19 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

 A Palestinian man was arrested at Ni’lin checkpoint on Tuesday, April 15 during a Nakba Day demonstration. The procession successfully crossed the checkpoint which separates the West Bank from Palestinian territories seized in 1948. They were violently forced back by occupation soldiers and police. A Palestinian woman and an international woman were also detained but released that same afternoon.

 During the morning rush hour, several dozen Palestinians and solidarity activists took the Israeli army by surprise and walked through Ni’lin checkpoint. The procession stated their intention to return to their homes in the territories occupied by Israel in 1948 and each presented a placard reading, “permission to enter Palestine: inevitable return,” and bearing the names of Palestinian villages depopulated in 1948.

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 Additional Israeli soldiers and police quickly arrived and began attacking the group, shoving and kicking them backwards. Some soldiers used the body of their M16 rifles to hit the procession. During this time soldiers detained three people. Two women were quickly released, but Nabi Saleh resident Naji al Tamimi remains held by Israeli authorities. Israeli soldiers arbitrarily targeted Tamimi, who was peacefully chanting at the time of his arrest. There is a likelihood he was targeted due to his long history of involvement in the peaceful popular struggle against the Israeli occupation.

 The approximately 4 million Palestinians living in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are barred from entering 1948 Palestine, including the holy city of Jerusalem, without rarely-granted permits from Israel. The Ni’lin checkpoint is one of 26 checkpoints which separate the West Bank from the territory which Israel officially considers its own. Of these twenty-six checkpoints, only nine are located on the 1948 “green line”, which is internationally recognized as the basis for the western border of a future Palestinian state. The remaining checkpoints, including the Ni’lin checkpoint, are located at gaps in the Apartheid Wall at places where the wall appropriates Palestinian land. Ni’lin village has achieved international recognition for the tenacity of its nonviolent resistance against the Apartheid Wall in the face of tremendous violence on the part of the Israeli occupation authorities.

 The May 15^thdemonstration was called by grassroots organizers to commemorate the 64^th anniversary of the Nakba, or Catastrophe. In 1948, over 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes and villages following the declaration of the state of Israel. The right of return for the current 4.25 million refugees worldwide is an internationally recognized right and one of the demands of the international Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.

Ling Lewis is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

22 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

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The weekly demonstration in Ni’lin on Friday April 20^th was relatively quiet compared to previous weeks. Nevertheless, it showed again the disproportionate measures taken by Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian resistance.

The Israeli army propelled skunk spray, tear gas, sound bombs, and rubber-coated steel bullets at protesters. Some of the Palestinian youth, or shabab, responded by throwing stones. One local youth masked with the flag of Palestine was pelted by a rubber-coated bullet, although did not suffer critical injuries. A local photographer was nearly struck in the face by a tear gas canister while attempting to take a closer photo of the Israeli soldiers.

As with each week, the demonstration in Ni’lin began after the midday prayer. It was a leaderless group of approximately thirty people including the shabab, internationals, members of the press, and medics. The protest began with the military deploying streams of skunk water over the Apartheid Wall at protesters including the half-dozen stone slinging youth. Approximately fifteen minutes into the demonstration, the first tear gas canister was launched, aimed at demonstrators near the valley. Moments later, volleys of tear gas canisters were launched over the Wall where the majority of the protesters were gathered.

The first victim of the initial tear gas shots was a local photographer. The canister struck the ground five feet away from him. Before he could run away, he began coughing severely and his eyes turned red. As the pain eased, however, he carried on as if nothing had happened, evidently accustomed to the sensation.

After another half-hour, much of the group slowly made their way towards the valley. As the concession merged in the valley, more tear gas canisters were shot. One medic was struck on his side by a canister but emerged with light injuries. Minutes later the silence was broken by the scream of a young Palestinian. He had been struck by a rubber-coated steel bullet. The medics immediately rushed to him and fortunately he was not seriously injured. The Israeli army continued firing rubber-coated bullets and tear gas canisters and the shabab replied with their stones.

When a local photographer approached the Wall to take photos of the Israeli soldiers, a tear gas canister was launched in his direction. It missed hitting his face by millimetres but there was no escaping the suffocation that ensued from the gas.

