8 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Bedouins in the Jordan Valley

On Saturday 5 February a delegation of activists from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) went on a tour in the municipality of Tubas, 30 minutes by car to the south east of Nablus.

At the municipality building of Tubas we were greeted by Marwan E. Toubassi, governor of the area. We were treated to sweets and coffee while Toubassi told us about the municipality of Tubas.

Called the breadbasket of Palestine, Tubas is a municipality about the size of the Gaza strip and includes several smaller villages and the northern parts of the Jordan Valley. The area is heavily dependent on agriculture, wich has become increasingly difficult as somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of the municipality is under Area C and thus controlled by the Israeli Occupational Forces.

Two major illegal checkpoints have been established which further hinder agriculture in the area by restricting the movement of Palestinian farmers. This, in combination with the theft of natural water resources for 10,000 settlers in the region, and the systematic demolition of Palesetinian homes by Israel, create huge problems for the inhabitants of Tubas municipality.

Besides the agricultural and mineral resources of the region, the Jordan Valley has always played an important strategic role for the Israeli military. Here is the border crossing of King Hussein bridge, the only way out of Palestine for most Palestinians. Large parts of the area are used for military training and the soldiers often leave behind explosive materials that injure and kill villagers and livestock.

One of those injured by the military presence in the region is Hajj Sami Sadiq, who at age 16 was shot by Israeli soldiers with three
bullets when he was on his family’s land. 40 years later one of the bullets is still lodged in his body and Sadiq is in a wheelchair. He
is one of the 50 people who have been injured by the military in the small village of Al-Aqaba in the Tubas municipality. In the village, consisting of 300 inhabitants and situated entirely in Area C, 13 people have been killed since the occupation started in 1967.

Today Sadiq is a part of the village council and is constantly working to stop the demolition of homes and roads in Al-Aqaba. It is no longer possible to get permits to build new homes or even a mosque in the village. A house is currently being built next to the municipality building in spite of the military ban, and during the last two weeks 20 households have been served with demolition orders by the Israeli military.

Over 700 inhabitants have left the village in recent years due to the lack of housing.

These house demolitions in the Tubas municipality are part of a strategy to force Palestinians out of these important areas of the
Jordan Valley.

ISM volunteers met with the Bedouins of El-Hamma and heard the story of how their homes were torn down when the area was occupied in 1967. Their homes where temporarily replaced in 1968 but then these structures were torn down as well. Today only two houses still stand from the time. Tents have received notices of demolition. 19 of 22 households in the village currently have demolition orders.

Demolition orders and water theft - Click here for more images

“This is not Israeli land,” said one of the farmers as we volunteers sat under the tallest tree in the village, sipping thyme tea that vaguely has reminders of cough syrup in its sweetness. From the hillside one can see the high tech farming facilities of the Israeli settlers on the other side of the road running along the bottom of the valley. It is not hard to imagine why the land that the Bedouins live on is so desirable. There is money waiting to be made here.

“Our ancestors lived on this land long before it was occupied by Turkey,” the man stated. “We never went into Israel. What am I to do about the fact that my land is in Area C?”

The village is surrounded by eight Zionist settlements, and at present 70 percent of the land has been confiscated for Israeli interests. Water is also being stolen to satisfy the water guzzling modern farms of the settlers. The stream in the valley next to the home of the Bedouins has been systematically drained over the last 50 years and is now only a dried out riverbed.

“The Israelis have stolen our land, our homes, our water. They are killing us, and still they are not satisfied,” an older man among the Bedouins cried out.  ”They have no respect for us, ” he said.

Back at the Tubas municipality center, Marwan E. Tubas finished up his presentation of the situation in Tubas on a lighter note.

 We firmly believe in coming to a peaceful two state solution with Israel according to the agreements of 1967… [Israel] supposedly supports Arabic people struggling for freedom in Lybia and Syria, but when it comes to the Israeli occupation no one dares to speak out.

Jonas Weber is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

7 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Click to stand in solidarity and take action!

On Monday and Tuesday Palestinians rallied for Khader Adnan and all political prisoners before regional offices of the Red Cross, demanding that the organization takes a solid stand for the rights of more than 5000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli prisons.

TAKE ACTION NOW TO SUPPORT KHADER ADNAN

Al Khalil:

The mood was at once festive and somber Monday, February 6th, when a determined group of family, friends, and solidarity activists rallied in front of the Al Khalil (Hebron) office of the International Committee of the Red Cross, demanding that the organization take a stand for the rights of more than 5000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli prisons, many without ever having been formally charged or offered legal defense. Organized by the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Monday’s demonstration comes two weeks after Israeli soldiers stormed the Al Quds (Jerusalem) ICRC office to arrest two Hamas government officials taking shelter there and three weeks after another three Palestinian elected officials were arrested.

For the last three months, the Palestinian Prisoner Society has organized a weekly protest to highlight the miserable plight of specific detainees—this week’s political prisoners are Khader Adnan and Razeq Al- Rjoob.

Khader Adnan is protesting his administrative detention in a hunger strike that has extended 52 days, with his health debilitating rapidly. Razeq Al- Rjoob  is another political prisoner who has been kept in solitary confinement over eight months.

