Category: Features

Israeli courts criminalize protest: Adeeb Abu Rahma sentenced to two years

International network for the Palestinian popular nonviolent resistance

Israeli repression of Palestinian non-violent resistance against the Wall and the Occupation takes a distubring turn: Adeeb Abu Rahma, from Bil’in Village, sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

On 30 June 2010, grassroots activist Adeeb Abu Rahma, member of the Bil’in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements, was sentenced by Israeli military court to two years’ imprisonment, after being arrested on 10 July 2009 during a weekly demonstration in Bil’in, and after spending 11 months of detention in the Ofer military complex in the Occupied Territories.

Adeeb Abu Rahma is a taxi-driver and he has 11 children, he’s well known for his generosity and constant presence at village of Bil’in’s weekly demonstrations against Israel’s wall and for his commitment to popular nonviolent resistance, and the sentence is part of Israeli strategy to repress and criminalize popular nonviolent struggle against the Occupation and the Wall.

The sentence that condemned Adeeb states that he is guilty of “encourage violence”, “activity against public order” and of being “present in a closed military area”, as Bil’in has been declared every Friday from 8am to 8pm, in order to prevent the weekly demonstration. Adeeb lives in the village, and always has; so he has been convicted of being present in his own home.

Adeeb’s case relied on the forced confessions of four Bil’in youth – 14, 15 and 16 years old – arrested during a night raid by Israeli soldiers and forced to state that Adeeb told them to throw stones at the soldiers.

Adeeb Abu Rahma’s arrest is just the latest in a series of repressive measures implemented by Israel in order to stop the popular nonviolent resistance of Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals. Palestinian protestors are targeted by mass arrests, night raids and criminalization of the members of the Popular Committee members who lead the protests.

For the past five years the people from Bil’in have waged an ongoing struggle against the Israeli wall and the Occupation. Other villages such as Nil’in, Al-Ma’asara, Budrus, Jayyus, An-Nabi Saleh, Iraq Burin and Al-Wallaja have joined this struggle.

According to data provided by Addameer and Stop the Wall, more than 1,566 Palestinians have been injuried and 16 have been killed between 2005 and 2009 during nonviolent demonstration in the Occupied Territories. Since 2002, in the villages of Bilin, Nilin, Al-Ma’asara, and Budrus, 176 Palestinian citizens have been arrested.

Today more than ever, it is necessary to campaign for the release of more than 7,000 Palestinian political prisoners, among which more than 300 are minors.

Send a letter of appeal for Adeeb Abu Rahma’s release to:

Mrs Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders
H.E.RIYAD H MANSOUR, Ambassador, Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine
H.E. DANIEL CARMON, Deputy Representative of Israel to the United Nations
Menachem Mazuz Israeli Attorney General, Israeli Ministry of Justice

Adeeb’s daughter Raja:

We also ask your support for Adeeb’s daughter, Raja. Though from a simple family, Raja has won extremely high marks in the nationwide high-school exam scores, and she is now studying medicine at Bir Zeit University. Adeeb drives a taxi, and fees and other expenses would never have been easy for him, but his beloved daughter’s education has always been his priority. Since his imprisonment, friends of Adeeb have donated to allow Raja to continue her studies. She now needs $1500 for next semester’s fees, and we hope that supporters of Bil’in and of Adeeb can help her to realize her dreams and those of her father.

Please donate money to Raja by PayPal:

Response to the Israeli Cabinet’s Decision to Ease the Siege on Gaza

Bianca Zammit | ISM Gaza

28 June 2010

On June 17th 2010, the Israeli Cabinet decided to take steps to ease the Israeli-imposed siege on Gaza by allowing more items to enter. These items include mayonnaise, ketchup, chocolate, sweets and children’s toys, all of which have been prohibted from entering Gaza for the last 3 years. Some other items which will be allowed to enter will be going to civilian projects under the auspices of international NGOs.

While welcoming this Israeli initiative, the fact remains that many people in Gaza are living below the poverty line and cannot afford to buy these items. 80% of the population in Gaza is dependent on the UNRWA for food staples and basic living amenities. Now in its fourth year, the siege has created a miserable and unsustainable reality for all. The majority of the population albeit educated and skilled is unemployed and is forced to rely on foreign aid in order to get by. Factory workers can no longer operate since the siege halted raw materials from entering Gaza. In addition, Israel has impeded factories from exporting their goods to the outside world. Since the start of the siege 90% of Gaza’s factories are defunct. During Operation Cast Lead, factories were a major target and have remained so to date. In March 2010, Israeli warplanes struck a cheese factory in a deliberate attack, destroying equipment and machinery. Items which enter Gaza are screened for their possible usage in factories. A tahina factory in Gaza requested the entry of plastic containers. In response, Israel declared that it would not allow containers in but instead it would allow tahina made in Israel to enter. To allow Gaza to export products and import raw materials is a critical step in ending the humanitarian crisis brought about by the siege.

