Author: ISM Media Group

FFJ: Injuries and arrests at demonstrations across the West Bank on Friday

Four injured and two arrested in Bil’in anti-Wall protest

After the weekly Friday prayers, residents of the West Bank village of Bil’in, near Ramallah and a group of international and Israeli peace activists took to the streets of the village. The protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the first Intifada. They chanted slogans which called for the dismantling of the separation wall and the settlements, the removal of military checkpoints and the release of Palestinian detainees from Israeli jails.

The Israeli army installed a barbed-wire roadblock to try and prevent the protesters reaching the construction sight. However, the protesters managed to pass the road block and staged a one hour protest at the site. When the protesters were returning, the army showered them with tear gas and sound bombs; they also fired rubber coated bullets at the crowd. Some protesters were pursued by military forces back to their homes and bombs were fired at the home of Na’eem and ‘Auni Burnat.

Many protesters, including young children, suffered from tear gas inhalation. Four protesters were beaten harshly by the soldiers including a female peace activist, a journalist and an elderly local man. An Israeli journalist identified as David Reep and an Israeli peace activist who was identified as Shmuel, were detained during the event and released shortly after.

Three injured in peaceful protest near Ramallah

For the second week running, residents of villages located west of the city of Ramallah, including Beit U’r al Tahta and Beit U’r al Fouqa, Beit Seera, Beit Liqia, al Teerah, and Safa were joined by international and Israeli peace activists in their peaceful demonstration.

They were protesting against the closure of the Latrun-Ramallah road (443) to them. The road passes through their lands and connects them with the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The protest began after the Friday weekly prayers. Protesters carried with them flags and banners calling for an end to discrimination and the cessation of checkpoints and roadblocks. They also called for the end to settlement construction and the demolition of the Separation Wall.

When they reached the road, soldiers attacked the protesters with gas and sound bombs and fired rubber coated bullets. Dozens suffered after inhaling gas and three children were hit by the rubber coated bullets.

From Indymedia: Collective punishment during Um Salamona Demonstration

Tens of Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals gathered today at the junction near Um-Salamona. The demonstrators marched on the road leading to the Jewish settlement of Efrat, protesting against the Apartheid wall that is being built on the land of Palestinian villages.

While anti-occupation slogans were chanted, the march went on for some ten minutes, without blocking traffic. Tens of Israeli soldiers, later joined by Israeli police and riot police, stopped the march just before reaching the entrance to Efrat, and very close to were the wall is being built. Soldiers announced the area a “closed military zone”, and violently pushed demonstrators of the road.

Once the road was already cleared, and demonstrators surrounded on its side, the army declared it would stop all Palestinian traffic on the road as penalty – which it did. Army jeeps and soldiers stopped all Palestinian cars on the road for a fair half an hour, while Israeli cars drove by undisturbed.

For the next hour soldiers kept redefining the invisible parameters of the “closed zone”, forcibly pushing demonstrators away. Several Palestinian photographers were arrested, but as far as we know were later released.

For more information:
The Bilin Friends of Freedom and Justice society
Email: majdarmajdar@yahoo.com
Tel: 972 547 847 942
http://www. Ffj-bilin.org
ffj.bilin@yahoo.com

CAIA: Protesting the JNF: Community Groups Oppose Fundraising for Illegal “Canada Park”

On December 2nd, two hundred people from a host of community organizations braved the first snowstorm of the winter to protest the Jewish National Fund (JNF) annual Negev Dinner held at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Toronto. This year’s JNF dinner aimed to raise 7 million dollars for the refurbishment of the illegal “Canada Park”. Protesters denounced fund raising for the park, which is built on the destroyed Palestinian villages of Beit Nuba, Yallu and Imwas seized and destroyed by the Israeli military in 1967. The 10,000 Palestinian residents of these villages were expelled and have been denied the right to return to their homes for the past 40-years. In 1973, the Canadian branch of the JNF raised $15-million to establish “Canada Park” as a ‘picnic area’ build on top of the destroyed Palestinian villages.

Protesters welcomed dinner guests with powerful chants denouncing Israeli Apartheid and large pictures of the
destroyed villages that “Canada Park” has replaced. Representatives of community organizations spoke against
fund raising for Israeli Apartheid. Reena Katz from the Jewish Women’s Committee to End the Occupation (JWCEO) argued that “it is unconscionable for the JNF of Canada to continue to fund raise for such a monument to ethnic cleansing and racism.” Samir Jabour, speaking on behalf of Palestine House, added “it is shameful that the JNF enjoys charitable status in Canada and that such outrages are subsidized by taxpayers – we are here to demand that the Canadian state revoke the charitable status of the JNF.”

