Author: ISM Media Group - Page 292 - International Solidarity Movement

16 Palestinian children made homeless today

2 more home demolitions in the Negev
by Yeela Raanan, Regional Council for Unrecognized Negev Arab Villages

Today, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 8:00am hundreds of police people, accompanied by a chopper and two bulldozers, came the village of Tarabin al-Sanaa, located by the affluent Jewish town of Omer in the Israeli Negev. They demolished two homes. 16 children are homeless today, one two months old, another nine months. When I asked their father where they will stay tonight, he said – “I will build a tent, what can I do?”

When they entered the home, the 17-year-old son was still asleep. Thirty policemen pounced on him. He responded with fright and fought back. So they arrested him. Three other youngsters were arrested today.

Tarabin al-Sana is not new to these police invasions. Omer, their neighbor, has wanted them relocated so that they would not have to deal with poor neighbors, and because the real estate value of the land, if cleaned of Bedouins and added to Omer would be very high. Badash, the mayor of the town has been trying to make this happen for many years now. He has managed to enlarge the municipality’s area to include the village, of course with no intention of giving them the municipal services of trash removal, school, and the use of Omer’s medical facility. Then he convinced the authorities to allocate a new area for the village. The government did this, but still continued with their warped way of dealing with the Bedouin community. They choose a leader of sorts, “bought” him, and he had to convince the rest of the community to relocate. It worked only so far. Half he managed to convince to sign and relocate. The other half requested to see the contract he signed with the government. Until today the government is refusing to allow the people of the village to see this contract. The government is also refusing to negotiate with the elected leader of the village (in open democratic elections the village people initiated, and requested human rights lawyers to oversee).

Now the government is doing what the government seems to do all to often when they find themselves in a bind: demolish Bedouin homes.

For more information, contact:

The Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages in the Negev
08-6283043

JPost: Right of Reply: Anarchy in the Holy Land!

By Uri Gordon

It’s pretty rough being an Israeli anarchist these days. On a good day you are dismissed as irresponsible and naive, ignorant of history and blind to reality while your dedicated, life-risking activities are, at best, an easily-absorbed tantrum in the Nanny State.

And that’s on a good day.

The normal treatment is a bit less savory. You are violently despised, branded a fifth column for Iran and al-Qaida, and all the beatings, tear-gassings and shootings you and your comrades endure are gleefully cheered on, alongside the usual calls to put the anarchists up against the wall.

In his May 24 “Power & Politics” column “Anarchy has its place”, Elliot Jager is just the man to give you a bit of both. After a rhapsody of belittling rhetoric designed to brand anarchists as irrelevant, we are back with the usual vitriol and bad faith: well-rehearsed cheap shots, stock phrases and smug moralizing alongside harangues of abuse and dehumanization of the enemy.

Hate, not reason, is behind the accusation that Israelis who take direct action against the Segregation Barrier effectively aid those who would murder Israeli civilians. This is manipulative nonsense. Get real – as if every publicly dismantled roadblock or hole in the segregation barrier isn’t closely guarded and soon repaired by contractors.

At most we’re costing the state some money and man-hours. The main thing that happens is that everybody gets to see our weekly demonstrations violently repressed.

Symbolic actions are only the most visible part of a much wider struggle that includes more sustainable actions, from interfaith dialogue to the accompaniment of olive harvesting to joint ecological projects, as well as demonstrations, publishing and educational work.

The point of all this is not only to dismantle barriers but to get the army out of Palestine, dismantling the entire regime of occupation with its apparatus of death, imprisonment and confiscation. We are not interested in better managing of the conflict – we want to end it by reconciliation among enemies.

AND THAT’S just for starters. Jager invokes Leviathan, Hobbes’s metaphor for the State. It is the sovereign to which everyone supposedly cedes his autonomy, so as to avoid a war of all against all and a precarious life that is “nasty, brutish and short.” This is what we are told about human nature.

Now tell me one thing: If you don’t trust people to get along without rulers, how can you possibly trust them to rule other people?

Leviathan is not as Jager imagines it. The cadaverous beast is an artificial social machine of domination, with living human beings as operating parts. We all fuel the matrix of hierarchical and coercive institutions, and we can destroy it by constructing a new society from the grassroots even as we confront injustice.

Leviathan speaks from the mouths of those who apologize for having lost faith in their capacity to make their own history. Those who know they can do so reject its easy lies.

