Photo courtesy of Operation Dove
(At-Tuwani, Southern Hebron Hills, Palestinian Occupied Territories) IDF soldiers, without respecting Israeli or international laws, assault a Palestinian shepherd. The soldiers claimed he was allowing his sheep to graze on land under military closure.
August 1
by Operation Dove volunteers
A group of shepherds from the village of At-Tuwani, in the Southern Hebron Hills of Occupied Palestine was grazing their herds on village land in the valley near Kharruba, in front of the illegal Havat Ma’on settler outpost on August 1.
At around 10 a.m., the settlement’s security guards came and immediately called the Israeli Army. The patrol arrived and immediately ordered the
shepherds to leave the area.
One shepherd offered the officer in charge a map that he had received from District Civil Liaison Office, showing that the area in question was not a “closed military zone.” The officer quickly grabbed the map, commented that ”this is cow’s shit,” tore it up and threw away.
Five soldiers assaulted then assaulted the shepherd, beating him. Volunteers with Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams who had witnessed the incident called Israeli Police, who arrived an hour later.
When policemen arrived, the IDF officer accused the shepherd of having assaulted soldiers. The shepherd was arrested and taken to the Kiriat Arba settlement station to file a complaint, where he was held until Israeli friends posted bail. An Operation Dove volunteer’s testimony was not allowed, and in fact, that activist was told by police to “go back to Italy.”
After being released, the shepherd went to a hospital in Hebron due to liver pain from the beating from the soldiers.
I must share with you this image that has been running through my mind for the last six days. It happened Monday, August 1, in the West Bank village of Kfir Haris. There was a completely nonviolent demonstration remove a road block so traffic could flow freely into the village. It was also a call for Israel to end the military occupation of Palestine.
When it was declared a closed military zone, and the Israeli soldiers started firing tear gas directly into the crowd, the people who were hit with the metal canisters were injured and fell to the ground. At this point the tear gas was starting to take its toll on me. My eyes were watering up, but through the blur and through the cloud of tear gas, I could see four Palestinian villagers carrying a limp body on their shoulders. They were yelling and running to the village medical center. They were carrying a man whose ribs were broken, a 7-year-old child who was hit by a canister and a man whose jaw was shattered after being hit by a tear gas canister at close range.
I can’t get over how amazing that image is to me. I have never seen anything like that in my entire life.
The way the everyone around immedately responded to the needs of these injured people is what community is, and that is beautiful. The village doesn’t have a stretcher, but it has people. It doesn’t have an army, but it has nonviolent warriors. It doesn’t have a multi-million dollar public relations department, but it has the truth.
It is what Palestine has rather than what it does not have that will carry it through the tunnel of oppression and into the sweet spring air of a free country. It is on the shoulders of the strong that the wounded of this long battle will rest and heal. It is when the water of flows freely between the cups of everyone in this land, and when the soldiers carry not guns and anger, but rather the weight of a feast for celebration and community building that the children will not be raising their children in fear of the next stray bullet, bomb or bulldozer.
I have concluded this through my own experience in this land, and I have felt this with my own heart. I have heard through all the hurt and anger that Palestinians do want peace. But this peace, they tell me, must not come at the price of racism and military occupation. Peace truly comes on the tide of equality, economic encouragement and safety.
Israel, why do our pleas always fall on deaf ears? Is the military might clogging them? “Let my people(Palestine) go(from your grasp).”
PHOTO BY: Nir Elias/Reuters
Opponents to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan (L) dance in front of Israeli soldiers (R) as they secure the fence of Kfar Maimon July 20, 2005. Many of the thousands of rightist protesters massed at a village in southern Israel will head home after police blocked them from marching on Gaza settlements, a settler leader said on July 20.
by Gershon Baskin Courtesy of Arabic Media Internet Network
There is no doubt that the Israeli disengagement has created some serious dilemmas and problems for the Palestinians. First, this is a unilateral step by Israel designed at a time when Israel declared that there was no partner. It was launched by Sharon to take attention away from Geneva and a much wider internationally supported campaign for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Sharon has claimed a space in the international community as a political hero, previously perceived there as a demon. Now leaders from the entire world are waiting on line to meet him.
Despite the international support that Sharon has received, the disengagement is perceived by most people as an attempt by Sharon to give away Gaza in order to tighten his grip on the West Bank. It is not clear if Gaza will really be detached from Israel – whether Palestinians will be able to move freely between Gaza and the West Bank – between the two parts of Palestine which are legally perceived to be one integrative territory. It is not clear if Israel will withdraw from the Gaza-Egypt border, whether a seaport will be allowed to function, whether the Gaza airport will be allowed to work, and many other open questions.