Khaled Mouamar, president of the Canadian Arab Federation stressed in his speech to the crowd that “according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the forcible displacement of people and destruction of property belonging to those under occupation are war-crimes. Despite this the JNF of Canada continues with business-as-usual, receiving Canadian government support.” The JNF has obtained charitable status in Canada by posing as an environmentalist organization, which means that the Canadian government reimburses a portion of donations made to the JNF.

The reality is that the JNF is one of the key instruments of Israeli Apartheid. The zionist movement has always
aimed to take control of as much Palestinian land and as few indigenous Palestinians as possible. The JNF was
established in 1901 to acquire Palestinian land that would be for Jewish use only. In 1948, the JNF had control of less than 7% of the land. In that year the state of Israel was created by ethnically cleansing about 85% of the Palestinians from their homes and lands. Much of the land that belongs to Palestinian refugees was deemed
‘absentee property’ and tranferred to the JNF. The rest of the stolen land was trasferred to the Israel Land
Authority (ILA). Half of the board members of the ILA are appointed by the JNF. The JNF plants trees, (as Israel continues to uproot Palestinian olive groves), in order to hide the remains of over 500 Palestinian villages destroyed in and since the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948.

Significanlty, board members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees in Ontario were present at the picket,
including CUPE Ontario President Sid Ryan. This is consistent with CUPE Ontario’s Resolution 50 , adopted
democratically at the union convention, to educate membership about the apartheid-like policies of the
Israeli state and to support the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign.

Another inspiring moment of the evening, that points to the growing movement against Israeli Apartheid, was the announcement of the new group: Highschools Against Israeli Apartheid (HAIA). Highschool students were present at the protest carrying beautiful banners with Naji al Ali’s famous Handala to signify that the JNF will not get away with the theft of refugee property.

The protest was organized by a broad coalition of community groups including Palestine House, Canadian Arab
Federation, Jewish Women’s Committee to End the Occupation (JWCEO), Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA), Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA), Not in Our Name – Jewish Voices Against Israel’s Wars (NION), Yosher-Jewish Social Justice Network, No One is Illegal, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), Labour for Palestine, New Socialist Group, Toronto Coalition to Stop the War, Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians (ACJC) and Educators for Peace and Justice (EPJ).

Organizing groups will continue the campaign to strip the JNF of its charitable status in Canada. To help with these efforts contact the committee at endapartheid@riseup.net

Stealing From Children: Azzoun Children’s Park Further Threatened by Impending Demolition

Only a few months from now the entire children’s park on the outskirts of Azzoun will be in ruins, demolished by the Israeli Occupation Force (IOF). The reason given is the lack of building permit from the Israeli authorities, even though the park is located on Palestinian land.

It was in early 2006, when the IOF first razed the children’s park, demolishing it within an hour. The park, just off the road between Azzoun and Jayous, attracted many children both from Azzoun but also from the many surrounding villages, being the only of its kind in the region. The cost of US $200,000 was financed mainly by USAID through the YMCA, with some money coming from the village of Azzoun. The justification given by the IOF for the demolition was that the park lacked a building permit for that specific ground, an area which falls within Area C, thus under Israeli civil and military control. Building permits for Area C are notoriously unattainable, applicants are denied by the Israeli-run Civil Administration, even when building on private land. The IOF had, prior to the demolition, several times given the order to stop the building but despite that, the village decided to continue, strengthened by the knowledge that the building was taking place on Palestinian land.

On the morning of February 22nd, 2006, bulldozers accompanied by Israeli soldiers arrived and demolished half of the park – which consisted of two swimming pools and changing rooms. The park had been near completion, after 18 months of building work.

Almost one year later, that part of the park is still in ruins. The other half of the park, consisting of a large playground and an amphitheater, for the time remains untouched, but looks to meet the same fate soon enough. Approximately one year ago, the Azzoun municipality received a notice informing them that the remaining area of the park was to be demolished. The pretext is the same – without a building permit they are illegal structures. Upon applying for a building permit, the Azzoun municipality was told that they could build on land on the other side of the hill, an expensive and inconvenient proposition. The park area in question is currently in a location accessible to many.

