Jane Horwitz’s article on “My Name Is Rachel Corrie” could have been an example of reporting on the best aspects of the play [” ‘Corrie’ Fears Unrealized; Controversial Play Opens Without Incident in W.Va.,” Style, July 18]. Instead she gave space to the likes of Stanley Marinoff, who spouted off that Corrie was “a human shield for an organization that’s probably a terrorist [front] organization.”
That statement is not only inaccurate, it borders on slandering the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which has twice been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Even the courts in Israel have stated that the ISM is not a terrorist organization.
Corrie was not a “naive young lady” but a passionate advocate for justice for a people who have been forced to live under occupation, brutalized and ignored by the world.
I was honored to work with the ISM twice over two years in the occupied West Bank. The only violence I saw while standing with the Palestinians was perpetuated against us by the Israeli military and the illegal settlers. ISM members have been shot, beaten, tear-gassed and arrested. Corrie and Tom Hurndall were murdered by an occupying force.
We don’t go to Palestine believing we are on some kind of holiday. We go to bear witness to the daily suffering of the Palestinians. If the Israelis allowed United Nations peacekeepers in to monitor their behavior, there would be no need for us.
It’s telling that despite the uproar the play is not only doing well but is also making money. Thank God, the truth cannot be suppressed forever. Horwitz should have stuck to writing about the play, not making political comments.
— Greta Berlin
Le Bar-sur-Loup, France
The writer is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement.
On the morning of July 19, 2007, the Israeli occupation force invaded the village of Zawata just north of the city of Nablus [see previous ISM reports here and here]. The army proceeded to demolish the house of Asad Natoor. Moving deeper into the village, the force besieged another home and proceeded to destroy the external walls while “interrogating” an individual inside.
Human rights activists arrived to the scene alongside medics – attempting to halt the destruction. The Israeli Army blocked the entrance of an ambulance called for a pregnant woman. The army used force to repell human rights observers from the first home demolition.
Upon the arrival of human rights legal observer, the army openly admitted they had no demolition order. Furthermore, the District Command Office (DCO) continually ignored calls. When officials from B’tselem (Israeli Human Rights Organization) inquired as to the presence of a demolition – the civil authorities indicated they weren’t aware of the operation. Soldiers then assaulted the human rights workers requesting documentation and authorization from the soldiers.
Zawata: Witness to Israeli War Crimes is a short documentary covering the events of this day. It includes extensive interviews from the victims of that day and film of the soldiers who committed these crimes.
July 27th, 2007. Around 5:30pm international Human Rights Workers and member of the Christian Peace-Making Team joined a Palestinian man on the land he owned to help him clean it from debris put there by settler vandals and protect him and his livestock while they feed.
Settlers have erected a tent on his land and called it a synagogue seven years ago. This severely handicapped man and his family are normally told to leave the land they own when they try to farm it, or when they let their goats eat from it. The international volunteers showed up to help the family farm their land under the repression they face from soldiers and settlers. We started by removing wood that vandals had nailed to his trees. Settlers with guns saw us do this and called the military. When the military came they told us to stop and the land owner was told he had to prove the land was his. The owner produced Israeli court papers, which proved that the land was indisputably his. The officer reluctantly looked over the papers
However even then we were not allowed to remove the wood because we were told it would look like we were trying to steal it. We began then to cut and collect the grass to take to the goats so they could eat. The police soon showed up, followed later by border police. They kept a heavy presence near us but did nothing to stop the harassment of the settlers. This harassment of course escalated, starting with shouted insults. When international volunteers brought this to the attention of the police, they were told that unless this was caught on film there was nothing they could do. Even with this warning, the police still did nothing to deescalate the harassment from the settlers. The family then let their goats out to eat the grass that grows on the land they own and this proved to be the last straw for the settlers.
An old, well dressed settler exited his settlement using a stick as a walking aid, and giving the impression of frailty asked one of the volunteers where they were from in an aggressive manor and suddenly without provocation attacked two international human rights workers with what proved to be a spiked stick. He first hit one female volunteer across the head, moving on to strike multiple blows to another this time male observer. His arm was left bleeding heavily, leaving blood on both he and the settler.
The police had no choice, in the face of such obvious lawless aggression and knowing that of course this time it would be filmed, but to intervene. They ran up the stairs and prevented the old man from returning to his settlement, and arrested him. The two HRWs and the man who filmed them were taken to the police station, and the old man was arrested. The Palestinians and HRWs were told that the area had to be cleared because the situation was “heated”. The Palestinians and volunteers therefore left the land of the family only to watch Israeli settlers exit the settlement, walk freely through land and socialize with the military and police.
After a few minutes spending at the police station the attacking settler was eventually released by the police with the explanation that they are not going to arrest Israelis during shabbat.
At approximately 7.30 pm on Wednesday 25th July, three international human rights workers (HRWs) maintaining a presence in Susiya – a Palestinian farming community located in the South Hebron Hills – were called to assist two Palestinians who had been detained on Route 317 at the highway junction next to the illegal settlement of Susiya.