These men’s stories are not all that bring out protesters, many of whom have lost fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, and friends as well as mothers, daughters, or sisters  to Israeli prisons. Badran Jaber had his son, Rasan Badran Jaber, taken from him three months ago when soldiers entered the house, locked him and his wife in one room, and then “demolished all their furniture” and arrested their son.

Palestinians demand a firmer stance for its prisoners - Click here for more images

Like the men recognized this week, Jaber said his son was detained because he is active in the prisoner rights movement, agitating from inside during an eight year sentence and continuing after his release. Jaber was taken into custody once again without charge or legal recourse. Serving more than one multi-year prison sentence or period of detention without charge is common for Palestinian young men of Hebron, and the West Bank generally, especially for those engaged in civil resistance.

Incredibly in such a public conflict, Jaber maintains that most people internationally “do not know about the administrative detentions” and stated that the Red Cross needs “to [spread] knowledge of what is happening to the Palestinian people.”

With a mandate from the Geneva Conventions (1949) and additional Protocols I & II (1977), the ICRC is charged with holding military, occupying, and national forces to international humanitarian and human rights standards, which include prohibitions of torture, abuse, collective punishment, and forced relocation, and require that detainees be granted (among other rights) adequate food, water, medical care, legal representation, and visitations by family and aid workers.

Barbara Lecq, head of the ICRC’s Sub-delegation for the Southern West Bank was present for the protest and spoke to her organization’s position. Questioned about the protests, she expressed doubts about the feasibility of the crowd’s expectations, but also stated that review of “material conditions” in the lives of prisoners and detainees, especially access to food, water, outside time, and social interaction, is in order. While detentions, she added, are permitted under the Geneva conventions and are “nothing new” to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt), they “may turn out not to be nice or moral.”

According to Amjad Najjar, media spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners Society and head of the Hebron branch, the most recent wave of prisoner civil resistance was inspired in part by similar resistance movements to British authority in Ireland. “We all watched the Bobby Sands documentary,” he said.

At its height the strike has included as many as 2000 prisoners from all political parties and has brought systemic abuse of Palestinian inmates into limelight of international media.

Organized resistance among Palestinian resisters is no new phenomenon. Previous generations of prisoners have fought and won the ability to self-organize and educate, the very same rights taken away by the Netanyahu government.

The PPS itself is the continuation of organizing that took place inside prison, says Najjar, when prisoners recognized the need for prisoners to self-represent as much as possible to outside media. Along with advocacy for prisoner rights, they facilitate visitations and provide legal, educational, and other services for inmates and their families.

While Najjar said, “Our problem is not with the people of the ICRC…we think they are in solidarity,” the PPS campaign to end prisoner abuse is expected to escalate in coming months leading up to Palestinian Prisoner’s Day on April 17th.

Individuals in Hebron carry the pictures of loved ones, stolen from their families by Israeli administrative detention.

Until the ICRC denounces the treatment of prisoners and formally recognizes their status as prisoners of war, the Palestinian Prisoners Society will continue to hold weekly demonstrations.

This coming week a demonstration will take place near the town of Ad Dhahiriya at the Meitar Checkpoint, a main route for Palestinians to visit incarcerated family members. Soldiers have begun conducting frequent strip searches, including of women, in dual harassment of would-be visitors by violating their modesty and cultural and religious prohibitions.

 Ramallah:

On Monday the father of Khader Adnan, Musa Adnan, announced that he too would join his 33 year old son in solidarity by partaking in the hunger strike, meeting with Salaam Fayyad in Ramallah.

Amnesty International also commented on Israel’s lack of compliance to international law, denouncing the potential fatal results of Israel’s lack of concern for prisoner rights. In a statement by Amnesty International’s Anne Harrison, Deputy Director of North Africa and the Middle East, she stated:

The Israeli authorities must release Khader Adnan and other Palestinians held in administrative detention unless they are promptly charged with internationally recognizable criminal offences and tried in accordance with international fair trial standards.

Supporters in Ramallah gather at the Red Cross Office in Ramallah in solidarity with Khader Adnan and political prisoners | Photos by Fadi Arouri

According to a statement released by the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainee Affairs, the Ofer prisoner administration  has collectively punished 8 prisoners who have joined Khader Adnan’s hunger strike, transferring them to solitary confinement. The prisoners names are Raed al-Sayegh, Muhtaseb al-Assa, Ayman al-Za’qeq, Hassan lafi, Mohammad Shaheen, Ahmad al-Iweiwi, Na’il and Firas al-Barghouthi.

Qadura Fares, the president of the Palestinian Society Prisoner’s Club, announced on Monday that demonstrations and acts of solidarity would continue. Prisoner advocates requested a statement from Ofer military court on Monday regarding the extension of Adnan’s administrative detention, only to receive a confirmation from Israel that Adnan still faces at least 4 months of imprisonment, enacted since the order was arbitrarily placed on January 8th.

Ramallah joins the march for prisoner rights - Click for more images

On Monday night supporters gathered in Ramallah’s clock square in light of Adnan’s diminishing health, violated rights, and Israel’s lack of regard or concern. According to local organizer Sabreen Al Dwak, she urged the community on Monday night to say “No to killing our people” in a meeting in Clock Square that evening. The action continued into today as hundreds of Palestinians and supporters gathered in front of the International Red Cross Office in Ramallah and in Clock Square, demanding a firmer stance against Israel’s manipulative and abusive measures of against Palestinian political prisoners.