The demonstration came to an end shortly thereafter. As the shabab walked away, the rest of the group followed. The Israeli soldiers maintained their position securely behind the Apartheid Wall, while some of the demonstrators continued to suffer the after-effects of the tear gas.

Since 1967, the town of Ni’lin has been subject to land expropriation to an extreme extent. Following the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, a large part of Ni’lin was annexed to the nascent Israeli state. Over half of the town’s land has come under the control of Israel through the building of illegal settlements and the Apartheid Wall.

In 2004, Israel disclosed their intention to build the Apartheid Wall in Ni’lin, annexing much of their agricultural land. In 2008, the Israeli Supreme Court gave authorization for the wall to be built. The construction was initially blocked through legal procedures as well as popular non-violent demonstrations. These demonstrations were continuously suppressed through brutal measures taken by the Israeli government, including the killing of five innocent residents, curfews, random deployment of tear gas, and frequent night invasions by the army into homes, which inspired fear and humiliation for the families of Ni’lin. Two years later, the Wall was built. Although Israel claimed it was built in Ni’lin for ‘security purposes’, the Wall de facto annexed land from the villagers of Ni’lin for the profit of the nearby illegal Israeli settlement.

Every Friday the residents of Ni’lin continue to demonstrate and fight for what is rightfully theirs. The tear gas canisters, the sound bombs, the rubber-coated steel bullets, and the occasional live ammunition will never be enough to stop Ni’lin’s resilience. Even the Wall does not lie in portraying the statement that Ni’lin is “still going strong.”

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

8 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Friday the 6th of April, in celebration of the Day of the Child, the weekly demonstration was held in the village Kufr Qaddoum outside of Nablus. This demonstration was particularly charged as the previous night the IOF (Israeli Occupying Forces) had violently raided houses in the village and arrested 20 men, leaving dozens of children fatherless. So this Friday the children of the village lead the demonstration, sending out a message that the resistance will live on as long as the Israelis keeps on stealing land and oppressing the Palestinian people.

Villagers gathered outside the meeting house on Friday morning accompanied by the International Solidarity Movement, where a children’s party had been arranged to mark the occasion. Twenty five children enjoyed face painting, horns and balloons in the sunshine and prepared to open the demonstration, demanding the return of their fathers and brothers.

Signs reading “You took our fathers so today we lead the demonstration” and “Return our fathers” were held by the group of children following the Muslim noon prayers with adults close behind. The protest followed the familiar route towards the road block Israel said it would remove almost a year ago. As they approached the road block they were met by the usual sight of soldiers, jeeps, a tractor and the “skunk water” truck, and this day the IOF had also invaded one of the houses on the outer part of the village where they stationed approximately 5 soldiers on the roof.

After a time of chanting, the children returned back to the village and the adults took over. The demonstration soon turned violent as the soldiers sprayed the crowd with the foul smelling “skunk water” and shot tear gas at Palestinian youth who threw stones as a symbolic resistance to the oppressive occupation.

The demonstration became calm after approximately one and a half hours and the soldiers withdrew, followed by the crowd of demonstrators. Together, villagers and internationals walked close to the nearby illegal Zionist settlement, singing and chanting reminding the watching settlers of the great injustice they have cast upon the village of Kufr Qaddoum.

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

The jaws of Zionism locked - Click here for more photos

In Kufur Qaddoum, clashes between Israeli Border Police officers who shot tear-gas projectiles and rubber-coated bullets and local youth who threw stones at the forces developed. Roughly 15 minutes later – in a scene that seemed as if it was taking place in the American South of the 1960s – Border Police officers decided to sic an army dog at a group of the demonstrators, standing several dozens of meters away. The dog chased after the protesters, biting and locking his jaws into the arm of one of them – Ahmad Shtawi.

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For long minutes, the dog would not release its hold of the bleeding arm, even as its handler arrived at the scene and tried to order it to do so. The Border Police officers then arrested Shtawi, despite the fact he was in obvious need of medical attention. Morad Shtawi, a member of the village’s popular committee, tried to reason with the commanding officer into releasing young man. He was then pepper-sprayed and arrested as well.

