Category: Action Alerts - Page 27 - International Solidarity Movement

A step in the right direction; as EU consuls urge sanctions against settlements, we call for the suspension of all trade agreements

28 February 2013 | Palestine Solidarity Campaign and International Solidarity Movement

The European Union is actively supporting Apartheid Israel with its current trade agreements. Enough is enough; keep the pressure up, 2013 is the time for justice in Palestine.

As more and more of us become aware of the systematic denial of Palestinians human rights by Israel military occupation, it is time to make our elected representatives aware of the growing and unstoppable pressure for peace and justice.

The EU should be playing a leading role in implementing policies to ensure that Israel ends its illegal occupation, uphold international law and respect Palestinian human rights.

Instead, they are supporting Israel’s occupation by:

allowing illegal settlement products to be traded across Europe

by using EU tax-payers money to fund Israeli military companies that are responsible for killing civilians and supporting Israel’s military occupation

As recommended by European Union consuls general in East Jerusalem and Ramallah in a recent report, the European Union must divest from settlements and economic sanctions should be put on bodies and companies involved in settlement industry. A report submitted to the UN´s Human Rights Council by an independent fact-finding mission, has also called on all relevant international actors, private or state-connected to take “all necessary steps” to ensure that they were respecting human rights, “including by terminating their business interests in the settlements”.

This is a step forward but not enough; keep the pressure on EU representatives to suspend trade agreements with Israel until they fully and completely abide by international law.

It is time for actions, not words. Tell the EU to act now.

Read the full letter and sign the call here today: http://psc.iparl.com/lobby/96.

Send letters to EU Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers (in all EU languages!)

Send letters to Members of European Parliament (MEPs) (in all EU languages!)

Please, send letters today and spread widely.

When people lead, governments follow.

Help us work towards justice in Palestine

Please donate for our work to continue through out 2013!

The International Solidarity Movement is stepping into its thirteenth year of solidarity with the Palestinian people. What started as a few activists participating in actions against the Israeli occupation has developed into a movement of constant growth and change.

Despite our growth and change, our deep commitment to justice and freedom has remained constant. We remain dedicated to supporting Palestinians in popular resistance and acting as witnesses to the occupation and other crimes. This has all been made possible by the financial support of thousands of individuals like yourself.

Throughout the Gaza Strip, international activists have accompanied farmers at their request in the “kill zone” near the Israeli separation barrier. Israeli troops have fired tear gas and continue to use live ammunition against farmers accompanied by internationals. They frequently injure and kill farmers, workers, or children who go to school in areas near the fence. International activists have also accompanied fishermen being attacked in Palestinian territorial waters off the Gaza Strip. They have been some of the few to witness and produce regular reports on those abducted, injured and killed, as well as the destruction and confiscation of boats and fishing equipment.

Throughout 2012 we have continued to stand with Palestinians in the West Bank against unremitting settlement expansion and settler attacks. We have been invited by Palestinian communities to provide a constant international presence in areas at high risk of attack by the Israeli military and settlers, such as the home of the al-Daraghmah family on the road to the settlement of Ma’ale Levona in Khan al-Lubban, or in villages such as Burin and Asira al Qibliya near to the settlements of Itamar, Yizhar and Bracha as well as Susiya next to the settlement of the same name. We took part in the olive harvest and accompanied farmers to their fields for the 11th year in a row, working in high-risk areas where farmers are often attacked or refused the right to enter their lands. Our activists continue their presence in the firing zone 918 in the South Hebron Hills where eight villages are in eminent danger of demolition. We continue to take part each Friday in popular demonstrations organized by Palestinian communities against the theft of their lands and water resources in the villages of Bil’in, Kufr Qaddum, Nabi Saleh, and Nil’in.

In 2013, we are facing new challenges in our struggle against the isolation and displacement of the Palestinian people. We hope to expand our work in Gaza as well as continue expanding in the West Bank.

For our work to continue, we need your help. Please go to our web page and make a donation. Your contribution will go a long way in making sure all this can happen. Any amount is greatly appreciated.

In addition, please consider joining the ISM in 2013. Thank you.

Six solidarity hunger strikers in Hebron

By Team Khalil

18 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Six Solidarity Hunger Strikers in Hebron.