22 year old Sabreen Al Dwak, local organizer, collapsed during today's demonstration in Clock Square, Ramallah. She is resuming her hunger strike. | Photo via raya.fm

Al Dwak collapsed during the demonstration as she endured her fourth day on hunger strike in solidarity with the prisoners. Doctors gave her salt, which is commonly employed to sustain such hunger strikes.

She refused further medical care in order continue her hunger strike. Solidarity activists will continue to camp in Clock Square, on hunger strike, while according to WAFA News, the campers will remain under medical surveillance.

According to the prisoner support and human rights organization Addameer (‘Conscience’), since 1967 Israeli authorities have arrested 2 in 5 Palestinian men and 1 in 5 Palestinians in generally (700,000), including 10,000 women and many thousands of children. Currently there are more than 200.

These numbers do not include those incarcerated by proxy, through the Palestinian Authority, which has on many occasions been obligated to cooperate with Israeli forces. The steadily worsening conditions for 4500-6000 Palestinian in Israeli prisons at any given time received a severe shock in June 2011, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised collective punishment—including punitive isolation and curtailed access to education, television, books, medical care, family visits, and more—while the single Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit remained in Hamas custody.

Later that year, in September 2011, Palestinian prisoners from multiple factions and prisons announced a “Campaign of Disobedience,” involving a hunger strike, refusal to prison uniforms, and noncompliance with role calls. Even though Shalit was released in October, conditions have not improved and in many cases have worsened, according to an Amnesty International report. Since 1948, over 200 Palestinians have died in prison, from inadequate medical care and food, severe beatings and torture, and other abuse.

For more updates or to take action, people can monitor the ISM website (callouts for action will be posted), respond to Adameer’s call to action, or write an email to the ICRC Jerusalem Office (JER_jerusalem@icrc.org) and demand they take a stand for prisoner rights.

Aaron is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

A Palestinian plays football in the no go zone near Erez during the weekly demonstration against the occupation in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, February 7, 2012. Every Tuesday Palestinians and supporters march from Beit Hanoun into the "buffer zone" or "no go" zone , where the fertile land has been made inaccessible to Palestinians due to the imminent danger of shooting by the Israeli army. | (c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Beit Hanoun, 07.02.2012

Since 2008, demonstrations are organized in front of Erez in Beit Hanoun. This is in defiance of the “no go zone” imposed unilaterally by the Israelis. Any person who approaches the Green Line is under risk of being shot at. In fact many farmers; or rubble collectors have been shot in these border areas. The “no go zone” is not really defined. The Israelis announced a 300 meters line not to be crossed but people have been shot as far as 1,5 kilometer away from the border. All this “shoot and kill” policy means than more than 30% of the agricultural land in Gaza has been made inaccessible to Palestinians due to the imminent danger of shooting by the Israeli army. This is affecting thousands of farmers along the roughly 50km-long border with Israel. Many lands in these areas have been bulldozed. Houses were destroyed especially during Operation Cast Lead. The zone has become a strange no-mans land with not one tree standing. For more information see here.

A group of Palestinians and supporters are seen with flags and foot balls in the no go zone near Erez during the weekly demonstration against the occupation in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, February 7, 2012. Every Tuesday Palestinians and supporters march from Beit Hanoun into the "buffer zone" or "no go" zone , where the fertile land has been made inaccessible to Palestinians due to the imminent danger of shooting by the Israeli army. (c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Beit Hanoun, 07.02.2012

In defiance of this policy, Palestinians and their supporters walk with great courage every Tuesday into the buffer zone. Last time I went to the demonstration in Beit Hanoun, Vik (Vittorio Arrigoni, a long-termer Italian solidarity activist and journalist who was killed on 15 April 2011 by suspected members of a Palestinian Salafist group in Gaza) was there. I would certainly not have imagined than one year and an half year ago I would be back in the same demonstration where a football game would be held in his memory. The demonstration was also held in memory of Mustafa Tamimi from the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. All suddenly the demonstration took a different meaning. It was somehow heartwarming to hear a familiar name: Nabi Saleh, here in Gaza, connecting all the places involved in the popular resistance. The more connections are being built, the stronger it will become. It was also good to walk for Vik.

We met as last time near the destroyed building of the agricultural college of Beit Hanoun and walked into the direction of Erez, together with flags from different countries and footballs. One noticeable sad difference with last year was the absence of women in the demonstration; apparently it has become too sensitive now for them to participate. When we reached the open field we continue further and further until a distance of about 50 meters from the concrete Wall and Erez crossing.
In 2010, we could only approach within 250 meters. Unlike the demonstrations in the West Bank, here we see only rarely Israeli soldiers. Yet they are there, hidden in their military towers and they can shoot at any time, as they did last week and here, there is nowhere to hide or take cover. You feel completely vulnerable.
After a few launch in the air of the footballs, we retreated a bit to enjoy a football game between a team made up of internationals and a team of Palestinians.