In the north of the West Bank it is unclear if Israel will turn over the vacated territory, roughly 2.5 times the size of Gaza, to the Palestinian Authority, transforming it into area “a” and under full Palestinian control, or if Israel will continue to hold full control and prevent Palestinians from moving freely in the area.
For the sake of argument, or for strategic game-playing, let us assume for a moment that Israel will completely withdraw from Gaza and that they will relinquish all control over Gaza, its international borders, its airspace, its land and it natural resources. If that is the case, Israel will claim that the occupation over Gaza has ended. At that point, a vacuum of sovereignty will exist, and while Israel was never sovereign in Gaza, the question must be raised of whether or not the Palestinian Authority becomes the sovereign power and if that sovereignty is translated into statehood.
There is no need to declare a Palestinian State, that was done on November 15, 1988 and more than 100 countries recognized that state. Of those who did not recognize the State were all of the original 13 EU countries, the United States, Canada and Israel. The Palestinians could re-issue their Declaration of Independence, adding a chapter on borders indicating that the borders of the State are the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem as the Capital of Palestine. A declaration as such would in fact be helpful to any future peace process. It sets in stone, so to speak, the price of peace that Israel must pay and it removes any doubts about Palestinian plans for expanding the State into Israeli territory.
Palestine must then gain full membership in the United Nations and Mahmoud Abbas should call on Israel to recognize the State of Palestine and even co-sponsor the resolution for UN Membership. If Israel did recognize the new State, there is no doubt that the United States would as well. Even without Israeli recognition, there is a chance that the United States would, and even without US recognition, the rest of the world would recognize Palestine and establish embassies in a provisional capital.
In the Twelfth Session of the Palestine National Council in Cairo in 1974, a resolution was passed stating that the Palestinians would establish their state in any part of Palestine liberated from Israel. After 1974 this became the policy of the mainstream of the Palestinian National Movement. If Gaza is to become completed liberated from Israeli occupation, it is incumbent on the Palestinians to claim sovereignty there and to create real statehood as the first stage of enacting the Palestinian state in all of the declared territories within its borders. In the absence of Israeli control over Gaza, Palestinians must claim sovereignty and must rule there as a State. This is not the end of the struggle and a Palestinian State established first in Gaza does not in any way prevent the Palestinians from working towards the complete fulfillment of their sovereignty in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Many Palestinians fears that if they adopt this strategy they will end up with a State in Gaza only. They fear that the international community will forget about the Palestinian issue and that the occupation by Israel of the West Bank will be strengthened. This, in my opinion is highly unlikely. If the sides do not get back to the negotiating table in the framework of the Road Map or in the framework of permanent status negotiations, we are likely to see additional Israeli unilateral disengagements.
If Israel is wise it will return to the negotiating table, however due to the complete absence of trust between the parties, this is unlikely. A peaceful disengagement and a successful Palestinian take over of Gaza will help to build trust between the sides. Perhaps not enough trust to return to permanent status negotiations, but enough to bring about a second, but coordinated disengagement.
It is quite clear that the majority of Israelis and Palestinians –perceive the first disengagement as a reward of violence and that Hamas is presenting itself to the public as the party that secured the Israeli evacuation. This was a real lost opportunity by Israel to strengthen the leadership of Abu Mazen. Had Sharon announced the disengagement after meeting with Abu Mazen, it would be perceived as a victory for moderation and negotiations.
A second disengagement must be done in coordination with Abu Mazen directly in the picture. If not, a second disengagement could lead to a third intifada. The next disengagement will likely be from all of the settlements east of the Israeli separation barrier – walls and fences. Here we are speaking about a minimum of 80,000 settlers in some 60 settlements. This falls short of what Palestinians want and it will be a clear attempt by Israeli to cement the separation barriers as a permanent border. Nonetheless, the second disengagement should be embraced by the Palestinians and supported in any way possible. The Israeli taboo on removing settlements has been broken by the first disengagement and the Palestinians must encourage the Israelis to continue dismantling more and more settlements.
