Israeli military and Zionists ambush olive harvest in Beit Furik

21 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The Palestinian family El Jobor was unsuccessful in their attempt to harvest olives today as they met resistance from Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers originating out of the Itamar settlement. Accompanied by ISM volunteers the family climbed the hillside above Beit Furik and marched through the olive groves to within roughly 400 meters of the Jewish settlement, which sits atop the hill’s mount, before being confronted and forced back down towards their home.

International observers and volunteers met with the father of the El Jobor family, in Nablus at 7:30 this morning, and rode with him to his home in Beit Furik where they met his wife, children, and neighbors. Carrying the usual tools of olive harvest, the buckets and small hand saw, the group began climbing the hillside towards the olive trees on the ridge, passing another Palestinian family about halfway up. Once the lookout towers and settlement buildings became visible, the group advanced in short segments, pausing for a few seconds each time, checking for movements out of the settlement, and measuring the risk of continuing on. The settlers were visible, but seemed to be going about their daily lives without paying much notice to the volunteers, until they came to about 400 meters of the nearest building. Everyone halted and began to watch as soldiers amassed in a group of about five or six.

: Zionists attack Beit Furik – For more images click here

“We all stood our ground as they approached but began to take a few steps back when we saw how aggressive they were, and realized they were not about to negotiate or explain themselves,” said an ISM volunteer from France.

“Among the soldiers were two settlers who seemed to have some understanding with the army and managed to reach William and I even before the soldiers did. They were both furious, began shouting as they approached, and then when they came up to us began physically pushing us across the chest and shoulders,” said the French national.

The Palestinian family was already turning around and climbing back down the hillside as the two internationals asked the soldiers for some explanation, but realizing it was no use, they too began their descent.

“At this point we heard a shift in the soldier’s yelling and turned to see an additional group of Itamar settlers racing through the army rank towards us, brandishing stones and beginning to hurl them at us. At this point I turned tail and ran,” described another ISM volunteer.

The volunteers shouted to the settlers and soldiers “shame on you” and that they we were being peaceful. The soldiers were trying to head off the settlers and prevent them from throwing the stones but without much luck.

About two thirds of the way back down the hill they were clear of the settlers and slowed up. A new detachment of three soldiers appeared and stopped one of the older Palestinian men, asking for his papers. Two of the soldiers broke off and headed down the hillside asking the other men to come back, but without luck.

An officer arrived shortly, along with two attending soldiers and spoke to the Palestinian man, as well as to the volunteers. He explained that the farmers had been given a two week window in which to harvest but that this window had expired. He mentioned that hundreds of IDF soldiers had been present during that time to protect the harvest but no picking seemed to have taken place. He added that he will book and arrest any Palestinians who, after today, cross the road at the base of the hill and enter into what is considered IDF security-controlled territory.

“After this we reconvened with the rest of our party which was waiting for us a little further down the ridge and returned to the El Jobor home in Beit Furik, before returning to Nablus at about 10 AM. It’s likely that the family will continue trying to harvest the trees,” said the volunteer.

Itamar was founded in 1984 and has grown in that time from just over 300 settlers to now more than 1,000. It is situated on the hill mount above Beit Furik, southeast of Nablus, and occupies roughly 7,000 dunams of land, much of it believed to be land privately owned by Palestinians. Tensions are high right now after the Fogel family murders in Itamar last March for which two Palestinian teenagers from Awarta were arrested in April. The Itamar settlers have become very critical of the IDF, demanding that they stop providing protection to Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest, and that they prevent any further Palestinian incursion into the area surrounding the settlement. Threats have been leveled and the risk of violence seems to be very high.

Israeli mistreatment of Palestinian political prisoners: Free Majd Ziada now!

21 October 2011 | Prisoner of the Day Campaign

Majd Ziada was barely out of his teens when he got arrested by the Israeli Occupation Forces. It was at the height of the second Intifada in 2002 when the Israeli army during its collective arrest campaign detained Majd on the evening of the Israeli invasion of the twin cities Ramallah and Al-Bireh. He was 19 years old.

Before he got arrested, Majd enjoyed playing basketball at Ramallah’s First Club in al-Tira. With the outbreak of the second intifada however, life became more grim. He lost his best friend who was killed by the Israeli soldiers, and Majd himself was once used as a human shield where he was forced to walk in front of the Israeli tanks. Just before he was due to take his final exams of his senior year (tawjehi) the Occupying Army raided his home and dragged him out where he was bundled into a jeep. His family knew nothing about his whereabouts or condition for fifty days after his arrest. They then learned from a newspaper that he had been beaten up in custody.

: Free Majd Ziada – Click here to sign petition

When he was four years old, Majd witnessed the arrest the of his politically active father, Mahmoud. He told his dad, “Don’t worry Baba, I will take care of my mother and baby sister.” In the absence of his father, his mother worked to support the young family. It was left up to Majd to look after his baby sister Raya, as he carried her, fed her, put her to sleep. His father was in and out of prison a total of seven times, and was never once convicted of anything. But because of the mangled policies of administrative detention, it was “legal” to arrest him and keep him detained for any period of time without ever knowing the reason why.

