16 October 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
A group of Palestinians shut down an Israeli-only highway to Tel Aviv today in the West Bank. International activists supported the Palestinians at today’s peaceable action, which blocked Route 443 for approximately thirty minutes.
Israeli border police puts his hands on a man at the action to shut down Route 443.
Fifty Palestinian and roughly ten international activists blocked the highway near Beit Ur, west of Ramallah during the demonstration, which was organized by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee. The non-violent protesters held aloft Palestinian flags and placards in Hebrew and Arabic denouncing “settler terrorism”.
Also known as Modi’in Road, highway 443 is open to Palestinians only for a short section of its length. The vast majority of it is controlled by checkpoints to ensure that only those with Israeli citizenship are able to travel using it.
Demonstrators at Tuesday’s protest carry a banner saying “Stop Settler Terrorism.” Protesters successfully closed highway 443 to Tel Aviv for thirty minutes.
Responding to the roadblock, Israeli soldiers violently and forcefully broke up the protest. Soldiers injured five activists through the use of pepper-spray and a number of others through brute force. The soldiers also threw dozens of sound grenades directly at the feet of protestors, causing one to lose consciousness briefly.
The demonstration comes at a time of increased attacks by extremist settlers on Palestinian agricultural workers, particularly against those that have been taking part in the olive harvest. The last three weeks have seen violent attacks against Palestinian farmers and their land, including the burning of olive trees, the theft of harvested olives and group-invasion of villages in the agricultural areas around Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem and Ramallah.
A photojournalist wearing clearly identifying clothing was sprayed at close-quarters with capsicum-based pepper gas and a Palestinian protestor was kicked in the back of the neck by soldiers. He was detained for an hour and then released.
The demonstration ended when soldiers forced protesters away from the road. Protesters at the demonstration said that the violence shown by the Israeli military forces was a testament to the effectiveness of today’s action.
Jacob Singh and Leila James are volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
17 October 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Majd and Abdelateef’s family, waiting for the brothers to appear.
On Monday 15th October, Palestinian political prisoners Majd and Abdulateef Obeid appeared before a military court for a third time. Their lawyer argued that, as four international activists arrested at the same time with the same evidence had previously been freed, Majd and Abdelateef should be released also.
In advance of the hearing, the Obeid family and their lawyer had been optimistic that Abdelateef would be freed, as he has no previous convictions, and there are legal precedents for challenging the detention of Palestinians where international activists on the same charges have been freed. Majd, as he had a previous conviction under similar charges, was expected at worst to receive a light sentence.
However, the military judge said that “Majd and Abdelateef are not the same as you” – referring to the two international activists present in the court. It was therefore ruled that Majd and Abdelateef’s detention would continue, pending a further hearing at an unconfirmed date in Ofer military court.
The outcome now looks bleaker than previously expected, as it appears that the military court has rejected the argument that Palestinian prisoners should be treated the same as international prisoners. This reflects the apartheid nature of the Israeli system of ‘justice’.
Sign a petition demanding freedom for Majd and Abdelateef here.
Majd and Abdelateef Obeid’s case was due to be heard in court today, October 11th. However, Israeli military treatment of Palestinian lawyers at Salem court today led to strike action. Lawyers were protesting about being subjected to full searches when entering the military compound – Israeli lawyers also joined the strike in solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues.
Majd and Abdelateef arrived into the courtroom in handcuffs and leg shackles, wearing the same clothes that they were detained in three weeks ago. Their hearing went ahead without a lawyer present and they were informed that their detention would be extended until their next hearing date, which will be Monday 15th October.
International activists were initially prevented from entering the court, despite having prior permission. This is a typical tactic of the Israeli army to avoid international observation of the Israeli military justice system.
Please sign our petition highlighting the disparity of treatment between the international activists who were arrested and Majd and Abdelateef. The petition signatures will be presented to the judge at Monday’s hearing.
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Original article published 3 October 2012:
In advance of their hearing in military court tomorrow, Majd and Abdelateef Obeid’s mother Sahra Fayez Obeid has recounted to ISM the events of their arrest on the 21st September in the village of Kufr Qaddoum.
Neither Majd or Abdelateef attended the demonstration – they were both in their family home, which happens to be on the route of the demonstration. Abdelateef was eating lunch with his family, while Majd was asleep in the bedroom, when three Israeli Occupation Force soldiers attempted to enter the house with force. They pushed Sahra to the ground, forcing their way into the house. There were also a number of soldiers surrounding the property. Ignoring the pleas of the family to leave, they stated “we want the young men, not you”.
