Published: 17 December 2021
Last updated: 4 March 2024
BEN LYNFIELD: Authorities say the centre near Hebron was built illegally on an archaeological site; youth group and NGOs claim the threat is designed to deter their activism
A WARNING BY Israel's military administration that the headquarters of a Palestinian youth group that opposes settler violence must be dismantled has prompted dismay among local Palestinians and concern from Israeli human rights activists.
The order says the building’s construction in Tuwani village, in the south Hebron hills, has damaged archaeological remains. It does not set a deadline for demolition but instructs that the building be removed or else a complaint will be filed with police.
Palestinian locals and Israeli activists claim the army’s motive is not really to enforce planning laws but rather to cripple the youth group, Youth of Sumud, which has 30 members and among its activities, documents alleged settler and army abuses. Youth of Sumud is non-violent, according to its director, Sami Hureini, a tag backed up by Israeli activists familiar with the group.
The story of Tuwani is not just about a new building. It also sheds light on the practices of the occupation machinery made up of the ruling Israeli right, settlers and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
The two-storey structure, which has an office, meeting hall and rooms for Israeli and international activists to stay over, is very near completion and has been in use for two months.
It will be a place for inculcating non-violent resistance, according to Ali Abu Awwad, an internationally known non-violent activist who has engaged in dialogue with bereaved Israeli families and moderate settlers in the Etzion Bloc area of the West Bank.
"We want to have a huge transformation of the meaning of non-violence, from being aggressive to being responsible," he told The Jewish Independent.