Saber Zaaneen, the coordinator of the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative, leads the chant during the weekly demonstration against the occupation into the" no go" zone in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, February 7, 2012. Every Tuesday Palestinians and supporters march from Beit Hanoun into the "buffer zone" or "no go" zone , where the fertile land has been made inaccessible to Palestinians due to the imminent danger of violence by the Israeli army. | (c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Beit Hanoun, 07.02.2012

Beit Hanoun is currently the only place in the Gaza Strip where such regular demonstrations are held. Saber Zaaneen (photo n.1) , the coordinator of the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative, is one of the main organizers of the protest. See below some extracts of an interview I conducted in October 2010:

” On 2nd July 2008, the Israeli army announced the existence of a “buffer zone”. As Palestinians, we refuse to call it “buffer zone”. A buffer zone is between two countries, but the so called “buffer zone” is on Palestinian lands and we do not accept it. We call it “zones where Palestinians do not have access”. [OCHA uses the term “no go” zone]. In Beit Hanoun we are particularly affected because we have the greenline on the north and on the east. We decided to do something to oppose this decision and resist. We had to support the farmers. I love what they are doing in Bil’in, Ni’lin, in Al Ma’sara to resist the Wall. We were inspired by them and we decided to do the same in Gaza. On 27 July 2008, we organized our first demonstration against the “buffer zone” to say: we are here and we will not move. We went to the direction of Erez, carrying some Palestinian flags. Hundreds of people came. But when we approached, the Israeli army shot at us, even before we reached the 300 meters. The Israeli army then increased the shootings. Farmers were shot, even if they were standing after the line. Many young people collecting rubble were also shot.
(…)

There is a high price to pay. It can be death. I am not supposed to die there because I am an unarmed civilian, but I know it can happen. I think of my family and it is hard, but this is my duty. Anyone who wants freedom has to pay. We will continue to struggle until we got our rights. We will never stay silent.”

On February 5 the residents of Kufr Qaddoum noticed several soldiers and illegal settlers on their lands who were plotting how to illegally seize land from the village. Upon arrival, International Solidarity Movement received word that indeed the colonizers were planning an action to seize land today.

Zionists attack to steal Palestinian land in Kufr Qaddoum - Click here for more images

Early this morning over 20 Israeli soldiers and Zionist settlers descended up on Kufr Qaddoum’s lands, arresting local villager Abu Ashraf, and dragging him off. Settlers were seen plowing through the land with bulldozers and military present.

In a collaboration between military and illegal settlers,  the main road that Kufr Qaddoum has been advocating to open through its weekly peaceful demonstrations has also been reportedly seized, while illegal, Zionist settlers are currently planting trees in the newly plowed land under the protection of the Israeli military.

Every Friday Kufr Qaddoum has held peaceful demonstrations to reopen their main road. On January 21 the village celebrated their success in peacefully pushing back Israeli Occupation Forces for the second week in a row as they tried to reclaim access to this road.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kufr Qaddoum  is hedged in on most sides by Israeli Jewish settlements, illegal according to international law, the 1993 Oslo Accords, and in some cases even Israeli law.

Khader Adnan, an imprisoned Palestinian activist held under administrative detention, has engaged in an open-ended hunger strike since December 17, 2012. Now at fifty days into his hunger strike, he is facing severe health consequences and has been moved to a hospital, continuing to refuse food in protest of torture, isolation, and the use of arbitrary detention against Palestinians.

Khader Adnan needs international support and solidarity to make it clear to the Israeli occupation that the eyes of the world are on his case and that of his nearly 5,000 fellow Palestinian political prisoners. He is currently in a hospital bed and being force-fed liquids over his objection.

Send a letter now to Israeli officials demanding his freedom.

TWEET NOW to share this action alert by clicking here!

Addameer, the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, details the experience of Khader Adnan with the Israeli occupation on their page dedicated to his case. Adnan, a spokesperson for the Islamic Jihad party, is currently held under administrative detention, which is arbitrary detention without charge or trial, based on secret evidence, and renewable indefinitely for repeated periods of up to six months. Khader Adnan was issued a four-month administrative detention order on January 8. This is the eighth time Adnan has been detained, and he has served a total of six years in Israeli prisons – mostly without charge or trial under the administrative detention scheme. 280 fellow Palestinians are also held without charge or trial under Israel’s administrative detention mechanism.

Addameer reports:

Khader was arrested on 17 December 2011, when Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) raided his home outside Jenin at 3:30 am. Before entering his house, soldiers used the driver that takes Khader’s father to the vegetable market, Mohammad Mustafa, as a human shield by forcing him to knock on the door of the house and call out Khader’s name while blindfolded.

A huge force of soldiers then entered the house shouting. Recognizing Khader immediately, they grabbed him violently in front of his two young daughters and ailing mother. The soldiers blindfolded him and tied his hands behind his back using plastic shackles before leading him out of his house and taking him to a military jeep. Khader was then thrown on his back and the soldiers began slapping him in the face and kicking his legs. They kept him lying on his back until they reached Dutan settlement, beating him on the head throughout the 10-minute drive. When they reached the settlement, Khader was pushed aggressively out of the jeep. Because of the blindfold, Khader did not see the wall right in front of him and smashed into it, causing injuries to his face.