Finding Majd and Abdelateef, the soldiers grabbed them by the neck and marched them to an army jeep on the road outside. Both men were arrested in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops. When the family followed the soldiers to the jeep, they were threatened and ordered back to their home at gunpoint. Faruq Obeid, the men’s father was told that if he did not leave, the soldiers would create an excuse to arrest him as well and keep him in jail.
The Obeid family have also been threatened that their home is classed as a Closed Military Zone during the weekly Friday demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum, and that male members of the family are at risk of arrest if they remain at home.
Majd and Abdelateef attended a five-minute military court hearing on the 30th of September, at which point their detention was extended and they were charged with endangering the lives of soldiers, throwing stones and with preventing the army from carrying out their military operations. Six soldiers testified against the two men, but the military presented no photographic evidence to back up their claims.
They await a second court hearing on the 4th of October, at which point their detention is likely to be extended once more, still without a conviction.
Majd, who is 20 years old, is a farmer and sweet-maker – as the olive harvest begins in Kufr Qaddoum, his absence will be felt greatly. Abdelateef is a 23 years old mechanic and was married just one week before his arrest – his new wife Maysam Nasek Obeid will attend the court hearing on 4th October, along with their mother Sahra and other family members.
Four international activists who were detained and arrested at the same time as Majd and Abdelateef were released unconditionally on the 30th September, following 48 hours in prison and 7 days under house arrest. They were detained under the exact same charges and “evidence”.
A three-tier justice system is applied by Israel in the territories that it occupies – favouring Israeli citizens first, international citizens second, whilst Palestinians face the harshest sentences, contrary to international human rights law and the Geneva Convention. The tactics of the Israeli military seem aimed at quashing resistance to the Israeli occupation in Kufr Qaddoum.
Urge the U.S. Government to Investigate Israel’s Attacks on Rachel and Others
RachelCorrie
Rachel Corrie was a U.S. citizen and a human rights defender committed to ending Israel’s illegal demolition of Palestinian homes. According to the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions,Israel has demolished an estimated 27,000 Palestinian structures in Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1967.
Rachel was killed by the Israeli military with a U.S.-taxpayer funded Caterpillar D9 bulldozer on March 16, 2003, in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, while seeking to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition.
In August 2012, a civil case in Israeli court against the Israeli military filed by the Corrie family concluded with the presiding judge not only absolving the State of Israel of any liability, but also blaming Rachel for her own death. This is unacceptable.
The U.S. government has long maintained that the Israeli military’s investigation into Rachel’s death was not thorough, credible, and transparent. The Israeli court’s verdict has only reinforced the fact that Israel is incapable of investigating and holding itself accountable for killing Rachel and severely injuring and killing other U.S. human rights defenders.
Recently, member groups around the country took action during the Rachel Corrie Week of Actionsurrounding the verdict, focused on building the We Divest Campaign, which calls on financial giant TIAA-CREF to divest from companies involved in the Israeli occupation, including Caterpillar.On Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, activists from member group Hilton Head for Peace held a vigil to honor Rachel’s life and work for justice.In Oak Creek, Wisconsin, member group Friends of Palestine demonstrated and performed street theatre at Caterpillar’s Mining Operations Headquarter.
Other activists and member groups in Honolulu, HI; Boca Raton, FL; Houston, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Philadelphia, PA; St. Louis, MO; Eureka, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, CA; and Chicago, IL held other actions around the country outside of Caterpillar dealerships, an Israeli Consulate, TIAA-CREF offices. US Campaign members joinred others in Washington, D.C. in a demonstration outside the State Department. You can see photos of many of the actions here.Other U.S. activists focused on social media. On the day of the verdict and the day after, #RachelCorrie and #divest4justice trended among the top ten most popular hashtags. And more than one hundred individuals worldwide posted photos in solidarity with Rachel and her family on this Tumblr blog.