On arriving at the junction, the internationals filmed the situation, noting the number of the army vehicle and spoke to the two Palestinians, who were being kept away from their car at the side of the road. From what the internationals could gather, they had been stopped because they were ‘Arabs driving a car with Israeli license plates.
Coincidentally and at the same time, the internationals and the local Palestinian who had driven them to the scene noticed Israeli settlers working in the field opposite junction. Upon speaking to the local Palestinian it was discovered that this land belongs to several Palestinians living in Yatta, a nearby town, who had all the documents needed to prove their ownership. About a month and a half ago, settlers were found working on the land and were building a pipeline in order to irrigate it. After formally lodging a complaint with the local police, the settlers were told to vacate and discontinue their work there. They have since been caught a further four times working in the same area.
The HWRs recorded approximately ten settlers in the field and called a Christian Peace-Making Team (CPT) worker to the scene, in order to further document this violation of police orders. At approximately 8.10 pm, many of the land owners arrived from Yatta.
The CPT worker talked with the police, lodging yet another complaint, whilst the internationals continued to monitor the settlers and obstruct their view as they attempted to photograph the Palestinian land owners.
Negotiations with the police – a Palestinian-Israeli police officer in particular, continued until around 9.30 pm at which point the police informed the group that ‘everything had been resolved’ and they could all go home. The Palestinian and international party however decided to stay until the settlers had left which was at around 10.00 pm.
This situation highlights once again the violation of international law which Israel continues to uphold. Not only are settlements illegal under article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention – “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” but additionally, in July 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that the occupation, the Wall and the Israeli settlements were all in violation of international law and must therefore be ended.
The existence of such law however means nothing if it is not upheld accordingly.
July 25th, 2007. Palestinians, International Human Rights Workers and Israelis recently went to the village of Wadi Rahul, which is near Bethlehem, to document a number of Israeli settlers that intended to initiate a new illegal settlement on a hill beyond the Efrata Settlement on Palestinian land.
It is understood that this was their second attempt and on this occasion they have sought to assemble a large number of people through the internet, inviting people throughout Israel and the settlements. We received information of the hour and the place of where they would leave, on foot since the police organized numerous “check-points” to intercept them. However the Settlers had sufficient information to avoid these meaningless preventative measures and were able to access the land.
Towards 16:30 we divided into two groups to be able to observe from two farmers homes which hill the Settlers wished to occupy. It is understood that one of the farmers had been notified by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) not to leave his property after 5pm.
During the previous evening, the army and the police had implemented a gate along the road the Settlers wished to take. During the day this particular road had been filled with police and military vehicles, the number of which increased significantly during the build up to the event.
Towards five in the afternoon, it was possible to see hundreds of Settlers begin marching towards the land they wished to occupy. They obviously hadn’t been dissuaded by the checkpoints or gates and had found suitable alternative routes to enable them to get to their chosen site.
Shortly after, they appeared in a cultivated field, still walking. They formed a row and passed across a field in the direction of the hill they wished to occupy. They appeared to be walking in the middle of the fields to avoid interception by the police or the army.
In the other location where activists were based to help protect Palestinians, it was also reported that Settlers had thrown rocks at the property and there had been an attempt to detain someone, however they were later released without harm.
Originally we maintained our observation of events from the roof of the Palestinian home, however we moved to the outside of the house close to where the Settlers were passing to ensure they didn’t act unnecessarily aggressive.
Whilst the Settlers trespassed onto Palestinian land, a few Settlers attempted to converse with the Palestinians however this was very much limited to stating that the Palestinains should leave as, “it is not their land”. A further Settler claimed that the land had been given to the Jews by God.
The march continued toward the hill, where the police and the army were expecting them. At this point the Settlers scattered in many directions and the security forces were incapable of preventing the Settlers from passing around them to continue their march. It is worth noting that the soldiers made little effort to use the “crowd control” devices they tend to employ at Bil’in, on their own people. ie. sound grenades or tear gas.
Among the participants there were people with backpacks and what appeared to be camping equipment, indicating the Settlers were likely to remain in place. It’s difficult to determine the exact number of Settlers that participated in this event due to the numbers being so dispersed across the hills, however it is estimated there were approximately 600 Settlers.
The police managed to stop the march from passing before it arrived at the second hill which was on slightly higher ground. When an activist approached to see what was happening, it could be seen that many of the Settlers were beginning to return and had begun to leave the area.
A number of buses appeared to remove the demonstrators from the land however many chose to leave on foot.
Later HRWs returned to the house with the Palestinians, and we remained there to be able to cover possible aggressions later that evening by any remaining Settlers.
Until well into the night, until at least 1am, many bus trips were made to remove the remaining Settlers from the area. There was a large military presence maintained and a significant attempt to remove determined Settlers who wished to stay on the Palestinian land.
There were many groups of people patrolling the area through the night, causing great anxiety among the Palestinians (in the house we were in, all the family watched from the balcony, and they only felt comfortable enough to sleep when three more internationals arrived.)
Throughout the night, soldiers, Settlers and Police continued to move throughout the surrounding fields, sometimes using flares to determine positions of each other and settlers.
Even in the morning it was still possible to see Settlers remaining in the fields from the previous day.
