Author: ISM Media Group

Jayyus Village Demonstrate Against Theft of Land, Life, and Culture

Jayyus, September 8th

On Saturday, the 8th of September, 50 villagers from Jayyus and the surrounding area met together with an equal number of Israeli and international activists to demonstrate non-violently against the Apartheid Wall. They gathered at one of the gates in the wall which local farmers have to go through to reach their land. Only those farmers lucky enough to have permits are allowed to reach their land, and as demonstrators learned later from the speeches given, often times the permits are issued for members of family who are not able to work, or are not in the country, or are dead, or are under the age of 15, or older than 50. In a village of around 4,000 people, 85% of which depend on their farmland for survival, only 90 are today able to access their land with permits.

When permits are given, farmers are allowed to enter one of three gates to access their land. The gate that a farmer is allowed to enter from is usually the gate farthest from his land, making his work more arduous and time consuming. Gates are officially open only for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening, sometimes an hour around midday. However, in practice this depends more on the whim of the soldiers, who can open the gates only for fifteen minutes if they wish, and turn all others away for being late.

Villagers spoke about the lack of available water resources to the land on the other side of the wall. One farmer said the people of the village are able to take tanks for water to a reservoir, which is situated on his land, however they are unable to bring those tanks back to their houses. Attempts to bring water tanks back to the village have been halted by the army and the locals now see it as a waste of time and resources to attempt to collect water in this way. Additionally he stated that there was a court decision to allow pipes to be built connecting the reservoir on this farmer’s land, to the reservoir in Jayyus. However despite this order being given in 2003, the army has failed, to this very day, to give the needed permits to actually build the pipes, thus leaving the reservoir on this farmer’s land inaccessible.

The villagers are tired of waiting for the army to carry through the decisions of the court, they are tired of waiting while more and more of them are unable to reach their land, unable to continue the work of their fathers, and their father’s fathers. They came together to demonstrate, non-violently, that they would not be quiet while the Israeli military forced them into starvation as a tactic to encourage emigration and further establish the myth of Israel stealing a land without a people. Though the villagers were angry, and justly so, the demonstration ended without violence. Though the army stood at the gate to the land of Jayyus village with guns ready, the farmers did not respond to their provocation. People went back to the village, without arrests, without injuries, with the knowledge that they would return.

Needless House Occupation During Daytime Incursion

Nablus, September 8th

On the Saturday the 8th of September the Israeli army invaded the home of the Abu Shhab family in Nablus. Twenty soldiers and four vehicles arrived at the house at 15:00 and threw all the inhabitants outside.

When humanitarian and medical workers arrived they were not allowed in the vicinity of the house. An army jeep repeatedly rammed the ambulance when it arrived on the scene. A soldier was heard to say; “do you want me to shoot you” as a humanitarian worker attempted to see what the situation of the family was.

The Israeli army left at 18:00 taking a taxi with them, and leaving the house they had occupied with six broken framed pictures and two broken doors, but without finding anything of significance.

Action Alert: Demonstration in Jayous 10am 8th September

Jaayus, Saturday Sept. 8th at 10:30

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Saturday, September 8th, a demonstration has been organized in the village of Jayous.

As the olive season soon begins, more than 30 work permits the local villagers need to access their lands have been denied “because of opposition on the part of security elements.” Many of the people denied permits are free to enter Israel for work or leave the country entirely yet are somehow denied access to their own property and land for “security” reasons. The system of denying villagers these permits prevents them from tending to land that has been in many of their families for hundreds of years and continuing their cultural tradition of harvesting their olives.

Out of the 4,000 residents in the town only 90 of them are today allowed to work on their land. This is not an isolated occurrence. These restrictions are repeated all along the route of the Apartheid Wall.

Even for the farmers who do have permits, they are restricted in their ability to work their lands by gates manned by the Israeli military. They must go through the gates only within certain times dictated by the Israeli military, and it is the military who decide how much time it takes to go through the gate itself.

The short term objective of the planners of Apartheid is to annex the territories west of the Apartheid Wall. The long term objective is to cause social and economic deprivation east of the Apartheid Wall.

Jayous has been the site of joint Palestinian – Israeli non-violent activism for years. People will gather at 10:15 at the gas station Alfei Menashe, on Road 551, 6 kilometers from Hapeirot junction (the old entrance to Kalkilia), the demonstration will begin soon after.

For more information about the demonstration or transportation contact:
ISM Media: 022971824
Amit: 0545450041

Some “dry” statistics:

Jaayus Village population: 3,500, agricultural land west of the wall: 2,200 acres (about 75% of the village total farm land)

The land in question grows citrus and avocado orchards, holds vegetable greenhouses, and the village’s water wells!!!

Number of people prohibited by Shabbak from tending their lands: 34

Fallame Village population: 750

Jammal Village – population: 2,500

We hope you can join us in acting in solidarity with the Palestinian people to help reclaim their stolen lands.

ISM-Member Akram killed during clashes in Jenin

6th September 2007

Akram Ibrahim Abu Sba’, member of the ISM regional committee Jenin and co-founder of one of ISM’s first permanent presences was killed by members of Islamic Jihad in the north Palestinian city of Jenin.

Akram was killed on duty, when he tried to smooth tensions between members of Palestinian security forces and members of Islamic Jihad.

Palestinian police officers and members of the security forces reported the following:

At approximately 10 pm Palestinian security forces stopped a car on Mustashfa street, near Jenin’s governmental hospital. The car driver, member of Islamic Jihads Al-Quds Brigade couldn’t show any valid registration papers for the car and so verbal clashes erupted between the people in the car and the security forces. When Akram, also member of the security forces joined the scene in order to smooth the clashes, he was shot twice in the chest by one of the men, sitting in the car. He was brought to Jenin’s governmental hospital and passed away as a consequence of his injuries.

Akram was buried on the graveyard of Jenin refugee camp at 3.30 pm.

Two schoolkids injured, one men abducted by Israeli Military in Jenin

6th September 2007

In the early morning hours two Palestinian children were injured by Israeli gunfire in Jenin.

Eye witnesses and the Palestinian police reported that approximately at 3 o”clock am the Israeli Army, coming from Naaser street, entered the city of Jenin. About 13 Israeli military vehicles, including one Caterpillar bulldozer, were seen, as they approached to the eastern part of the city.

When the army reached a Palestinian house, which apparently was the intended destination, they forced the inhabitants to leave their house, and further forced the neighbours out of their homes as well. While the army surrounded the area, they started to open fire at the house in question. Palestinian freedom fighters of Islamic Jihad, occupying the building responded in turn with fire. During these clashes soldiers abducted one local leader of Islamic Jihads Al-Quds Brigades.

Later in the morning local school children gathered at the scene and in turn started throwing stones at the heavily armoured military vehicles. The army responded by throwing several canisters of teargas and sound grenades culminating in them firing rubber coated steel bullets at least two of the children.

Both children were seriously injured, in one case the bullet entered the head of the child. Both were brought into hospitals inside pre-1948 Palestine. Eye witnesses reported that at this time the fighters had already left the scene, which makes this unnecessary use of violence against children even less understandable.

After seven hours of violence, harassment and spreading fear the army left the city at about 10 o’clock.