Author: ISM Media Group

ISM London: Protest outside Leviev store on Old Bond Street, London

To view the ISM London website click here

On Saturday 13th December a number of ISM activists braved the rain and cold, took to the streets and voiced their opposition to Lev Leviev and his blood diamonds which finance the illegal Israeli settlement expansion into the Palestinian territories.

Located on the upmarket Old Bond Street in the West End of London, activists stood out against a backdrop of designer boutiques. Despite initial opposition by Leviev’s security guards, management and police officers, the demonstration went ahead undeterred.

Activists shouted various chants, read out facts about Leviev’s human rights abuses and war crimes, distributed leaflets and spoke with members of the public about Leviev’s more sinister activities. We wanted to raise awareness that the shine of the diamonds can’t take away from the darkness of his abuses. Even the security guards took an interest and it was suggested they find an alternative company they could be proud to work for.

Nonetheless, after a couple of hours of, we felt we had successfully deterred potential customers, with no one during the entire time of our presence even entertaining the idea of entering the store.

We hope the protest will pave the way for future actions to maintain the pressure against Leviev, and show solidarity with the New York and Dubai activists protesting the Leviev stores there as well as all other activists involved in the anti -Leviev campaign.

Background info:

Lev Leviev commits a compendium of human rights abuses ranging from supporting the oppressive Angolan Dos Santos regime which is renowned for its corruption, lack of transparency and violence, owning diamond mines which employ private security firms known to beat, whip and sexually abuse employees, through to purchasing rubies from Burma which supports the military junta and directly financing the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements.

As part of the Jewish Land Redemption Fund, Leviev finances the expansion of Mattityahu East in Modi’in Illit, Zufim, Maale Adumim and Har Homa. All of these are in violation of International Law as set down in the Fourth Geneva Convention and the position is further supported by both the UN and the international Court of Justice. The theft of Palestinian land leads to the impoverishment and subjugation of Palestinian people and violent oppression against Palestinian non-violent resistance.

For more information visit:

www.adalahny.org

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/09/israelandthepalestinians.foreignpolicy

http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1746.shtml

Bil’in residents cautious following Supreme Court order to move the annexation wall

The Israeli Supreme Court yesterday ruled that the second proposed route of the annexation barrier proposed by the Israeli military is illegal.

The High Court judges concluded following the court session that the route presented by the Israeli State did not conform to the previous court ruling from September 2007.

The State was also ordered to adhere to a new route and pay the residents of Bil’in’s legal fees which amounted to 10,000 NIS.

Residents of Bil’in have, however, reacted to the court decision, which if implemented would return 250 acres to the village, with extreme caution following the disregard of the State to previous Supreme Court rulings towards Palestinian land.

Resident of Bil’in Nasir Samara commented that “While we welcome the Court’s ruling that the route of the wall is illegal, this is not the first time that the Court has told the military to change the route. We will reserve judgement until we see the wall moved”.

The Court stated that both routes for the annexation barrier so far put forward by the State have not been based on existing structures, but on expansion plans for the settlement of Modi’in Illit. For any future route of the barrier the Court clearly stated that; “the security consideration that would determine the new route will take into account existing buildings [in the settlement] and not plans for future construction. The security distances will be measured from existing buildings and not from planned buildings that have not yet been constructed”.

If the Courts decision is adhered to then Bil’in would have approximately one half of the land confiscated by the existing annexation barrier returned. However the court decision does still not comply to international law, under which all settlements are illegal, primarily through the violation of the Geneva Convention article 49

However, Bilin’s lawyer did state that the ‘ruling was unprecedented in its detail and would help others challenging the barrier route‘ (Associated Press).

Residents of the village have remained cautious about the decision. Israeli Supreme Court rulings against the military or the State are notorious for their failure to be implemented and for the willful avoidance of the Israeli State to enact it’s own Court rulings, even those that still contradict international law.

For example in 2007 the Israeli military willfully ignored the Supreme Court ruling that the road barrier that was set up along bypass roads number 60, 317 and 325 in southern Hebron in 2005 be removed within 6 months. It was not.

