities to be closed and their properties seized. Hijazi Al-Jaberi, the chair of the Muslim Youth Society says the Israeli military accused his organization of being controlled by Hamas, and even that Hamas profited from the services provided through the Hebron facilities. The case is currently being fought in the Israeli High Court of Justice.

If the order is implemented, the charities say, hundreds of orphans will become homeless, thousands of students will be left without schools, and thousands of needy families will go without assistance.

On 26 February and again on 24 March the Israeli military raided several buildings affiliated to the two charities, damaging and stealing food, computers, notebooks and other items, Al-Jaberi said. The first floor of the Muslim Youth Society's elementary school is a chaos of overturned desks and broken glass, the floors strewn with paper. The front doors of the building which were knocked off their hinges, had to be replaced. According to Abdul-Kareem Farrah, a legal advisor for the Islamic Charitable Society, the Israeli troops caused 1 million NIS (276,000 US dollars) worth of damage.

Arik Ascherman, the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, says the case against the two charities is weak. "If those who claim that these organizations are supporting terrorists have evidence, let them present it," he said. "Also in the Jewish tradition, you can't have collective punishment … We demand that a solution be found where services continue to be provided," he added.

Regarding about the terrorism charges, twelve-year-old Muhammad says "That is such a lie! We are not like that!" Asked if his school trains students to use weapons, he says "we have never seen a bullet in here."

Muhammad gives the impression that the Muslim Youth Society school is slightly conservative, but certainly no hotbed of terrorism. "They really try to get the kids to be good and not to say bad words," Muhammad says. He adds that his history class mainly talks about the life of the Prophet, and does not even address 20th century events such as the creation of Israel.

Pressed on exactly why Israel would want to close the two charities, officials from the charities imply that a handful of people employed by the organizations may have been linked to Hamas. This, they are quick to note, is not the same as being controlled and operated by Hamas. "The Israelis resort to sweeping generalities and sweeping abstractions about Palestinian society. They have arrested people associated with Hamas, but that doesn't mean that the charity itself is connected with Hamas," said Khalid Aymareh, a Palestinian journalist who spoke at Monday's press conference.

According to the original military order, the two charities were supposed to be closed on 1 April, but the organizations appealed the case in the Israeli court system. On the morning of 2 April, they received word that the Israeli High Court of Justice asked the military to provide a legal justification for the decision. The court gave the military until 7 April to file their case. On Monday, the deadline, the military asked the court for an extension.

Aymareh says that the legal situation surrounding the two charities is in "a state of uncertainty." Indeed, there are so many contradictions in the case, beginning with the scarcity of evidence linking the charities to Hamas, that Aymareh sees a strategy of deliberate ambiguity: "There is a conspicuous element of haphazardness," he says.

Both charities are registered with the Palestinian Authority (PA), and are based in the section of Hebron that is supposedly under the full control of the Authority, not the Israeli military. Officials from the two societies contacted the Authority to inquire about the order, appears to be infringement on the PA's limited sovereignty. The PA's response, according to Al-Jaberi, was "We'll do our best." Farah, the Islamic Society's legal advisor, says only that "the posture of the PA has been disappointing."

The PA's security forces, spokespersons of the charities say, would be no match for the Israeli troops anyway. The only physical protection accorded to the threatened schools and orphanages is a group of international volunteers from Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), an organization that practices third-party nonviolent intervention in conflict situations around the world. CPT human rights workers have been sleeping in the Islamic Society's schools for days. If Israeli troops raid the schools again, CPT workers will videotape any abuses. Asked if CPT will physically confront Israeli soldiers, CPT activist Art Arbour says, "If they get violent, we'll get in the way."

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=28694

CPT Release

2008-04-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

CPTnet
10 April 2008
HEBRON: Press conference for Hebron orphanages

The Popular Committee for Supporting the Orphanages hosted a press conference at the Hebron Girls Orphanage on 7 April 2008. Approximately seventy people attended, including independent media, internationals, and clergy. The Israeli military had given orders to shut down the orphanages and schools run by the Islamic Charitable Society by 7 April.

The lawyer representing the Islamic Charitable Society spoke of the its work, which serves 2,500 children, 240 of them orphans, and aids an additional 4,000 students and 5,000 needy families. The society also runs a dairy, two bakeries, a warehouse, and four small storefronts that serve the schools and orphanages in the Hebron area. The Israeli military raided the warehouse, bakeries, and the storefronts on 6 March 2008, confiscating food, clothing, school supplies, refrigerators, and two buses worth $300,000.

The lawyer also noted that certified public accountants audit and the Palestinian Authority monitors the monies donated to support the orphanages and schools. The books are open for the Israeli government to audit as well. Twenty percent of the monies donated come from the Hebron local community. The other eighty percent comes from Europe, the U.S., and Middle Eastern countries. The Islamic Charitable Society enjoys the respect of both locals and non-governmental organizations such as Catholic Charities.

During the conference, Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights addressed the audience via speakerphone, saying that under Jewish law, evidence and witnesses must be brought before the court to support an accusation. Because the Islamic Charitable Society has threatened no human life, Ascherman contended, the Israeli authorities cannot cite security issues to justify a closure.

Members of CPT and other internationals have slept at the orphanages to accompany the staff and children and to document any possible incursion by the Israeli military. By midnight of 7 April, the attorney for the Israeli military had asked for an extension to prepare and submit to the court a full justification for the closures of the schools and orphanages.
check: http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2008/04/10/hebron-press-conference-hebron-orphanages

Israeli Military to Close Palestinian Orphanages & Schools

2008-04-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, 26 February, Israeli military forces raided buildings of the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron, handing over six military orders of closure and confiscations for two bakeries, administrative buildings, Al-Huda Mall, Al-Qasimi Building, the warehouse, three schools and two orphanages.

On 6 March Israeli military forces raided the central warehouse at Al-Harayeq and confiscated clothing, food stuffs, stationery and other supplies intended to fill the needs of children and their families. The confiscated goods were worth an estimated $300,000.

The Islamic Charitable Society (main society in Hebron) provides shelter and care to 240 orphans in the orphanages, educates more than 1700 students and aids an additional 3000 orphans and 2500 needy families. It employs more than 550 teachers, counselors and other support staff.

Islamic Charitable Society –Background Information

2008-04-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Established: 1962
Licensed by: Jordan, Israel and Palestine

Working area: Hebron in the West Bank

Facilities:

Al-Shari’yah Boys’ School - 640 students
Al-Shari’yah Girls’ School - 645 students
Al-Rahma Elementary Boys’ School - 420 students
Hebron Boys’ Orphanage - 130 children
Hebron Girls’ Orphanage - 110 children

Al-Rahma Bakeries (2) (Raided and gutted by the Israeli military)
Al-Rayan Dairy

Al-Qasimi building
Al-Huda Mall
Al-Harayeq Warehouse (Raided and gutted by the Israeli military)

*There are three other branches of the ICS in Bani Naiem, Shyukh and Beit Ola that are licensed as branches