The siege has forced 60% of Gaza’ population into unemployment. Besides targeting factory workers, the siege has also direct implications for the traditional farming and fishing industries. Israel has tightened its grip on both sea and land and imposed new policies which fall short of international law and agreements. Live ammunition is used, with deadly consequences, against farmers and fisherpersons working in internationally-recognized Gazan sea and land. The potentially lethal risk faced by these workers has forced many into unemployment. Further injuring the industries, Israel has banned all equipment related to farming and fishing.

The siege has caused more than half of the population into unemployment and dependency on foreign aid. The siege also puts a complete halt to freedom of movement. Every border crossing in Gaza is closed, including the sea and air on which Israel exerts full control. The only Gazans allowed to exit are people requiring treatment in a foreign hospital, students and pilgrims. Even for these people, exit is never guaranteed and often requires days of sleeping at the border and humiliating security checks. The wait can be so long that many people die before they can visit a specialist hospital outside of Gaza. Families spread between Gaza and the West Bank or other counties outside the Occupied Palestinian Territories are not permitted to meet. A new policy enacted in April 2010 seeks to deport to Gaza all Gaza-born Palestinians living in the West Bank. This policy creates further suffering, causing families to become separated. This policy has direct implications for Gazan students studying at West Bank universities, as they can be arrested and brought to Gaza at any time, preventing them from completing their studies.. For the last three years, families who have a member in an Israeli jail have also been denied prison visit permits.

Over time, Israeli will perhaps take further measures to ease the assault on daily life Gaza. However, until Israel permits exports out of Gaza, raw materials to enter, and freedom of movement, no amount of chocolate and mayonnaise can ease the misery the siege is causing.

Bianca Zammit is a Maltese activist with the International Solidarity Movement in Gaza.

Justice for Adeeb Abu Rahma: Peaceful protest is not a crime

International Solidarity Movement

23 June 2010

The conflict between the Israeli military and security and the popular non-violent Palestinian resistance is reaching a crisis – in large part a tribute to the worldwide credibility and admiration the resistance is steadily winning.

Today in Palestine, such resistance is breaking out in larger towns, small villages, Bedouin encampments, in both Christian and Muslim areas. People are marching, chanting and singing, carrying signs, and often using very funny or touching street theatre. Palestinians are calling for their rights, joined and assisted by international and Israeli volunteers in a new model of friendship and brotherhood that offers hope for the future.

This movement has terrified the Israeli establishment, especially as the usual techniques have failed to stop its momentum. Arrests, serious and crippling injuries, deaths, and destruction of property (the ability to earn a living), have all made huge and painful inroads into people’s lives and hopes. Despite this, resistance continues.

Widespread sentiment is that this is the last chance, that no-one can stop now if they ever wish to gain their freedom and the justice that has been denied them.

A perfect symbol of this conflict is Adeeb Abu Rahma from Bil’in: one of the most charismatic, courageous, creative and at times hilariously funny activists.

Adeeb has been convicted for crimes of “incitement” – that is, urging the villagers to come out on Fridays to join the weekly protest – and for belonging to the Bil’in Popular Committee. These manufactured “crimes” apply to all the leaders and most of the participants of all the nonviolent movements in all the towns and villages of Palestine. If they are determined by the Israeli military to be illegal in Palestine, and a heavy sentence applied, then the entire resistance movement is threatened. Which is, of course, the point.

Adeeb is due to be sentenced in a few days. International law specifically recognizes the right of occupied people to resist occupation – that these people have chosen to do this in a nonviolent way shows great wisdom and restraint. This choice should be welcomed rather than criminalized by Israel if they have any intention of living here in peace with their neighbors.

Join us to support Adeeb:

Please contact your Embassies and Consulates in Jerusalem (http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-in/Israel) to ask for their help in preventing an act that will hurt both sides as they search for a way to live together in peace.

Dear Ambassador/Consul,

I/we are writing to ask for your help in preventing a miscarriage of justice in the case of Adeeb abu Rahma, who has been convicted in military court of “incitement” (that is, encouraging people from his village to take part in the weekly demonstrations against the illegal wall that confiscates most of the village land), and of belonging to a Popular Commitee in his village of Bil’in.