Following his arrest, he was taken to interrogation, refused medical care and treatment despite Israeli prison officials’ knowledge of his health conditions, subject to physical abuse and mistreatment including being tied to a chair in a stress position, causing extreme back pain, and pulling on his beard so hard that his hair was ripped out. Khader was subjected to abusive language about his family, and refused to speak any further to interrogators, as well as refusing food. In retaliation, he was placed into isolation and solitary confinement, denied family visits, awakened in the middle of the night and strip-searched. He has refused to end his strike, protesting the illegitimacy of his arbitrary detention by an illegal occupation authority as well as cruel and inhumane treatment and abuse.

This is not his first hunger strike – in 2005 he protested his isolation in Kfar Yuna with a 12-day hunger strike. Khader Adnan’s hunger strike has sparked solidarity tents in Gaza and protests in Ramallah. Ten of his fellow prisoners in Ofer prison have joined him in his hunger strike, six fellow Islamic Jihad activists and four imprisoned members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; dozens of prisoners have refused food or participated in civil disobedience inside the prisons in support of Adnan. Students in Gaza are organizing a solidarity hunger strike outside the Red Cross building.

On Tuesday, February 7, Palestinian lawyers will boycott military courts to protest the treatment of Adnan Khader and demand an end to international silence around his case.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners participated in a 23-day hunger strike in October 2011, demanding an end to isolation, abuse, denial of family visits, and the long-term isolation of Palestinian leaders such as Ahmad Sa’adat; Israeli promises to end isolation, aimed to secure the end of the strike, proved to be false.

TAKE ACTION!

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges the Palestine solidarity movement in North America and around the world to publicize the case of Khader Adnan and raise up the voices of Palestinian political prisoners. Palestinian prisoners’ struggle for freedom is central to the struggle for a free Palestine.

Addameer has issued a call to action - we encourage you to distribute and act on Addameer’s call, linked here, and also to

Organize a picket or protest outside the Israeli embassy or consulate in your location and demand the immediate freedom of Khader Adnan and all Palestinian political prisoners. Make it clear that the eyes of the world are on the situation of Khader Adnan and demand an end to the use of isolation, torture solitary confinement, and administrative detention against Palestinian political prisoners. Send us reports of your protests at Israeli embassies and consulates at samidoun@samidoun.ca.

Write to the International Committee of the Red Cross and other human rights organizations to urge them to act swiftly to protect Khader Adnan and all Palestinian political prisoners. Email the ICRC, whose humanitarian mission includes monitoring the conditions of prisoners, at JER_jerusalem@icrc.org, and inform them about the urgent situation of Khader Adnan. Make it clear that arbitrary detention without charge or trial is unacceptable, and that the ICRC must act to protect Palestinian prisoners from cruel and inhumane treatment.

Share this alert on Twitter and use the #FreeKhaderAdnan and #KhaderAdnan hashtags.

TWEET NOW to share this action alert by clicking here.

As of  2:00 PM today it was reported that two army jeeps were still on site in Kufr Qaddoum, in addition to one police jeep, while illegal settlers had left the scene of today’s violent incursion.

Abu Ashraf, pictured below being dragged by Israeli military,  is now in a local hospital with injuries sustained to the head and wrists. It is reported he was hit by military on the left side of his forehead leaving an open wound and bruising. His hands were also tightly handcuffed in plastic, leaving bruising to the wrists.

Abu Ashraf was defending his family’s land as it was being invaded by settlers from nearby illegal settlements and was met with violence. Settlers plowed this land under the protection of Israeli military.

Another 60 year old woman was also wounded by Israel’s violent intrusion into Kufr Qaddoum,  after Israeli forces twisted her arm. She was treated on the scene by paramedics.*

Abu Ashraf is in a local hospital, recovering.

Updated From: 

On February 5 the residents of Kufr Qaddoum noticed several soldiers and illegal settlers on their lands who were plotting how to illegally seize land from the village. Upon arrival, International Solidarity Movement received word that indeed the colonizers were planning an action to seize land today.

Abu Ashraf, a local of Kufr Qaddoum, being dragged away by Israeli Zionist military

Early this morning over 20 Israeli soldiers and Zionist settlers descended up on Kufr Qaddoum’s lands, arresting local villager Abu Ashraf, and dragging him off. Settlers were seen plowing through the land with bulldozers and military present.

In a collaboration between military and illegal settlers,  the main road that Kufr Qaddoum has been advocating to open through its weekly peaceful demonstrations has also been reportedly seized, while illegal, Zionist settlers are currently planting trees in the newly plowed land under the protection of the Israeli military.

Every Friday Kufr Qaddoum has held peaceful demonstrations to reopen their main road. On January 21 the village celebrated their success in peacefully pushing back Israeli Occupation Forces for the second week in a row as they tried to reclaim access to this road.