The best chances for moving forward and for ensuring additional further Israeli withdrawals and disengagements is for the Palestinians to claim statehood and sovereignty and to behave like a state. As a responsible member of the international community, backed by UN Membership, Palestine will be free to enter into international treaties and conventions. Palestine will be free to call upon the United Nations to dispatch United Nations peace keepers to its borders in order to prevent an Israeli incursion into its territory. Palestine can be a free agent and can work on behalf of all of its citizens and territories, even if it still does not have full control over all of the areas of the State. This is all completely feasible and possible if Palestine behaves like a responsible State. This means that Palestine must enforce law and order. It means that there cannot be any militia or unauthorized weapons being used by groups of citizens. It means that stopping the armed struggle or the armed resistance becomes a Palestinian imperative and a supreme matter of Palestinian national strategic interests.
The surest way to advance the process of creating the Palestinian State in all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem is for the State of Palestine to exist as a state dedicated to providing security, prosperity and peace for its own citizens. Even if the State of Palestine is not created as part of a negotiated process, a process of coordinated unilateralism is completely possible. In fact, this might be the fastest and surest way to advance the cause of freedom and liberation for Palestine and for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Gershon Baskin is the founder and the Israeli co-director of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information in Jerusalem.
Soldiers set up a “flying checkpoint” outside Ramallah, near the village of Surda on Sunday.
By Sarita and Andrew
Ambulances, commerce, people traveling to work or heading home were all brought to a halt Sunday in Ramallah as Israeli soldiers closed all exit and entry points to the city following a shooting by Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade members in which a 10-year-old Israeli boy from the nearby Ateret settlement was injured.
As the boy lay in stable condition after being rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, two ambulances carrying sick Palestians to a nearby hospital were forced to sit for three and a half hours at a checkpoint in the West Bank village of Atara along with hundreds of other commuters. International Solidarity Movement volunteers went to monitor the checkpoints at Atara and Surda.
Flying Checkpoint in Surda
At approximately 10:30 this morning, the Israeli military closed the Atara checkpoint. A flying checkpoint was placed at Surda, 10km from Atara towards Ramallah. Ten ISM activists arrived at Surda Checkpoint around 1:00pm and began monitoring the Israeli soldiers blocking the road with 2 jeeps. The army was letting some cars as well as women, children and the elderly go through, but Palestinian men between the ages of 18-35 were being stopped and had to show their ID.
Surda Checkpoint
ISM divided into 2 groups, and sent one to monitor Atara Checkpoint with the 3 International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS) activists and the other remained at Surda.
A soldier at the flying checkpoint approached the ISM activists, to explain (in the little english that he knew) that they were searching for the “terrorist” that had attacked and shot settlers near Jerusalem. He wanted to let the ISM volunteers through the checkpoint, but they explained that they had come to observe him and the army’s actions, and that they wouldn’t leave until the checkpoint was lifted.
Surda checkpoint
During the time ISM was filming and taking photographs, movement through the checkpoint almost came to a complete halt as the soldiers tightened control. One soldier driving a jeep, aggressively raced up to a UN vehicle waiting in line as if he was going to smash into the car. He got out of the jeep, yelling and brandishing his M-16. He then took position in the middle of the road and began harassing the men waiting to have their IDs checked. The commanding army officer eventually ordered him to return to his jeep as media arrived on site.
A bus full of children between the ages of 4 and 12, who were travelling to Ramallah to present a theatre performance, were stopped for over 2 hours. Stefanie and Marie-Eve, ISM activists from France and Canada, managed to convince the commanding officer to let the bus through.
Surda Checkpoint
At around 2:00 p.m., the soldiers suddenly lifted the checkpoint and the army vehicles raced behind the hill. The hundreds of people and cars that had been waiting patiently flooded the road. The sounds of hurried movement filled the landscape and the trace of soldiers was erased by the loud honking and bustle.
Atara checkpoint
Atara Checkpoint
As traffic flowed at a snail’s pace at the temporary checkpoint in Surda, The permanent checkpoint at Atara was blocked for three and a half hours by soldiers in checkpoint structures, jeeps and sniper posts.
Members of IWPS and ISM attempted to talk to soldiers about the reason for the road closures and to seek permission for the ambulances carrying sick passengers to pass. Their requests were rebuffed. No arrests or vehicle checks were made at the roadblock. Soldiers were not searching anyone or allowing anyone to approach to ask them for information as to how long they should expect to wait.
As the group of international observers asked again if the roadblock would soon open, or if the ambulances could pass, the guards received instructions to allow traffic to move. Leaving a small contingent of soldiers at the posts in the permanent checkpoint, most of the soldiers promptly jumped into their jeeps and sped off. Nearly 200 vehicles, including a number of packed busses, had been detained under the hot sun for nearly four hours.
The inequity that Palestinians face when compared to the amount of security and safety Israelis are afforded is obvious in every facet of life in occupied Palestinian lands.