People with this kind of analysis don’t inhabit cafes and art galleries. And so when Israeli activists get out of their comfort zones and put their bodies on the line for the future, suddenly they’re a threat.

THERE ARE remarkable parallels here to the civil resistance to the withdrawal from Gaza – a self-organized, grassroots campaign of disobedience and direct action if there ever was one, brutally repressed by the forces of the state in the name of majority rule.

Many anarchists, by the way, opposed the disengagement – as they would any armed unilateralism toward citizens or non-citizens under military occupation.

The truth is that Israeli anarchists are demonized because their actions are coherent and bold. The joint Palestinian-Israeli struggle transgresses the fundamental taboos put in place by Zionist militarism. Alongside the living example of nonviolence and cooperation between the two peoples, the struggle forces Israeli spectators to confront their dark collective traumas.

Israelis who demonstrate hand-in-hand with Palestinians are threatening because they are afraid neither of Arabs nor of the Second Holocaust that they are supposedly destined to perpetrate.

Notice how everything comes out when the anarchists are vilified: the fear of annihilation, the enemy as a calculated murderer, and victims’ guilt expatiated through the assertion of self-defense and just war as unexamined axioms.

And this is threatening on a deeper level than any hole in the fence – but, then again, anarchists didn’t get their reputation as trouble-makers for nothing.

Refuse communion at the edge of the Abyss.

“Disimagine” this nightmare disguised as reality, where victims of victims victimize each other until one day we are all blown away to Kingdom Come. We can still break out of the vicious cycle of drawing the justification for present atrocities from the living memory of the horrors of the past – if only we realize that in doing so we are playing into the hands of all those who mean to rule us.

AS FOR ourselves, in manifesting our solidarity with Palestinians we have no intention of romanticizing their struggle, or of hiding our opposition to anyone who would rule the peoples of this land. Rather it is a question of starting to practice desertion, refusal, sabotage, attack against every violent authority, all coercive power, and every state.

The writer is an Israeli activist and lecturer in environmental studies. His book Anarchy Alive: Anti-Authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory is published by Pluto Press.

Campaign for the Right of Entry/Re-Entry

A Grassroots Campaign for the Protection of Foreign Passport Holders Residing in and/or Visiting the oPt

Position Statement

To date, Israeli authorities have failed to provide a transparent policy on which foreign nationals wishing to enter or maintain their presence in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) can rely. Instead, Israel has continued to pursue both policies and practices that fail to comply with International Humanitarian Law. In fact, the de facto policy announced in December 2006 and again in March 2007 signals Israel’s intent to continue to violate international law. The failure of third states to object in such circumstances implies acceptance and violates their own obligations in international law.

Until such time as the Israeli occupation has ended and the sovereign Palestinian right of self-determination is fully implemented, the Campaign takes the following positions regarding Israel’s exercise of discretion over entry into the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), and the corresponding responsibilities of third states:

1. Procedures outlined in announcements by the Israeli Ministry of Defense (December 2006) and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (March 2007) fail to address a number of critical issues, especially the fundamental issue of how Israel will exercise its discretion over entry into the oPt. (See “Background” section below.)

2. Residents of the oPt, like people the world over, have the right to marry at will and to live together with their families. By maintaining its general refusal to permit foreign nationals to securely and permanently reside with their family members in the oPt, Israel, as the occupying power, is blatantly violating international humanitarian law (IHL). Third states have a duty to ensure Israel’s respect for IHL and to obtain Israel’s compliance in this case, where the means to do so are readily available to them.

3. Third states have an obligation to scrutinize Israel’s exercise of authority and to oppose arbitrary denials of entry and residency that harm Palestinian family life and welfare, including educational and social service institutions and economic development.

4. Third states have an obligation to defend the interests of their own nationals when they are subjected to arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by a friendly state and to protect them against violations of human rights including Israeli use of duress in coercing foreigners to collaborate with the occupier in order to gain entry into the oPt.

5. Third states have an obligation to object when they are provided written statements and clarifications of positions from Israel that embody, or envisage and signal Israel’s intent to take measures that are internationally unlawful. Third state failure to object in such circumstances implies acceptance and violates its own obligations in international law, in particular, the duty not to acquiesce to internationally unlawful acts by other states. The duty of non-acquiescence by third states extends to the failure to react upon notification of the establishment or existence of an illegal policy.