Kufr Qaddoum  is hedged in on most sides by Israeli Jewish settlements, illegal according to international law, the 1993 Oslo Accords, and in some cases even Israeli law. Theft of nearly 2/3 of land associated with these settlements (1100 ha of the 1900 ha pre-1967 original), combined with the Apartheid Wall and closures of multiple access points in the last 12 years, have choked the local economy and driven people from the community (according to POICA and the Land Resource Center). During 2003, in the midst of the Second Intifada, the Israeli military closed off the main road leading to the village, doubling the transit time to Nablus. After 6 years of court cases and a ruling supportive of villager’s rights–but still no results–the Popular Committee of Kufr Qaddoum decided to press the issue with a series of weekly protests which began in July, 2011.

Organizers in the village are currently determining future steps and actions in light of the Zionist invasion upon their lands and call upon the Palestinian and international community to support their village and Palestine against illegal Israeli Occupation.

*Correction: The original article stated that the women injured was taken to the hospital. This has been replaced with the fact that she was treated on the scene by paramedics.

5 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

I am … well, it is not easy to explain.

I am overwhelmed, I am shocked, grateful yet disappointed, filled with love and anger, incomprehension filled my heart and an inability to truly understand what is going on.

On the one side I think I have seen it all and on the other hand it feels like I haven’t seen a thing. All this information regarding the illegal and destructive Israeli occupation are filling my head. I thought I was prepared before I arrived but I wasn’t. I came here to be an activist, to make a statement, to be of support for the Palestinian people on site as well as for those who I’ve left at home in Germany.

But I guess I will leave with a feeling of disappointment about myself, about not having done enough, about not having been well enough prepared and mostly about the fact, that I will leave before I got really started.

I’ve been to a demonstration, and what I experienced was confusing, hard,  and yet I have the urge to continuously take part in something that I will not fully understand as it is so unreal. I have inhaled the teargas, I saw the soldiers shooting into the crowd, aiming at houses with people who cannot escape from it. The Israeli soldiers seem not to have the slightest thought about the consequences of their brutal behavior.

I have experienced the checkpoint as an international, Muslim woman who wears the veil and observed the ignorant and mostly arrogant behavior of these young teenage soldiers. I am horrified, angry,  and left paralyzed by confusion as  I try to comprehend this behavior. I simply cannot imagine that the Palestinian people have to go through that every single day without having the possibility to leave as I do–without knowing that they can go home and are safe.

My brain has difficulties coping with that, coping with the fact that almost families are having their sons, husbands, brothers, uncles, mothers, and daughers, and wives arrested for no reason. They can be held in custody for 6 months without any reason, and these 6 months can endlessly be prolonged.

Can you imagine that? Can you understand that this can mean for Palestinians a imprisonment for years. Israel calls it “administrative arrest.”  I cannot, even though I’ve met some of these former prisoners and talked to them,  help but wonder if all of this is really happening.

But the answer is: YES!

Yes this is happening in addition to the regular house demolitions, leaving families with absolutely nothing. This is happening in addition to land theft by  Zionist Israelis in order for them to build their settlements and to create a settler army that is not only fanatic but simply insane, running around with weapons while jogging with their children, attacking peaceful Palestinians, and burning down the Palestinian olive trees out of hate.

Can you really imagine all that? I still can’t and yet I have seen some of that with my own eyes…

How is it possible?

I’ve met these brave people from ISM who all follow the same goal, to support the peaceful resistance, to fight the occupation, to show solidarity. I had the pleasure of taking part in it for a minute. I learned a lot and this journey, and it has shaped me – hopefully into a better person.

I will come back insha’Allah and I will spread the word. I hope I am able to keep on working with people and help to make a change in the lives of the Palestinian people.

May God bless all who struggle for Palestine and have an eye on their well being. Amen, Amen, Amen.

Iman, an international from Germany, is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement.

5 February 2012  | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Taking apart Israeli Occupation - Click here for more images

Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators confronted heavily armed Israeli soldiers this Friday, February 3rd,  at a new protest in the village of Qaryut, planting nearly one hundred trees and partially demolishing the roadblock that has obstructed access to the highway since the First Intifada.

Although organizers were prepared for military violence, the protest remained peaceful until the end, and demonstrators marched home triumphantly with a promise from the military to remove the roadblock with a bulldozer, which they did later the same day. While the villagers celebrated this as a victory, Qaryut’s people continue to struggle for control of their lands and recognition of their rights. As of the publishing date, it is uncertain what will be the nature of future protests.

Although Qaryut villagers annually plant trees on their lands, a recent history of settler violence and military intervention drew the Qaryut Youth and Village Councils, together with Stop the Wall Campaign, to organizing a confrontational but peaceful demonstration.
Beginning after Friday prayers, villagers of all ages met with Israeli, international, and other Palestinian supporters at the village center before parading several kilometers down the village’s once- main road towards Highway 60.

With children holding banners and Red Crescent volunteers and solidarity activists in the front, some 400 demonstrators marched down the valley road—above them Israel soldiers, military jeeps, and several counter-protestors thought to be from the hilltop illegal settlements nearby. As protesters climbed over the bulldozed roadblock of dirt and rocks, they were greeted on their land by several dozen heavily armed soldiers in riot gear and jeeps armed with cannons for firing multiple volleys of tear gas canisters. When the crowd did not stop, soldiers closed in on the front but did not fire—and organizers entered into dialogue with commanders, explaining that it was a non-violent protest and were demanding access to their land.

