Israeli Occupation Forces Trash Orphanage Sewing Workshop

By Mary Rizzo

This series of reports from Iqbal Tamimi tells
us how the IOF decides that they’d rather
cast the future of children to the street and
render them eternally dependent upon
“aid” from others – that then gets blocked.

1) Israeli occupation forces
stormed at dawn today,
Wednesday, 30/4/2008 the orphanage sewing workshop of
the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron and confiscated all its
contents. They informed the workers that it will be closed for
three years, and threatened to arrest any person who approaches
the location and imprison him for five years.

The witnesses said that the Israeli military force backed up
with large trucks, raided the orphanage charity workshop in
Alsalam Street in the city of Hebron. The soldiers smashed
the main gate of the girl s’ school, took away all the contents
of the workshop including the sewing machines, furniture,
even the orphan s’ clothes. They prevented all journalists
from reaching the location.

This attack is depriving 4000 orphans of the place which
used to provide them with clothes, besides forcing 15
orphan girls working in the workshop to become without
any source of income.

Two weeks ago, the Israeli forces confiscated the contents
of the orphanage bakery and their food store.

2) Occupation forces broke into the sewing work shop owned by the Islamic
Charitable Society in Hebron, warning the workers to evacuate it in one day,

to implement the decision of transferring its ownership to the occupation

and to close it down.

A number of the workers reported that the Occupation
forces broke into the workshop situated in the ground floor of
the charitable orphan’s house in Alsalam Street, and informed
the workers of the Occupation’s decision that will be implemented
on the 28th of April, closing the workshop for 3 years and
confiscating all its contents.

The Israeli army warned the workers should they disobey
this military decision and found present on the premises
after the date mentioned, they will be imprisoned for 5 years.

The sewing workshop was established 1985, where 15
orphan girls work to support their families. They make
clothes for more than 4000 orphans of both genders;
the surplus is sold in the local market.

The Israeli forces closed down last week the Orphanage bakery too
and confiscated its contents.

The orphans are pleading to all human rights organizations and
activists to help them reverse this unfair decision.

3) The Israeli Occupation Forces confiscated last week all the properties of the
orphanage sewing workshop in the city of Hebron, and the bakery too.

Then dumped them in a waste area in the southern part of the city.

Depriving 4000 orphans of clothes and bread, and forcing 15 young orphan

girls working in the workshop to unemployment.

Witnesses said that they saw the Israeli trucks taking away
some of the orphanage belongings and dumping them in a
waste area near Yatta a town just south of the city of
Hebron, after breaking the orphanage machines
beyond repair.

How very humane…