04 April 2011 | Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements
The Israeli army and police occupation forces stormed the village of Bil’in at 1:30 am on Monday 4th April, raiding the houses of Ali Ibrahim Bornat, and Khames Abo Rahma. They searched their houses and tampered with the contents under the pretext of search for solidarity foreigners.
They also prevented the local press from documenting the event. The operation continued for an hour.
02 April 2011 | Ma’an News Agency
Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said the deceased were transferred to the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Khan Younis, adding that their bodies were charred from the intensity of the strike.
The three were identified as Isma’il Labad, 31, and his brother Abdullah, 24, from Ash-Shati refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, and Muhammad Ad-Dayah, 31, from the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
A fourth man was seriously wounded in the attack and taken to the same hospital, Abu Salmiya said.
Witnesses said Israeli drones fired a missile at a white Toyota traveling on Salah Ad-Din road between Khan Younis and Deir Al-Baleh. They said the car was totally destroyed, and that the explosion shook the city of Khan Younis.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the Israeli air force and army carried out a joint operation in the Khan Younis area targeting Hamas fighters. Forces confirmed a hit, she said.
The spokeswoman said the group was planning to carry out kidnapping attacks in Israel and in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula during the Jewish holiday of Passover in late April.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces killed one militant and injured a second in an airstrike shortly after the dawn prayer near Rafah in southern Gaza.
Two Palestinian fighters were killed on Sunday when Israeli war planes struck Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
18 March 2011 | Friends of Freedom and Justice, Bil’in
The slogan of this week’s peaceful demonstration in Bil’in was to ‘End the Division and Occupation.’ Many international and Israeli activists participated alongside local residents of Bil’in and neighboring villages. Joining them were also the hunger strikers of the 15/March movement currently staying in Al- Manara Square, Ramallah. The protestors were holding Palestinian flags, banners of the leader, Marwan Al Bargoti, as well as posters of the martyrs Bassem and Jawaher Abu Rahmah whilst chanting “End the division and occupation”.
When the protestors arrived to the East gate of the wall the soldiers attacked the protesters with tear gas canisters, rubber coated bullets, sound bombs and chemical spray.
Tear gas canisters were shot directly at the protesters’ heads rather than up in the air, which led to injuries. Five locals were physically wounded: Nashmi Abu Rahmah, 16 years old, when a rubber bullet was shot at his right hand; Iyad Burnat, head of the Popular Committee, 38 years old, by a tear gas canister that was shot at his head; Mohamad Al Khatib, 17 years old, by a tear gas canister shot at his leg; Mohamad Burnat, 20 years old, also by a tear gas canister shot at his leg; and Asia, a 22 year old Italian activist, when she twisted her left ankle whilst running from the attack. The victims were treated on the location of the protest in Bil’in.
A dozen other people fainted due to inhalation of concentrated and poisonous tear gas. Many also suffered from the colored and foul chemical liquid that was sprayed over the protestors by the Israeli army during the peaceful demonstration organized by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bil’in. The demonstration started after the Friday prayers, and proceeded from the village’s mosque to the apartheid wall.
16 March 2011 | Rachel Corrie Foundation
A Message from Craig and Cindy Corrie, March 16, 2011
On Wednesday, March 16th, we mark the eighth anniversary of our daughter Rachel’s stand in Rafah, Gaza, to protect the right of a Gazan family to be safe and secure in their home and the rights of all Palestinians to self-determination, freedom, equality, and security in the same measure as their Israeli neighbors.
Here in Olympia, Washington – our hometown and Rachel’s – our family, the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, and our community will mark this anniversary with an event that emphasizes three components: community-building, education, and action. Strengthening community connections was important to Rachel when she lived and worked here in Olympia, but, also, beyond, as she embraced the world as her community. As we pursue a more just global community, we must arm ourselves with solid information and knowledge. Rachel believed this profoundly and emphasized in her writing from Gaza the importance of seeking and communicating the facts and doing so without exaggeration. And it is not enough for us to think and talk. We must, also, act. Indeed, it is because of Rachel’s action on March 16, 2003, that we pause to mark this day.