Lengthy efforts to convict Adeeb of stone throwing or other violent acts have failed, and so the government is attempting to criminalize acts of non-violent resistance. Such resistance is clearly defined in international law as being a legal right for anyone under occupation (1977 Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, Article 1, Paragraph 4).

When Israel was suffering from suicide bombing attacks, prominent Israeli figures asked loudly and often, “Where is the Palestinian Gandhi; where is a resistance that does not involve terror?” Now that Israel faces such resistance, with leaders who are willing to talk to them as equals, they are using every weapon at their disposal to intimidate, discourage, wound and even kill both those who lead it and the ordinary Palestinians who take part. Does Israel want to force Palestinians back to a more violent path? This the time for Israel to come to terms with the reality of Palestinian rights and needs, and to begin to reason their way forward to a future where both peoples can live in this land without fear of the other.

The case of Adeeb abu Rahma is a symbol of this struggle. Israel now has a choice in his sentencing to send a signal that it wants to crush nonviolent initiatives, or to find more creative and hopeful ways to move toward the future. Adeeb has served over a year, with constantly shifting charges, and should be released for time served, with an apology and hopes for a better future.

Sincerely,

Adeeb’s daughter Raja:

We also ask your support for Adeeb’s daughter, Raja. Though from a simple family, Raja has won extremely high marks in the nationwide high-school exam scores, and she is now studying medicine at Bir Zeit University. Adeeb drives a taxi, and fees and other expenses would never have been easy for him, but his beloved daughter’s education has always been his priority. Since his imprisonment, friends of Adeeb have donated to allow Raja to continue her studies. She now needs $1500 for next semester’s fees, and we hope that supporters of Bil’in and of Adeeb can help her to realize her dreams and those of her father.

Please donate money to Raja by PayPal:

Israeli military forcibly stops aid boat to Gaza — again

Free Gaza Movement

5 June 2010

(Off the Gaza coast, 5 JUNE) – Just before 9am this morning, the Israeli
military forcibly siezed the Irish-owned humanitarian relief ship, the MV
Rachel Corrie, from delivering over 1000 tons of medical and construction
supplies to besieged Gaza. For the second time in less then a week,
Israeli naval commandos stormed an unarmed aid ship, brutally taking its
passengers hostage and towing the ship toward Ashdod port in Southern
Israel. It is not yet known whether any of the Rachel Corrie’s passengers
were killed or injured during the attack, but they are believed to be
unharmed.

The Corrie carried 11 passengers and 9 crew from 5 different countires,
mostly Ireland and Malaysia. The passengers included Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Mairead Maguire, Parit Member of the Malaysian Parliament Mohd
Nizar Zakaria, and former UN Assistant Secretary General, Denis Halliday.
Nine international human rights workers were killed on Monday when Israeli
commandos violently stormed the Turkish aid ship, Mavi Marmara and five
other unarmed boats taking supplies to Gaza. Prior to being taken hostage
by Israeli forces, Derek Graham, an Irish coordinator with the Free Gaza
Movement, stated that: “Despite what happened on the Mavi Marmara earlier
this week, we are not afraid.

The 1200-ton cargo ship was purchased through a special fund set up by
former Malaysian Prime Minister and Perdana Global Peace Organisation
(PGPO) chairman Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The ship was named after an
American human rights worker, killed in 2003 when she was crushed by an
Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip. Its cargo included hundreds
of tons of medical equipment and cement, as well as paper from the people
of Norway, donated to UN-run schools in Gaza.

According to Denis Halliday: “We are the only Gaza-bound aid ship left out
here. We’re determined to deliver our cargo.” The Rachel Corrie had been
part of the Freedom Flotilla, a 40-nation effort to break through Israel’s
illegal blockade, before being forced to drop off late last week due to
suspicious mechanical problems.

The attack on the Rachel Corrie may spell trouble for Israel’s
relationship with Ireland. The Irish government had formally requested
Israel allow the ship to reach Gaza. On 1 June, the Irish parliament also
passed an all-party motion condemning Israel’s use of military force
against civilian aid ships, and demanding “an end to the illegal Israeli
blockade of Gaza.”

Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire summed up the hopes of this joint
Irish-Malaysian effort to overcome Israel’s cruel blockade by saying: “We
are inspired by the people of Gaza whose courage, love and joy in
welcoming us, even in the midst of such suffering gives us all hope. They
represent the very best of humanity, and we are all privileged to be given
the opportunity to support them in their nonviolent struggle for human
dignity, and freedom. This trip will again highlight Israel’s criminal
blockade and illegal occupation. In a demonstration of the power of global
citizen action, we hope to awaken the conscience of all.”
—

Passengers aboard the Rachel Corrie include:
Ahmed Faizal bin Azumu, human rights worker, Malaysia
Matthias Chang, attorney, author & human rights worker, Malaysia
Derek Graham, Free Gaza Ireland
Jenny Graham, Free Gaza Ireland
Denis Halliday, former UN Assistant Secretary General, Ireland
Mohd Jufri Bin Mohd Judin, journalist, Malaysia
Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal, PGPO representative, Malaysia
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ireland
Abdul Halim Bin Mohamed, journalist, Malaysia
Fiona Thompson, film-maker, Ireland
The Hon. Mohd Nizar Zakaria, Parit Member of Parliament, Malaysia

US activist loses eye after being shot in face with tear gas canister

International Solidarity Movement

1 June 2010

US citizen Emily Henochowicz was shot directly in the face with a tear gas canister as she non-violently demonstrated against the Flotilla massacre
US citizen Emily Henochowicz was shot directly in the face with a tear gas canister as she non-violently demonstrated against the Flotilla massacre

UPDATE 1 June, 8:30PM (GMT+2): Emily is recovering at Hadassah Hospital after two surgeries Monday night. She lost her left eye, three metal plates were inserted into her head/face, and her jaw is wired shut. The bone surrounding her eye socket, cheekbone and jawbone are all fractured. Emily was standing peacefully during a demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint Monday when Border Police fired a large number of tear gas canisters directly at the heads of Emily and another ISM activist.

31 May 2010: An American solidarity activist was shot in the face with a tear gas canister during a demonstration in Qalandiya, today. Emily Henochowicz is currently in Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem undergoing surgery to remove her left eye, following the demonstration that was held in protest to Israel’s murder of at least 10 civilians aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters this morning.

21-year old Emily Henochowicz was hit in the face with a tear gas projectile fired directly at her by an Israeli soldier during the demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint today. Israeli occupation forces fired volleys of tear gas at unarmed Palestinian and international protesters, causing mass panic amongst the demonstrators and those queuing at the largest checkpoint separating the West Bank and Israel.

“They clearly saw us,” said Sören Johanssen, a Swedish ISM volunteer standing with Henochowicz. “They clearly saw that we were internationals and it really looked as though they were trying to hit us. They fired many canisters at us in rapid succession. One landed on either side of Emily, then the third one hit her in the face.”

Henochowicz is an art student at the prestigious Cooper Union, located in East Village, Manhattan.

The demonstration was one of many that took place across the West Bank today in outrage over the Israeli military’s attack on the Gaza freedom flotilla and blatant violation of international law. Demonstrations also took place in inside Israel, Gaza and Jerusalem, with clashes occurring in East Jerusalem and Palestinian shopkeepers in the occupied Old City closing their businesses for the day in protest.

Henochowicz lost her left eye after being shot directly in the face with a tear gas canister
Henochowicz lost her left eye after being shot directly in the face with a tear gas canister

Tear gas canisters are commonly used against demonstrators in the occupied West Bank. In May 2009, the Israeli State Attorney’s Office ordered Israeli Police to review its guidelines for dispersing demonstrators, following the death of a demonstrator, Bassem Abu Rahmah from Bil’in village, caused by a high velocity tear-gas projectile. Tear-gas canisters are meant to be used as a means of crowd dispersal, to be shot indirectly at demonstrators and from a distance. However, Israeli forces frequently shoot canisters directly at protesters and are not bound by a particular distance from which they can shoot.

Israeli occupation forces boarded the Mavi Marmara, one of six ships on the Freedom Flotilla at 5 a.m. this morning, opening fire on the hundreds of unarmed civilians aboard. No-one aboard the ships were carrying weapons of any kind, including for defense against a feared Israeli attack in international waters. At least 9 aid workers aboard the ship have been confirmed dead, with dozens more injured. The assault took place 70 miles off the Gaza coast in international waters, after the flotilla was surrounded by three Israeli warships. The Freedom Flotilla, carrying 700 human rights activists from over 40 countries and 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid, was headed for the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip. The Israeli blockade on Gaza, combined with the illegal buffer zone, has put a stranglehold on the territory. 42% of Gazans are unemployed, and food insecurity hovers around 60% according to figures from the Palestine Centre for Human Rights.