In a 2009 interview, Mahmoud Ziada recalls: “The Israeli soldiers searched our home, then they handcuffed me and took me to the military jeep that was standing in front of our house. As I was climbing into the jeep, my five year old son Majd shouted through the window ‘Baba Mahmoud, don’t lose courage!’”

Majd accompanied his mother to visit his father in prison, and he used to go with her to national meetings. At demonstrations he would shout national slogans and sing national songs.Initially, for Majds role as the getaway driver in a shooting of a mailman in a settlement, Majd was sentenced to 15 years in prison despite the fact the mailman turned out to be Palestinian and did not want to press charges. At his appeal, the military court (which tries all Palestinian prisoners) gave him an extra 15 years for a defiant statement he gave:

I do not believe in this court because it is an unjust one. I am opposed to the occupation and I will remain opposed to the occupation, so go ahead and sentence me. I will join my brothers and sisters in jail and consider it a badge of honor.

The unfair trial is not all. Two of the other three that were involved have already been released (including the actual shooter).

Majd suffers from a life threatening condition. He lost his hearing in his right ear due to acute ear inflammation, which could have been prevented had he received adequate medical attention. There is a huge risk that the disease could spread to the rest of his body, rendering it fatal, and so he desperately needs surgery.

His family are granted rare permission to visit him in prison. For the first seven years of his imprisonment only his youngest sister Hurriyah was able to visit him due to her status as a minor. After she turned sixteen, visits became more harder to procure. Afterwards limited permission was given to their mother to visit him once every few months. Last year Majd’s father was finally granted permission by the Israeli Prison Service to see his son. The last time Majd saw his family was two months ago, after a five year gap. Hurriyah and her mother were the lucky ones to go, as only two people are allowed on visits.

His sister Hurriyah has this to say: “I haven’t been able to hug my brother Majd Ziada for ten years because of the Israeli Occupation. When Majd was imprisoned I was 12, now I am 22.”

Majd Mahmoud Ahmad Ziada has been on hunger strike for 22 days.

We hold on to hope for his wonderful family and we ask for everyone to share this petition in the hope that perhaps Israel will release him in the next 550 prisoners set to be released over the next two months.

Take the time to help bring Majd Ziada closer to freedom by signing this petition.

Permission to enter their own lands: Kufr Qaddoum rampaged again by military

21 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

In the village of Kufr Qaddoum the people held a demonstration for the 17th Friday in a row. The demonstration started around 11:30 AM in the center of the village and consisted of approximately 80 people. The procession only made it to a barbed wire that blocked the road although it stood within the infamous “red line” that outlines Kufr Qaddoum and separates it from the nearby illegal settlement of Qadumim.

With border police and Israeli military present, the protesters were immediately fired at with tear gas. The soldiers directly targeted the protesters from a distance of approximately 50 meters. One young man was hit by a tear gas canister on his thigh by one of the very first shots before the protesters pulled back into the village. They soon returned and were again violently attacked with tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets by the Israeli army.

: Kufr Qaddoum attacked by Israeli military – Click here for more images

At around 12 PM the army passed their own barbed wire blockade and entered the village in military vehicles. Sound bombs and tear gas was fired in large amounts. Civilians who were not taking part in the demonstration were also affected, including one elderly woman who was seen falling over when running for her life outside the mosque in the middle of the village.

One ISM activist was nearly arrested during the military rampage on Kufr Qaddoum, but managed to escape from the soldier chasing him. Two Palestinian activists were injured and taken inside the mosque for treatment from the Red Crescent, and several people were seriously affected by tear gas inhalation.

The demonstration ended just before 1 PM when the army withdrew from the village. The soldiers later announced in loud speakers that all villagers had to leave their lands and none were allowed to continue the olive harvest during the rest of Friday and Saturday, though the villagers have permission already from Israeli authorities to enter their lands on Friday and Saturday.Four days before the protest Israeli soldiers entered the village during the night and arrested nine people. They are all still being held.The weekly demonstrations in Kufr Qaddoum are arranged by the Popular Committee of Kufr Qaddoum and held in protest against the closure of the main road entering the village. The road was closed in 2003, and the case was taken to the Israeli High Court. After years of waiting the people were allowed access to the road. The court ruled that the villagers could not use the road until 2012 after Israeli claims of the road not being “suitable” or “safe.” The main road leads from Kufr Qaddoum out to the main road to Nablus and passes the nearby illegal settlement of Qadumim, which was established in 1976.

The ongoing trial in the murder of solidarity activist Vittorio Arrigoni

by Hussein Amoody and Radhika S.

20 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

The military trial of the four men charged with the death of Italian International Solidarity Movement Activist Vittorio Arrigoni continued in Gaza City today.