The Campaign urges third states to:

1. Ensure Israeli implementation of the rights to family unity and family reunification and the
establishment of clear and transparent procedures for foreign nationals seeking to reside in the oPt, in keeping with international law.

– obtain Israeli cancellation of CoGAT’s stipulation that foreigners are restricted to a 27-
month, single entry, maximum stay
– demand Israel’s adoption and implementation of a clear, transparent policy for issuing
residency permits to foreign nationals

2. Call for an immediate halt to Israel’s arbitrary and abusive practice of denying entry to foreign nationals traveling to the oPt.

– demand Israel’s adoption and implementation of a clear, transparent policy for unhindered
access to the oPt by foreign nationals
– obtain explicit assurances that people who have previously been denied entry will be
permitted to re-enter the oPt
– end the practice of issuing permits that restrict exit and re-entry
– end the practice of issuing permits of less than three months to those traveling to the oPt
– cease the collective punishment of those whose relatives may have ‘overstayed’ their
original visa duration

3. Apply vigorous scrutiny to cases of denied entry and denied residency in the oPt with a view to promoting Israel’s adoption and transparent application of principles consistent with the internationally accepted rights and obligations of an occupying power.

– set up clear mechanisms for citizens to report and appeal cases of denied entry
– set up clear mechanisms for liaising with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage to the oPt
for all citizens and ensure the prompt and proper resolution of cases where safe passage has
been hindered
– insist on receiving a formal explanation of each decision taken by Israel to bar any of their citizens from the oPt
– object to all arbitrary denials of entry and residency that harm Palestinian family life,
educational, health and social service institutions and businesses and act to resolve all such
cases of exclusion.

4. Respect the duty of all states not to acquiesce to internationally unlawful acts, bearing in mind that failing to object to prima facie unlawful acts or policies when notified of them implies accepting them as lawful

5. Promote Israel’s compliance with International Humanitarian Law with appropriate and effective tools of persuasion and dissuasion. Take appropriate measures based on reciprocity to ensure that the correct treatment accorded Israeli nationals seeking to enter third countries is reciprocated by correct treatment of their nationals seeking to enter Israel or the oPt

Background

Israel’s arbitrary and abusive exercise of discretion over entry into the oPt continues to cause serious and unjustified harm to Palestinian families, educational and social service institutions and businesses in the oPt. In December 2006, the Israeli Ministry of Defense — Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (CoGAT) outlined1 new procedures for entry into the oPt. In March 2007 a similar statement was issued by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and addressed to third state missions. Despite reported assurances from Israeli officials that under the new procedures entry denials would be based on legitimate security considerations, documented cases of persons denied entry indicate that the practice resulting from the implementation of announced procedures remains arbitrary, abusive and internationally unlawful. Furthermore, persons who fall within the categories that Israel has declared eligible for entry and visa renewal are being barred from doing so in practice.

The two notices issued by Israeli authorities address only the issue of temporary admissions (typically granted for short term family visits, tourism and humanitarian, business, educational or other professional activities). Procedures for granting residency to foreign nationals whose center of life is in the oPt remain unaddressed.2 Israel’s continued refusal to process family reunification applications directly affects as many as 500,000 to 750,000 people who may be forced to leave the oPt to keep their families intact. Together with the many foreign nationals who have established their primary business, investment or professional activities in the oPt, or otherwise aspire to build their lives in the oPt, the new procedures place them, at best, in a state of continuous uncertainty under constant threat of expulsion and exclusion.

Israel’s announcements arbitrarily and unreasonably limit the categories of residents and travelers eligible to apply for permits to the oPt. No provisions are made for the right of dependent children above the age of 16 to reside with their parents in the oPt. Similarly, no provision is made for the eligibility of adult children and siblings, grandparents or in-laws to visit or reside with their families. Such exclusions are devastating to social stability and family welfare in the Palestinian community which relies heavily on the extended family as an essential provider of care across several generations for both the young and the elderly. If a key family member is denied entry, extended family units are often forced to relocate. Also excluded from the list of eligible categories are tourists, putting travelers at risk of being arbitrarily barred from entry and further undermining the already fragile Palestinian economy.