Click here for a terrific round-up of the international Week of Action by Rochelle Gause of the Rachel Corrie Foundation, which ends with these poignant words:
“I don’t think that Rachel should have moved. I think we should all have been standing there with her,” said Cindy Corrie in response to Judge Gershon’s comment that Rachel should have moved out of the way of the Caterpillar bulldozer. Rachel wrote from Gaza, “The international media and our government are not going to tell us that we are effective, important, justified in our work, courageous, intelligent, valuable. We have to do that for each other, and one way we can do that is by continuing our work, visibly.” May we continue to take Rachel’s words to heart, find ways to successfully mobilize ourselves, strengthen our networks, utilize new forms of communicating to affirm the just cause of the Palestinian people and stand with the movement for universal human rights in Palestine and Israel.
Together we’ll deliver the petition to the State Department next month. Help us reach our goal of 10,000 signatures by signing right nowand spreading the word!
19 September 2012 | International Solidarity Movement
On Monday 17, September, six Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Itamar attacked three members of the Benijaber family, who were walking home to the Palestinian village of Aqraba from their olive groves.
Maher Hashem Mostafa Benijaber reported that he, his brother Omar and cousin Hafed were set upon by six men, three of whom were armed with semi-automatic rifles. The attack occurred just before 7 p.m., around 600 metres from their home. The settlers punched and kicked the three men, as well as beat them with rocks and sticks. They also tried to block the path back to the village so Maher and his family could not escape.
Omar managed to escape, calling neighbours for help. Meanwhile, the attack on Maher and Hafed continued. After the arrival of other residents, the Israeli attackers fled the scene. Maher then attempted to walk back to the village, but collapsed, lost consciousness, and had to be carried.
Maher Hashem Mostafa Benijaber in the hospital being treated for injuries after settlers attacked him on his way home.
Maher, Omar and Hafed all required medical treatment at the local clinic in Aqraba for the injuries they sustained during the beating, and Maher was hospitalized overnight in Nablus. All three men suffered injuries to their arms, head, back and legs, consistent with a sustained beating with sticks. When asked what he thought about the latest attack, Maher said, ‘if no-one had come to help, they would have killed me.’
The family contacted the Israeli army via the Palestinian Police and District Coordination Office to report the attack, however the army instead visited Yanoun village, which is also near Itamar settlement. Despite being informed that they had gone to the wrong village, they never attended the scene of the attack in Aqraba or spoke to Maher.
The attack on the Benijaber family is just the latest of many on the village of Aqraba. Four days previously, an elderly shepherd was attacked and forced to flee from his fields back to the village. The attacking settlers then stole some of his sheep. Such attacks on Palestinian villages are commonplace throughout the West Bank, and there is effectively impunity for settlers who carry them out. According to the Human Rights Watch 2012 report, “The Israeli government generally took no action against Israeli settlers who destroyed or damaged mosques, homes, olive trees, cars, and other Palestinian property, or physically assaulted Palestinians.” Illegal settlements such as Itamar continue to be encouraged to expand with the support of Israeli government and occupation forces.
17 September 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Akram Taysir Daoud from the Palestinian village of Qusra, was beaten unconscious on Saturday 15,September by Israeli settlers from the illegal outpost of Aysh Kodesh. He sustained extensive injuries, including a broken arm and major damage to his eye and face.
Akram’s sister Sanora reported that the family had been farming their land, which is on the outer edge of the village of Qusra, when they heard shouts and threats from settlers. Akram urged his family to go back to the house, leaving him alone. In response to a shout in Arabic, Akram moved to a more isolated area, not realising the call had come from settlers. It was at this point that the settlers attacked him.
Akram Taysir Daoud sits half-conscious in his hospital bed
Akram’s injuries are consistent with his report of a sustained beating with sticks and rocks by three settlers, after which he fell unconscious and was left for dead. After 15 minutes, Akram regained consciousness and was able to call his brother and identify his location over the phone. He was found in one of his fields and taken by car to Rafidia hospital in Nablus.
Around twenty further settlers reportedly then arrived, clashing with villagers who had come to protect Akram and his family, after having heard about the attack. Israeli military also arrived at the scene, but took no action to halt the extremist settler attack – instead reportedly shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at the Palestinians. This is the third attack of a similar nature in 3 weeks on the village of Qusra, and according to Akram, last week settlers directly threatened to kill him.
Illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank often attack Palestinians with impunity, with the Israeli army standing by or even amongst settlers during attacks, or reacting violently when Palestinians act to defend themselves. When attacks and injuries occur, it is often difficult for ambulances to reach villages like Qusra, due to Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints, so despite the additional dangers of transporting injured people by car, it is often necessary in the West Bank.
Ellie Marton is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