Two other residents of the village were injured during the demonstration, after being hit by tear-gas projectiles shot directly at them. One was hit in the leg and another in the shoulder.

The weekly protest in Kufer Qaddoum, west of Nablus, was dedicated to the memory of Rachel Corrie – an American protester who was killed after an Israeli D9 bulldozer drove over her in Rafah exactly nine years ago, on March 16, 2003.

In Nabi Saleh, at least three protesters were injured during the demonstration, including an Israeli woman who was hit in the head by a rubber-coated bullet. The two others were hit lightly injured, one by a rubber-coated bullet and the other by a tear-gas projectile. The woman was evacuated to the Ramallah hospital.
Earlier today, large forces entered the village and sprayed a foul-smelling liquid known as the Skunk from a water cannon.
During the night, the army staged yet another raid on the village, the fifth in a week’s time.

In Ni’lin,, demonstration was held despite the rainy weather, the demonstration was dedicated to the American activist Tristan Anderson who was shot by high velocity tear gas projectile in his head by the Israeli soldiers in 13.03.2009 in the middle of Ni’lin village. also commemorating the anniversary to the killing of Rachel Corrie in gaza strip by an israeli military bulldozer.
Israeli soldiers fired massive tear gas canister at protester,rubber coated bullets and skunk water,one demonstrator was hit with a rubber bullet in his hand and was treated directly.

15 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On the 14th of March 2012 two internationals from ISM went to Beit Dajan to talk about the recent upstart of demonstrations in the village.

We met with Naser Abu Jaish who is the administrative manager in the municipality. Beit Dajan is a village with about 4000 inhabitants and is situated about 10 km east of Nablus. Since the beginning of the second Intifada, there has been a roadblock put up on the main road by the Israeli military.

This has made transportation difficult for the villagers as they were forced to take a 60km “detour” to reach Nablus. With the amount of time wasted by taking a longer road, both water supply and emergency health care cannot function normally anymore. The road block has not only been a disaster in logistics and services for the village, but more importantly four people have been killed by the army when trying to use the road.

In 2005 a new road was built to Beit Furik, a village nearby which shortens the travel distance to Nablus. However, it’s still a detour which complicates the daily life for Palestinians. It was rumored that the roadblock would be removed by Israel, but four months ago it became clear that this was not the case. The citizens of Beit Dajan organized and mobilized for their first demonstration on the 7th of March. The actions were carried out in order to open the road for Palestinians again, a cause which of course is very popular in the village. Naser was very happy with the action.

“More than 500 people participated, both young and old! And we are expecting even more people this week.”

The demonstration was outspokenly non-violent and this succeeded as not one single stone was thrown. Despite of this the Israeli soldiers used tear gas against the villagers.

Naser tells us that the demonstration has been warmly welcomed by the people and that a lot of excitement and unity has come from it.

“Of course we fear that the military will use even more violence, but it will not stop us from delivering our message: That we have the right to use the road,” Naser says.

“We would like ISM to show their presence at our demonstrations every Friday along with other international observers”, Naser said with hope in his eyes and emphasis on the importance of peaceful resistance in order to regain their road.

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

Like every Friday, on March 9th residents of Ni’lin village, west of Ramallah, went to protest the Apartheid wall, which encloses their lands and denies them of basic human rights. A part of the protest was an attempt to break a hole in the wall. Activists were met with rubber coated steel bullets, skunk water and tear gas, sometimes fired directly at the demonstrators.

Dismantling Apartheid - Click here for more photos

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

9 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Several hundred villagers gathered today in Beit Dajan to the first ever demonstration against the roadblock that has been obstructing access to the village since the beginning of the second Intifada. The peaceful demonstration was met with a heavy tear gas from the Israeli military. Since 2000, the main road from Beit Dajan to Nablus has been blocked by the military.

2 martyrs of Beit Dajan

The village of about 4000 inhabitants is located only 9 kilometers from Nablus, but it wasn’t until a new road was built in 2005 that the villagers could access their closest city without taking a 60 kilometer detour. However, even with the new road, travelling to and from Nablus still takes twice the time it used to. It wasn’t until 2009 that anyone could go to Nablus after 5pm without coordination with the District Coordination Office, the link between the PA and the Israeli military.