1 On December 28, a letter announcing new procedures for foreign nationals wishing to visit, live or work in the oPt was sent by CoGAT to Dr. Sa’eb Erakat head of the PLO Negotiation Affairs Department, and several diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv, including the German (currently representing the EU-presidency) and US Embassies. On 5 March, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a similar statement entitled “Transit Policy to the West Bank via Israel.” The letter was again distributed to embassies in Tel Aviv.

2 Those eligible for visa renewals may receive a maximum of 27 months residency followed by a mandatory departure with no assurance of return. Moreover, visa periods are restricted to a single entry.

Additionally, the notices offer no prospective solution to any of the thousands of individuals who have remained in the oPt after the expiration of their original visas owing to the refusal of the Israeli authorities to process duly submitted visa renewal applications. The notices also fail to offer a clear solution for the untold numbers of individuals and their families who have been forced to relocate out of the oPt due to previous entry denials unjustly issued by the Israeli authorities. Finally, the notices provide no indication that foreign nationals seeking entry into occupied East Jerusalem or the Gaza Strip will be eligible to apply for temporary admission or visa extensions.

Failure to implement announced procedures

The limited procedures outlined in the announcements by the Israeli Ministry of Defense (12/06) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (3/07) are not being implemented in a transparent or consistent fashion.

1. Individuals falling within the categories declared eligible by Israel have been denied entry at all major ports of entry — Allenby Bridge, Sheikh Hussein Bridge and Ben Gurion Airport.

2. Documented cases include men, women and children, ranging from 2 to over 70 years in age. The overwhelming majority of documented cases since January 2007 involve US citizens. Citizens of Australia, Canada and EU member countries as well as countries in Latin America, East Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe have also been denied entry.

3. Procedures set out in the announcements are not being implemented in a clear, consistent and transparent manner.

* Individuals at Allenby Bridge who have sought explanation for their denial of entry have been physically abused and forced back into vehicles returning to Jordan.
* Individuals who have previously traveled to the region on a regular basis have been denied entry for the first time. Others who have never visited the country have also been denied.
* Individuals who were denied entry in 2006 and were then able to obtain some form of clearance to enter have again been denied entry in 2007.
* Israeli assurances to third state diplomatic representatives that particular nationals would be granted entry have not been honored in several instances.
* Individuals seeking to apply for permits from Israeli embassies / consulates in their home countries to enter the West Bank (the procedure “recommended” in CoGAT announcement) have been informed upon inquiry that this procedure is not in effect.
* Individuals have been denied entry without access to a CoGAT representative contrary to stipulations in the CoGAT announcement.
* Many of the individuals permitted to enter have been able to do so only through exclusive arrangements – often for fees including sometimes exorbitant fees to lawyers.

Some individuals are being required to provide monetary deposits (between NIS 20,000 and 50,000) to guarantee their departure before the expiration of their visas.

* The duration of visas issued to those granted entry varies widely and is determined without clear reason or explanation. The Campaign’s documentation includes cases of individuals granted visas for as little as one week and suggest that the Israeli authorities are increasingly issuing visas of shorter duration to those indicating the intention to travel to the oPt. This practice also appears intended to frustrate objections by third states to Israel’s arbitrary denials of entry and refusal of residency rights in the oPt

* Despite a limited reactivation of visa extension processes, cases documented by the Campaign suggest that Israel’s granting of visa extensions remains arbitrary. Moreover, permit validity ends upon exit from Israel. Fear of a subsequent denial of entry has caused persons affected by this practice to forgo necessary health care treatments, education, training or economic development activities abroad for fear they will be denied entry on their return.

4. The welfare and integrity of countless Palestinian families continue to be affected by separation or the imminent threat of separation.
* Spouses remain separated despite provisions in the CoGAT announcement for issuing and renewing visas to spouses.
* Young children continue to be separated from their parents and the elderly are denied visits and essential care from their immediate family.

5. The functioning of Palestinian health, educational and social services and businesses continues to be undermined by Israeli practices.

6. Members of the international press have been denied entry to Israel and the oPt.

For more info, contact the Right of Entry Campaign:
059.817.3953
info@righttoenter.ps

The World Said No to Israeli Occupation

by Larry Snider, OpEd News

The two-day mobilization was covered by Democracy Now! To view video or listen to show click HERE

Photo by Diane Greene Lent

Sunday began with an early morning drive into Philadelphia to catch the bus from 4722 Baltimore Avenue to DC and take part in a rally and march to end the 40 year occupation of Palestine. The program was developed by a coalition of organizations under the banner US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation in coordination with a second coalition coming together with the heading United for Peace and Justice. If you think that’s a mouthful you’re right. One of the difficulties of building national support is in trying to connect hundreds of groups interested in freedom to one singular message.

