30 April 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza
“I dreamt of my wife last night, she said the day would have a surprise in store for me”. Nasser Abu Said (37) is pleased: an NGO has confirmed a 2000 dollar contribution to the construction of his new house. He often smiles, but his face is predominantly characterized with the traces of worries from his daily struggle for survival. I think how good it is to see him laugh, it reminds me of the happy family picture I … Continue reading
27 April 2011 | Jordan Valley Solidarity
On Monday 25th the first brick was laid for a new school in the Jordan Valley.
Volunteers from the Jordan Valley Solidarity working with Ras Al Auja community members have been making mud bricks for the building during the last two weeks.
On Monday morning, during the much appreciated visit of Luisa Morgantini, the Italian Parliamentarian from the Communist Party, the Jericho Governor and a delegation of more than 50 Italian people, we officially inaugurated the building of the school which has been named “Vittorio Arrigoni” in memoriam of the Italian activist from ISM (International … Continue reading
29 April 2011 | Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh
We finally toured the devastated village of Awarta Wednesday and were stunned at what we saw and heard. On the way, we stopped by a tiny village called Izbet Al-tabib, a village of 350 people was served with a new order by the Israeli military to take over a significant portion of their land. The wall that will be built and isolate this land behind it is supposed to “protect” the illegal highway 55, an Israeli road built already on Palestinian lands to serve the Jewish colonies built on the rich Western water … Continue reading
28 April 2011 | Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements
Today around noon Jamal Atef Al Khateeb (age 15) was shot with rubber bullets in his stomach and mouth, and Nashmi Mohamad Abu Rahma (age 16) was shot with a rubber bullet in his leg. They were transferred to a Ramallah hospital for treatment.
This happened as the Israeli military broke through the village while students were going home from school. The Israeli soldiers started to shoot rubber bullets and tear gas towards the students, causing the … Continue reading
27 April 2011 | International Solidarity Movement
The village of Izbat Al Tabib outside Qalqilya is currently being threatened by the creation of a wall, which will annex 1000 square meters of their agricultural land. The village is situated right next to highway 55, and under the pretext of preventing stones being thrown onto the highway, the Israeli Civil Administration plans to build two walls, between which will be a buffer zone of Palestinian land. This will separate Izbat Al Tabib from … Continue reading
26 April 2011 | Rachel Corrie Foundation
In another round of last minute maneuvering, attorneys for the State in Corrie vs. State of Israel requested that testimony from their highest-ranking witness be postponed. Former Brigade Commander Colonel Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz, who was scheduled to testify on April 27, will not testify until May 22.
The witness was originally scheduled to testify on May 22, but on April 17, just before the court recessed for Israel’s Passover holiday, the State filed an emergency request to move … Continue reading
26 April 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza
Today the farmers of Beit Hanoun harvested their wheat. This would be unexceptional news in any other part of the world, but in Palestine things aren’t always so simple. Beit Hanoun is close to the Israeli border, a border where Israel imposes an illegal “buffer zone” in which it claims the right to shoot anyone it wishes. Israel claims the buffer zone is 300 meters wide, but farmers and scrap collectors who work along the border are often … Continue reading
25 April 2011 | International Solidarity Movement
Yesterday evening mourners gathered in Ramallah and Gaza in memorial events for ISM activist Vittorio Arrigoni. The events were planned to coincide with Vittorio’s funeral in Bulciago, Italy, which was attended by hundreds of people.
In Ramallah, crowds gathered outside the municipality to hear speeches made by friends, politicians and fellow solidarity activists. Those who had known and worked with Vittorio, including friends from Gaza, recounted their memories of him whilst others spoke of his dedication to Palestine and the importance … Continue reading
25 April 2011 | Ma’an News Agency
Hebron’s Youth Development Association re-named a small garden west of the city after murdered Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni in a Sunday ceremony.
Beit Ula Mayor Rateb Al-Omla presided over the event, thanking the development association for its initiative in commemorating Arrigoni, who was murdered in Gaza City on 15 April.
Organizers invited solidarity activists working in the southern West Bank to the commemoration event, thanking them for their service to the Palestinian people.
A French worker addressed the commemoration ceremony, thanking organizers for their … Continue reading
25 April 2011 | International Solidarity Movement
At approximately 11pm on Sunday 24, two Palestinians were physically beaten, one also attacked with pepper spray, by Israeli settlers in Hebron. Shortly afterwards, a reported 20 Israeli soldiers forcibly entered a house in Shuhada Street and ordered all under 16s out into the street.
According to a man interviewed by the ISM who lived in the house, two Palestinians, a middle-aged woman and a young man, were hit and the young man pepper-sprayed by Israeli settlers in … Continue reading