Not even ambulances have been let through at the checkpoint which has led to a lot of complications with the health care in the village.

Education has also become a problem because of the logistical difficulties set by these Apartheid roads and checkpoints. And water supplies are cut because of the roadblock, forcing the village to now import expensive water from the Jordan Valley. And as if this is not enough, the village has suffered four deaths at the roadblock.

Demonstration by the roadblock in Beit Dajan March 9th 2012

The day before the demonstration the roadblock was enhanced with barbed wire further down the road. To protest the roadblock the village has decided to start arranging weekly demonstrations on Friday to show their discontent. Around noon on the 9th of March, 2012, activists from ISM, Anarchists Against the Wall, and Active Stills met with Palestinian organizers and activists in Beit Dajan’s municipality building to prepare for the first ever demonstration against the roadblock.

“It’s nice to see that it’s just Palestinian flags in this demonstration,” says one of the Israeli activists. “All these party flags are breaking up the popular resistance.”

After the noon prayer the villagers huddled up in cars and vans and drove to the roadblock just a few kilometers out of town. In an orderly manner the demonstration marched towards the roadblock.

When the people of Beit Dajan reached the intersection where the roadblock stands they were met with tear gas thrown towards them. There had been no provocation for this and several of the Israeli activists hurried across the roadblock to question the behavior of the soldiers. The protestors on the other side of the gate tried to stay as close to the roadblock as possible while dodging the tear gas and sound grenades thrown at them. Several tear gas grenades were successfully thrown back at the soldiers. The barbed  wire on the road block was pulled out of the way as the hundreds of demonstrators advanced towards the roadblock. After a while the military switched to firing tear gas from guns and jeeps. One of the Israeli activists said that he had seen the soldiers aiming towards people in the demonstration.

An Israeli protester argues with an Israeli soldier during clashes between locals and Israel military, at a protest against the closure and for the removal of a gate at the entrance of Beit Dajan village, that has been shut since 2011, near Nablus. | Photo courtesy of Alaa Badarneh / EPA

Some people suffered from different degrees of tear gas inhalation but fortunately no one was seriously injured. At 13.22, when the demonstration had been going on for about an hour, the soldiers crossed the roadblock and formed a line on the road, pushing
protesters back. Shortly after this the demonstration was dispersed by the organizers who reasoned that their message had come across clearly enough.

Not a single stone was thrown during the demonstration. Despite this the reaction of the military was just as violent callous as
always.

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

On February 25^th Palestinian men and women, elders and children, together with Israeli and international activists gathered for two demonstrations organized by the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee.

The first demonstration, attended by approximately ninety people, was planned in response to twenty-nine trees being cut down during the last four months on private Palestinian property near the illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on. During the action the participants planted about thirty small olive trees on a hill near the village of At-Tuwani. The demonstration was guarded by the Army, the border police, the police and the DCO (District Coordination Office), nearly forty officers overall.

Later the demonstrators headed towards Saadet Tha’lah, where on the 15^th of February 2012 the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) bulldozers demolished five structures (http://www.operationdove.org/?p=698 ), to express their solidarity and closeness to the inhabitants.

At the meantime, two fifteen year old boys from the village of Tuba were grazing their flocks in the Palestinian Um Zeitouna valley near the Ma’on settlement despite the several prohibitions imposed by the Army and the settlement security chief. As reported by two internationals witnesses of the event, the latter was present during the incident. The two teenagers were arrested and detained in Kiryat Arba police station and released in the evening with a denial of access for the following two weeks to the area where they were taken by the soldiers.

The policy of restrictions, closures and demolitions carried out by the Israeli army, combined with the continuous harassment made by the settlers of the area, denies Palestinians’ human rights, hindering them to live in their villages, to cultivate their lands and to graze their flocks and preventing the development of local communities.

Nevertheless, the Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills are strongly involved in affirming their rights and resist to the Israeli occupation choosing the nonviolent way.

Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.

Pictures of the incident: http://goo.gl/e9QUi

24 February 2012 | Demotix

Open Shuhada Street - Click here for more photos