Video by llamh2

The bus was full of activist from a broad group of backgrounds, Jewish, Muslim and Christian alike. I asked Jerry Taylor from Yardley, PA why he got on the bus? “Because people are suffering. I hope there is something I can do. The Palestinians are just being slaughtered. This is government-sanctioned ethnocide. Our government supports this,” he said.

I asked Marilyn Looseman, from Haverford PA, why she was taking the trip? “Because I believe in what we’re doing. Israel will be far more secure when it allows the Palestinians to be secure.” I asked what she wanted the outcome of the day to be? “More Americans understanding what the situation really is by spreading the word.”

I asked Sonia Khalil of Philadelphia why she was on the bus? “Israel and Palestine will be secure if they see the occupation is the source of the violence. Once the occupation is ended violence will be ended. There will be prosperity for both. I do believe in a two-state solution.” I asked what she wanted to be the result of the rally? “It’s good for us to go out there and share that there are Jews as well as Palestinians and Christians out there that don’t agree with the occupation.”

Photo by Diane Greene Lent

After a brisk walk from the bus-deck of Union Station the group made its way in front of the US Capital. There was a fenced-in quadrangle with a stage festooned with a sign; “The World Says No to Israeli Occupation.” There were some tables set up with literature and a cross-section of books, mostly by socialist authors. Around the perimeter were a few more tables including one from ICAHD-USA, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition, Project Hope, a Palestinian children’s educational program and Trees for Life, an organization to support Palestinian farmers. Just about the time I was considering making a purchase a member of the Rally staff came around to inform all the sellers that they were not permitted to make any sales or take any money on the site because the permit didn’t provide for that. One better, he stopped a man from anchoring a banner on posts in the ground, stating that; “You can’t do that. If you do they’ll shut down the Rally.”

People were flowing in and I heard that there was a significant counter rally being staged by Israeli activists. I didn’t see them in any numbers so I figured the police had that rally taking place a distant site. I ambled up to the right side of the stage, filled out some paperwork and received my press pass and a folder containing information on the day’s events.

Reading from the Call to Action: “We know that occupation is wrong. We see US troops occupying Iraq, and we say no. We see Israeli troops and civilians occupying Palestinian land, and we say no again. Wrong in Iraq, wrong in Palestine.” It goes on to state that; “We in the United States have a special obligation to protest Israel’s illegal military occupation because it is our government that provides Israel with the uncritical military, economic, diplomatic, and corporate support that it needs to sustain and expand its control of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. If we do not protest, then we are complicit in the human rights abuses inflicted daily on Palestinians who are forced to live under Israel’s brutal military occupation.”

I watched as two groups were handing out signs. A red and black one said; “Justice for Palestine.” A yellow and black one from a group called answercoalition.org wanted more; “Free Palestine. Support the Right of Return.”

I met Rana Abdelquder, an eighteen year old from Poughkeepsie, NY. She told me; “My family was pushed out of Palestine in 1948. They had lived in the village of Jimzu. I went back in 1997 to see it with my own eyes. I started an organization, “Palestine: Voices of the Next Generation,” and put it on myspace.com. People around here aren’t educated enough. It’s up to us. We’re the next generation.” I asked what she wanted to happen? “At least equality today. These kids don’t have a future. To give them a chance for a future.”

I spoke with Gwen Dubois a member of the Tikkun Community from Baltimore. “As a Jew raised with the idea life comes first. That Jews are justice loving people. That the occupation is unjust. I care about Israel, but oppose the policy of its government.” I asked what she though was necessary? “Most helpful would be more of a dialog in the Jewish community in the United States.”

I met Desiree Farooz, a member of Code Pink from Arlington TX. “We are women for peace. End the occupation. Give the indigenous people of Palestine their country back. We bring some color and creativity to the movement. We are willing to sacrifice. We have women here who have sacrificed jobs on behalf of peace. Women who can’t stay at home. Can’t tolerate this bloodshed anymore.” I asked what she wanted to happen? “Arab American’s need to unite. More Palestinian American’s saying no to the occupation. More activism. A coalition of everyone to stand up to the injustice.”