The small courtroom was packed with friends and colleagues of Arrigoni, in addition to four or five members of the defendants’ families. All four defendants appeared unshackled behind a caged-off portion of the courtroom and remained standing throughout the trial.

The trial began today with the parties checking where they had left off on the September 22 session.

The prosecutor, dressed in olive-colored military pants and a khaki shirt, then stated that “each of the accused strangled him [Arrigoni] by plastic handcuffs,” and therefore all four were complicit in Arrigoni’s kidnapping and killing. Previously, only two of the defendants had been charged with murder; the other two were charged with aiding and abetting in Mr. Arrigoni’s kidnapping and killing, and the fourth in providing the house where his body was found hanging.

The attorney for Defendant Mohammed Salfiti then requested that the official responsible for making a video and report of the defendants’ confessions on behalf of the government appear in court so that he could be examined by the defense. The three judges, garbed in military uniform, denied the request after the prosecutor stated that “in the military we are all one unit,” and that the individual who made the report had already confirmed its accuracy.

The prosecutor then submitted into evidence a mobile phone and a laptop computer, which he stated were used in the commission of Arrigoni’s murder.

Judge Mansour held up the mobile phone and asked Salfiti if the phone was his. Salfiti stated that “I came after they kidnapped him [Arrigoni] and I recorded that video by my mobile.”

Defendant Tamar Hasasnah was then called forth from the metal cage and questioned by Judge Mansour about a how a laptop admitted into evidence was used in the commission of the crime. Hasasnah stated that the laptop was used to edit the video of Arrigoni and publish it on the internet.

After Hasanah’s testimony, the prosecutor added that Defendants “used the laptop to edit the video and publish it on the internet asking to release Hisham al-Saidany,” then described Arrigoni’s physical condition as depicted in the video. The government arrested al-Saidany, the leader of Tawhid al-Jihad – which denied any role in the murder – in March of this year.

Salfiti then testified that the laptop was his, and that it was used to publish the video of Arrigoni on the internet.

Approximately twenty minutes into the session, an argument broke out between counsel when the defense interrupted the prosecution and stated that they had not received copies of certain files with respect to the laptop, which the prosecution claimed had already been made available. The defense attorney then told the judge, “he is trying to call us liars.”

The prosecutor than asked the judge if the rest of the trial could be delayed so that he could “get other files” needed for the trial. The exact files were not specified. The Court agreed to adjourn the trial until Thursday, November 3, 2011.

An attorney with the Palestinian Committee for Human Rights (PCHR) and five volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), including one attorney, observed the trial. Arrigoni, a longtime member of the ISM, was kidnapped on April 14, 2011. Thousands of people throughout Palestine mourned his death.

Hussein Amoody and Radhika S. are activists with International Solidarity Movement.

Woman flees harvest to escape violent settlers and wild boars

20 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Early Thursday morning, a Palestinian woman in Beit Furik was picking olives when a settler began to chase her and set loose wild hogs to chase after her, causing her to fall and suffer broken bones in both her legs.

Muhaya Khatatba resting following injuries sustained as she fled from violent settlers

Muhaya Khatatba was in her olive groves with her two sons, aged 14 and 17 years old, when a settler descended from above the hill and began to chase her.

“I was with my kids picking olives, when a settler saw us, and took advantage of the fact that we were all alone,” said Khatatba.

Then the settler released wild boars after her. She beckoned to her boys to run ahead of her, and as she ran, she tripped on some rocks and broke her leg. She struggled to begin running again, using one leg, and fell again, breaking the other leg. Unable to stand, her boys ran back to pick her up and ran with her to meet other villagers. She broke one leg in three places, and the other leg at the ankle.

Khatatba says that when she saw the settlers she was very frightened because of the violent attacks on residents of Beit Furik in the past few years.

“But the fear I felt for myself is nothing compared to the fear I felt for my sons,” she says. “And I’m not concerned only for myself, but for all the people of Beit Furiq. They can’t go to their olives. We want a permanent solution. We want someone to stand by us.”

Khatatba is only thirty-five years old. Her husband cannot join them in the harvest because he is obliged to a full time job. She has never gone into her trees without permission from the Israeli authorities, and Thursday was one of the four days she was permitted.

Now her permission time has run out despite the many olive trees that are left.

Beit Furik is very close to the Itamar settlement, considered illegal by international law. Itamar has a wide history of brutal attacks and harassment of the native Palestinian population around them. The settlement was formed in 1984 and has grown from 300 residents to over 1000.

In the past, illegal, Zionist settlers have reportedly damaged Palestinian property, obstructed access to their farm land, stolen olives, attacked, and even shot at local Palestinians. In 2004 illegal settlers murdered a Palestinian taxi driver who was shot and killed. In 2007 three Palestinians were killed in their home, including a 10-week old infant.

In both cases, the settlers who committed the crimes did not serve time in prison.