The question now remains whether the planned demolition of the second area of the park can be stopped. An Israeli lawyer is working together with the Azzoun municipality on the case, and has succeeded in getting the demolition postponed until March 15th, 2008. She is now planning to take the case to the Supreme Court, in the hopes of overturning the IOF imposition of an illogical and inaccessible building permit, a barrier which in this case is serving as a barrier to children’s recreation. Particularly in a region suffering from Israeli military invasions, road closures, town curfews, and the losses that come with Israel’s Apartheid Wall, a children’s park was a fragment of hope in very dire circumstances.

ANOTHER VOICE: CALL FOR BOYCOTT ON INTIFADA ANNIVERSARY

ANOTHER VOICE

December 8, 2007

For Immediate Release

On December 9th, 2007, the twentieth anniversary of the first intifada, we call for a general boycott of Israeli products.

Israel’s income from Palestine is estimated at 3 billion dollars annually. When anyone purchases Israeli products, they are funding the occupation of our land. They are funding bullets, weapons, tanks, and fighter planes which are being used to kill our family and countrymen. They are funding bulldozers to uproot the trees of our ancestors and demolish our relatives’ homes. The soldiers manning the checkpoints are kept warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and well fed year round, with every purchase of an Israeli product.

Israel has a stranglehold over our economy which allows it to punish us whenever it wants by cutting off our access to essentials, as they are doing to our brothers and sisters in the Gaza Strip. Yet, despite the overwhelming odds, we must continue to resist and take action.

Boycotting during the first intifada was an essential component in the collective effort to end the occupation. People tried not to buy Israeli products but, instead, to contribute to the development of a national economy. Cooperatives sprung up to cover the shortages created by the boycott of Israeli products. People reclaimed lots and planted them, raised livestock, looked locally within their communities for alternatives to raw Israeli materials. This was part of civil disobedience against the civil administration, directed by local popular committees together with the political direction formulated by the Unified National Leadership.

Our call for a day of boycott is in remembrance of what once was, and what could resume today. We are all children and parents of the intifada. Every single one of us has a role to play in the struggle for our freedom. So, to commemorate the spark that awoke the world to our plight; to recall the spirit of our collective resistance; and to affirm the power that people have to make change, we call on everyone to refrain from buying any Israeli products on December 9th.

Resist! Boycott! We Are Intifada!

For more information, contact:

Huwaida Arraf: 0599-130-426

Saleh Hijazi: 0599-776-894

Web: www.anothervoice-palestine.org

E-mail: info@anothervoice-palestine.org

ACTION UPDATE! 11 Human Rights activists arrested in E-1 Area!

**UPDATE** As of 6:00 pm all of those arrested have been released. But the conditions of their release reveals the apartheid nature of the Israeli courts system. The Israelis and internationals arrested have only been made to sign conditions, the Palestinians alone are forced to go to court. We will see what happens tomorrow when settlers try to establish themselves in the E-1 area, as well as in seven other areas across the West Bank. Will they be forced out as soon, and with as much force as these activists did today?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Three Palestinians, five Israelis, and three international (Swedish) activists were forcibly evicted from a Palestinian house and arrested today in the E-1 area. They have now been taken to Ma’ale Adumim police station. Early this morning Palestinians built a house in the controversial E-1 area. Palestinians are routinely denied permits to build on their own land, and homes that have been built are demolished. The Human Rights activists stayed inside for a few hours before a large police and army presence evicted them through use of force.

The E-1, or East-1 area, is between Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem, on lands from nearby Palestinian villages. The Israeli government plans to build a settlement of 3,500 apartments and an industrial park in this area. This will effectively connect the Ma’ale Adumim settlement with Occupied East Jerusalem, dividing the West Bank in two while separating Jerusalem from all of it. In addition land has recently been confiscated to build a road to connect the two Palestinian enclaves that will be created on both sides of the “settlement bloc”.

On September 24th, the Israeli army confiscated 1,100 dunums of Palestinian land to provide ‘transportational contiguity’ by building a Palestinian-only road through the E1 area. The settlement blocs will be annexed to Israel with territorial contiguity, while Palestinians must settle for a collection of tunnels and bridges that will allow them to drive between the separate enclaves of the West Bank. These Apartheid roads will be controlled by Israel for security reasons, and will further divide the future ‘viable’ Palestinian state on more confiscated lands.

This Palestinian family is not the only one to be forced to leave their homes. The 2,700 strong Jahalin Bedouin community is also being driven out of the land they have lived on as refugees since they were forced to leave the Negev desert after the Nakba. Israel plans to displace the Bedouin onto lands belonging to the adjacent Palestinian villages. In some cases in the past, the Bedouin were forcibly displaced onto private properties belonging to the residents of these communities.

For more information please contact:
0545573285 or 0547847942