Photo by Diane Greene Lent

I spoke with Ashley Wilkerson a young missionary from the United Methodist Church who was posted in Bethlehem for sixteen months and was now interning for the US Campaign, and serving as an Event Press Coordinator. She was listening to one of the speeches and a tear was rolling down her cheek. I asked what image she held from Bethlehem? “The Wall in Bethlehem is massive and it feels like it’s all around you. Someone in one of the refugee camps told me it’s around his heart. Every night the Israeli military came into Bethlehem and takes somebody. They broke into my room when I wasn’t there. There is no system of accountability.” I switched subjects and asked her if they had a count on the crowd? She got on her cell phone and a couple minutes later a number came back; “About 5000.” I had just guessed that number.

I have been to larger events on the mall. But speaker after speaker including Ambassador Ed Peck, Tony Bing, Judith LeBlank, Husam El-Nounou, Rabbi Jerry Milgom and Cindy and Craig Corrie and many more gave testimony to the climate of injustice that pervades the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem and robs Palestinians of their right to move freely, to earn a decent living, to support their families and to look forward to the future. I believe the facts of terror, suicide bombers targeting civilians and rockets hitting S’derot on a daily basis do not bring the people of Palestine closer to achieving their goals of justice, freedom and peace. But this was a day for recognizing the injustices of the occupation and the human rights of the Palestinian people. After a group of rappers charged up the audience, the march began from the Capital to the base of the Washington Monument facing the White House. Drums beat, the crowd chanted and people carried signs along Independence Ave. as they advanced. The police were out in numbers assisted by a large contingent of orange vested volunteers.

Photo by Diane Greene Lent

And then it happened. The counter demonstration was waiting for the marchers along the parade route. Hundreds of Israeli activists carried signs that went from a simple plea for peace to repudiate Hamas to the announcement that it’s all Israel’s land. Some of the people were contained and some were screaming epithets with one young man waving his middle finger. Some of the chants by the anti-occupation marchers were positive while others made me uneasy.

I noticed a couple of young people, I’d say around twenty years of age holding an Israeli flag. I stopped to talk to them. Benjamin Franblum was from Bethesda, MD. I asked what brought him here today? “I came to make sure I wasn’t one of the one’s who didn’t. I want to fight now while its words. Their leadership is inciting violence. I want all Palestinians and all Israelis to be able to raise their families in human peace and dignity.”

US Capitol Ambassador Edward Peck, video by Elvert Barnes

I suggested that that was a most laudable goal. His friend Rachel noted that the marchers are “a lot of confused people. People who need to take self-responsibility to better their lives.” I didn’t answer her by saying that that was exactly what they were doing. I thanked them both and moved back into the crowded streets before I drew a crowd of my own. We marched on toward the White House and then quickly dispersed for the long march back to the buses at Union Station. Others stayed on for Monday’s lobbying effort.

There was no violence. However, my friend from the bus, Marilyn, happened to take a pretty nasty header hurrying back to Union Station. People believed that they stood up for Palestinian rights as rights due every human being and hoped that the world takes notice.

Larry Snider is the founder of New Hope for Peace, a dialogue and educational forum. He is a member of the Greater Bucks County Peace Circle and author of numerous articles on the Israeli/Palestinian war of attrition and the peace process. Larry has traveled extensively in Israel and the West Bank and continues to interview Palestinian and Israeli activists, victims, not-so-ordinary citizens and government officials.

The Road to Peace Passes Through Our Three Villages

A “March of Return” to the Destroyed Villages of Latroun
by the ISM Media Crew

On Saturday, June 16, Palestinians from the destroyed villages of Latroun will once again return to their land. They will be joined by Israeli and International solidarity activists to commemorate the destruction of their homes and confiscation of their land 40 years ago by the Israeli government, and the murder of nearly 40 Palestinians by Israeli occupation forces.

Immediately after the breakout of the Arab-Israeli war of June 1967, and the by the Israeli army of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai, and Golan Heights, the occupying Israeli soldiers forcible evacuated the villagers of these three villages to Ramallah city, forbidding them from returning home. Following the mass expulsion, Israeli forces commenced work on demolishing every house. Twenty Palestinians, too sick or old to evacuate were killed in this process. Days later, when Palestinians attempted to return to their villages, almost 20 more Palestinians were murdered.