Bil’in has become famous for holding a protest march against the apartheid wall every Friday afternoon for past three and a half years. In that time the Friday march has attracted world famous artists, celebrities, and politicians. They have been joined by a wide variety of international and Israeli pressure groups.

Sheikh Jarrah protest camp due to be demolished again – Two internationals taken by Israeli police

UPDATE: The two internationals have been released from the Israeli police station without charge.

The tent was eventually taken down by the residents of Sheikh Jarrah, though it has now been rebuilt. The bulldozer, after threatening to demolish the tent, instead built a small rock wall inside the Palestinian property. The purpose of this wall is as yet unclear.

Israeli forces are now demolishing the protest tent established in Sheikh Jarrah, Occupied East Jerusalem established on Palestinian private property in support of the evicted al-Kurd family and the 18 Palestinian families who currently face eviction from the neighbourhood.

Two international solidarity activists, one Danish and one Swedish, who had been sleeping in the tent have been taken from the protest camp by Israeli police. They were woken at 8:30am by dozens of Israeli police before being detained and their phones confiscated. They were then taken to an Israeli police station. One Palestinian resident of Sheikh Jarrah was also detained by Israeli police, but was subsequently been released.

An Israeli bulldozer is currently at the site and is due to start the demolition of the camp.

The protest camp was established by the Sheikh Jarrah Neighbourhood Committee following the violent eviction of the al-Kurd family on the 9th November initially to show support for the evicted family and the 500 other Palestinians who are under threat of eviction from the neighbourhood. It has been demolished twice already by Israeli authorities despite being situated on private Palestinian property.

The camp has been used as a cultural centre for the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, regularly screening films, holding traditional Palestinian dancing and showing Palestinian photo exhibitions. The latest demolition of the tent can be viewed as another effort by Israel to react against displays of Palestinian national identity within Occupied East Jerusalem.

The house had become emblematic of the plight of Palestinian residents of Occupied East Jerusalem. The al-Kurd family were previously made refugees from Jaffa and West Jerusalem. They were then made refugees for the second time as they were evicted from their home of 52 years.

A previous protest tent had been active throughout the Summer on the al-Kurd property, as widespread international condemnation of Israeli policy against the family and neighbourhood grew, including an official complaint from the US State Department (see below).

Abu Kamel al-Kurd was immediately rushed to hospital following the family’s violent early morning eviction with high-blood pressure. He was re-admitted to hospital two weeks later where he died of a heart attack homeless.

The decision to remove the al-Kurd family paves the way for the takeover of 26 multi-story houses in the neighborhood, threatening to make 500 Palestinians homeless and signifying the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Occupied East Jerusalem by the Israeli State. In July the US State Department brought forward an official complaint to the Israeli government over the eviction of the al-Kurd family, openly questioning the legality of terms on which the Israeli Jewish settler group claimed to have purchased the land (click here)

The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem was built by the UN and Jordanian government in 1956 to house Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war. The al-Kurd family began living in the neighbourhood after having been made refugees from Jaffa and West Jerusalem. However, with the the start of the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, following the 1967 war, settlers began claiming ownership of the land the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood was build on.

Stating that they had purchased the land from a previous Ottoman owner in the 1800s, settlers claimed ownership of the land. In 1972 settlers successfully registered this claim with the Israeli Land Registrar. While the al-Kurds family continued legal proceedings challenging the settlers claim, the settlers started filing suits against the Palestinian family.

In 2006, the court ruled the settlers claim void, recognizing it was based on fraudulent documents. Subsequently, the Al-Kurd family lawyer petitioned the Israeli Land Registrar to revoke the settlers registration of the land and state the correct owner of the land. Although it did revoke the settlers claim, the Israeli land Registrar refused to indicate the rightful owner of the land.

In 2001 settlers began occupying an extension of the al-Kurd home. Despite the fact that their claim to the land was revoked, settlers were given the keys of the al-Kurds family home extension by the local Israeli municipality. This was possible after the municipality had confiscated the keys of the extension that the al-Kurd family built on their property to house the natural expansion of the family. When this extension was declared illegal by Israeli authorities, the Israeli municipality handed the keys over to Israeli settlers. The al-Kurd Family went to court and an eviction order was issued against the settlers. When the al-Kurd family were evicted on the 9th November 2008, the settlers were allowed to remain in the property, despite their own eviction order.