While soldiers were noticeably uncomfortable in close quarters, fingering pepperspray canisters and a few times shoving aggressively, their was no attack on either side. While some protesters faced off with soldiers, the youth began furiously picking away at the roadblock, while a mix of youth and adults dug holes and planted trees with printed images of Palestinian and international activists martyred in the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

Photos of George Habash, Vittorio Arrigoni, Rachel Corrie and other heroes adorn trees planted by volunteers

When all the trees were planted and much, but not all, of the barricade demolished, the Israeli commander promised to finish the job with a bulldozer that afternoon if the crowd would withdraw. Though demonstrators agreed, many expressed doubt that the commander would follow through—and organizers began preparations for the next demonstration, expecting they would have to open it themselves. Counter-protestors were also surprised with the outcome; one conservative blogger “YMedad” of Shilo wrote prematurely that Ma’an’s report was mistaken–insisting “when I left, the dirt roadblock was still in place.”

For many participants, one of the most remarkable aspects of the demonstration was an overwhelming sense of jubilant defiance. Before the demonstration, participants expressed concern about the potential for military violence, citing similarly peaceful protests in villages being brutally broken up. Yazan Azem, like many others, could scarcely contain his excitement to go work his community’s land, even though he fully expected a violent response.

“I have to go [to the protest]”, he said. “The land is our life. If I don’t go to take it, it’s like giving up my life.”

Another said, “We are defined by the land. When we come here we feel human. Zaytun [olive] is us. We are deeply rooted.”

During the demonstration, protesters’ passion was palpable in a way unique to people finding their voice. Kheer Abdul Kader, a middle-aged man who claimed to have been arrested ten times for crossing the Apartheid Wall, started by saying “talk means nothing” but, clearly excited to be present, continued, “I’m not saying there should not be the ’48 [Israel inside the 1948 boundaries]. But they should not be here. They do not have permission, like me…Why are the settlers coming here to my homeland, when I cannot be there? I just want to work on my land and do not want to go there.”

After the demonstration, the mood became celebratory—according to peace activist Arafat Mahmod, a double victory because they completed most of what they wanted to do and because “nobody got hurt.” Walking back towards the village, protestors sang songs and chanted “ash`ab yureed tahrir falasteen” (“the people demand the freeing of Palestine”), borrowed from the ongoing Egyptian revolution of Arab Spring fame.

The problems faced by Qaryut, however, are far from resolved.

Located between Ramallah and Nablus (Northern Palestine), Qaryut has long been cut off from the main arterial and its agricultural lifeblood by seven settlements, military harassment, and a earthen roadblock constructed in 2002. The settlements, the largest of which are Eli, Shilo, and Hayovel, occupy 78% of the pre-1976 village’s lands. Settlers and the Israeli government legitimize this using the Oslo Interim Agreement (which gives them military and administrative control) and the antiquated Ottoman ‘absentee property law’ (which allows the state to confiscate it under a variety of pretexts.) This land theft has had far-reaching effects for the village whose people rely on olive, almond, and other harvests for subsistence.

To make matters worse, the United Nations have documented that settlers have joined the harrassment, regularly destroying new generations of trees and sometimes attacking villagers, including children. A  young man from the village, Hasan Abdilatef, corroborated this as the norm:

“Most of the time the soldiers come and pull the [olive trees] up. But we keep coming. Maybe two or three [trees] are still up after three years.”

The blocked road, in turn, has until now severely delayed transportation of people, movement of goods, and other necessary services—typically adding on 30 minutes for the alternate route. For medical emergencies, villagers had to call two ambulances and hand off patients across the barricade. Waste disposal also has been an issue, as villagers report that access to the city dump has been barred to them—soldiers claiming there are settlers living in the area. Instead the dump has been moved to the one other accessible area, along their once-main road and the march-route—where it is burnt. Walking back to the village, another young resident of Qaryut, said that he considers this as a  kind of bio-warfare: forcing the village to improperly dispose of its own waste in toxic ways. “There is no one there,” he said; This is another way of making us leave.”

With one of their main demands met,  it is unknown what form future protests will take or whether other land and road restrictions will be loosened. Although the Israeli commander was unavailable for comment, one Israeli soldier (who did not give his name) denied that the roadblock had been maintained for political reasons, instead claiming it was there “for safety [because] it is a difficult turn [onto Highway 60].”

Forcible relocation of a population, attacks on civilians, and intentionally destroying a people’s means of sustenance are all illegal under international law.

Aaron is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

4 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On the 4th of February International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) attended the replanting of 50 olive trees on the hillsides above the village of Burin, outside of Nablus. The planting went without disturbances from the surrounding illegal settlements of Bracha and Yitzhar.

Replanting livelihood and resistance - Click here for more images

During 2011 around 3700 olive trees were destroyed in the hills around the village of Burin, most of them due to attacks from the illegal settlement Yitzhar. The 50 olive trees replanted today on the hill slopes facing the illegal settlement of  Bracha will not bear fruit for many years but serve as a long term investment for the villagers of Burin. Small as it may be, this initiative marks the relentless struggle to go on with their lives despite of Israeli occupation.

Since the campaign began to raise money for trees, donations were sent nearly daily from Australia, Italy, France, the US, Canada, Sweden, and Finland for example. According to the Trees of Resistance campaign, they  ”have received support from past volunteers, hopeful future volunteers, refugees, tree lovers and just fantastical lovely generous people.”