As we consider where Rachel would want us to focus now, Gaza still remains high on the list. The UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the number of weekly civilian injuries in Gaza was recently higher than it has been for any week since May 2010. The number includes injuries to five children. During the week of February 20-26, imports from Israel into Gaza were only 36 percent of the average amount that entered weekly before Israel imposed its blockade of Gaza in 2007. Exports and movement of people in and out of the Strip remain severely restricted. Collective punishment of the 1.7 million residents of Gaza by the Israeli government and military continues. We must, therefore, continue to focus on improving their situation and ending the blockade and siege under which they have suffered for so many years.
Some of you – in Madison, Wisconsin, Marin County, California, in Turkey, in the U.K. and elsewhere – have told us that you, too, plan commemorative events for March 16th or during the upcoming weeks. Thank you for remembering Rachel with us. As you do, we hope you will, keep in mind the community-building, education, and action so important to her. We hope, too, that you will recall those others who have stood and been struck down, those imprisoned for their nonviolent action, and those who carry on the work – and that you will do what you can to support them all. With events this week and beyond that keep compassion, humility, and love at their core, together, we will honor Rachel’s commitment and spirit.
With appreciation always and in solidarity with all who pursue justice,
Cindy and Craig Corrie
14 March 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee
After much delay, Abu Rahmah who was supposed to have already been released yesterday, was finally released from the Ofer Military Prison this evening. He was received by hundreds who waited for him at the prison’s gate.
Abu Rahmah, who during his trial was declared a human rights defender by the EU and a prisoner of conscious by Amnesty International, vowed to continue struggling against the Occupation, despite his unjust imprisonment and the six-months suspended sentence still imposed on him. He said, “On my release, I have no intention to go back home and sit there idly. In fact, by imprisoning me they have silenced me long enough. Our cause is just, it is one striving for freedom and equality, and I intend to continue fighting for it just as I have before”.
Media Contact: Jonathan Pollak +972-54-632-7736
Background
Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was arrested last year by soldiers who raided his home at the middle of the night and was subsequently indicted before an Israeli military court on unsubstantiated charges that included stone-throwing and arms possession. Abu Rahmah was cleared of both the stone-throwing and arms possession charges, but convicted of organizing illegal demonstrations and incitement.
An exemplary case of mal-use of the Israeli military legal system in the West Bank for the purpose of silencing legitimate political dissent, Abu Rahmah’s conviction was subject to harsh international criticism. The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, expressed her deep concern “that the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest[…]”, after EU diplomats attended all hearings in Abu Rahmah’s case. Ashton’s statement was followed by one from the Spanish Parliament.
Renowned South African human right activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called on Israel to overturn Abu Rahmah’s conviction on behalf of the Elders, a group of international public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates, brought together by Nelson Mandela. Members of the Elders, including Tutu, have met with Abu Rahmah on their visit to Bil’in prior to his arrest.
International human rights organization Amnesty International condemned Abu Rahmah’s conviction as an assault on the right to freedom of expression, and declared him a prisoner of conscious. Human Rights Watch denounced the conviction as well, pronouncing the whole process “an unfair trial”.
Israeli human rights organizations also criticized the conviction – including statements by B’Tselem, which raises the issue of questionable testimonies by minors used to convict Abu Rahmah, and The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) which highlights the impossibility of organizing legal demonstrations for Palestinians in the West Bank.
Legal Background
Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was acquitted of two out of the four charges brought against him in the indictment – stone-throwing and a ridiculous and vindictive arms possession charge. According to the indictment, Abu Rahmah collected used tear-gas projectiles and bullet casings shot at demonstrators, with the intention of exhibiting them to show the violence used against demonstrators. This absurd charge is a clear example of how eager the military prosecution is to use legal procedures as a tool to silence and smear unarmed dissent.
The court did, however, find Abu Rahmah guilty of two of the most draconian anti-free speech articles in military legislation: incitement, and organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations. It did so based only on testimonies of minors who were arrested in the middle of the night and denied their right to legal counsel, and despite acknowledging significant ills in their questioning.
The court was also undeterred by the fact that the prosecution failed to provide any concrete evidence implicating Abu Rahmah in any way, despite the fact that all demonstrations in Bil’in are systematically filmed by the army.
Under military law, incitement is defined as “The attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order” (section 7(a) of the Order Concerning Prohibition of Activities of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda (no.101), 1967), and carries a 10 years maximal sentence.