Six people in Hebron go on hunger strike in support of Ayman Ismail Sharawna who has been on hunger strike in prison for 235 days.
These include Ayman’s mother, Zohra, and three brothers, Jihad, Abed al Rahman and Ismail Shawarna. Joining the family members are Nahil Abu Eisha and Etaf Masalmeh. They are all on an open ended hunger strike to publicise the unjust treatment of Ayman and the other Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. A tent has been erected in the centre of Hebron, near Al Manara, as a focal point for the campaign in the city.
Ayman Ismail Shawarna 38, and a father of nine children, from Deir Samet, Dura, near Hebron went on hunger strike on 1-7-2012 to protest his continued illegal detention in an Israeli prison. Ayman has been on hunger strike for 235 days and his condition is critical. Ayman was released from prison in the Hamas-Israeli prisoner swap in October 2011. He was re-arrested by the Israeli authorities on 31-1-2012 in a breach of the deal and held in administrative detention without charge ever since.
Nahil Abu Eisha, a teacher at Cortoba school in Tel Rumeida, Hebron, was arrested and jailed by a military court for two years when she was twelve years old. She was released after one day when forced to pay a fine of 2,000 Jordanian dinars, about 10,500 shekels.
Etaf Masalmeh from Dura has a brother who has been in an Israeli prison for thirteen years.
Abed al Rahmen Sharawna, one of the six solidarity hunger strikers, said “His family saw him (Ayman Sharawna) two months ago and since then has not been allowed to see him.” Abed explained “They want to show the world what is happening too the prisoners, that he is not alone and they have the same feeling as him in prison.” Abed demanded the Israeli authorities give him his belongings as he is sleeping on the floor with no change of clothes or a blanket. Ayman cannot walk and does not have a wheelchair. The solidarity hunger strikers hope the Israeli authorities will do something but fear they will do nothing for Ayman. Abed said “We will try to do something for him. We are on hunger strike untill we get our demands.”

Thirsting for Justice Campaign Teach-in for Palestinian water rights World Water Day – 22 March 2013

19 February| Thirsting for Justice

On World Water Day show your support for the Palestinian struggle for water justice, organize a teach-in to learn the facts about the context and take action in support of this basic human right.

The Thirsting for Justice Campaign calls on supporters worldwide to observe World Water Day 2013 (22 March) by organizing community teach-ins[1] to gain an accurate and factual portrayal of the challenges Palestinians under Israeli occupation face in their daily lives when accessing clean water and to promote discussion on actions in support of Palestinian water rights.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians and internationals in the West Bank will be taking part in a “walk for water justice” in the Jordan Valley to mark World Water Day, an initiative of the Thirsting for Justice Campaign and the Jenin Freedom Theater.

To join the teach-in action:

1. Register intent by writing to us on info@thirstingforjustice.org. You will receive a resource pack, which contains all the information you need to organize this action.

2. Discuss with us your ideas. We will endeavor to answer your queries and support you in the organization of the teach-in. Watch our video: http://youtu.be/wva8lYEVGCk

3. Send us the details for your teach-in so we can advertise it on our website and social media. You can organize the teach-in at any time during the month of March.

4. Send us your report-back with details of what was agreed among participants during the meeting so others can be inspired by your work. See the action sheet we prepared in the resource pack with suggestions on what you could do to reach decision-makers and get them to act.

Learn more about the campaign for Palestinian water rights on our website www.thirstingforjustice.org and look for us on Facebook and Twitter.

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[1] Teach-ins are educational forums where people come together to focus on a single topic and build a common understanding about an issue. Teach-ins are meant to be practical, participatory and oriented towards action. Their main goal is to educate people and work towards change.

Resist the land grab: donate a tree

29 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus, Occupied Palestine

For more than a decade the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) has supported Palestinians during the olive harvest, a task which continues to be challenging.

We regularly support farmers by accompanying them to fields and planting olive trees in areas of high risk of settler attacks and army harassment. As part of our continuous support to the grassroots struggle, we are going to plant olive trees in the villages around Nablus, starting now. For this, we need your support.

Hundreds of thousands of olive trees are located near illegal Israeli colonial settlements, making the trees as well as the farmers a sure target for settler violence. On average, around 10,000 trees are destroyed each year. Before the olive harvest had began in 2012, farmers had to deal with the devastating effects of arson. According to the United Nations, more than 870 trees were vandalised in the first week of October’s harvest.

Working near settlements is much more than a source of livelihood: it is a form of non-violent resistance. Planting and harvesting olives is a continuous affirmation of Palestinians’ historical, cultural and economic connection to their lands and a rejection of Israeli efforts to seize them.

Villages around Nablus have seen an increased level of violence and harassment by settlers and the army. ISM activists in Nablus have spent recent months working in villages around Yizhar, the most violent settlement in the West Bank. The village of Urif has been under regular attacks by settlers and army, including settler attacks around the school which is located on the very edge of the village. Madama has also seen some extremely violent scenes involving shepherds being assaulted whilst working their lands around the settlement. Asira, another village which surrounds Yizhar, has just been the victim of yet another outrageous land grab. The village of Burin gets attacked from settlements on two sides. We want to help these villages resist by planting olive trees around the most dangerous land around Yizhar settlement.

We want to start by planting around 1000 olive trees and for this we urgently need your help. An olive tree costs $4 to $11, depending on it’s size (the bigger the tree the sooner olives can be harvested). The more money we can raise, the more and bigger olive trees we will be able to plant. Any amount you can donate helps. Please donate now so that we can start start planting. All funds raised will be used entirely for the purchase of new trees.

Please help spread the word. Join the event on Facebook.