In July 2008 the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the eviction of the al-Kurd family, for their refusal to pay rent to the settlers for use of the land. Although the settlers claim to the land had been revoked two years earlier, the court instead based their decision on an agreement made between a previous lawyer and the settlers. It should be noted that the al-Kurd family -and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood as a whole- rejected this agreement and fired their legal representative at the time.

AFP: Israel turns back senior UN official

To view original report, published by AFP on the 15th December, click here

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel has turned back UN human rights envoy Richard Falk upon his arrival at Ben Gurion airport, authorities said on Monday, accusing him of “legitimizing Hamas terrorism.”

“Israel has made clear that Mr. Falk was not invited, nor would be welcome in Israel, under his capacity as special rapporteur” for human rights, the foreign ministry said.

Falk, who is the UN’s monitor of human rights in the Palestinian territories, last week prompted Israel’s ire when he said its policies against people in the territories amount to a “crime against humanity.”

UN officials said Falk was sent back to Zurich upon arrival at Ben Gurion, near Tel Aviv, on Sunday.

The Israeli ministry said Falk’s mandate is biased and that this is “further exacerbated by the highly politicized views of the rapporteur himself, in legitimizing Hamas terrorism and drawing shameful comparisons to the Holocaust.”

It also said Falk failed to follow procedures in arriving uninvited and while fully aware of “Israel’s clear reservation.”

On December 10, Falk called on the United Nations to make an “urgent effort” to “implement the agreed norm of a responsibility to protect’ a civilian population (in the Palestinian territories) being collectively punished by policies that amount to a crime against humanity.”

Israel has sealed off the Gaza Strip from all but basic goods since the Islamist movement Hamas, which is pledged to its destruction, seized power in June 2007 after routing forces loyal to Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas.

Israeli army invades Zawata

Israeli soldiers raided the village of Zawata late Sunday night, going house to house throughout the village, tearing down doors and scaring residents. The occupying army stayed well into the morning terrorizing young children on their way to class.

On December 14th, at approximately 11pm, Israeli soldiers entered Zawata and began to go house to house, allegedly searching for weapons. By one hour later, approximately ten military jeeps had occupied the village, all entrances and exits were blocked by army personnel, and at least one house was occupied by the military. Further up from the village, eyewitnesses stated seeing what appeared to be four Israeli snipers

Several Palestinian families reported broken doors, a result of the Israeli army not giving enough time for Palestinians to wake up and get to the door on time. According to Palestinian villagers, the Israeli army went to almost every house in Zawata. In most the houses, their stay was brief, long enough to wake residents up, break windows, overturn furniture and generally terrorize residents. But in the case of Ghassan Fou’ad Goodi and his family, the soldiers stayed overnight.

According to Ghassan, soldiers entered his house at midnight. Like most Zawata residents, he wasn’t given enough time to get to the gate of his house to let in the invading soldiers. They tore down the gate, and stormed into the house, forcing Ghassan and his family, into one room. Their landline was unplugged from the wall and their cell-phones were confiscated. Altogether, approximately 50 soldiers surrounded and occupied the house. Four soldiers stayed in the room not allowing the family to leave or contact anybody for help. The occupation lasted over seven hours, forcing the family to stay up all night, and in the morning, preventing the students from going to university classes. When the soldiers finally left the house the next day, around 7:30, they threw the cell phones they confiscated in different places around the house. Ghassan reports that one cell phone and his address book are still missing.

Ghassan Fou’ad Goodi is no stranger to the military. During the second intifada, in 2002, soldiers occupied his house for 6 months. Still, this invasion came as a surprise to the family, due to the fact that there was no apparent pretext for it.

Small children were terrified when, on their way to class, several soldiers, armed with M-16s and wearing camouflage face paint, hid in an alleyway pointing their guns at them. Some children ran back to their houses, while others crying and fearing for their lives, decided to push onward.

This is yet another example of what life is like under Israeli occupation. Although, Zawata is part of Nablus, designated area A under the Oslo agreements, and is supposed to be under the complete control of the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli military enters at will and with impunity.