Settler attacks on Palestinian villagers often go unreported or investigated. While shooting at settlers can bring all of Ramallah to a halt, often there is little to no protection for the Palestinian population inside Israeli borders, in the West Bank or Gaza.
As Israeli and U.S. officials continually bombard Palestinian authorities to go after militant groups, little is being done to curtail attacks carried out by settlers. No security was in place to keep the 19-year-old settler off the bus in the middle of a Palestinian community inside Israel’s borders where he killed 4 people and injured 12 others with an army issued rifle — in an act of what he considered to be in defense of the settlements. None of the settler-only roads that wind through Palestinian territories were closed off for hours after the incident.
In fact, Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the killing of Palestinian bus riders was an “isolated incident” that was “a far cry from when you have on occasion one or two isolated incidents of this sort than when you have a whole society which is beset by terrorists.”
Also, none of the violence and human rights abuses against Palestinian civilians are taken into account.
According to weekly figures by the Palestinian Center For Human Rights, acts against Palestinian civilians have recently been on the rise. The organization reports that, between July 28 and August 3, Israeli forces sraeli Occupation Forces killed a Palestinian civilian in Shoufa village, south of Tulkarm. Ten Palestinian civilians were injured in attacks by militant settlers in that time. Add to that the amount of violent force used against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians, the economic ruin brought about during that time by the expansion of Israel’s illegal annexation wall, and the notion of who actually is “beset by terrorists” should become more and more clear.
Statistics: www.pchrgaza.org Background on speicific incidents: www.haaretzdaily.com
Street theatre and demonstration in Deir Ballut By Sarita
August 4
Deir Ballut villagers were joined today by 30 International and Israeli activists in a demonstration against the military check point blocking the entrance to their village. Deir Ballut, southwest of Salfit, and its neighboring villages Rafat and Zawiya, are projected to be imprisoned by the Apartheid Wall and have been living under continuous closures. Twenty-two houses are isolated from the rest of the village behind this check point. No one except for the residents of these houses are allowed access to the area, and villagers are routinely submitted to humiliating treatment when attempting to access either their homes, their lands, or the rest of the village. When completed, the Apartheid Wall will isolate and surround Deir Ballut, cutting it off ompletely not only from its fertile agricultural lands, but also from the rest of Salfit District and the surrounding towns.
Shouting “Free, Free Palestine” the demonstrators reached the blockade placed by the soldiers to stop the protest from reaching the checkpoint. The protestors erupted into a vivid theatrical displaythat mimicked the deadly reality of Israeli soldiers at checkpoints, carrying plastic water guns, wearing bowls on their heads to serve as helmets, and carrying a big sign to mark the theatrical checkpoint. Several friends from within the demonstration pretended to try to pass through their checkpoint and were refused and shot. The Israeli activists chanted, “We don’t fight, we don’t cry, we refuse to occupy.” The demonstration ended peacefully and everyone returned to the village to feast.
The people living in Deir Ballut and its neighboring villages used to rely on work inside the Green Line before the beginning of the second Intifada in 2000. But with the intensification of the Occupation policy of closure, villagers were unable to reach their workplaces inside the Green Line. This meant that most of them had to return once again to agriculture as their primary work, and they have since relied on working the land as a basic source of income.*
Today’s action is part of a series of actions organized in the Salfit district that highlights the occupation and ghettoization of the West Bank. Work on the Apartheid Wall in Deir Ballut began in June 2004. The wall confiscates hundreds of dunums of Deir Ballut’s lands while isolating 80% of the village’s agricultural lands. The settlements of Badue’l and Ale Zahav plan on building an additional 550 housing units on the village’s lands. In the western area, the Wall will ghettoize three villages in total (Deir Ballut, Zawiya, and Rafat). reating a “bantustan” isolated from surrounding villages and towns, villagers will have no connection with the outside world except through the Zawiya “tunnel”, which leads to Masha village in the north. The “tunel”, referred to as a “hole” by Palestinians, will be under control of the Occupation Forces.
They will regulate and determine Palestinian life and movement through it. When completed villagers (assuming they have passes and are allowed to access the Zawiya “tunnel”) will have to make a long journey to reach the key city of Salfit which provides essential educational, cultural, social and economic services. Villagers will be forced to detour far to Qalqiliya, then to the city of Nablus in order to reach Salfit city. What is now a short trip will soon require a full day’s travel — and that is if there are no Occupation checkpoints along the way to slow the trip down or make it simply impossible to pass.
(Statistics and background form the Stop The Wall
Campaign website: www.stopthewall.org)