“I was 6 years old when they came to destroy my village,” said Ishmael, a leader of the Yallo Committee. “My family and I slept under the trees in Beitunya. We didn’t have time to bring anything from our houses, not even shoes. We lost everything!”

Members of the Yallo Committee explained that over the ruins of the three destroyed villages of Latroun, Israel has established cow fields over Yallo, a Canada-sponsored park (Canada Park) over Immwas, and the Israeli settlement of Mevo Horon over Beit Nuba. Mevo Haron is now diverting all of the natural spring water to the illegal settlement. In addition, Road 1, connecting Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, cuts Immwas into two pieces.

Members of the Yallo Committee also explained that for there to be any political solution, the main demand of the Committee is to return to their villages. Ahmad, from the Committee, said,”I was 8 years old, fleeing with my father at 6 in the morning to Beitunya. When we returned to our homes in Beit Nuba, they were destroyed. So we had to return to Beitunya, where we are still waiting, suffering, until we can return home. International law says that we have a right to return.”

Ishmale agreed, saying, “The road to peace passes through our three villages!”

June 16th will mark the Committee’s 5th march to the destroyed villages of Latroun. On June 5, 1995, the Yallo Committee organized the “March of Return” in Beitunya. Their intention was to draw attention to the case of 10,000 villagers expelled from Immwas, Yallo and Beit Nuba. The march was halted by the Israeli army after the protesters had walked 200 metres.

The march is being organized with the Israeli group Zehorot who has joined the Yallo Committee in previous marches. The Committee has also invited Palestinian groups from Ramallah, al Bireh, Jerusalem, and other Israeli and International peace groups. Palestinians will be joined by solidarity activists at 1:30pm at the Beitunya Secondary Boy’s School. At 2:00pm, buses and cars will transport the demonstrators to Beit Liqya. At 3:00, the demonstration will make its way to the Wall, where Palestinians, accompanied by Israeli and International solidarity representatives, will make speeches about the 40th anniversary of their destroyed villages.

To reserve your space on the bus, please contact:

Ahmad, 0599-735-299
Ishmael, 0545-385-611
Yallo Committee, 02-290-2335

For more info, contact:
ISM Media Office, 0599-943-157, 0542-103-657

BACKGROUND

The Latroun Villages include those of Immwas, Yallo, and Beit Nuba.

The region is considered an important historical and administrative center throughout the course of history since the Roman, Byzantine, Rushed, Ommiad, Abbesite, Crusaders, Ayyoubi, Mamlouki, and Turkish periods. These villages acquired special significance during these ages and at the time of the Arab-Israeli conflict, for a variety of reasons, including:

* Its strategic position in the central parts of the country linking the coastal and mountainous regions with each other

* Constituting the first defense line against Jerusalem and thus considering these villages the gate of western Jerusalem

* Overlooking the coastal region while its hills form the beginning of Jerusalem’s mountainous slopes

* The abundance of springs and ground water resources in the region, having attracted all invaders to conquer the region

* All the occupying powers who have invaded Palestine during the course of history have left their imprints on these villages consequently effecting a religious, archaeological, and constructive pattern

Location

The Latroun villages of Immwas, Yallo, and Beit Nuba are located some 28 kilometers south east of Jaffa City, about 25 km northwest of Jerusalem and 30 km south of Ramallah. They occupy an important strategic position overlooking the highways of Jerusalem, Jaffa, Ramallah, and Gaza.

In the wake of demolishing these villages by Israel after the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the Jewish state initiated the construction of a highway linking Jerusalem with Tel Aviv, and passing through the midst of Immwas Land.

The total area of the Latroun villages is estimated at over 50,000 dunums.

According to pre-1967 census, the population of the three villages at the time of their destruction combined at 10,000 persons. Nowadays, the last figures released exceeded 30,000 persons spread out over Jordan, Ramallah, Beitunya, and Jerusalem.

Legal Status

The Israeli occupation authority issued a military order (serial no. 97) on September 9, 1967, stating the Latroun villages were considered a “closed military zone.”

However, these villages were withing the conquered territories by Israel in the 1967 war and should therefore be covered by UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, calling upon Israel to withdraw from all Occupied Territories.