The Bilal al Najjar youth center in Burin has also received considerable support and volunteered its members to partake in the tree planting.

Click here to view the embedded video.

After the planting volunteers were shown the ongoing construction of a new community center in the center of Burin. Some proud, young men showed volunteers the re-plastered insides of an old stone building about to be transformed by the efforts of the Bilal al Najjar center.

An international organizer of the All for Burin campaign stated that while “the center provides projects that need to be kept alive… it also gives the youth of Burin a sanctuary. A place that is theirs, where they can work, learn, plan communal activities and unite. These activities have an overwhelming importance within community. To bring children and adults together, to feel united and most of all to have and create new happy memories to be taken with everyone in the future.”

Support the further planting of trees destroyed by Zionists and help Burin’s youth center for continued peace and livelihood for Palestinian villagers that continue to face mounting threats by price tag campaign extremists and the Israeli military which defends them.

Jonas Weber is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

4 February 2012 | Palestine from My Eyes

My drawing of Vittorio Arrigoni

As I realized today’s date, the 4th of February, a stream of memories flooded into my mind. Today, last year, marked my dear friend Vittorio Arrigoni’s last birthday I spent with him.

I remember it was a nice, rainy Friday. I felt happy to be rich, having just gotten my $1,000 share from YouthSchool for my work on the Gaza 2011 calendar “All I Want Is Peace”. My best friend Adie Mormech, an English activist who spent a year in Gaza working with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), reminded me that it was Vik’s birthday. That day, Vik missed the Friday lunch, to which he always looked forward. I knew about Vik’s stress regarding his father’s deteriorating health, and that it was a reason he didn’t join us for lunch. He would always say “Zaki”, delicious, as his gentle but funny way of thanking Mum for the food that was fondly ranked by “his majesty” as the best in Gaza.

Having not seen him, and being worried about him, I decided to surprise him by going to the ISM office where he and the other ISMers (Adie, Inge, Vera, and Silvia) were gathering. It was already night when I left home for Mazaj, the cake shop Vik preferred, and it was raining heavily. But it was worth getting wet for the sake of Vik’s smile and the fun I expected to have when I arrived at the office. I got the cake and hurried with excitement to meet Vik and my other friends. I couldn’t wait to tell him about the greetings that his friends from Italy had told me to send him, and to put the smile on his face that always sent warmth and happiness to everyone around him.

Vera, an ISM activist from Germany, welcomed me as I knocked on the door. When she saw the excitement on my face and the cake I carried, she whispered, “It’s not the right time for a party now. Vik is sad.”

My happy features turned sad. I left the bag by the entrance and went to look for Vik. He sat in the living room alone as Vera had told me. The curtain that separated the two sitting rooms, which were open to each other, was pulled down. I felt like even the house looked sad. I wanted to check on Vik, though. After asking him if I could come in, I sat next to him on the purple couch for a couple of minutes of silence. “I hope you’re OK,” I said while pressing his hand. “I’m worried for my father,” he said. “He’s going to have an operation that might reveal a terminal illness.”

He knew that if it did not go well, his father would not have long to live. As I remember this, I think of how ridiculous and unpredictable this life is. Back then, who would have ever expected that Vik would die before his father did?

Vittorio was torn between two concerns at the center of his life: his attachment to Palestine, and his father and family’s need for his support. Each thought was more pressing than the other. Then suddenly, “Strong Vik” could no longer control his tears. I couldn’t believe that I was seeing Vik cry. Vik has been always a symbol of strength, humanity, and inspiration for me. He always will be. At the time, I felt confused and didn’t know how to act. With spontaneity, I hugged him, as I thought getting a hug in such difficult times might help more than my words. I cried along with him, too.

Then Vik learned about the cake I brought. He didn’t want to disappoint me and all my plans. He reached deep inside himself for strength to bring smiles back to the faces of his friends, smiled at me, then shouted to all the others, “Yalla, let’s have some cake”. That’s how caring Vik was; he always wanted to be a reason for everyone to smile, but never for anyone to cry. He could easily shift the atmosphere from gloomy to so happy, so much that I didn’t want to go back home.

I remember my memories from your birthday last year and oh, dear Vittorio, you can’t imagine how much I wish I could tell you how much I miss you and joke with you like we used to do.  I miss you even though I strongly feel your presence with me, like you never left us.  Every Friday that has passed without you, I’ve wished you would come for lunch, your smile lighting the room as you walked through the door.

I wish you could see my drawing that’s dearest to me. It’s your portrait that you always nagged me to make, but never got to see. I am certain that no matter how many more drawing I have produced and will produce, yours will be my favorite. Not only because of my skill, and the love that I put into it, but because, somehow, part of your beautiful soul attached itself to this painting.

As you look down from paradise, on all of us here, I offer you this drawing. I hope it brings you as much joy as you always brought us.  I miss you Vittorio. I love you, Vittorio. You will live forever in my heart and in the hearts of all Palestinians, who owe you so much. We’ll keep celebrating your birthday every year and you’ll continue to inspire us, adding more humanity to the world. Stay human!